Bread "The Guitar Man"

Brandin · From: Newport Beach CA. USA

Who played steel on that song?

Brett Day · From: Pickens, SC

Dan Dugmore.

Brett

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

Are you sure it's steel? I always thought the opening was multi-tracked slide guitar. It's a cool sound for sure...

I do know that it's Larry Knechtel playing the "wah-wah" solo stuff....

Brandin · From: Newport Beach CA. USA

Yes Pete it's pedal steel. Well played too!

Thanks Brett! How did ya get that info? I couldn't find any credits for steel guitar.

GB

Brett Day · From: Pickens, SC

I've read that Dan Dugmore plays steel on the record.

Brett

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

That record was released in 1972; was Dan really doing sessions in L.A. that early?

Larry Knechtel told me about that session in some detail, about how after hours of the "real" guitar players in the band trying to get something without any luck that he just gave it a shot at the end of the day and that ended up being the track. At the time I didn't think to ask him about the pedal-steel (or overdubbed slide, which is still what it kinda sounds like to me) but I think Dean Parks might have worked on some of their sessions back in the day, maybe he'll have some idea...?

Here's the track...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpOjQvADLG4&feature=related

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

I was told that it was Larry Carlton and the song was written about him? Don't know if there's any truth to that. Winking

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Brandin · From: Newport Beach CA. USA

I'm pretty sure that's pedal steel. It's been double tracked, and played without using any vibrato. I think this was too early in the 70's for Dan, but I could be wrong.

GB

Frank Freniere · From: The First Coast

Has anyone asked Dan?

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Dan Dugmore's recording career did not start until 1974. That credit is not listed on his allmusic.com credit history. Truth is there is no pedal steel on that cut. It's a regular slide guitar and a synthesizer. See the 1972 live performance here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVtdYKVXYhI&feature=related
Most likely Larry Knechtel as Pete said.

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

Actually, I'm sure Larry Knechtel didn't play the parts we're talking about; he played the wah-wah guitar parts on the record (no slide at all on those), but I'm positive that he didn't play the multi-tracked slide (or steel) that comes up at the beginning and behind the solo, a totally different thing. And that live performance video doesn't really prove much; it just sounds like they were naturally splitting the difference to cover the parts as best they could live without having the 3 or 4 guitar parts from the record, so there's the combination of slide guitar with a wah-wah pedal (much like Mac Gayden was doing with J.J Cale at the time). That's Larry Knechtel playing bass in that live video by the way...

I personally think the recorded "slide" parts could be either guitar or maybe steel, though I don't really hear the string-stretching sound one hears with pedals. It sounds kind of like very precise multiple tracks of a 335 or something with maybe a glass slide to my ears...No synthesizer that I can hear.

I did ask Dan Dugmore about this in an email earlier, before writing my first response, and just got his reply after starting this post... He did not play on the song, and he doesn't think it's steel. He did play on some later David Gates solo stuff which probably explains where that confusion came from...

One one hand it's all pretty trivial and really doesn't matter, but on the other having gotten this far it would be nice to hear a definitive answer about the part if anybody knew...!

Dean Parks · From: Sherman Oaks, California, USA

This song was recorded before my involvement with the group, but David Gates told me the slide part was done on Moog synthesizer by Paul Beaver in Los Angeles. Synths were mono then, so I assume this is 3 separate tracks, using a keyboard and a portamento setting.

Incidentally, Paul also created the auto wah effect for "If", which was an electric guitar playing through 2 filters.

Paul had also worked on the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album on several songs.

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Pete, have you seen any Ghost Chickens In The Sky lately? They have no feathers you know.

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

Thanks Dean,

I thought you might know... So that's all synths, that's pretty amazing. It sure fooled me!

That must be one of the earliest examples of a synth going for a pedal-steel like sound (with half-and whole step bends together...). I had a "Beaver and Krause" instrumental album back in the day, all early Moog stuff layered, and what would probably be called "ambient music" now.

Barry Blackwood · Posted 9 Mar 2011 8:05 am

Wow - fooled me too. My take on it was that it was a guitar played with a slide. I just assumed that they wouldn't have brought in a steel player to play on a song that was supposed to be about a "guitar man."

Brandin · From: Newport Beach CA. USA

Well there ya go. LOL!

Wouldn't it have been easier just to have hired a steel player?

GB

BTW, That's a great sounding Moog, so was it a black one?

robert kramer · From: Nashville TN

Here's my guess (wrong): Jay Graydon - based on his solo on "Peg" from Steely Dan's 1977 LP "Aja."

Check out the beginning of Graydon's solo @1:43:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiXez2XNVtU

Emmett Roch · From: Texas Hill Country

Listening to the end of the notes, it does sound like a synth to me...I thought for years it was pedal steel.
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