Buddy Emmons

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

The great Jerry Byrd had to take a job painting houses in the 1960's when his sessions and gigs fell off. In later years he said that he had made no money on his many albums. He also lambasted someone on line for copying and selling his steel courses. He said he needed that income in his retirement. John Hughey also blasted someone on line for uploading and sharing his latest album. I don't blame him for that, but it was clear that he depended on that income.

Buddy made a couple of surprising comments late in his career. He said that playing occasional steel shows and selling his courses gave him "Walmart money". And one time here on the forum he said that recording studios would occasionally "throw me a bone". Not sure if he was joking, but it was a surprising comment.

I agree that a lot of great steel guitarists were just sidemen, especially under the old Nashville "Star system" The players were just hired hands, just wallpaper behind the Star. Sad

On the bright side, some steel guitarists who expanded into music sales and teaching, like Jeff Newman and Eddie Alkire, did pretty well. And some who fronted bands... Alvino Rey, Robert Randolph, Santo Farina... must have made a good living.
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Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Buddy's house was a split level design. The bottom two rooms were either his studio, his exercise room, or his bar/lounge. I've seen them in various usages. The garage was separate from the house at the end of the driveway, to the left of the carport.

Still, the rooms upstairs in the main floor of the house were relatively small. I felt he lived modestly.
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Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Bobby Boggs · From: Upstate SC.

Jim Goins · From: Michigan, USA

I don't think money is every thing, Buddy was happy doing what he did, I think he had a comfortable life which is what all its about. I never seen an armored truck following a hurst! you cant take it with you. Jim Goins.

Kevin Fix · From: Michigan, USA

AMEN, JIM!!!!! Did Buddy and Peggy have kids? Never heard if he ever kids.

Bill L. Wilson · From: Oklahoma, USA

If Buddy didnâ€™t get rich playing, where does that leave the rest of us?....I figured out as a young man that I wasnâ€™t good enough, wasnâ€™t going to have anything, and if I didnâ€™t learn a trade I was doomed. I painted houses, did sheetrock, carpentry, and just retired a few yrs. ago. Having a nice comfortable home, a great family, lots of guitars, amps, and being able to play for Wal-Mart money worked out way better than a career in music. I think most of the session aces in Nashville that stay busy, live pretty well. A friend of mine,(a great bass player) lived in a real nice home in Hendersonville, had a CD burning business, and played a lot of sessions. After the CD biz went south he went into TV and video production, and got out of Music City. If you canâ€™t cut it, move on.

Ernie Renn · From: Brainerd, Minnesota USA

Buddy did alright. All he ever did was play steel guitar. No part time jobs of any kind that I ever heard of. I don't think he ever sold a guitar. He either sent them back to the company or gave them away. One year he cleaned out his shed and took several guitars and a couple of amps out to the curb for the trash man. Possessions meant very little. He was really sentimental about Peggy and his kids. One time he sold The Blade. Peggy bought it right back and then told him that it was now her guitar and he would not be allowed to sell it again.

He had told Don Everly that he didn't think he was going out with them on the next tour. To which Don showed up with a gold piece for every year he was with them. Buddy said he couldn't turn that down.

In his later years he just wanted to spend time with Peggy. She's the one who talked him into continuing to playing steel shows. He said doing steel show gave them a chance to get out of town to travel a little bit, see some friends and just enjoy each other's company. After Peggy passed away he said he didn't quite know what to do with himself because they had had plans to do some stuff together. I tried and tried to get him to go to Scotty's convention. He said he wouldn't mind going, but he just didn't want to play and was sure people wouldn't stop trying to get him to play. I told him to just go for the afternoon to sign autographs and pose for pictures. He said he could, but it was too far. Telling me he just didn't want to.

He nearly always had steel guitar on his mind. How something would lay on the guitar or how he'd do something or other. Buddy could tell what guitar he was playing on almost any given recordings. He and Ron would listen to recordings and they'd talk about them for hours. We were going out to eat one night and I was playing a CD, (I think it was a Faron Young/Ray Price CD). He listened for a few seconds and said, "That was the Carter. Sounded pretty good."

The comments he made like "WalMart money" and "Throw me a bone" was just kinda the way he talked. Making a little cash would get you shopping money. He had a lot of little sayings. Quite a few times I'd say something and he'd lean towards me and instead of saying, How's that? He's say "Cows-ass?"

Although not very often, one time the day after one of the Nashville steel get togethers he asked me, "You know what I bought at WalMart last night?" (A HUGE CLOCK!) He had me in stitches a LOT!

Sorry I kinda let my mind wonder a bit. He was one of a kind and will never be replaced.

I miss him each and every day...
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My best,
Ernie

www.BuddyEmmons.com

Dave Grothusen · From: Scott City, Ks

It is not what you make but how you manage what you have. Many famous entertainers lost what they achieved through spending beyond their means or through scandal. Looks like Buddy was doing fine. He had a roof over his head.

John Lacey · From: Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada

He told me once in an email that he had done a session for some â€œTexas nobodiesâ€ and that the money would keep him in booze and cigarettes.

