Pete Drake

[Jim Hoke]

I always thought the steel part on "Lay Lady Lay" was great use of the volume pedal - so steady and confident. If I wanted to listen to a bunch of Pete Drake in his natural (country) habitat, what are some good examples of his style and playing?

[Joe Krumel]

Apt. #9 Tammy W.always knocked me out. along with lay lady lay! Pete seems to get bad raps,but he played some great stuff. JMHO.

[K Maul]

He’s also on Dylan’s I’ll be your Baby Tonight and Down Along the Cove, some cuts on the old Sir Doug records and quite a few George Jones things including He Stopped Loving Her Today. There are many more of course but those spring to mind immediately.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Not really being into country music during that period, I would hear this Dylan song on pop radio. With the pedal steel so prominent, it is one of the tunes that really got me interested in wanting to actually buy a pedal steel and learn to play it.

I think it's a great example of pedal steel and stands on it's own yet today whether one is a Dylan fan or not.

I do have a cassette of Pete's work somewhere, but I don't recall what tunes are on it except maybe Forever and Sleep Walk.

[Doug Palmer]

If you listen to much 60's or 70's Nashville stuff, you'll hear a lot of Pete Drake or Lloyd Green. Those two pretty much dominated that musical era. Pete did so many recordings, it would be impossible to list them.

[Dave Mudgett]

Here are a couple of references on Pete's credits -

https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/pete-drake/credits/

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/pete-dr ... 56/credits

It wouldn't surprise me if it's easier to enumerate what Pete and Lloyd didn't play on during that 60s and 70s period, than what they did play on. I would say that, probably, my earliest exposure to country pedal steel guitar was Pete with Dylan - or possibly Tom with Buck.

[Jon Light]

There was a moment in time when some comment from Buddy Emmons seemed to give some people in the steel guitar community 'permission' to say stupid stuff about Pete Drake. Buddy gets a pass (for most anything). His bootlickers do not. Me & a friend were just talking about this -- I love Pete's playing and I care not one lick whether or not he could play faster or fancier than so and so.

[David Zornes]

I agree with you Jon.

[scott murray]

here's a few

Behind That Locked Door - George Harrison

Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You - Bob Dylan

It Keeps Slipping My Mind - Tammy Wynette

Good Lovin - Tammy Wynette

Crying Steel Guitar - Tammy Wynette

[Pete Finney]

Hey Scott,

Pete played on most of Tammy Wynette's classic records of course, but "Crying Steel Guitar," like
D-I-V-O-R-C-E, is Lloyd Green. I think you'll hear Lloyd's touch and tone if you listen again.

Great playing on a song ya just gotta love (though never a single for her I don't think).

[Pete Finney]

Early Johnny Rodriguez albums on Mercury usually feature a lot of Drake; check out "Pass Me By" and "You Always Come Back to Hurting Me" for starters. Fantastic Jerry Kennedy production with lots of twin fiddle as well as steel.

But my favorite Drake playing, and one of my favorite albums ever is "Mother Earth Presents Tracy Nelson Country" from 1969. Pete co-produced (with Scotty Moore!) and plays at the top of his game IMHO; lots of gorgeous steel and pure country production.

[Spencer Cullum]

I second the Mother Earth record by Tracey Nelson , think that is Pete’s finest work

[Doug Beaumier]

Here's an interesting "early take" recorded at the George Harrison sessions in London 1970. "Behind That Locked Door", a stripped down version, no big production as on the record. Pete enters the song about 2 minutes in. His solo starts at 2:11 and it's slightly different from the record version. Also in a different key.

--->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TZ3Hsc8kvg&t=2m11s

[Jim Hoke]

Wow - thanks for pointing me in the right direction(s). I've got a big rabbit hole to jump down. Think I'll start with that great, under-appreciated Tracy Nelson, and go from there. Interesting how the long-hairs discovered and embraced the real country music and so many open-minded cats like Lloyd, Pete, Buddy, Barefoot Jerry, etc. came to the party. Brumley with Rick Nelson and Mike Nesmith, etc. (well that was Red Rhodes, sort of a long-hair himself) The list is long and the music was often stunning. Bobby Black w/ Cody....

