The Steel Guitar Forum

When my first CD was released, about 25 years ago, I got a lot of flack from classical musicians whose attitude was “that’s a country instrument. You can’t play classical music on it.” One lady wrote that the pedal steel guitar wasn’t even a real instrument, but more of a musical toy. Two college music professors and a well-known jazz guitarist refused to even listen to the CD. The guitarist sneered that I ”must have” played the music country style.

One of my goals was to shatter this myth that the steel is limited to country music, and to show the rest of the world outside the country music community what a beautiful and expressive instrument it is.

Today, the pedal steel guitar is finally recognized as a legitimate instrument. There is even one in the orchestra at the Nobel Prize ceremony where Patty Smith sang Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall.”

Now I don’t claim credit for this. Many players, before and after me, have taken the instrument to new places and played new and different music on it. I am but one of many steel guitarists who have gone, and are going “…where no steel guitarist has gone before.” Collectively, we have broken the “hillbilly instrument” stereotype and proved that the steel is truly a legitimate instrument.

I’m proud to have been a part of that.

OF COURSE it's a legitimate instrument! And country's at least as legitimate a genre as the(what in the Fifties was called)"race music" that some of the jazz purists fawn all over.

Stereotypes die hard. Thanks for your courage and determination to break steel guitar out of its lockbox, Mike! Hope you're recovery is going well, too, I owe you a phone call. Will ring you up soon, my friend.

Dave, you and I know that. But there is a great deal of ignorance and snobbery in the Mozart/Beethoven community, and it's been a real uphill climb to get these people to recognize it.

Back in the 60s when I was in collage, one of the professors declared that the Beatles did not have any muscat talent. They didn't sing and play the kind of music she liked, therefore they were talentless hacks. That;s the kind of closed minded arrogance that I encountered.

It's the same old story. Anything new and different is automatically suspect. I equate the people who told me that I couldn't play classical music on the steel with those who told Columbus that the world was flat, and the Wright brothers that it was not possible to build a machine that could fly.

I was drawn to music when I was younger because I thought closemindedness was antithetical to being a musician. I learned quickly that that wasn't the case.

Kudos to you Mike, I got to meet you many years ago at the PSGA show in Norwalk CT, and thought you were great. I appreciate your posts and incite.

Musical taste is a non issue, I played an older rap song for my daughter who loves rap and she said it was boring and weird. Most people do not have an open mind to different music, and that OK, but it's they're loss.

Thank you for plowing the field, removing the rocks and making the musical soil grow great things

I'm afraid there are as many steel guitar players and enthusiasts that would stifle the steel guitar playing classical music as there are classical players of other instruments who would stifle it.

The steel community at large is very narrow minded and protective of it being played in any style other than country. In some ways, we are our own worst enemy. I recall, when I first started, Tom Bradshaw lamenting this and urging players to please open up their minds. I still don't see that happening very much.

I see your battle as having been uphill from both aspects and I respect and admire you for your vision and tenacity to plow through it all .... and applaud you for your body of work in the classical realm.

Preach in’ to the choir here Mike, but every thing you said is right on. Thanks for all of the great music you’ve shared with us.

Jerry, what you say WAS true, and probably still is to an extent. But today we are seeing a lot of players like Travis Toy and Hal Merrill who are pushing the envelope.

Undoubtedly there are those who are only interested in country music, but I believe that the steel will continue to grow, and that new players will continue to take it to new places and play new music. Susan Alcorn and Robert Randolph are both prime examples.

I remain hopeful for a wider range of acceptance Mike.

Those people that gave you flack are undoubtedly related to the ones who hounded Copernicus and handed the hemlock to Socrates! Guitarists had problems getting guitar accepted as a legitimate “Classical” instrument and lets not even think about John Sebastian Sr and his harmonica!! I don’t read music but I play all kinds of styles on my steels and I applaud your advances.

Lets everybody compile a list of steel guitar CDs that are not country.

Jere are some:

Home James, Jim Cohen.
Play by Play, Pail Franklin (LP only)
Story, Hall Merrill. (which I highly recommend.)
Errands in Paradise, Ned Self. (ditto)
All of Joe Goldnark's CDs.
Transparent Music, B.J. Cole

If you can find a copy, Classical Steel Guitar, Marshall Hall (LP only)

There are many others. Please add to this list.

