Pete Drake

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 21 Apr 2004 11:01 pm

I've only been a member here for a couple of months, joining mostly to be able to cope with The Monster That Ate My Lunch--ZB D-10 #0131...and thus to trascend my near-eternal beginner status. In those two months, I've read through lots of posts and threads and scoured archives. I've been amazed at all the new instruments, players, concepts, tunings and topics I've run across. Not to mention having learned more about people, places and things I knew just a bit about.

I haven't done a specific search (as I have for ZB-related topics) yet, but I've noticed that I may not have seen Pete Drake mentioned at all in just my normal course of obsessive daily scouring. Pete Drake was almost certainly the first steel guitar player I ever knew of by name (thanks to himself and his Talking Steel Guitar's crossover Top 40 hit, "I'm Sorry" about 1963.) I came to think of him as one of the deans of pedal steel guitarists. Just one opinion, but for as huge a shadow Pete Drake cast in country music, both as a steel player and as a producer and studio owner, it seems like he's in the posthumous witness relocation program hereabouts.

I'm going to go do those searches, but I hope this post will bring out more anecdotes, personal recollections and maybe the odd old-thread-URL for a guy I'd've figured to be a shoo-in for a Pedal Steel Mt. Rushmore.

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 22 Apr 2004 2:21 am

Here's a good one to start you off... http://steelguitarforum.com/Archives/Archive-000003/HTML/20011227-1-009871.html

Nick

Cal Sharp · Post by **Cal Sharp** » 22 Apr 2004 7:17 am

www.calsharp.com/music/Interviews.html

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Cal's Corral

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 22 Apr 2004 9:25 am

I think it can be said that Pete was one of the busiest studio players in the 60's and 70's (he probably holds this position together with Lloyd Green). His style was definitely his own. His musical taste was incredible, he always played exactly what the song needed, that's why so many famous stars relied on his playing (George Jones and Tammy Wynette among them!).

It's impossible to think of many recordings without the famous "Drake Shake"!

Kind Regards, Walter
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

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Mike Headrick · Post by **Mike Headrick** » 22 Apr 2004 12:42 pm

Just yesterday I was discussing Pete with Charlie McCoy, who was without a doubt Pete's equal in session work during that classic period and played on most of the major sessions right beside him. Charlie reflected on the fact that Pete's abilitly was down played by many, but the hits he played on told a different tale. You didn't have to listen long to figure out who was playing on the record. Charle had the highest respect for him, and I think most of his other peers did also. It's sure a pleasant stroll down Memory Lane when I hear one of the many, many hits Pete added his magic touch to.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 22 Apr 2004 3:46 pm

How many remember the time Pete filled in with Earnest Tubb when BE was out ( broken ankle(s)I think )I remember the live Opry shows, and it was hard pressed at times to tell it was not Buddy.

Pete got a lot of us started on this monster we call PSG.

BF

Dave Horch · Post by **Dave Horch** » 22 Apr 2004 9:34 pm

Hey Ben... On that Talking Steel Guitar thing... You might want to check with Dr. Emmons about who really invented it. Just a thought. Pete's great, and he had other influences. Just a thought.

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 22 Apr 2004 11:01 pm

I'm enough of a perennial newbie and dilettante to know that I don't know much. On the other hand, I don't want to be thought a fool for something I didn't say. I never presumed to assert that Pete Drake invented the talking steel; this was not even the point. What I do know is that Pete Drake was the only pedal steel guitarist to have a Top 40 single on one, perhaps two, Top 40/pop/rock 'n' roll stations* in what must have been the just-pre-Beatles era. In so doing, he made an impression even on a too-hip suburban ten-year-old. And the main point: he is the first steel guitarist I ever heard of by name. And to hone my original premise to Swedish-precision sharpness: how come someone I came to regard over the years as a giant among giants seemingly so little in evidence in this enlightened SGF arena forty years later?

(*--Note to Gene Jones and OK SGF members: this would be WKY for sure and possibly KOMA and KTOK in Oklahoma City.)

