What If..........

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 15 Feb 2004 6:21 pm

The internet forum has given us the ability to communicate our likes and dislikes, our dream or fear of the steels present musical direction, our complete adoration of a player who has just blown us away and our satisfaction or not with instruments, their builders, and the good and bad buisiness practices of both, them and the consumer.

The forum teaches the young about the old and the old about the young. I see this forum as the vehicle of controversy and primary source for the instruments survival.
Information is the key.

So, What if the forum was around to comment on the instruments complete history? What would you have posted if you witnessed these events or any event of your chosing, firsthand.....How were these percieved by their attending fans? Here are a few examples to start with.

1. Jaquin Murphy live with Spade Cooleys band.

2. Alvino Ray every week on network Tv's King sisters musical variety show.

3. Rugg playing "Lady Be Good" and other C6th jazzy instrumentals on the Wilburn Bros. show.

4. The Troubadors with Leon and Buddy any club USA.

5. Witnessing folks during the DJ convention lined down Printers Alley trying to get in to hear the Curly Chalker Trio.

6. Watching Buddy Emmons play Bud's Boogie to a crowd of 30,000 at Cobo Hall in Detroit with Ray Price.

7. Hearing Buddy jam anywhere in a close setting like the DJ convention or witnessing him record the Black album or anything else.

8. Hearing Jernigan slay the college crowd and getting standing ovations for his playing with bands like Vasser Clements.

9. Hearing Buck Owens say "Ladies and Gentlemen, Tom Brumley" as he started playing his solo on "Together Again" and watching the crowds pleasure as it was as much a hit as the song itself.

10. Watching Sneaky Pete mesmorize the hippie patrons in the rock club scene in LA with his distortion and everything else.

11. Watching Rusty Young with Poco become the first Jimi style entertainer to gain national recognition.

12. Watching JD, Buddy, Rhodes, and the gang record "suite steel".

13, Seeing Leon and the boys slay'em at Gilley's.

14. Watching Reece and Julian during the DJ convention demonstrate their tunings and a completely different direction than the typical Nashville approach.

Feel free to elaborate about your viewing and listening experiences. For some your memory is as close as anyone can get to the pasts greatest moments....Here's one of my fondest memories.

I was barely in my teens when Dad took me to Nashville. It was my first DJ convention. I was so blown away and awestruck I don't remember sleeping the entire three days.

Up and down Broadway, players were jamming in every little dive. Roy Wiggins store and Sho-Buds store really stood out. There was so much music going on all the time I couldn't help but feel like I was constantly missing something.

Everyone I met was talking about musicians and trying out the latest in instruments. I met so many new friends that year. This was a dream come true for a new player like me.

A few blocks up from Broadway was the Andrew Jackson hotel, the Noel hotel, and the Hermitage hotel. Record companies and musical instrument companies rented suites with an open bar to promote their artists and various instruments. The free flowing alcohol created a party atmosphere which was perfect for getting the jams real lose. I remember so many great moments from those years hearing and meeting players that are truly the first icons of the steel guitar.

Johnny Paycheck heard me play a little something at Sho-Buds store and after I finished he said some nice things and then asked, "have you ever seen Buddy Emmons play?" "No", I said. "He's playing tonight at the wheel", so we ofcourse were there at ten.

The club owner would not let my dad bring me in because the age of admittance was 21. So, I stood outside the door, listening, and trying to get a glimpse of Buddy as folks would open the door coming and going. Johnny was inside and happened to notice me at the door when it opened. He came outside and told my dad to bring me inside. My father explained the age dilemna to Johnny and he said "Wait a second, I know the owner". He brought the owner outside and told him about me playing steel and at my age I need to here and witness the magic of Emmon's. He promised to pay any fines. The club owner agreed to let me in and seated me at the table right in front of Buddy. Needless to say after hearing Buddy play that night, it changed my musical direction. Hearing him pour out his heart on a ballad and then to hear his passion as he jazzed up the C6th, caused me to realise this, no matter what I ever play it has to come from the heart. Hearing Buddy and others that year prompted me to focus seriously towards learning the C6th tuning....Paul

Bob Kagy · Post by **Bob Kagy** » 15 Feb 2004 6:53 pm

Ahhh. Now THIS is what the forum is for.

Good telling of a nice story.

Pat Burns · Post by **Pat Burns** » 15 Feb 2004 7:18 pm

..well, this is a pleasant surprise! Thanks for sharing that, Paul...and you're right about the forum...thanks, b0b...

