The Steel Guitar Forum

For me it had to be "Hums Of The Lovin' Spoonful" in 1966, which featured John Sebastian playing an old Fender on "Nashville Cats." Awesome record that I still listen to often.

Not sure I can remember the first album on which I heard a pedal steel but the earliest I remember is Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald which PeeWee Charles played on.
First album I bought with a steel on it may have been Neil Young's Harvest - Ben Keith on that.
The album that made me want to play pedal steel was Son Volt's first album "Trace". Eric Heywood played on that.
If you want to hear my version of great pedal steel give the Son Volt songs "Creosote" and "Left a Slide" a listen. Creosote is more traditional. Left a Slide is not.
There's a live version of Left a Slide from Austin City Limits on Youtube that really has Heywood's steel out in front and it's awesome.

An RCA album of Porter Wagner in the mid 60's with Pete Drake playing steel.

Judy Collins - Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

From The Inside (Poco, 1971). My older brothers had their first two albums, so I was already aware of Rusty Young.

I remember it well, it was this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEaUl9M90wg

Interestingly enough, this 1957 cut (featuring Don Warden) was made with the very first Sho~Bud guitar ever built!

My first album with steel guitar was "Happy Steel Guitar" on cassette (GRT Records). Although there were no credits regarding the musicians, Bobby Seymour told me personally that he was the steel player. He also added that he was not pleased with the final recordings, so he didn't mind that he didn't receive credit for his performance.
The album that inspired me to take up steel guitar was George Jones "Hits I missed" with Paul Franklin on steel. I was smitten. Paul has such a wonderful touch and keeps it simple and clean. Great album with killer production.

Nashville Skyline, Dylan & Cash 1969

Sweetheart of the Rodeo by the Byrds!
That did it for me.

The "Hums Of The Lovin Spoonful" too.

John Denver, Rocky Mountain High.I was 5 or 6 when I heard that sound.

Slowly, by Webb Pierce featuring Bud Isaacs on his Bigsby pedal steel guitar. It pushed pedal steel forward many years, thank God.

1973,4. I bought 3,4 LP's in the area of country rock about the same time. Can't remember for sure, but I think it was Last of the Red Hot Burritos LP.

In terms of pedal steel, definitely - Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful. Summer in the City of Boston, 1966. Great, great record; still have it and play it.

The First Texas Troubadours instrumental album, in fact I've still got it.

Edgar Winter - They Only Come Out At Night

Rick Derringer on pedal steel:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hz5PYxEHb6o

Rick Schacter wrote:Edgar Winter - They Only Come Out At Night

Rick Derringer on pedal steel:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hz5PYxEHb6o

Never heard this before, and I am just laughing because the Frankenstein band of 1972 sounds like country radio wants to be today. Mr. Derringer’s steel is pretty good on it.

First one I bought was Led Zeppelin 3, not that I even had a clue what a pedal steel was back then. My older brother had earlier bought LZ 1.

The same as Jerry Overstreet - "Last of the Red Hot Burritos"

The fall of 1955 I purchased a 78rpm by Bud Issacs. If I remember correctly, the side I was most interested in was Skokian sp?
Regards, Jay Thompson

I'd say it was Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful for me, too--although at the time, having had no exposure to full-fledged Country music, I thought the chord bends on "Nashville Cats" were done on standard electric with some sort of mechanical device (I had no clue about pedal steel and had never heard of Bigsby Palm Pedals, if they even existed then). The first one that I knew had pedal steel was Earth Music by the Youngbloods.

Neil Young: Harvest

Ok, don't laugh, Closing The Gap by Michael Parks, the Then Came Bronson guy. I bought it because James Burton was on it. I belive Cal Hand played the steel. It must have been an old Fender. He made it whine and cry, and I said "what the hell is that thing?"

“The Best of Charley Pride” is the very first album/LP I bought to play on my new console stereo back in ‘72. Two years later I bought my first pedal steel and to this very day, still trying to play this contraption!

Tracy Nelson Sings Country with Pete Drake.