At that stage, discovering Buddy Emmons (and Red Rhodes and Lloyd Green and Weldon Myrick and Jerry Garcia and Bobby Black and Stu Basore and John David Call and Leo LeBlanc and and and and...) would still be the best part of another decade in my future.

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 22 Apr 2004 11:20 pm

I can't say that this is 100% accurate, however; I remember that it was in Feb. 1968 as I was preparing for a 10 week Far East Tour, it was pointed out to me that of the Top 40 Country-Recordings at that particular date, Pete Drake played his steel on 37± of them! I've always thought that Pete was greatly under-rated! He wasn't Formally considered a ‘Knocked-Out’ Steel Guitarest, but; I always thought his impecable taste influenced the success of many, many Great-Hits by many artists!

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Earnest Bovine · Post by **Earnest Bovine** » 23 Apr 2004 12:06 am

Pete filled in with Earnest Tubb when BE was out ...and it was hard pressed at times to tell it was not Buddy.

only if you have ears like Simon Cowell.

Ben Elder · Post by **Ben Elder** » 23 Apr 2004 12:42 am

OT: Speaking of those alleged ears, I'm mighty proud of a colleague here at work (CBS Hollywood, studio facility for "American Idol"--yes, it AIRS on Fox, but we gleefully take their money for studio facility use.) A couple of weeks ago, my righteously indignant pal flipped off Simon and his s-t-r-e-t-c-h limo driver for not moving their pretentiously obstructive bad selves out of the way of a man trying to navigate the parking lot to get in and do some real work. I told >-------< I'd buy him lunch sometime...

The vicarious dream for all failed contestants...

Don E. Curtis · Post by **Don E. Curtis** » 23 Apr 2004 9:11 am

We're going to feature Pete on my SteelRadio.com program next week, April 28th at 8:00pmCST and talk a little about Pete and play a cut of Pete with George Harrison.
Tune it in and turn it up.
Don

Wayne Cox · Post by **Wayne Cox** » 24 Apr 2004 7:17 am

IMHO, Pete Drake was never a "Buddy Emmons",but then, who is? However, PETE
deserves the utmost respect & admiration
for being the great inovator and great
steel guitarist that he was. I well remember
how a lot of steel players put him down for
all those corny commercial licks he played
on hit records,meanwhile,PETE cryed all the way to the bank! I'm still a fan of his,and proud of it! However, I think that there is still some underlying resentment amongst steel players towards him because we still have to play those corny licks he created that the general publick loves. Some of them are completely tasteless to another steel player,but he wasn't playing for us! If you want to hear good tasteful playing from PETE,go and buy some of his own albums and feast your ears! PETE was simply a good man, trying to earn a good living like the rest of us!!!
~~W.C.~~[This message was edited by Wayne Cox on 24 April 2004 at 08:30 AM.]

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 24 Apr 2004 8:10 am

I never pass up a chance to plug something from the Forum catalog:
http://steelguitarmusic.com/music/petedrake.html

I've always enjoyed Pete Drake's music, and I've always felt that those "corny licks" were very inventive. It took real talent to come up with a unique signature lick for each country hit during that era.

Greatness isn't always measured in technical prowess. Genius takes many forms.

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/Hotb0b.gif" width="96 height="96">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9),
Sierra Laptop 8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax[This message was edited by Bobby Lee on 24 April 2004 at 09:11 AM.]

Joe Miraglia · Post by **Joe Miraglia** » 24 Apr 2004 10:41 am

Corny Licks "Oh For Pete Sakes",Pete Drake was a accomplished steel guitarist.Yes he never was a Buddy Emmons but never want to be BE. He was Pete Drake,he didn,t have to copy any one like most of us do.I can't say for sure,but I bet he played a lot of music on E9th and C6th that we never heard him do. I would have loved to hear him play at a steel guitar show or jam Joe

Miguel e Smith · Post by **Miguel e Smith** » 24 Apr 2004 11:21 am

The album Bobby Lee is mentioning...I'd heard Rose might release this project. Pete used to play these cuts during late night story-telling sessions in his office above the studio. If it's the same cuts, they were not only written by the Beatles, but performed in part by them as well (including Billy Preston). "Get Back" was a great track. I don't have this album so perhaps they changed some of the players to accomodate licensing and such (?).

