The Steel Guitar Forum

I got my Bruce Book today.
My life and the steel guitar by Bruce Zumsteg
$15 shipped.

Bruce Zumsteg
25625 S. Brush College rd.
Harrisonville, Mo. 64701

Paul, you'll find it an inspiring read, I'm sure.

I bought a signed copy from Bruce at Dallas several years back. It is a VERY interesting read of Bruce's life and building career.

I don't feel bad for plugging Bruce's book even though he is a friend, business associate and mentor.

It is a good look at the musical experience that a great many "local players" had through the 60's through the 80's, I bet most people will find a lot of stories they can relate to.

The stories of building his business are inspiring. Most people would have quit and gone back to the workforce when faced with some of the obstacles Bruce had to overcome. But that is not how Bruce is wired, and it is not how great things are achieved. He worked his tail off building guitars and did very little else for nearly forty years.

Reading his book now for the 7th time, its like one of those movies you can watch over and over.

In his book he writes that he wished he had a dollar everytime someone who purchased a guitar would say to him, "Now I'm gonna be Zumbody" or "That's Zumsteel you have there".

So when I ordered his cd, I sent him an extra 2 dollars and wrote back those same two lines to him.lol

I got my book Monday of this week. Read it twice now. It is a good read and I can relate to a lot of it. I grew up on a farm here as Bruce did, no Electricity, no running water and the path out back to the out house. Chores to do morning, noon, and night and then farm. I built my first steel because I could not afford one, had a wife and two babies to raise. Of course I never went on to do anything close to what Bruce did with building. I Admire him and Thank him for his contribution to the steel guitar world. It had to be a very hard road. But I must say his wife had to be one in a million to support him thru all of those years. I give her a big Pat on the Back. The old saying goes something like Behind every successful man their is a Good woman. May God Bless You Both Bruce. Thanks, J.R. Rose

Wonderful book and a great steel guitar career

I just finished this book. Overall a great book. Not a long read. Mr. Bruce Zumsteg shares about his early days and interest in the Pedal Steel Guitar, how he built up his business over the years, meeting and becoming good friends with many of the great players, and a lot of other stories of interest.

Bruce has led a very interesting life thus far. I hope he has many more to go. He is a great example of having passion. Finding something you really care for and are willing to go for it, along with having the talent and the drive to keep at it.

I really enjoyed reading how things were back in Missouri during his earlier years. It seemed like a lot of good country music was around either for watching, or joining a band in need of a pedal steel player.

Many great names are mentioned in the book. I couldn’t help but wonder how they all got so good and did so without having all the good teaching material available today. Much of the earlier periods mentioned pre-dates even the Winnie Winston/Bill Keith PSG book. At the same time in these early days was a lot of development of the instrument itself. I just got the impression that the players somehow networked better back then, even without having the internet. Pretty incredible to me. Very talented players.

As an owner of a Stage One built by Doug Earnest, it was great to see how Doug got involved with ZumSteel, and how my PSG model descended from the ZumSteel line.

Is Bruce's book still available by sending a check to him?

Thanks ! I got my reply !