The Steel Guitar Forum

A few years ago I bought Tommy's cassette,
"Not Rocket Science." He is quite talented since he wrote most of the songs on this recording.
I believe he was playing for Ricky Van Shelton at one time. Is he still playing with a band on the road?

Roger

I believe he's still with RVS. He just got a Marrs Conversion Sho-Bud back from Duane a month or so ago. You may see him playing something other than the Emmons p/p now.

I just saw Tommy last week playing down on Broadway with a great swing band. He still plays with RVS. One of the all time mind blowers was watching Tommy play Orange Blossom Special with the side of Ricky Van Shelton's boot. Tommy is a monster player. I want to hear him on that new Duane Marrs Sho-Bud!

For some vintage Tommy Hannum, he started out with the Rosslyn Mountain Boys based in the Arlington,Va. area......in the mid 70's.

They made two albums LPs....one album was just called "The Rosslyn Mountain Boys" produced by Adelphi Records, Silver Spring, Maryland and the other album was called "Lone Outsider" produced by Schizophonic records , Springfield, Virginia. Good luck in getting these albums.

Tommy also guested on Last Train Home's re-make of a Roslyn Mountain Boys tune "Been A While" for the Americana Motel CD a few years back. Recreating / updating his parts on the original work. Mighty Fine!

We were both wheaton MD boys, steel guitar "class of '72"...

Dave, are you playing the Rochester May 14th date? Will you be bringing your ZB? I'll take a ride over from Buffalo.

Tommy was one of the first people I met when I moved to Nashville in 1987. He is truly a great player and a great guy. I saw him playing on Broadway last year with a band that did a lot of swing stuff. He played at a bar on Broadway called Wolfies for quite awhile with Buddy Spicher, mainly playing a double 8 string non pedal guitar. I believe he played on a Mary Chapin Carpenter tune in the late eighties or early nineties, but I can't remember the name of the tune. Last I heard he is still playing with Ricky Van Shelton.

Hey Bob,
That was mary Chapin's first hit called "How Do?" which was an up tempo thing. We had RVS here in Virginia at the Chesapeake Jubilee some years back at the height of RVS's popularity and I got to meet Tommy backstage and he's a nice guy for sure. That was the first time I'd seen a band with no amplifiers on stage. They were all into the board and sounded great. I guess I'm old school though as I'm a knob tweaker so it probably wouldn't work for me.

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

I had the pleasure of doing a gig with him within the last few months. He was in town to visit his mother and just popped by a bar I was playing in. He introduced himself and I said, "what a shame you don't have your steel with you." He replied, "oh, I got it out back in my truck." I ran out to the parking lot and brought it in for him!! He sat in for the last two sets of the evening and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Woo doggy that boy can pick!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like the good ole days. Tommy took me to a bar one night like that Chris. What a time too. I met my dream girl that night... a 13 string! Finally hooked up with her last October.

Tommy has another CD called "Chesapeake Blues" that is excellent too! I believe he wrote (or co-wrote) most of that material, as well. Ricky Van appears with Tommy on a duet too! Good bang for the buck!

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PedalSteel.us Magazine

TheEarlyDays.com

and appearing regularly...aLotOfSpace.com
Jimmy Crawford/Russ Hicks... and Buddy Emmons on Bass!

Nice guy too, I hope he misses his mom!!

Tommy Hannum was a big influence on me way back in the late seventies. He was a member of the "Charleton Fraternity" that also included Bruce Bouton, Pete Finney, Bucky Baxter, Jay Jessup, and myself. I used to go hear the Rosslyn Mountain Boys at the Mineshaft In Charlottesville, Va. and wonder if I would ever get to the level he was on. Don't think I made it, but I'm still chipping away! All those guys had too big of a head start on me! I have that RMB's album I bought way back then....Tommy was also one of the few steel players I know of who used a Steelrider to great benefit in a live context.

Wow, I didn't realize he was that old. Man, he's aged well, I thought he was about my age. But at least I feel better knowing that he's been playing that long, he's got some scary chops in his bag.

Tommy's resume includes but not limited to, occupying the steel seat as a Shilo Playboy.

Hey Gary, you took the words right out of my mouth...I was gonna say I remembered him with Oscar Shields; the band where if your pant size is 32/34 waist, you got the gig
Didn't matter what or how you played, long as those black slacks fit. As I recall, Tommy never did wear them, and found himself in hot water for daring to play his lead for "Help Me Make It Through The Night" on C6. He was from MARS back then and still is, and I treasure his friendship. Where was his name on the "Lesser Known Greats" - did I miss it? Check each year around New Year's...sometimes they do Rosslyn Mtn. Boys Reunion gigs, but you gotta keep your ear to the ground -- they're last minute contingent on everyone being able to get together.