Mike, I was going to add "Classical Steel Guitar, Marshall Hall (LP only)" to your list but you already had it listed!! I bought this LP many years ago from Tom Bradshaw since I was raised on classical music. Steel shouldn't be limited to country music!!

Mike Perlowin wrote:Dave, you and I know that. But there is a great deal of ignorance and snobbery in the Mozart/Beethoven community, and it's been a real uphill climb to get these people to recognize it.

Back in the 60s when I was in collage, one of the professors declared that the Beatles did not have any muscat talent. They didn't sing and play the kind of music she liked, therefore they were talentless hacks. That;s the kind of closed minded arrogance that I encountered.

It's the same old story. Anything new and different is automatically suspect. I equate the people who told me that I couldn't play classical music on the steel with those who told Columbus that the world was flat, and the Wright brothers that it was not possible to build a machine that could fly.

Well, people do form their preferences during late adolescence and young adulthood, when their generation is changing all the rules, and just about the time they've gotten "the rules" the way they want them,along comes a new generation, hell-bent on.... changing all the rules!

Mike Perlowin wrote:Dave, you and I know that. But there is a great deal of ignorance and snobbery in the Mozart/Beethoven community, and it's been a real uphill climb to get these people to recognize it.

Back in the 60s when I was in collage, one of the professors declared that the Beatles did not have any muscat talent. They didn't sing and play the kind of music she liked, therefore they were talentless hacks. That;s the kind of closed minded arrogance that I encountered.

It's the same old story. Anything new and different is automatically suspect. I equate the people who told me that I couldn't play classical music on the steel with those who told Columbus that the world was flat, and the Wright brothers that it was not possible to build a machine that could fly.

Well, people do form their preferences during late adolescence and young adulthood, when their generation is changing all the rules, and just about the time they've gotten "the rules" the way they want them,along comes a new generation, hell-bent on.... changing all the rules!

Mike Perlowin wrote:Lets everybody compile a list of steel guitar CDs that are not country.

Jere are some:

Home James, Jim Cohen.
Play by Play, Pail Franklin (LP only)
Story, Hall Merrill. (which I highly recommend.)
Errands in Paradise, Ned Self. (ditto)
All of Joe Goldnark's CDs.
Transparent Music, B.J. Cole

If you can find a copy, Classical Steel Guitar, Marshall Hall (LP only)

There are many others. Please add to this list.

The Steel Guitar Of Bobby Black - BB
Crisis At The Theme Park - Dave Ristrim

Also, Honkey Cat, Bobby Black (lp only)
Rock of Ages and Renascence, Mike Daly
Greetings from California, Peter Grant

Chris Templeton- The Tapper

Bruce Kaphan - Slider ... this cut is one of my favs from that record.

https://youtu.be/FWfr9YroYwI

... If you're not familiar with Bruce Kaphan, hit YouTube and go nuts. Check out this version of Birdland.

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

I aspire to play classical stuff like Mike but the band I'm in keeps me busy learning soul, jazz, disco, reggae, blues, latin so I don't seem to find time.
No country in that list, although we do a version of Purple Rain where I do some emotional E9 stuff to get it out of my system

Not to mention the multitude of time the BIG E stepped away from country to show the versatility of this amazing instrument.

I would like to say I appreciate all the work done by so many to expand the scope of the instrument. I like many types of music and find it comical that the "purists" always decry every other type of music. One of the most humorous examples I have encountered was something I read years ago by Chet Atkins about the rudeness of Segovia because Chet used a thumbpick and played material that couldn't properly be labeled "music".

Speaking of Segovia....



I wonder if he had a problem with feedback.

That's funny. But then again, so is bias against a "Country" instrument coming from people whose orchestra's are chock full of Fiddles...

I love the line in Ricky Nelson's Garden Party. He sings "You can't please everyone, so you have to please yourself." The people who don't care for our music, are not the ones we are playing for.
I've loved pure Country music since I was a little boy, but I also listened to Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Cab Calloway, and even Alvino Ray. Many movies had fantastic Jazz bands in the 40s and 50s. How about Spike Jones. I never really got to listen to much classical music, but it is not something I would put down just because I'm not familiar with it.