...and edited after seeing Donny's post below, I wouldn't be playing steel at all if this forum wasn't here even just 5 years ago..[This message was edited by Pat Burns on 15 February 2004 at 07:44 PM.]

Ben Lawson · Post by **Ben Lawson** » 15 Feb 2004 7:29 pm

Great post.
I remember spending three days with P.F. Sr. at Sho~Bud as he built a beautiful steel for my friend Gene Shibel. Paul was bragging about his son doing a recording session and he seemed confident that the kid might get good at it. I wonder what ever happened to that kid? Oh he probably got smart and got a day job.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 15 Feb 2004 7:39 pm

Well, I suppose if the 'net had been around 40 years ago, there wouldn't have been as much stress on my ability to dream. Back when I was a teenager, I could only dream about those magic sounds. I had heard the sounds of the early players like Alvino Rey, Bud Isaacs, and Walter Haynes, and even seen them on TV a time or two. But there wasn't a pedal steel to be seen, much less play, back then in my neighborhood. Oh sure, I had "experimented" by tying a piece of yarn on my toe, and pulling one string on my "Airline" lap steel, but a real pedal steel was out of the question...too much money. I stared endlessly at catalogs by Fender and Carvin, and at a couple of brochures from other companies that I had sent for, but even the single-neck Fender 400 I had found in a music store's basement was, at $600, only a dream.

My family, though they had little money back then, took occasional trips to Sunset Park in PA to hear live country music. Here I could actually see and get close to a pedal steel! Wow again! What magic it was! I was totally mesmerized by every pedal steeler, and almost every band had one. It was the early '60s, and I had dropped my interest in electronics as a hobby, and headed into pedal steel land.

One day, I was at Sunset Park, and struck up a conversation with a very young Stu Basore (who was playing for Kitty Wells and Johnny Wright). Wow! Here I was actually talking to a famous steeler! (Any steeler who played on the road, to me, was a "famous" steeler). I mentioned to Stu that I really loved pedal steel, and would like to play one, but couldn't afford a new one. Well....he just happened to have an old Fender 1000, and he said he would sell it to me for about $350. A few weeks later, I wrote him, mailed a down payment, and made arrangements to have it put on a Greyhound bus headed to Baltimore.

The bus was due in late on a Friday night, and my Dad said we'd have to wait 'til Monday to pick it up. I pestered him as best I could, and Saturday morning we headed to the terminal in downtown Baltimore to pick it up. For about the next 18 hours, I drove my family crazy with that thing, such that my Dad finally said..."Well, you finally got that pedal guitar you been dreamin' about! Now, if you just knew someone who could play the damn thing, you'd have a helluva good time!"

Well, I couldn't play much, but I was having a good time! Later on, I talked to Stu on the phone, and he told me that he recorded Kitty Wells' "Burning Menories" album with that guitar. Of course, I had to have the album. I learned all the songs on it, and on everything else that was playing on the radio. My only two steel guitar albums at that point were "Steel Guitar Spectacular", by Speedy West, and "Steel Guitar Jazz", by Buddy Emmons. (I'm still learnin' that stuff!)

I could go on for hours here, about my winning a trip to the Opry (which I couldn't take because I was still in school), my first actual trip to the Opry, my first time seeing Buddy, Curly, and Pete live, but I'll shut up now and give someone else a chance. I yak on here too much as it is, and likely you'd rather hear from players better and more famous than me.

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 15 Feb 2004 7:48 pm

I've told some of this story before. I didn't like country music at all, it was the early '70s. After dropping out of Berklee, I was studying avante guard music composition, and specifically the Buchla 200 synthesizer, at Cal Arts. I used to drink a bit back then.

I had had a little too much bourbon and was on my back in the living room when the wife and the friends went out to get something or other. One of them had left Waylon Jennings "Honky Tonk Heroes" on the turntable. It kept playing over and over and over, I couldn't get up to turn it off so I listened and listened and listened. Specifically to Ralph Mooney's playing. Single lines had an "elevated" importance chords "blossomed" and the sound had a raw elegance that was like nothing I had ever heard before. I bought every country record I could find.

I saw Rusty Young put the steel on it's side and "work it" on tv, but tv is at least once removed from reality and I didn't connect. The first person I saw actually play one was JD Maness at The Palomino. Then sometime in the mid '70s, my girlfriend and I were at a bar in Berkeley for the New Years Eve show with Asleep at the Wheel. There were Hell's Angels swing dancing and I was "glued" to the stage in front of Lucky Oceans. That was it, I had to have one.