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

He sometimes used the term "Tex Nobody" to refer to unsigned, independent artists. I'm sure it was more of a joke than spiteful name calling.
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David Mitchell · From: Tyler, Texas

To give you an idea the money that a sideman of Buddy's caliber makes when I played bass for Tony Douglas and the shrimpers Tony hired Buddy to play steel on a recorded concert we worked every year in Meridian, Ms.
It was the annual Jimmy Rodgers memorial festival. This was about 1975 about two years before I joined the band. Tony gave Buddy $750.00 plus plane ticket and motel expenses for that 2 hour recorded concert. That was a pretty good stack of money back then. Tony was paying me $60.00 a night and Chuck Jennings the band leader made $100.00 a night. A little more info about that gig. Chuck and Harlan said Buddy rehearsed with them about an hour when they got set up in the auditorium and they played the songs on the albums to him. Buddy said he was vaguely familiar with "His n Hers" a 1960's hit Tony had. Chuck says Buddy never touched his guitar. He wrote charts out to all the songs then tells them he has it and says thanks. When the show started and it was going down as a soon to be released vinyl album Buddy sounds just like Bob Tuttle the guy that played on Tony's records note for note like he had been playing with the band for years. Chuck said Buddy was a musical genius. I worked a lot with Tom Morrell and he was the same way. Their mind snapped a photograph of the recording. On one of those Meridian gigs Little Roy Wiggins played some songs with us. And the Peavy company always worked the live sound for us. They gave us a tour of the plant the next day one year and gave me a T-40 bass and Chuck and Harlan T-60 guitars. They just had come out. Brand new items.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

I donâ€™t think it is a sad picture. It looks like a nice patch of ground, though it could use a tree.

I donâ€™t know anything about Mr. & Mrs. Emmons personally. But my mom and dad deliberately downsized their home in their golden years, because they didnâ€™t want to take care of a 4 bed / 3 bath house anymore. I find myself now in my 60â€™s thinking the same way.

David Mitchell · From: Tyler, Texas

My thoughts too. Looks like the upper end of modest to me. I would not expect one the size of one of George Strait's mansions he has up for sale near San Antonio recently for a cool 12 million.

Jon Zimmerman · From: California, USA

A humble musical genius who lived in a modest home. That about covers it, tho the first thing I wondered was ' must take a riding mower to trim all that lawn' as I viewed the house photo. Then someone mentions Peggy on a riding mower! Absolutely..the Emmons' were a typical Tenn couple. Partners in whatever it took, right to the end of their days. Words can't convey a fraction of what the heart feels.

John Lacey · From: Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada

I got the impression that once Peggy had passed, that was the slow decline for Buddy. They were really soul mates.

Johnie King · From: Tennessee, USA

You know the old saying a house donâ€™t make a home an his an Peggyâ€™s house was a home.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

When I used the term "modestly", I meant that the Emmonses lived in a solidly middle class home, relaxing and comfortably lived-in, with nice but not extravagant things. I wasn't afraid to sit anywhere or worry I might drop an expensive glass, although the Scotch was usually top or close-to top shelf. ðŸ˜Ž
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

David Mitchell · From: Tyler, Texas

I spent the last 15 years of Walter Haynes life hanging out with him and he played steel and fiddle in mine and my brothers band for 10 of those years. Many times at home I would ask Walter about the old Nashville days and ask questions about the pickers. Sometimes I would ask him about Buddy or John Hughey and he would say "I don't know, let's just call him." So he would pull out his phone and call them. He had everybody's number and most of the time they would pick up. Even guys like Merle Haggard answered his phone calls. Cool guy to know anyway the last couple of times he called Buddy when Walter hung up the phone he looked at me and said "Buddy isn't doing too good". That was after his wife had passed. Walter said he's lost interest in everything. Buddy and Walter were real close ever since they were kids and Walter knew the old Buddy. I can't relate because I can't keep a woman 6 months but I'm sure it is possible for two to become one.

Kevin Fix · From: Michigan, USA

I believe that most of the top musicians made some real good money in their life time, but, they were basically self employed and guys that are self employed have to pay medical premiums monthly and be able to put money back for retirement someday. If they worked long enough to get social security, as long as they paid enough in to it helped. When I retired 10 years ago I had paid into a private pension since I was 21 years old and social security since I was 18. My pension has a medical package along with it. No worries here. Being a pro picker would have been nice, but it would have to be managed financially.

Paul King · From: Gainesville, Texas, USA

I assume when it came to playing steel shows Buddy was paid. I cannot imagine him not being paid, he was putting people in the seats. Regardless of how much money he made or lived there are a couple issues he has made an impression on with me. First, he loved his wife dearly and secondly his playing always left me wanting more. He had everything a steel player wants when it came to steel guitar. His tone, clean and smooth, speed and accuracy plus qualified beyond measure on both necks. I sure miss him greatly.

Erv Niehaus · From: Litchfield, MN, USA

One thing I liked about Buddy, it looked like he really enjoyed what he was doing.
He was always smiling and laughing as he played and I don't think he took himself too seriously.
If ever he hit a clam, he just laughed about it. Very Happy

Erv

Jack Strayhorn · From: Winston-Salem, NC

To my knowledge most professional musician salaries are modest at best, many below modest pay. I knew many of the top steel players in Nashville and all lived modest lifestyles. As far as builders, they to lived very modestly. As far as Buddy's income from the Emmons Company until the agreement was breeched in the mid 80's he received 5% of the gross income from all Emmons branded merchandise. As far as Lashley making money he died living much more modestly than Buddy.

J R Rose · From: Keota, Oklahoma, USA

Maybe I missed it but never did see how many kids did they have? Would like to know and if they are involved in music? And where at? Thanks, J.R. Rose
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NOTHING..Sold it all. J.R. Rose

joe long · From: San Antonio, Texas

I have really enjoyed reading all of this. Thanks everyone.

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