[Pete Finney]

There's great film footage of Tracy Nelson in the studio with Pete Drake and Scotty Moore recording that album; we used a bit of it in the "Dylan, Cash and the Nashville Cats" exhibit that ran from 2015-2018 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

I'm excited that a big part of the exhibit will be online soon as a massive interactive website which will include that film clip (and all the others we used) as well as lots of music and quite a bit about Pete, Weldon, Lloyd and Ben Keith, and lots of other musicians.

I'll post an announcement (with links) when the virtual exhibit opens.

[Jon Light]

That's fantastic news, Pete. I look forward to it!

[Tony Glassman]

Pete, I have the Tracey Nelson country album with Pete Drake on steel. His playing, though not complex, was perfect. If you get a chance, listen to the cut “Sad Situations”. It’s pure Drake tasty accompaniment.

[Tiny Olson]

One of my favorite albums is Hank Locklin's, "That's How Much I Love You" (RCA about 1967 or 1968). Pete plays some wonderful stuff on this album including a full, C6 ride on "Anytime." Lots of cool Pete Drake steel guitar on this LP and Hank sings great too..!!

If you want to hear some great Pete Drake, check this one out for sure. It will surprise some of those folks who remember only "the Pete Drake lick."

I met Pete several times in the early '80s when we cut some of Gene's records at his studio, "Pete's Place." He was super friendly. His recording career speaks for itself,,!!

[scott murray]

thanks for the correction, Pete Finney... I'm so used to Mr. Drake playing on Tammy's records that I just assumed it was him. my mistake!

there's some really great footage of Pete Drake at his steel in this video... it begins with him demonstrating Lay Lady Lay: https://youtu.be/Mjoio_QP5qM

[Josh Moss]

He played on David Allan Coe's "The Mysterious Rhinestone Cowboy" record, which is a great one.

[Dave Mudgett]

Mother Earth Presents Tracy Nelson - one of my favorite records ever. I have my original copy which I wore down to the point where I had to find a replacement. Which I did.

Pete just shines on this one. And of course, what can you say about Tracy Nelson? I was lucky enough to catch Mother Earth early on in Boston. Head turning, I say. The best of the blues and country all mixed up together.

[Ken Mizell]

I echo what everyone else says about the great Pete Drake. Bad players don’t dominate the country recording scene in Nashville as A list players, for years. Drake and Lloyd Green were at the top of the list back in the day.

I think Drake gets a bad rap because of his use of the talk box, and many don’t realize his greater accomplishments. Personally, I hate the talk box stuff, but I realize Drake is so very much more than that. After all, Drake played on George Jones “He Stopped Loving Her Today” which is said to be THE greatest country song of all time. That ain’t shabby.

[Franklin]

Jim,
Once the steel recovered from the rockabilly influence into Country music...In the 60's there was a lot of round the clock work. Tracking dates were how it was done...With multiple studios it demanded at least four primary players on each instrument to handle the bulk of the tracking calls (Then there were the spill over calls)...

Pete Drake brought the instrument back from its isolation with a commercial C6 style. That style is on Carl and Pearl Butler's "Don't let me crossover" He wrote the theme song for the start of the Opry (using that same style) in the 60's "For Pete's Sake" ...That style opened the door for artists/producers wanting a different steel sound and it ran it faded away around 3 years later.

In those 60's up steps Lloyd, Hal, and Weldon. Along with Pete, all four players dominated the 60's radio hits. Although Pete and Lloyd's playing were on some massive hits and certainly memorable within certain artists discographies like Jones and Pride, there were other players appearing as they do today. Garrish, Charlton, Emmons, etc. Lots of great stuff to fill the well.

Paul

[Ken Mizell]

Thanks for the note Paul. That is a good reminder. I didn’t intend to diminish the contributions of the other greats you mentioned. At the same time, there were some other great players on the West Coast, like Mooney, Rhodes, Brumley, and Maness, bringing their unique stylings to records.

By the way - Will there be a “Bakersfield II”. I have Bakersfield Deluxe, and it is a benchmark of excellence. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️➕

[Greg Cutshaw]

Pete Drake sings the vocal parts on his version of Color Of The Blues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3zfGLIsZK8