The Steel Guitar Forum

Over on FB, we've been talking about Bobbe. There are so many great non-pedal steel players - and I've been influenced by many of 'em - but Bobbe Seymour's playing holds a special place in my heart. He played steel in a number of styles but his solo playing had a unique harmonic sense with a beautiful conception for chord subs, lush turn arounds, dissonance, and all delivered with the richest, warm tone. I adored what he could do with a standard like this amazing version of "Crazy".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HDxImv7F6o

I spent a number of hours with him in person and he was such a funny raconteur of a person: fast cars, airplanes multiple wives, a million instruments; he was larger than life and there was nobody like him. Many of us have Bobbe stories. Here are a few of mine ...

The day I met Bobbe, I sat down at a Fender triple (I later bought from him and even later, sold back) and played the lamest Sweet Georgia Brown you've ever heard. Bobbe then sat down and played the most amazing version of "Georgia Brown" moving from Merle Travis style to his signature lush chords. I was astonished.

I was chatting with him in the store when pedal steel great Jimmie Crawford walked in. They kidded each other a bit and the each turned to me and praised the other’s playing in such a warm, sincere, brotherly way it was surprising. Men don't usually reveal their feelings so openly.

Another time, Bobbe told me he was “On the model’s diet” and waiting for his wife to bring him his lunch. A while later, in walks a beautiful 6ft woman in a red dress and stiletto heels: Mrs. Bobbe. She hands him his lunch - one hard boiled egg. The contrast between this balding middle aged guy with a paunch and his runway model wife was very amusing.

What a memorable character and wonderful steel player. RIP Bobbe.

Great story....enjoyed it.
Sam

What a great rendition of “crazy.” He gets so much out of that little steel. anyone know how he had it tuned? Thank you so much for sharing. i’ve heard his rendition of this song by him on pedal steel also that I thought was the best I heard.

C6/Fmaj7 (low to high) F A C E G A C E

Wow.....listening to that was definitively humbling !
He used a thumbpick- what about fingerpicks?

Bobbe sometimes played with picks, other times without. This appears to be one of those times without.

When I was coming of age in the Norfolk/Va Beach area and playing guitar in rock & roll bands,a lot of the bass players in the area were playing thru Seymour Custom speaker enclosures. They were about the size of a Fender Showman cabinet except they had cast aluminum end plates with "Seymour Custom" cast into them in vertical lettering. I heard they were made by a bass player in the area named Bobby Seymour but I never saw or met him. Many years later after I became a steel player,Leon Russell took me over to Bobbe's shop in Hendersonville one day and I realized it was the same guy. He had a serious shop accident,injured his fretting hand building those cabinets and became a steel player. I got to know him pretty well for the rest of his life. He was a great guy and scary good player right up there with the best that ever played the instrument.

He sure makes it look easy! Those are the sounds that brought me here.

Another video made of Bobbe playing
his Emmons at his store.

Bobbe Playing His Emmons

Friend to all,

C. E. Jackson