The Steel Guitar Forum

Spent a few minutes trying to figure out the intro to Merle Haggard "If We're not Back in Love by Monday" (studio version). Going a little crazy trying it.

Are there two steels doing this?

Sorry-just put headphones on and it is clearly two steels playing together.

Should have listened that way before posting.

During the 70s, it became popular for players to "stack" parts in the recording studio. Some of the first I remember hearing that did this of the top studio steel guys were Weldon and Lloyd. There were other great players who did this as well.

Sonny Garrish was an absolute master at doing this. I've witnessed him doing so... so accurate, quick and almost always in just one additional take. Time is money in the studio... Sonny's ability meant there was no money wasted. Producers LOVE that..!!

On the Haggard song you mention, Norm Hamlet did the stacked parts. He did an awesome job. I always liked that cut.

Stacking parts means that the player does their initial part, then goes back and stacks a second part on an additional track. Sometimes we play the same exact part on the second track, sometimes a harmony type part. When listening to the final product, the listener hears two steel guitar parts. It's cool.

On a Commander Cody album I did about 12 years back, at the end of my solo on "Seeds & Stems" I did a harmonic slide UP 5 frets to resolve from the "5" chord back to the "1" chord. Then I stacked another harmonic slide DOWN 5 frets on top of the slide up. Someone asked me later after hearing the recording, how in the world I could slide up and down 5 frets at the same time. I told them I cheated... then explained it in earnest.

A band I was in back in 1983 won one of those national battle of the bands and was one of 7 final contestants for the final competition at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville. The prizes for winning the area finals to get to Nashville were a week in Nashville, plane tickets, and getting to record a '45' record in a Nashville recording studio.

So, there we were in the studio. We finished one song and the producer or engineer asked me if I could play my intro, turnaround, and ending exactly the same way again. I said sure because I play it the same way every night live. I thought I had messed something up. A few minutes after another take, they played the song back, first with the original take, then with the new take, then with both takes at the same time. They finally told me they thought it would sound good being double tracked. They explained the theory and concept of double tracking and had worked with Sonny Garrish several times. I double tracked on some sessions I had after coming back from Nashville. It's a cool tool. After coming back from Nashville, I set up an effect unit that had a "doubling" effect for use on that song (probably others too).

I believe Norm also used a phase shifter on that cut...

That track is one of maybe a couple of tracks that Norm played on
on the"Ramblin'Fever"album...

Buddy Emmons played on the majority of the cuts on that album, along with
Grady Martin and other members of the"A Team"...

I once worked for a cat who thought that"The Strangers"played on EVERY record
Hag ever cut...

I didn't tell him any different-why bust his bubble?

SH

yes a lot of people assume it was Roy Nichols on every Hag record when it was actually James Burton or someone else. they also assume it's Don Rich singing harmony on every Buck record.

I noticed recently that on one of my favorite cuts, Pearl of the Quarter by Steely Dan, Skunk Baxter played 2 separate parts that I always assumed was just one.

scott murray wrote:yes a lot of people assume it was Roy Nichols on every Hag record when it was actually James Burton or someone else. they also assume it's Don Rich singing harmony on every Buck record.

I noticed recently that on one of my favorite cuts, Pearl of the Quarter by Steely Dan, Skunk Baxter played 2 separate parts that I always assumed was just one.

Reggie Young and Grady Martin played guitar on a ton of Hag records...also Phil Baugh,Clint Strong,Dave Kirby,Red Lane,even Jerry Reed showed up on one...maybe"Okie From Muskogee"or"Fightin'Side"?

The only Buck single that Rich sang on was maybe"Open Up Your Heart"...which incidentally,James Burton played on...Willie Cantu told me that JB stood in a chair in the studio and played the solo!

SH

Steve... now that you mention it, I think you may be right about Norm using a phase shifter. I haven't listened to that cut in many years but I hear the shifter in my head now that you've reminded me about it. But I hear many things in my head..!!?? I do remember that Buddy Emmons played on most of that album.

Hope you're well man !!!

Steve I heard that story about Burton too, and that Buck got so wound up in the way Burton was playing he got to yelling and Burton had to do it over.

