The Steel Guitar Forum

I'm record copying my favorite Hank Williams tunes on lap steel and I've been trying to find out(with no luck) which songs feature Jerry byrd's C6th work on them? Hello Andy, saw your great story on JB on Brads Page of Steel! I get to start working on JB's instructional course on Xmas day...!

Two that come to mind are Honky Tonkin' and I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry.

According to discography I have:
Rootie Tootie, I Can't Get You off My Mind, I'm a Long Gone Daddy, Honkey Tonkin', My Sweet Love Ain't Around, The Blues Come Around, A Mansion On the Hill, I'll Be a Bachelor till I Die, Lost on the River, There'll be No Teardrops Tonight, I Heard Mother Praying for Me, Lovesick Blues, I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry, A House without Love, I just Don't Like this Kind of Livin', My Buckets Got a Hole in It.
You can usually tell the lower pitched C6 based sound as compared to the later E6, higher pitched sound of Don Helms.

Basically, all Hank songs recorded from 1950 until Hank's last session in September, 1952 utilized Don Helms on steel. Examples of those songs are Cold, Cold Heart, Hey Good Lookin', Your Cheatin' Heart, Long Gone Lonesome Blues, Lonesome Whistle, Honky Tonk Blues, You Win Again, Moanin' the Blues, Baby We're Really In Love, Why Don't You Love Me, Jambalaya, Kaw Liga and many others.

Songs recorded before 1950 utilized a number of different steel players. Jerry Byrd played on Mansion on the Hill, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, My Buckets Got a Hole in It, A House Without Love, I Just Don't Like this Kind of Livin', Lovesick Blues, There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight, Honky Tonkin', My Sweet Love Ain't Around and others.

If you let me know which songs you are interested in, I can let you know which steel player played on them.

Man, I love this place! I've learned Honky Tonkin, didn't know "I'm so lonesome I could cry" was Jerry byrd. What a great song. If any of you could list any songs JB did with Hank that haven't already been listed, "if there are any more" that would be great. Thanks alot!!! <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 22 December 2002 at 04:51 PM.]</p></FONT>

There's a CD on ASV LTD.(www.asv.co.uk)titled "Lovesick Blues" that contains 11 cuts with Jerry. Shouldn't be to hard to find.

David Morgan wrote:According to discography I have:
Rootie Tootie, I Can't Get You off My Mind, I'm a Long Gone Daddy, Honkey Tonkin', My Sweet Love Ain't Around, The Blues Come Around, A Mansion On the Hill, I'll Be a Bachelor till I Die, Lost on the River, There'll be No Teardrops Tonight, I Heard Mother Praying for Me, Lovesick Blues, I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry, A House without Love, I just Don't Like this Kind of Livin', My Buckets Got a Hole in It.
You can usually tell the lower pitched C6 based sound as compared to the later E6, higher pitched sound of Don Helms.

Is there a recording of "Mansion on the Hill" by Hank Williams with Don Helms? On the original it´s Jerry Byrd playing, the song is in the key of A. In Don Helm´s çourse he plays it in E, acording to his E13th tuning. I would be interested in listing to a version of the song with Don Helms singing Hank Williams. I only found a solo by Don Helms on YouTube.

There are transcriptions with Don Helms playing Mansion released recently for the Hank Williams box set Pictures from Life’s Other Side. You can also hear it on Spotify.

You can tell Jerry from miles away. His tone is distinctive. Easy to tell if it's Jerry or someone trying to sound like him. All you gotta do is listen. Hes the greatest steel player that ever lived!

Thanks Brett for the hint. Definetly it is diferent from the original version. I just wonder if DH plays it with his high pitch E13 tuning or if he plays it with a C6 or another.
Andy, at this moment I am still not able to distiguish between JB and DH accompanion Hank just by hearing. I am a bloody beginner on steel guitar and the Don Helms course is a wonderful lesson to start playing steel. I really enjoy it and making progress each day. I surely will continue listening to Jerry Bird as he is the link between Hawaiian and Country music. I have two steel guitars, one 6 string for the DH course (G#EC#BG#E) and anothe one, a 8 string on C6 with the high G (learning with Cindy Cashdollars DVD course).

Frank Leppert wrote:Thanks Brett for the hint. Definetly it is diferent from the original version. I just wonder if DH plays it with his high pitch E13 tuning or if he plays it with a C6 or another.
Andy, at this moment I am still not able to distiguish between JB and DH accompanion Hank just by hearing. I am a bloody beginner on steel guitar and the Don Helms course is a wonderful lesson to start playing steel. I really enjoy it and making progress each day. I surely will continue listening to Jerry Bird as he is the link between Hawaiian and Country music. I have two steel guitars, one 6 string for the DH course (G#EC#BG#E) and anothe one, a 8 string on C6 with the high G (learning with Cindy Cashdollars DVD course).

Don't forget that the top 6 strings of Don's E13 with the high G is exactly the same as C6 with high E but moved up 3 semitones so anything you learn on one can be played on the other just by playing everything 3 frets higher or lower.

Don would certainly have played "Mansion" (and just about everything else) on his E13 neck as that is mostly what he used fo everything. He sometimes used the other necks for fills here and there but the top 6 strings of his E13 is where he spent most of his time.

Sure, I am aware of this fact. I use E13 (basically a E6 on my 6 string lap steel) for getting the high pitch. The songs on the DH course are basically in the key of D and E like "Mansion on the Hill". But when I was trying to play on the original version of HW (in the key of A) I got problems with the lower notes on the 5th fret. So it was easier to play it with the C6 tuning.

As far as I know Don didn’t use C6 with Hank. He used a form of B11a little bit for fills and though he barely touched his E13 strings 7+8 he had a straight A chord on those bottom strings. If you get a couple Jerry Byrd records it won’t be long before you are able to distinguish Jerry from Don.

Jeff Mead wrote:Don't forget that the top 6 strings of Don's E13 with the high G is exactly the same as C6 with high E but moved up 3 semitones so anything you learn on one can be played on the other just by playing everything 3 frets higher or lower.

It's a high G#, 4 semitones higher than Jerry Byrd's C6th. The difference between the tunings is 4 frets.

Some people call Don Helms' tuning "E13th" because the first 6 strings are the same as the Little Roy Wiggins tuning, but a true E13th would have a low D in it. Don's tuning was actually E6th over an A bass.