Pedal steel solos that nobody knew were pedal steel

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Feb 2008 11:05 am

Hey Paul,

How about some tunes where you play rhythm or other non-steel parts that aren't actually solos?

I know that you have done this, but of course if you are doing it well enough to make the final mix, nobody would know it's a steel (which is kind of the purpose of this thread).

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Feb 2008 11:07 am

Marc Friedland wrote:Here's something I hope is sort of appropriate for this post.

http://www.marcfriedland.com/mp3s/Sharp ... 0Steel.mp3

It's of ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man that I did about 5 years ago for a demo with a group called “Medicine Man” I was asked to play an aggressive melodic lead on the steel, but sounding like an angry guitarist.
It was the 1st take, and the steel hadn’t even been “officially” tuned, but everyone loved it, and I think I did a good job of nailing the feel & attitude.

Marc

Cool Marc! Great feel on that (it nails that angry ZZ Top vibe).

Tim Fleming · Post by **Tim Fleming** » 7 Feb 2008 11:18 am

Van Morrison's "Wild Night". Yup, it's in there,
credited to John McFee.

Tim Fleming · Post by **Tim Fleming** » 7 Feb 2008 11:21 am

Also, speaking of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass lp, the track "Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp (Let It Roll)" is practically dominated by steel.

btw,
Sir Frankie Crisp was a lawyer who built an estate in England called Friar Park in the 1800s. The estate has caves, an underground lake, and many more eccentricities that fascinated Harrison, who bought Friar Park in the '60s and lived there until his death. The album cover is a photo of Harrison at Friar Park surrounded by some of his garden gnomes.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 7 Feb 2008 12:05 pm

Brad Bechtel wrote:How about Alan Kendall's steel guitar on the Bee Gees' hit "Nights on Broadway"?

OK Brad, I just listened to this, and I'm not hearing steel. What's the part?

Peter Dollard · Post by **Peter Dollard** » 8 Feb 2008 10:42 am

On Shanandoahs hit single Paul Franklin is listed as a player on the track.There is a fuzz section and a rhythmic part he might be playing also.

Glenn Suchan · Post by **Glenn Suchan** » 8 Feb 2008 12:40 pm

Pete Drake's "jammin'" on the songs "Bradley's Barn", "You Can't Tell Me", and "Nashville 1 AM" from Harvey Mandel's 1968 solo album Cristo Redentor. Pete was definately jammin' and thinkin' n pickin' "outside da' box" on these cuts.

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 8 Feb 2008 9:24 pm

I just bought the latest Lyle Lovett album, and Paul is all over this, it's great to hear him on CD in a situation where it's clear that the producer is giving him tons of room for creativity.

There's a bunch of 'steel sounding' playing, but on several cuts Paul does some great atmospheric parts that don't scream 'here's the pedal steel'. Two cuts in particular are 'I will Rise Up/No more Cane' and 'Don't Cry a Tear'.

Johan Jansen · Post by **Johan Jansen** » 9 Feb 2008 9:09 am

Hi Dan and Paul (and all others

),
who is playing the steelback-up on 'Jackson'?
I believe it's a duet from Nancy Sinatra with..... ??

Regards, Johan

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 9 Feb 2008 10:16 am

Lee Hazlewood...

No idea, but some of it sounds like Buddy.

Joe Goldmark · Post by **Joe Goldmark** » 9 Feb 2008 4:07 pm

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the heads up. I missed Maurice's thread so I don't know if anybody mentioned "On & On" by Stephen Bishop. We hear it as a steel, but I doubt if the public did. Nice little chorused licks by Michael Staton.

Also, classic Buddy Emmons on Ray Charles' "Feel So Bad (Fell Like A Ballgame On A Rainy Day)." It's all blues, and the uninitiated would assume it's guitar, but of course it's much hipper(!).

There's also steel on a lot of the early Chuck Willis R&R tunes, check it out.

I also was amazed to realize early in my steel career that Sneaky Pete played all the (seemingly guitar) parts on the Burritos first album "Gilded Palace Of Sin."

Finally, a question. I just put on my album version of Danny O'Keefe's "Goodtime Charlie's Got The Blues." It had no steel, but I seem to remember that the hit did. Does anyone else remember it that way?

Also good call (I forget who mentioned it) on "Rubber Band Man" by the Spinners.

Joe

Chris Bauer · Post by **Chris Bauer** » 9 Feb 2008 4:33 pm

A quick glance at BJ's Allmusic page ought to provide years' worth of fodder for this thread all by itself! It's a pretty amazing history and certainly provides all the evidence any 'non-believers' would ever need that steel guitar can fit a WIDE rage of musical genres. (And there's certainly quite a mix in there of tracks sounding like steel and those that don't.)

BJ - Though it certainly falls squarely into the steel-guitar-sounding-like-steel-guitar category, I can't find the Hank Wangford albums on your Allmusic page. I still love that stuff!

Joe - There are different versions of Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues on the Breezy Stories and O'Keefe albums. Funny you should mention that song. I was always under the impression that it was a guitar trying to sound like a pedal steel rather than the other way around. Anyone know for sure?

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 10 Feb 2008 11:24 am

I just heard Weldon Myrick's version of the tune "Right on Down the Line" from 'Pedal Man', and he totally nails BJ's parts!

Jim West · Post by **Jim West** » 10 Feb 2008 11:46 am

GaryL wrote:Rusty Young on the Buffalo Springfield version of "Kind Woman."

Yep, a lot of time went by before I found that out.

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 12 Feb 2008 6:38 am

Dan,
What's the name of Lyle's new CD?