There's a fair bit of double-tracking by Al Perkins on some Manassas songs. Not sure I approve, because it means you can't emulate it live

Yeah, Steve, you are right (as usual). Jerry Reed overdubbed guitar on the original studio single version of "Okie;" they brought it to Nashville to cut his part after doing the rest in Hollywood with many of the usual suspects.

The "Live in Muskogee" version ended up being the one most people remember, I think, and even replaced the original for a lot of the radio airplay.

That solo on "Open Up Your Heart" is one of my favorites. Knew it was Burton of course, but never heard that story.

Steve Hinson wrote:

scott murray wrote:yes a lot of people assume it was Roy Nichols on every Hag record when it was actually James Burton or someone else. they also assume it's Don Rich singing harmony on every Buck record.

I noticed recently that on one of my favorite cuts, Pearl of the Quarter by Steely Dan, Skunk Baxter played 2 separate parts that I always assumed was just one.

Reggie Young and Grady Martin played guitar on a ton of Hag records...also Phil Baugh,Clint Strong,Dave Kirby,Red Lane,even Jerry Reed showed up on one...maybe"Okie From Muskogee"or"Fightin'Side"?

The only Buck single that Rich sang on was maybe"Open Up Your Heart"...which incidentally,James Burton played on...Willie Cantu told me that JB stood in a chair in the studio and played the solo!

SH

I heard Greg Galbraith played the solo on “You Take Me For Granted”, one of my favorites.

Bill Cunningham wrote:

Steve Hinson wrote:

scott murray wrote:yes a lot of people assume it was Roy Nichols on every Hag record when it was actually James Burton or someone else. they also assume it's Don Rich singing harmony on every Buck record.

I noticed recently that on one of my favorite cuts, Pearl of the Quarter by Steely Dan, Skunk Baxter played 2 separate parts that I always assumed was just one.

Reggie Young and Grady Martin played guitar on a ton of Hag records...also Phil Baugh,Clint Strong,Dave Kirby,Red Lane,even Jerry Reed showed up on one...maybe"Okie From Muskogee"or"Fightin'Side"?

The only Buck single that Rich sang on was maybe"Open Up Your Heart"...which incidentally,James Burton played on...Willie Cantu told me that JB stood in a chair in the studio and played the solo!

SH

I heard Greg Galbraith played the solo on “You Take Me For Granted”, one of my favorites.

That's right!How could I have forgotten my electric gtr hero?That is a wonderful solo!

I'm sure I've forgotten some others, too!

SH

Norm said that it was indeed him playing both steel parts on "If We're not Back in Love by Monday"...

Hmmm... I never noticed the doubling...Guess I'm not very good at listening.

An observation concerning this tune, almost everybody I have ever played with plays this song way too fast. It's pretty slow, actually under 80 bpm.

I guess they're thinking December which is often confused with this one.

Speaking of Emmons recording with Hag. To me, this is IT. Hag at one of his many peaks. Written by Chuck Howard. Listen close for Buddy Emmons joining the ensemble on pedal steel guitar. I wonder who mixed this??? Cut at Fireside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBnYUPNh8w

robert kramer wrote:Speaking of Emmons recording with Hag. To me, this is IT. Hag at one of his many peaks. Written by Chuck Howard. Listen close for Buddy Emmons joining the ensemble on pedal steel guitar. I wonder who mixed this??? Cut at Fireside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBnYUPNh8w

Listening with iPhone buds. I need to put this on a quality system and hear it again. Wow!

SO MUCH good stuff going on in there! Johnny Gimble and his favorite Nashville steel player (he told me so in a long one-on-one chat in a dressing room). And the layering of the rhythm guitars is so cool. A lone harmonica fill near the end. And more......

Thanks for sharing that one Bob.

robert kramer wrote:Speaking of Emmons recording with Hag. To me, this is IT. Hag at one of his many peaks. Written by Chuck Howard. Listen close for Buddy Emmons joining the ensemble on pedal steel guitar. I wonder who mixed this??? Cut at Fireside.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsBnYUPNh8w

This is all I could dig up re:the mixing of this album...

Mastered By – Larry Boden
Producer – Fuzzy Owen, Hank Cochran
Recorded By – Tom Pick
Remix – Hugh Davis*

Actually his name is"Davies"and he mixed everybody from Sinatra to Gram Parsons...

The tracking engineer was Tom Pick,who was the cat at Fireside,and later worked at Merit Studios,where I had the honor of working with him many times.

SH