The first time I went to the Convention was 1990. I spent 3 days with my jaw on my chest. At one point I was listening in on a conversation between Speedy West, Ralph Mooney, Bud Isaacs and Leonard Zinn reminiscing about living and playing in Los Angeles in the late '40s and early '50s. A peak experience that I really didn't want to end.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 15 Feb 2004 8:44 pm

Opening for The Flying Burrito Brothers in 1971 and sitting at stage right watching Al Perkins tear up an instrument that I had only heard on records. My inspitational beginning to pedal steel. He did it on a Fender 1000. Seeing Paul Franklin, Tommy White, and Lloyd green play on stage together at The Convention. Another bench mark of inspiration. Then, seeing The Big E for the first time at The Convention. Same feeling I had when I saw Ella Fritzgerald with Count Basie. One of a kind genius.The REAL deal. Re discovering Tom Brumley at 50 years old and playing my ZB Custom D-10 every weekend. These people's spirits are historical and inspirational to me as a steel player. Thank you to you all for your inspiration. Every time I play our large venues opening for major acts these players are on my mind and in my spirit.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 15 Feb 2004 9:36 pm

These ARE great posts.. My initial exposure to steel is FAR less exciting... Just a young hippie getting shivers every time I heard the New Riders ,Poco,Burritos,Sweetheart of the Rodeo Byrds etc. I didn't know WHAT that magical sound was,but I knew I wanted to make it.... and so I do..... kind of ......bob

John Macy · Post by **John Macy** » 15 Feb 2004 9:41 pm

Refreshingly nice post, Paul. I have some indelible memories of some of the above events--seeing the Troubadors and visiting with Charleton in '73 in New England, following Buddy around on Broadway during the DJ conventions in '73 and '74, seeing Curley in the Alley, Rusty Young in Boston and Sneaky Pete in LA, and a whole lot more.

Yet on of the most important events I saw was Mike Smith playing at the Hillbilly Ranch in Boston in late '73. I was at that first year burnout stage in my playing, wondering whether I should just be an recording engineer like I had planned (and still became in spite of it all). I stumbled into Mike and came back every night that week. Net result was I'm still playing today, in large part due to his stellar playing from close range, and the inspiration in put into me to keep going.

The other moment for me was the following year, when I ended up in Jimmie Crawford's basement during the DJ convention, and having him completely blow my mind with his unique style. My life was never the same after that, and am glad to have both of them as friends.

I'm sure there is much, much more, but that's a start for me

...

Oh yeah, the night that got me to buy my first steel was hearing Buddy and Sneaky on the brown Linda Rondstat record, and Red Rhodes on the first Michael Nesmith solo record. It was waaay late after a session at Intermedia Studios--another life-changer...[This message was edited by John Macy on 15 February 2004 at 10:03 PM.]

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 16 Feb 2004 2:25 am

Paul,

Thanks so much for sharing these stories with us!!! Man, we are so lucky that the Forum gives us a chance to get linked to the players who made (and make) history and they are so nice to share their memories and experiences with us!

Thanks to you all!

Kind Regards, Walter
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

PS.: And don't stop telling those stories!

------------------

Winnie Winston · Post by **Winnie Winston** » 16 Feb 2004 2:45 am

There are a number of memorable instances. Many of them I could have seen and didn't because I was only interested in bluegrass and not in country-- so I missed all those great steelers at Sunset Park. I *could have* been there! Grrr....

But one time... I went to see ET. The band came out and Leon Rhodes was missing. The guy filling in was just dressed in a regular suit-- not an "ET special." He had a big blonde Gibson guitar and was playing with the largest pick I'd ever seen. He was older and seemed lost on the stage. I figured that something happened to Rhodes and this must be the bus driver filling in.
Then there was a solo, and Charleton and this guy just SMOKED in harmony.
Then ET came out and started off his set. Then he introduced the band. He mentioned that Leon was in the hospital for a small operation and couldn't make the tour. So on guitar he had Billy Byrd.
I nearly lost it. THE "take it Billy Byrd".
My my.
See my website at julianwinston.com for a great story of Tex Beneke playing with Leon McAuliffe at St. Louis.
Wow!

JW

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 16 Feb 2004 3:19 am

Pual's post brings to mind when I saw Vince Gill and when the ride in "Look At Us", came up Vince stepped up and said John Hughey. The crowd went nuts. It sent chills in me, thinking that the people were as crazy about the ride as the rest of the song. Also I remember at the age of 15, seeing ET at the record shop. That night he had Billy Byrd and Don Helms working with him. Two heroes in one night is a lot. The night I saw Vince I also got to go backstage and meet him. Also met Hughey that night.