Mike

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 24 Apr 2004 12:05 pm

Yes, Pete played some "corny" licks, but many of these belong to the most beautiful things ever played to accompany a voice. One of my favorite tunes is "Bedtime Story" by Tammy Wynette. Pete doesn't play a lot on that record, but WHAT he plays always sends chills down by back. I can't wait for the second verse when he comes in!

Kind Regards, Walter
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

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David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 24 Apr 2004 12:39 pm

To have created signature licks people recognised instantly,

Having a complete individual style of his own

To have played studio sessions with anything aproaching the frequency of Lloyd Green, and have so many be hits.

To have played with G. Harrison and not just been in one catagory of music.

Who needs to be anyone but himself : Pete Drake.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 24 April 2004 at 01:40 PM.]

erik · Post by **erik** » 24 Apr 2004 4:05 pm

This thread caused me to put on my George Jones Anniversary, 10 Years Of Hits CD - All the Sherrill stuff. The beauty of these recordings is how quiet they are and how the steel is very exposed. On most of these songs it's only the pedal steel that plays "out-of-the-box" which is why it is so recognizable. I like Pete Drake's stylings very much.

-johnson

[This message was edited by erik on 24 April 2004 at 05:06 PM.]

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 24 Apr 2004 4:21 pm

Anybody out there have to cover 'She's Actin' Single, I'm Drinking Doubles'? I did, and Pete's part was definitely 'out of the box'. And not particularly easy to play.

Donna Dodd · Post by **Donna Dodd** » 24 Apr 2004 4:28 pm

Hi Ben - and welcome to the Forum!
The newly formed Georgia Steel Guitar Association is shaping up nicely, and our first project has to do with Pete Drake. Did you know he was a Georgia boy? Take a look at this February post and feel free to sign the petition! http://www.steelguitarforum.com/Forum15/HTML/005863.html
donna dodd
secretary, GaSGA[This message was edited by Donna Dodd on 24 April 2004 at 05:28 PM.]

John Pelz · Post by **John Pelz** » 24 Apr 2004 10:14 pm

Although I'm a non-pedal player and have been for only a very short time, it is Drake's wonderful playing on Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" that got me hip to steel guitar in the first place.

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 25 Apr 2004 4:28 am

So a friend and I were discussing this last night----Did Pete Drake play that beautiful slide solo on "Something?"

Terry Wood · Post by **Terry Wood** » 25 Apr 2004 5:15 am

After reading these postings, like many of you, I went and dug out some of the hits Pete played on.

Some of my favorites are some of the recordings that he played on with George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Bob Dylan, Johnny Roderiguez and a host of others.

If you don't have the Johnny Roderiguez Cd titled "The Hits." I suggest you get a copy and listen to the great Country music. Johnny and Pete with the other great session players, could cut it, (Hit Records) and they did.

Pete Drake's playing has always had an influence on my playing. It may sound decieveingly simple, but it was those expressive sounds that helped to sell millions of records by Nashville artists. Jimmy Day once said the height of genius is simplicity.

Pete did do a bunch for the steel guitar community. And yes, he rightly belongs in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. Pete was a musician, artist, and a smart business man.

A dear friend of mine played fiddle with some of the Nashville artists and knew Pete well. He always spoke highly of Pete and said he was the only person he ever knew who could make a million dollars, loose it, and make it all over again.

Regardless, we are all the richer for his music. You might want to order the CD titled "Slide," by several different steel guitarists. This CD features some very beautiful playing and it was one of Pete's last projects to produce. He did not play on it but produced it. He loved Steel Guitar and steel guitarists.

I for one, in the recesses of my memory, can still hear his haunting, crying steel guitar on all those great Country Classics.

GOD bless you all!

Woody

nick allen · Post by **nick allen** » 25 Apr 2004 11:47 pm

The solo on "Something" is definitely George.
I have *read* that it's Pete Drake doing the "slide" intro to "My Sweet Lord"... I've also read that it was George, so... anyone's guess!

I don't have the original version around any more.
Nick