Pete Finney · Post by **Pete Finney** » 12 Feb 2008 8:14 am

I always thought the "steel sounding" stuff on "Goodtime Charlie's Got the Blues" was Reggie Young on 6 string... Or is their another version with steel...?

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 12 Feb 2008 8:27 am

Maurice's thread:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 12 Feb 2008 8:32 am

I'm pretty sure that it's Reggie Young on Good time Charlie,I was a flunkie in the mailroom at Bantam Books when that came out and it was on the radio about every 15 minutes,I've never heard another version by Danny O'Keefe?Glenn I did a tour with Harvey Mandell playing bass,Interesting guy.

Gregg Galbraith · Post by **Gregg Galbraith** » 12 Feb 2008 8:43 am

Dan,
Going back to your original post, if you were referring to Eddie Rabbit's version of,"Two Dollars in the Juke Box", I'm pretty sure that Sonny Garrish played all the steel parts on that record.

Pete Finney · Post by **Pete Finney** » 12 Feb 2008 8:48 am

Hi Joe... I just listened to "Rubber Band Man" and can't pick out any steel; the earlier Spinners reference was to a different song "Sadie". Is there steel on the song that I'm missing? Which of course is the point of this thread, steel that doesn't sound like steel...

And can you name some of the Chuck Willis tunes? I'd like to check them out...

Great thread idea, thanks Dan!

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 12 Feb 2008 11:31 am

To the Galbraiths:

Theresa: the CD is "It's Not Big, It's Large". Great CD, some of the best playing from Paul in the last couple of years, IMHO.

Greg: You could be right about "Two Dollars", that part sure could be Sonny. However, I seem to recall a discussion many years ago on the Opry with Hal about that song, and remember him telling me about a 'Garnett' tube preamp that he used to get the rocked out sound on that song.

However, you know about memory, it's the second thing to go.

(can't remember the first)

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 12 Feb 2008 11:34 am

Pete Finney wrote:Hi Joe... I just listened to "Rubber Band Man" and can't pick out any steel; the earlier Spinners reference was to a different song "Sadie". Is there steel on the song that I'm missing? Which of course is the point of this thread, steel that doesn't sound like steel...

And can you name some of the Chuck Willis tunes? I'd like to check them out...

Great thread idea, thanks Dan!

I'm sure there are hundreds of these out there (stealth steel parts), we're just scratching the surface.

Joe Goldmark · Post by **Joe Goldmark** » 12 Feb 2008 3:24 pm

Hey Pete,

Of course you're right, it's "Sadie," and not "Rubber Band Man."

The Chuck Willis tunes are from his Atlantic (8018)LP "King Of The Stroll." The tunes are "Ease The Pain" where there's actually a steel solo, and " Juanita."

Did anyone mention Billy Williamson, Bill Haley's steel player on all the early recordings.

Also, Speedy West played on a lot of Capitol "pop" recordings in the '50s, as well as on some Esquival lounge explorations. I'm sure it didn't always sound like a steel. And going way back, Roy Smeck played many steel instrumentals in the '30s & '40s in a pop vein.

And, the coolest, most bodacious non pedal instrumental ever, one that you owe it to yourself to hear, is "Floyd's Guitar Blues" by Floyd Smith with Andy Kirk & His Clouds Of Joy. But that one sounds like a blues steel guitar, and IMO is the standard for lap steel blues sound and licks.

Joe

robert kramer · Post by **robert kramer** » 13 Feb 2008 12:17 pm

A pedal steel guitar is played on The Spinner's "Sadie" on the 2nd, 3rd & 4th chorus's or at 2:25, 2:47 & 3:10 (using iTunes) It's a four note lick: C#,B,A,G# and is played at the 5th fret, no pedals playing strings 3 then 1 then 4 and then lowering 4 one half step (with a knee lever) while all the strings are ringing.

Incidentally, iTunes is great for charting songs as you can play back any part of a song, instaneously.

Dave Burr · Post by **Dave Burr** » 13 Feb 2008 12:53 pm

Dan Tyack wrote:I just bought the latest Lyle Lovett album, and Paul is all over this, it's great to hear him on CD in a situation where it's clear that the producer is giving him tons of room for creativity.

There's a bunch of 'steel sounding' playing, but on several cuts Paul does some great atmospheric parts that don't scream 'here's the pedal steel'. Two cuts in particular are 'I will Rise Up/No more Cane' and 'Don't Cry a Tear'.

Dan, I really love this CD as well. I bought mine back in December ~ before Christmas, I think. Anyway, mine came with a DVD as well. The DVD contains excerpts from the studio throughout the recording process. A lot of good insight. Some great clips of Paul as well. I totally agree with your assessment on all accounts. Especially, "Don't Cry a Tear". On the DVD there was some interesting pre session discussion between Lyle and Billy concerning this particular cut. Lyle was talking through his ideas about which players needed to show up for the session and the general feel he was looking for. What was really interesting was that Paul was nearly an afterthought for this cut. Lyle was explaining that it was a sparse "out of time" type arrangement at which time Paul walked up and said; "out of time? I can play out of time". Lyle stated something to the effect; "yeah, let's have Paul show up and give it a listen and see if there's anything there". He was real hesitant to commit to any steel parts. Personally, I think the production would've suffered without the "atomospheric parts" Paul played. Incidently, he played those parts on his MSA Superslide lap steel.

Great stuff! If you don't have this disc yet, go get it. The DVD alone is worth the price of the disc. It contains really good insight as to what goes into this type of production and some excellent studio footage.

Respectfully,
david burr

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Pedal steel solos that nobody knew were pedal steel

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