Rusty Walker · Post by **Rusty Walker** » 16 Feb 2004 3:33 am

Paul,you stirred up some memories with your post.Mentioning the Wheel was one in particular.I was in a local T.V. band in Hamilton.Ray Price did the Hamilton Forum and we got to warm-up.My first meeting with B.E. Acouple of months later some friends & I went to the D.J. convention.We were walking along Broadway near the Wheel and Buddy was standing outside getting some air.He recognized me and hollered.He said that Jimmy Bryant was inside and they were gonna jam. What a nite that was!

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 16 Feb 2004 3:50 am

Paul..excellent topic..

Well for me, I entered the Steel world a tad late , I guess I was about 22 or 23..it was the early 70's..I was just a young, know it all, loud ignorant R+R player..a couple of those definitions haven't changed ! But thanks to Rusty I made the move to Steel.

A friend from NYC came by the house with this amazing D10 Emmons , what an intimidating instrument.geeze ! Then he pulls out the Black album..tells me who this Emmons guy is.. YIPES !

I have 2 major listening experiences that drove this thing to the heart..

On a business trip I guess in the early 70's I detoured to Nashville and this one particular night I was in a club in the Alley and I sat like 3 feet in front of Gene O'Neil for about 3 hours. I had never been in front of a Nashville player before , not ever. well folks...I'm here to tell ya..life made a turn..Gene was actually talking to me during some of the tunes and showing me and telling me what it was he was doing..he sat with me during his breaks and we talked for quite a bit.. what an honor...

then.....I sat 6 feet in front of Buddy during a 1977 Buddy concert in Meridan Ct.. June 1977..2 months before the infamous '77 Scotty's show..well we were treated to Buddy '77 "Live" right there in Meridan Ct..I still listen to that Ct show regulary..and have been ever since then..dramatic impact on my musical journey..

What an incredible era..

It's one thing to be older..it's another to be older, alive and able to share about an incredible era...

I wouldn't have missed it for anything..

Thanks Paul for your comments on this topic...and I for one am sure glad they let you in to see Buddy that night..we have all come to benefit from that nights experience.

t[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 16 February 2004 at 03:56 AM.]

Rusty Walker · Post by **Rusty Walker** » 16 Feb 2004 3:52 am

P.S.I should have mentioned meeting you,Paul at a lounge just North of the city.You and Phil Baugh were working there and we were staying in a motel just up the road.What an enjoyable few nites I spent listening to you guys.You invited me to a jazz jam on the weekend but we had a scheduled flight back to Toronto and I could't make it.A great memory with a dissapointing ending.

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 16 Feb 2004 5:14 am

I remember sitting at some picnic tables in a covered area of a county fair in Washington state for about 5 hours between shows talking about everything steel with a young kid whose lights were definately on.

I remember this band came into a club in Salem Oregon without there band leader and got up on the stage with our instruments and played. I stood right behind the steel player on this small stage as he just smoked the crowd on my Sierra D10 (which he slightly retuned).

Thanks Paul for the great memories.

Larry Behm

Tommy Alexander · Post by **Tommy Alexander** » 16 Feb 2004 5:27 am

Great topic Paul, you always tell it like it is! Now it's my turn to tell it like it is.It has been great to hear all of the great steel players through the years, most of them are still around, but after knowing you for 25 years and hearing the things that you have done and are still doing, the records,cd's,tapes and instructions and especially the great hit songs that you play on still amaze me every time I hear something new. I have been a big fan of yours for a long time, and I hope that you can continue to what you are doing. The young steel players look up to you a lot, so as time permits, stay on the forum, it's always good to hear from you. Looking forward to seeing you before to long.

------------------

Charles Curtis · Post by **Charles Curtis** » 16 Feb 2004 6:03 am

I remember seeing Shot Jackson playing with the "Johnny and Jack" show (with Ms Kitty Wells); anyone remember that show? Also, many moons ago, I'll never forget Buddy Emmons with ET, they let some local guy sing his own song on the show and Buddy pulled a lick from somewhere to go with his song; oh yeah, I was impressed.

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 16 Feb 2004 6:26 am

I had a life changing experience at the Ryman
when I was a child. Hearing live music in that old church on those benches lead me down
the path I still follow today. Thanks Paul for those memories. They brought back mine.

