The Steel Guitar Forum

What songs did Pete Drake play back up on?I am trying to build a list of his well known hits.Thanks

Andy, That would take up too much time and hard drive space to list all of the songs he played on. Let's put it this way, Pete along with Lloyd Green is one of the MOST recorded steel players of all time. He recorded with everyone from Bill Anderson to Bob Dylan. Alot of years and alot of records. Mike

Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay"
George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord"
Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man"
Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors"
George Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Kenny Rogers' "Lucille"


At least these are the ones listed on the PETE DRAKE CD album jacket.

Andy, here are a few, others can add to the list

• Rose Garden (Lynn Anderson)

• 1959 (John Anderson)

• Pass Me By (Johnny Rodriguez)

• Blanket On The Ground (Billy Jo Spears)

• What I Had In Mind ( is makin love to you)(Billy Jo Spears

• Stand By Your Man(Tammy Wynette)

• The Most Beautiful Girl (Charlie Rich)

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 26 October 2001 at 02:34 PM.]</p></FONT>

Musn't forget Gary Stewart's No. 1 hit..."She's Actin' Single (I'm Drinkin' Double)". That song showed what you could do with 2 strings, 1 pedal...and a little imagination!

Please let's don't post the url to AMG let's have fun with this thread!!

She Just Started Liking Cheatin' Songs - John Anderson

Same Ole Me - George Jones

Someone else claims to have played that GS song. I'll recheck that.

There Is two Pete Drakes. The one playing "She's Acting Single" on a straight E9th tuning, and the one who played on a tape I have "The Sensational Red Sovine" (1976) Starday King Inc label, where he uses his own tuning and pedal setup on the C6th neck. He also used this tuning on a lot of his first recording sessions with Tammy, Willie and a lot of others. Once you hear that sound, you don't forget It. I also have a Willie Nelson CD,"Willie Nelson All Time Greatest Hits Vol 1", which has 20 of his early songs when he sang the way I liked willie's singing. (said he was influenced by Floyd Tillman). Pete plays on most of them also.

I didn't know he played anything but his C6th style until I asked who played steel on Lefty's song, "How Far Down Can I Go". I was really suprised to find out It was Pete, on the E9th neck.

He puts on a program of his own on the Red Sovine Tape.

Bob Carlson.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Carlson on 26 October 2001 at 05:01 PM.]</p></FONT>

Mr. Drake also recorded under the name Dean Dallas according to Tom Bradshaw. I have a that record and I asked Tom who Dean Dallas was and that was what he told me.
Doyle

Are you sure it was PD on She's Acting Single? Is that his vibrato in the chorus? That would be a clue. There's a reason i'm asking this.

I've always been told that Weldon did Gary's session work.

What about Tammy's D-I-V-O-R-C-E. Was it Pete Drake or Lloyd Green?

DEFINITELY,Lloyd. Reason: Pete was booked,the day they wanted to do the session. It's the first commercial record Lloyd used the "E" to "F" knee lever on.

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<SMALL>I've always been told that Weldon did Gary's session work.</SMALL>

the steel players listed on the Gary Stewart album are PETE DRAKE, JOHN R. HUGHEY and WELDON MYRICK

Pete Drake's sound on C-6th was rather unique. Does anyone have Pete's C-6th setup?

Roger

Indeed, Weldon lists that song on his web site as one he played on. On one of the choruses when he sings "My heart is breaking..." there is a vibrato that sounds too fast for Pete Drake. I'm going from memory i haven't owned that album in 10 years... hmmm Ten Years Of This - The beginning of that song has the same vibrato i speak of in the former. That could be a clue. I think Backslider's Wine sounds like it might be John Hughey.

Tanya Tucker's " That Georgia Sun Is Blood
Red and Goin' Down "
On the ending Pete realy does make the sun go down.

The strange thing is: when Pete did a backup he sounded great, but his solo albums sound very thin, I don't really like those.
His talkin'n steel is a nice gadget, but after one or two songs I wished he had lost his voice.

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Steelin' Greetings
Marco Schouten
Sho-Bud Pro III Custom

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Marco Schouten on 27 October 2001 at 04:09 PM.]</p></FONT>

IMHO, Pete's playing on the Kitty Well's song
Password is the best use of his C6th pattern in a slow song. It was entirely unique and I know of no one who used it better. I still use his run to this day and it fits in a lot of places.

Regards, Paul

Paul,
you are so right. I've never heard anyone copy any part of Pete's C6th setup. But back In those days everyone had there own sound to an extent. Everyone tried to have a band that sounded differant.

And when we played, we tryed to sound just like the record.

Bob Carlson.
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Carlson on 27 October 2001 at 11:06 PM.]</p></FONT>

Pete's C6th wasn't unique, but he was. Ninety-nine percent of what he did on the C6th can be done on any standard C6th with the high "G". (He only had one different note on one pedal.) And Paul, you're right...that was the Pete Drake lick and sound. He also used it quite well on Red Sovine's song Brand New Low.

Donny,
He only had one differant note on one pedal!

Does that not make It his own tuning and pedal setup? He also only had 6 floors and 2 knees for both necks. That's not unique?

I just went through Winnie's Book, and I don't see anyone else with a setup like Pete had, so I'm going to keep refering to It as pete Drake's setup and sound.

Bob Carlson.

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Bob Carlson on 28 October 2001 at 11:05 AM.]</p></FONT>

28. October 2001,
In 1966 I heard Pete Drake for the first time on record. He started with a classic
intro playing "E9th style on C6". The song
contained these words "..make me realize.."
Pete made fills out of the intro lick.
What was the name of the song?
All the best,
Henning
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Henning K. Music
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DK-8300 Odder
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This will not be easy for me to write properly. On the 11th of this month I felt compelled to write something about Bob White and how he showed me the way to Pedal Steel Guitar. The very same pedals I described in that post are the ones used by Pete to get his sound. They are also the same ones I use to this day.

It's sad for me to note that in Extended Family, there is information on Bob that isn't really good news at all.

Perhaps it is note worthy that all of us here are really talking about Bob White's contributions to the Pedal Steel Guitar. I will leave it at that so as not to detract from the meaning of what we are writing.

Regards, Paul

Note to Bob Carlson...when Bob Shackelton asked the question...

<SMALL>Pete Drake's sound on C-6th was rather unique. Does anyone have Pete's C-6th setup?</SMALL>

...my answer was intended to inform people that Dete didn't have anything unique (except for one note on one pedal that no one else uses) that gave him his C6th sound. Some beginning players might think that he got that sound by having lots of different or non-standard changes, or maybe even a different basic tuning...not so. Pete's trademark "style" can be played on the standard C6th. That's all I was trying to say.

Having more or less pedals, or having them arranged a little differently, doesn't affect a player's style. Pete was unique, but it wasn't because of his guitar! <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 28 October 2001 at 05:46 PM.]</p></FONT>