What was the first tune you learned?

Evan Searcy · Post by **Evan Searcy** » 12 Feb 2025 6:12 pm

Hi all, long time lurker, first time poster as a member. What was the first song/lick you ever learned? The first one I tried to learn was Pete's solo on Sin City. Not sure I ever did!

Brett Day · Post by **Brett Day** » 12 Feb 2025 7:50 pm

The first tune I learned to play on steel was "Cold Cold Heart" by Hank Williams, and then I taught myself to play "Look At Us".

Jon Voth · Post by **Jon Voth** » 12 Feb 2025 8:36 pm

CS&N "Teach Your Children" My first performance, 6 years ago, with US Army "Country Roads" summer concert on the Capitol steps.

It was by rote memorized, I didn't know what I was doing, and my A pedal rod fell off near the end of the song. But it was an OK performance.

Christopher Peck · Post by **Christopher Peck** » 12 Feb 2025 8:53 pm

IIRC, the first full tune I learned enough to play all the way through was The Wallflower's "I Wish I Felt Nothing".

The first 'lick' was the intro to "Teach Your Children".

Richard Alderson · Post by **Richard Alderson** » 12 Feb 2025 8:57 pm

San Antonio Rose on straight up C6th A C E G A C E G, of course! What else is there?

Dennis Detweiler · Post by **Dennis Detweiler** » 12 Feb 2025 10:28 pm

Bud's Bounce on a d-8 Fender that had a changer bolted onto the end of one neck. A and B pedals only. Crude.

Per Berner · Post by **Per Berner** » 12 Feb 2025 11:13 pm

Summer Clouds by Lloyd Green, I think the tab was from Scotty's.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 13 Feb 2025 4:55 am

Red Wing, in the basement of Suneson's Music Center on East Lake Street, Mpls, MN, as instructed by the great Cal Hand, aka the wylie butler.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 13 Feb 2025 7:00 am

Well since my Neighbor when I got home from College in 1981 was Tom Brumley and he gave me my very first lessons and of course the first song he taught me was "Together Again".
I'll never forget.
Ricky

Samuel Phillippe · Post by **Samuel Phillippe** » 13 Feb 2025 7:45 am

"Quinton's Theme" ....my wife always hums it as a lullaby to the grand, and great grand kids. She was humming it when I unloaded my psg so I played the first few notes and then learned it pesal steel way.

Sam

Bob Shilling · Post by **Bob Shilling** » 13 Feb 2025 9:53 am

Walkin' After Midnight

scott murray · Post by **scott murray** » 13 Feb 2025 10:56 am

Pete Drake - Pleading

Larry Allen · Post by **Larry Allen** » 13 Feb 2025 11:50 am

Stu Schumann taught me Over the Rainbow on his steel.. had to buy one then!!

Bobby Martin · Post by **Bobby Martin** » 13 Feb 2025 12:23 pm

Our hero Buddy Charleton taught all of his students, myself included how to play Bud's Bounce correctly in key of F. And hold that right elbow in tight to your side!!

Colin Boutilier · Post by **Colin Boutilier** » 13 Feb 2025 2:42 pm

I'm still working on it, but the first piece I've been tackling was Kim Deschamps' brilliant work on Blue Rodeo's Hasn't Hit Me Yet.

John Larson · Post by **John Larson** » 13 Feb 2025 6:51 pm

The intro to The Marshall Tucker Band's "Fire on the Mountain" first thing I ever played once I setup my pedal steel for the first time.

Bobby D. Jones · Post by **Bobby D. Jones** » 13 Feb 2025 8:11 pm

When I first started on steel, My fiddle playing uncle asked me to learn "Faded Love" He had been stationed in Amarilla and played a lot of Texas fiddle music.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 14 Feb 2025 12:10 am

I tried to play Bobby Black’s intro on Truck Drivin’ Man, about 45 years ago on a Fender Stringmaster D8. I was so bad my bandmates made me stop playing it. About 9 years ago I finally bought a new Stage One and learned Streets Of Laredo from the Winnie Winston book. Killed it.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 14 Feb 2025 5:46 am

Wichita Lineman: the very first! (This was around 1973-ish.)

I wasn't much of a country music fan back then (I am now) so, hearing those lovely chord changes on the Ray Charles 'cover' of this wonderful Webb composition (it was, of course, Buddy Emmons), lured me in. Gerry Hogan helped me here: he invited me to bring my new Student model ZB to his house and he asked what I'd like him to show me.

He thought 'Wichita...' a trifle ambitious, but my reasoning was that the musical scope of a complex song would teach me much more about the pedals (and the tuning) than, say, 'Jambalaya' might.

I still have my scribbled notes from that 'lesson'.

I'd do the same if I were starting today.

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 14 Feb 2025 6:19 am

"Red River Valley" right out of Winnie's "Pedal Steel Guitar." Check out Lloyd's take on RRV some time.

First self-taught: "Sleepwalk."

Jason Altshuler · Post by **Jason Altshuler** » 14 Feb 2025 9:36 am

Hey, Sin City was mine too!

Jim Arnold · Post by **Jim Arnold** » 14 Feb 2025 10:57 am

Herb Remington's version of Danny Boy.

Michael Hill · Post by **Michael Hill** » 21 Feb 2025 6:13 pm

I'm with Frank. Red River Valley. Then Greensleeve.

Dennis Montgomery · Post by **Dennis Montgomery** » 21 Feb 2025 9:07 pm

First lick I ever learned was Jerry Garcia's intro to "Dire Wolf". First full song was my own transcription of George Harrison's, "Long, Long, Long" off the Beatles White Album

Philip Mitrakos · Post by **Philip Mitrakos** » 25 Feb 2025 1:45 pm

" Far Away Eyes " Rolling Stones

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