John LeMaster · Post by **John LeMaster** » 16 Feb 2004 6:32 am

Great topic. Some of the stand-out moments that occurred before I "took up" steel, and some since are similar to some previously stated ones:

--About 1967, seeing and hearing Stu Basore with Kitty Wells/Johnny Wright, Bobby Wright and Bill Phillips in Parkersburg, WV. First time I realized how great a pedal steel could sound.

--1968. Saw Buddy Emmons with Ray Price, and Tom Burmley with Buck Owens. Both at the Charleston Civic Center, different dates.

--About 1975, John Hughey appearing with Conway Twitty at a pre-race concert at a small dirt track in Lubeck, WV. Somewhere in the set they played "I'm A Honky Tonk Man", and Hughey played the fattest C6th chords! And, of course, all those Conway hits he had helped make into hits.

--In 1990 or '91, I attended my only "June Jam" at Watertown, TN. What a list of all-stars: Jeff Newman, Paul Franklin, Gene O'Neal, Lloyd Green, John Hughey, Johnny Cox, Hal Rugg, Ron Elliot, and Jimmy Day.

John L.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 16 Feb 2004 9:27 am

I started playing when the only recollection I have of a steel guitar player was listening to "Bashful Brother Oswald" on the Grande Ole Opry" every Sat night with my dad.

Shortly thereafter I heard a sound I had never heard before in "hillbilly" music. It was a Hawaiian guitar allright but a much different type of sound. And the singer did not sing like any hillbilly singer I had ever heard. While he was singing on a hillbilly station his voice was far from hillbilly. So was the sound coming out of his hawaiian guitar player's amp.

Of course it was Eddy Arnold and the late and great Little Roy Wiggins. I could not get enough of Roy. I believed then and now that Eddy could have searched this world over and never found a sound more in tune with his non hillbilly voice.

Bought every record. Listened for hours. Learned many breaks and licks JUST like him. I was obsessed really. That is all I thought about as a teenager.

As the years went by and as Eddy got uppiddy with the "strings" mentality I always wanted to meet Roy. And fate was not to let me down.

I had been servicing Guitars and amps for years in Ftlauderdale for all the music dealers in town. And one of these dealers took on the "Ampeg" line.

It just so happened that the dealer asked me to go to the NAMM show in Nashville in his place since he could not make it. And Ampeg was footing the bill.

So I went. When I was picked up at the airport I never dreamed what was ahead of me. When they opened the door to that motel room, the first man I saw was Roy Wiggins, and they indroduced me to him.

He and I talked half the night. I was like a sponge. I could have talked the whole next day. But Roy said, "meet me at the parking lot accross from the Ryman auditorium tomorrow night and I will get you a good seat at the Opry since I am performing with the Willis Bros".

So I did and he did. Cept there was a small problem. As he and a policeman led us into that mob I had NO idea where Roy was setting up his steel. He just said, "grab a chair as I tune this thing".

In less than 5 minutes here comes ppl from everyhwere. And as the curtains opened, there I was on the stage of the Grande Ole Orpy. I just about lost it. IN my obsession and awe of being with my childhood idol, I did not realize where he had led me. Under normal circumstances I would have.

Well when I got back home from my trip and a few days passed, I got a manila envelope from Little Roy with his autographed picture on it. And on it he said,

"Dear Carl, I am sorry I could not get you a better seat at the Grande Ole Opry".

I gotta tell you, that will go with me to my grave. Since that day, I have met soooooo many of the stars. And it is a blessing few have had. And memorable events like Jerry Byrd driving my wife and I back to our hotel in Hawaii. Or Buddy
Emmons coming to the Excel booth last year to see what I had brought. And on and on and on. Makes me cry when I think about it.

Praise Jesus for blessings untold,

carl

A Better Way [This message was edited by C Dixon on 16 February 2004 at 02:40 PM.]

George Plemons · Post by **George Plemons** » 16 Feb 2004 10:49 am

I have often wondered how good the greats like Paul, Buddy, Lloyd and all the rest would have today if they had had the internet and all it's training information available to them at a young age. Could they be any better than they are now? Also, with all that is available in information now, why are we not seeing a slew of young steel players smoking the stages?
Paul, have you ever wondered how many hours the amateurs who play the bandstands weekly, like myself, have spent trying to duplicate your licks? I try to figure out what you were thinking musically each time I work on a recording you have played on as well as other players on the charts. You will get a kick out of this analysis of learning your commercial work at home: If you cannot use the knee levers efficiently (especially the f#-g#) you probably should not try to work on Pauls licks. If you naturally consider the b,c pedals when playing in minor positions rather than a drop knee on 4and8, you probably should not try to work on Paul's licks. If you are very slow as I am, discard songs like "I don't even know your name" and move on to one that you can play. When you think you can do all the things that Paul is playing on a particular new song because it sounds so simple, get your anti-depressant's out, you will need it. I could go on but thats enough. All of us out here eeking out a few dollars a week on the bandstand owe you a great deal of gratitude for your contributions, Thanks Paul.