Oscar made sure everyone would wear a band shirt by keeping the shirts in his van. After a while, his van smelled like gym locker, not everyone came to work with a fresh application of B O spray. I refused to wear a shirt that was previously worn by his drummer, it was nasty! Yep, Oscar never cleaned the shirts and he wouldn't allow anyone to take them home. After a year or so he had a huge collection of nasty shirts. I wonder what happened to his file drawer that housed 900 songs on 3 by 5 index cards.
Gary Lee

INDEX CARDS!!!! CHEATER!!!! Look on the bright side Gary, when ya work with me you can show up in a diaper for all I care!

Bad news Gary...I know who has the 900 cards and he still gets jobs...no talent is needed; just be able to read us a song...
:-0
Yours,
Jo

Tommy Hannum was in DC last year to visit his Mom and came to the Steelin for the hearts Jam, it was like old home week. I got to buy him lunch to thank him for his kindness many years ago when I got booted out of the house I was living in and he had an extra room in his house in Falls Gulch where I wound up spending my last 3 years in DC. I was hoping Dean would be able to persuade Tommy to come up and play this year but I see he's not on the schedule.
If things go as planned I should see some of you folks tomorrow.
Tommy D, thanks for mentioning my name in such an august group above, for a guy who couldn't hardly play his way out of a paper bag anymore it sure makes me feel good.

Hey Jay, how are ya...?

Just to add my 2 cents... Tommy's house was the first place I stayed when I moved to Nashville in '83, so I sure owe him one too! He let my wife and I crash there until we found a place. He was the first steel player I met when I started playing in D.C. in '73; Bruce Bouton started playing around then too, and we first met going to hear Tommy play, he was several years ahead of us, and was always very friendly and helpful (and very inspiring...) He's also probably the most consistently imaginative player I've ever known; I've never known him to settle for an easy cliche or "lick"; he's always tried to go for something different... So besides being one of my oldest friends he deserves lots of credit as a fantastic musician!

Pete

Hi Pete, good to hear from you. Tommy has always had his own style, back when all of us were just struggling to sound good and get the licks down, he was playing it his way while still paying attention to where the steel had come from. I wish I had focused a little more in that while I was playing. Bruce and I would drive up from Richmond every week to get a lesson from Buddy and then we would go to the Italian Gardens and hear the RMB,I may have met you around that time, if we got too bombed we we go to his Mothers house in Vienna, if we didn't we would go back to Richmond, lotsa hours of talking steel and stuff, definitely the "good ole days".
My first gig after I got to DC in the winter of 77 was filling in for you with Heavy Country one weekend when you had your wisdom teeth removed, so if you happen to pass through Charlottesville on your way to DC sometime stop in and I will buy you lunch or something.
If anyone else is reading this thread and you haven't got Tommy's "Not Rocket Science" tape you really should get it. I find that instead of a 'here's me playing some tunes I like' sort of approach Tommy creates a great album of music to listen to that just happens to be played on steel. <FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Jay Jessup on 29 April 2003 at 06:31 AM.]</p></FONT>

Re: Tommy...my contribution will be fairly short compared to those of you who knew him when...One night, probably in '99, RVS was in Grove Okla and after their show, the band came by for a little "sweet lucy" and to kick back awhile. After a bit, we got the boys up and they aired it out, so to speak. I can only imagine that they had been playing a structured show with no room for improv, so they had a chance to stray for the regimented format and stray they did. I remember Tommy most of all 'cause I had him play "I Love You Because" and of course he nailed it...great guy, awesome player, and did not have a 'tude...just a real genuine person, non pretentious.

I played a western swing gig with Tommy last night. He is still playing his butt off. He plays every monday 6-10 @ Roberts on Broadway. These boys know how to swing. Randy Mason on drums drives it hard all nite long. Check these guys out when in Nashville.
The name of the band is John England & the Western Swingers. I'll be filling in for John next monday too,but come anyway.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Billy Johnson on 13 May 2003 at 01:29 PM.]</p></FONT>

I seen Tommy playing Orange Blossom Special with a comb once! It was really fast and at first I couldn't figure out what he was doing. Kevin that Sho-Bud has a million knees and one very long one that has multiple functions. Duane called it a birds nest under there.

I was working in a music store in Falls Church Va. in the mid 70's. Just before closing a couple of guys came in looking for strings and stuff and we started chatting. They were playing in a beer joint in the same shopping center so I went over to hear them. The "guys" were The Rosslyn Mountain Boys and that was the first time I heard any live steel guitar. Hearing Tommy was what gave me the "bug" to give steel a try. We were an Emmons dealer at the time so a week later I ordered myself a Black Rock. Thanks for the inspiration Tommy.