The Steel Guitar Forum

Did Buddy Emmons ever play other instruments beside the pedal steel guitar?

Didn't he start out on Bass Guitar?

I believe he played the guitar on "Raisin the Dickens" on the Black album !

Buddy played bass with Roger Miller for a few years.

he played the lead guitar on This Ain't The Blues with the Texas Troubadours, I believe it was Bobby Garrett on steel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs53hzRq1KY

he was Roger Miller's bass player for awhile in the early 70s

not sure if this link will work but it's Buddy playing bass behind Hal Rugg at a jam somewhere, they even trade fours a bit: https://www.facebook.com/andy.ward.5680 ... 537429359/

Didn't Buddy play Bass with the Everly Brothers as well?

How about some Dobro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXFk1v_N_ok

Buddy was a great Bass player... who'd a thunk it Seems to me his Son plays Bass too?

https://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2918383

Joaquin, Buddy, Terry Bethel, Leon Rhodes, pretty good band...

Is my memory playing tricks on me? Didn't I read that he played violin in his earliest days--before he ever seriously took up steel guitar?

Story goes...

Buddy and Jimmy Day both got fed up with bass players that couldn't follow the changes the way they wanted, so they pitched in and bought a new '57 Fender, agreeing to play bass for each other.

They went to Tootsie's and set it on the table, admiring their new mutual possession. They had a couple drinks, and one said, "I wonder which one of us is gonna put the first ding in it?" The other replied, "Not me." So, whichever one started the subject picked up his glass and BOINK, put a dent in it. Not to be outdone, the other took his glass and BOINK.

Well, continuing to drink and having a great time boinking the bass, after a while they had a pile of toothpicks that was a brand new Fender bass a couple hours before.

From 'the Archives'. . .

Check out our 'New Bass Player', haha !

Actually, I was the bass player on the gig but
Buddy and I swapped instruments for a set.



L-R: Jimmy Queen, Russ Wever, Bobby Caldwell, Buddy Emmons, Darrel McCall

Buddy played both bass AND steel on Darrell McCall's superb "Lily Dale" album, ca 1977.

Russ,
What brand of amp is that between you and Jimmy?( the beige one). Curios...

Russ, was it weird playing Buddy’s steel?

I remember Doyle Grisham saying he sat down to it once and couldn’t get it to sound right (equal temperament tuning?).

I saw him credited on playing bass on a Scotty album.

Hi Russ,

That must have been a fun night! Thanks for sharing. Stay safe.

Sorry to veer away from the topic.

Frank Freniere wrote:Russ, was it weird playing Buddy’s steel?

I remember Doyle Grisham saying he sat down to it once and couldn’t get it to sound right (equal temperament tuning?).

Buddy tuned straight up. So did Stu Basore. That's where I learned to do it.

He probably would have excelled at whatever he chose as a main instrument. Lucky for us and the world that he picked steel guitar.

At Jeffran College in Apr. of 1980, Paul F Jr. came to play for us one evening. In the house was everybody, Hal Rugg, a bunch of Nashville studio musicians.

Jeff asked Buddy if he wanted to play bass with Paul which he did. Those guys always seemed to be having such a good time.

Buddy was a great bass player!
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Kenneth, Buddy played a lot of different instruments. Check out his Half Duzin' Shuffles course. It features Buddy playing most everything. I think he played steel, guitar, and bass on it. (I think it was a drum machine).



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John, I don't think there is any electric guitar on the Black Album.
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Bob, Buddy played bass with Roger from 68-74.
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Here's Buddy playing on a typical Ernest Tubb tune where he gets called out by ET: "Do It Now



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Fred, No, only steel with the Brothers.
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Dale, Yes, Buddy's son, Larry Emmons played bass. He was with John Anderson for a number of years.
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Mitch, Yes, I do believe that's what he said. Fortunately for all of us, it didn't last very long.
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Mike, Great story! I think it's true. Jimmy played bass on Four Wheel Drive. Buddy said they slowed it down so Jimmy could keep up on the solo.



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Per, Buddy played bass on "It's My Lazy Day" on Darrell's Lily Dale" LP. Joe Osborn played most of the bass on the rest of the Buddy Emmons produced LP.
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A Buddy Bass playing story: I asked what he remembered about the Nashville Bar Association LP? The following was his answer:

"I don't remember much about the sessions except that I played bass on the primary tracks and it was the first time I met Larrie Londin. I had my bass around my neck when I walked up and introduced myself and I realized immediately that he wasn't familiar with the name so I told him I wasn't a fan of the steel guitar. We recorded all the tracks with me as the bass player and I never told him different throughout the entire series of sessions.

The next time I met Larrie was on a Johnny Bush session Ray Pennington had put together using several steel players. I was tuning my steel when he walked up and said, "I thought you didn't like the steel guitar," and I looked up and whipped off a couple of C6 licks saying, "I don't." Immediately after that I saw him walking to his drum booth shaking his head.
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You can also come and talk Buddy in my Facebook Group Buddy Emmons Fans!
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I'm glad you all still want to talk about Buddy. He was an important part of my life. I miss him each and every day.

What's the deal on this picture?

Is it simply a Photoshop job, where somebody swapped heads?

Or is it "real" and done as a gag?

I'm thinking it's real as Ray tended to wear the fanciest jacket in the Cherokee Cowboys and I'm not too sure about his bar technique. No picks?

Thanks for all the great info, Ernie.

I love the photo where Buddy's playing guitar with ET, with Bobby Garrett on steel. I think I recognize Pete Drake's Sho-Bud as the one that's on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame, originally belonging to Buddy, with "Buddie Emmons" burned into the front with a wood-burning tool, then covered with a piece of leather with Drake's name after he bought it from Buddy. I'd guess this shot was from the Opry, where what was then Drake's steel was set up for Drake to play with other artists? Or...? Would Buddy have been playing twin steels with Garrett at some point? Anyone know?

The CMHOF has had that steel displayed both ways at various times; with Drake's name on the front, and with the original wood-burned "Buddie."

Ernie
, inre; Raisin the Dickens, From back of "Black Album"!

Marty Broussard wrote:Russ,
What brand of amp is that between you and Jimmy? . .

Marty, that is a Crate Amplifier.

Bobby Caldwell, the guitarist in
the picture, played Crate Amps.

Bobby was a representative of
Saint Louis Music Supply, which
distributed Crate Amps.

~Russ

I think Buddy overdubbed a second steel part on Dickens... he did the same thing on the Kicks To Boot solo.

the photo of Ray Price sitting at Buddy's steel is legit as far as I know, don't know the circumstances