Susan Alcorn (deceased) · Post by **Susan Alcorn (deceased)** » 16 Feb 2004 11:12 am

I remember going to the DJ Convention in Nashville somwhere in the mid-seventies and the Nashville Steel Guitar Club was having it's jam session. Things (other than the incredible musicianship) I noticed were Buddy emmons carrying his steel guitar with the volume pedal sitting on top of the strings (was that the proper thing to do?), Johnny Paycheck walking in the hallway towards the main room. He stopped me and asked me if this is where the jam session was (Johnny Paycheck talking to me?). I was taken aback by how friendly and down-to-earth he seemed. I remember someone playing "Cherokee" on a 14 string steel guitar. Big Jim somebody-or-another playing an orange Sho-Bud announced to the crowd that he was uincomofrtable playing instrumentals, so he backed up a singer. Jimmy Day was wearing a denim vest with no shirt, and looked like he hadn't slept, or maybe he's had a couple of drinks. Paul Franklin and Mike Smith were playing, and I tried to fathom how they could play so fast and so clean. Paul Franklin was very personable and said that the had been reading Jamey Aebersold.

I also remember Lenny Breau. He had long wavy black hair and was wearing a very colorful shirt. At one point Paul Franklin, Mike Smith, and Hal Rugg, and Lenny Breau were all playing at the same time -- some jazz standard. I remember that every time Hal Rugg started to take a ride, Lenny Breau would cut him off. Hal just smiled and looked down at his strings. Then one time Hal started a solo, and it seemed to take Lenny Breau by surprise. He went over and stood in front of Hal the whole time just staring at him (in amazement it seemed to me).

Several years later I attended a Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis (and have not been back since). Waylon Jennings was giving an award to Ralph Mooney. He said that he grew up in West Texas, and that hisd heroes had always been the steel players, and his greatest hero was Ralph Mooney. I thought, "Wow, what a guy."

Gere Mullican · Post by **Gere Mullican** » 16 Feb 2004 12:38 pm

Paul, I know you don't know me because I am a nobody steel player wannabee but I remember when you came to your first DJ convention. I was at, I believe the Hermitage Hotel (I was also a DJ) and this little slim snotty nosed kid came in the room where I was and he brought a ShoBud in and set it up. It looked sort of like one Lloyd played. He started playing and I could hear so much Lloyd Green tone and touch that I thought if I closed my eyes I would see Lloyd. And I was very impressed. You looked like maybe 16 or so.WOW!! how far you have gone. I am still impressed every time I hear you on record. Speaking of Roy Wiggins' store on Broad, when Roy was out for his heart surgery, I sat in for him on the live show on Saturdays. There, I met another little kid that won't remember me. His name was Tommy White. I can't believe that I have been playing steel almost twice as long as you guys have been alive and I could not even carry your guitar. Anyway I won't bore you guys with any more. I just was so glad to read Paul's post and it brought back so many memories. Thank you Paul
Gere

Billy Wilson · Post by **Billy Wilson** » 16 Feb 2004 3:40 pm

I think it was '95 or '96 Tom Morrell was being inducted into the Sacramento Western Swing Hall of Fame. When I got to the event he was on stage playin' hot swingin' music with top notch players like Paul Anastasio et al, and the dance floor was packed. When that set ended Tom got off stage and the jam session began. One of the jammers on steel was Vance Terry. At this point Vance's reputation was not at all what it had been, so nobody seemed particularly thrilled that he was up there, that is, until he started playing! It was like the old Vance was back, he was REALLY playing. Morrell did a very obvious double take and ran and got a standard guitar and joined in. Paul Anastasio did like wise. Yhe music being played was at a level that was just staggering to me. Then in comes Dayna Wills with her vocals and took it up another notch. When the set ended Tom Morrell came over to Vance sitting at his steel, extended his arms and bowed down!!! If you got Tom Morrell bowing down to you that is awesome. Tom also asked Vance to participate in one of his recordings but of course that never happened. BW