The Steel Guitar Forum

I just got through reading the 3 page thread on Jerry Garcia, and was smirking to myself.

Rarely does any subject get steel players "blood to boil" as easily as Jerry Garcia and Robert Randolph.

As an old guy, I remember the first time I was inspired to find out what a steel guitar was, came from hearing Bob Dylan's song "Lay Lady Lay", and wondering what was making that sound. (That was sometime in the 1960's for you young guys)

Does anybody know who the player was? Talk about some "dissonant" sound! That's what made the song a hit though ... so much for great playing selling records.

Again, we learn that "Beauty is in the ears of the beholder"

Pete Drake, from the "Nashville Skyline" album in 1969.

Hi Jim,
The musician was Pete Drake. That album was a huge influence, and I started to learn the steel guitar the same year.

I have heard of Pete Drake many times, but nobody ever "bashes" his playing.

I guess it's safe to like Pete's playing? I sure did!

Pete Drake played on numerous hit records from the golden era of Country Music. He might not have been a favorite of many steelers but he was smart enough to score big and he undoubtedly laughed all the way to the bank.

A late friend of mine knew Pete and told me that Pete was one of the few people he knew during his lifetime who made and lost 3 or 4 fortunes. He said Pete could loose it and then make it back. I don't know about that, but Pete's playing sure helped to sell lots of records and he sure influenced me as a young boy.

Lay Lady Lay was always a thrilling sound to me. I thought his brillance shined on it. Jimmy Day always said the height of genius was simplicity.

GOD bless!

Terry

Pete Drake also played on George Harrison's debut album after the Beatles, "All Things Must Pass". The steel fits the music very nicely, and still sounds good today...it's not an example of virtuosity, but it worked....and who here would have turned up their nose at playing with George Harrison in 1970?..

I played one of those Open Mic venues last Friday and one of the singers got a request for some Dylan. I suggested L-L-L and you should've seen the response we got. Even the Tele man got into it. It's like people finally recognized where they'd first heard a pedal steel. Go figure.

If you want to hear some great Pete Drake get Tracy Nelson sings Country.

If anyone is interested in them, b0b has two of Pete Drakes CD and cassette compliations available here on the Steel Guitar Forum. I have the CD and think it's pretty cool.

Terry

<SMALL>I have heard of Pete Drake many times, but nobody ever "bashes" his playing</SMALL>

You haven't been a member very long have you? In the old days even Franklin got bashed now and then. Come to think of it he got bashed for playing Pete Drake licks.

Really Bobby?

In all honesty, I have only been a member for a couple of years, but have been playing the steel guitar for almost 30. I guess the guys don't bash Pete Drake like they do some of the other players. At least I haven't heard it ... "ignorace is bliss in this regard".

Life is a mystery isn't it?

I love this forum though, and the comments are certainly entertaining!!

Jim

It's just entertainment. If we all agreed? How much fun would that be??

I heard a good Pete Drake story from Gary Morse...

It seems a bunch of players were playing cards at Buddy Emmons' place one day. According to Gary, there was a steel set up in the room and Buddy would play some hot lick & say to Pete, "Can you do this?"

At which time Pete would pull out a big wad of greenbacks and flip through it and say to Buddy, "Can you do this?"

Maybe we can get a comment from BE??

Oooo, I like that comback!

I gotta find me a big wad of money and keep it in my pocket, and hope that I can use that line someday!

Sounds like Pete had a sharp wit too.

Did a lot of you guys "out there" know him?

According to a friend of mine who was a producer in the music industry here in the Nashville area, the local entrenched steel players though that Pete was somewhat of a joke when he first came to Nashville. Like a lot of us they did not understand that style is probably more important that execution.
Pete proved that inovation, style and applied intelligence goes a long way in the music business. I have spent a lot of time with this producer over the years and he has only mentioned three steelers to me, Lloyd Green, Pete Drake and Jerry Byrd. He tried to talk Jerry into switching to a pedal steel but failed.

I think some of the less "technically proficient" steel players that are very popular with non-playing listeners are similar to Doug Kershaw's fiddle playing.

Can you imagine how terrible his style is to a violin maestro? The few times I saw Doug play I was excited and awe inspired by the energy he produced. I don't know how to describe it, but it was to me, the difference between being a "musician" VS an "entertainer".

Does that make any sense?

I humbly submit that Doug Kershaw and a symphonic violinist play two different instruments.

Case in point: I did 'Best Little Whorehouse' at a university playhouse. The music director was a piano professor and the violinist was the concertmaster of the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and Full Professor of Music at Kalamazoo College. Wonderful tone -- wonderful reading abilities -- LOUSY IMPROVISOR. He played 'Orange Blossom Special' to warm up the audience and I was EMBARRASED for him. Everybody loved it, but he sounded like he was playing scales out of a book with no humor and none of that gritty style that makes fiddle what it is.

Believe me, fiddle and violin are two different instruments. I feel that BOTH ARE MUSIC, even though fiddle players do tend to be better entertainers.

Oh, and to the topic at hand, Pete Drake was very technically proficient. He just played melodic and appropriate parts that people loved to hear. No flash, so a lot of steel players ignored him. He laughed all the way to the bank.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

Pete was a great guy and a great MUSICIAN, but 'technically proficient?' I beg to differ .....

Technically proficient or not, Pete Drake still holds the record for playing PSG on the most number one hits ever.

Just goes to show (AGAIN!) that it's not about how many notes you play but how well the notes you play support the song you're playing.

I never said he was a virtuoso. What I mean by 'technically proficient' is that he was physically capable of playing the parts he conceived -- probably 99 out of 100 times. I agree that he was no Emmons, but then who was? Bottom line is he played his parts cleanly with good tone and musical creativity. Many a memorable hook came from his strings. Yes, I still believe he was technically PROFICIENT. He just played simple parts on simple songs. He knew what producers wanted because he WAS ONE.

Certainly no whiz, no glitz, but we're talking country sessions here -- not who (or what) he could smoke down at the Den.

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

What Dave and Larry said!

Pete Drake also played on a lot of Tammy Wynette's biggest hits, "Stand By Your Man" and "D I V O R C E" come to mind.
The man's playing is classic and his style and tone are quite distinct and identifiable, that is, he does not sound like anybody else. That can be said of precious few of us. So what if he can't play "Cherokee" at 150 beats per minute.

I always thought Sonny Curtis played on "Stand By Your Man".

Anybody know?

'cording to this http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?path=/TheArts/Music/MusicBusiness/Producers&id=h-894
it was Pete

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<small>Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2003 Fessenden S/D-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S/D-12 6x6, 1984 Sho-Bud S/D-12 7x6, 1971 Dobro, Standel and Peavey Amps

D I V O R C E is Lloyd Green.
Clyde Lane