Johnny Cash's steeler?

Tony Harris · Post by **Tony Harris** » 12 Dec 2002 4:56 am

Just been listening to the story of Sun Studios. Sam Philips tells that Johnny turned up in the summer of 1955 without his steel player who "couldn't make it that day". Wonder who that could've been. I only know one album of JC's that uses steel (Songs of our Soil?)...

Tony Harris · Post by **Tony Harris** » 12 Dec 2002 6:36 am

Ooops! No, the album with steel was "Now There was a Song"...

Steve Pacholl · Post by **Steve Pacholl** » 12 Dec 2002 6:47 am

Cash didn't use a steeler during the Sun sessions. The story I heard and have read often in Cash biographies is that it was Luther that didn't make the session. I think it was said that Luther had some family matters to attend to.

You have to keep in mind that Sam Phillips tends to be less accurate than Cash when it comes to the details of certain events.

I also heard Cash say that he didn't mind a steel guitar, but it didn't belong on his stage.

Joe Allwood · Post by **Joe Allwood** » 12 Dec 2002 8:43 pm

Actually, Cash DID have a steeler for his initial Sun sessions in 1955...it was an older guy...I don't have the set handy, but Bear Family put out a 5 record set of Cash's Sun Years and let me tell you, you haven't heard Johnny Cash til you've heard him backed with a poor lap steel player. The difference between the "train" rhythm and this recording is just striking. Someone surely has the guy's name, but when he was asked later about missing out on fame and fortune, he said "I didn't see it going anywhere." Oh well...

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 13 Dec 2002 3:41 am

Don Helms recorded one album with Cash.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 13 Dec 2002 7:36 am

Didn't Cash have Jerry Monday on dobro back in the early/mid-60's? Around the time of "Understand Your Man"...

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Steve Pacholl · Post by **Steve Pacholl** » 18 Dec 2002 6:57 am

I was going through my John Smith book (Another Song to Sing - the Recorded Repertoire of Johnny Cash) and there is no mention of a steel player on any of the Sun sessions that I can find.

In this book it lists every recording, when/where and the personnel. The only early reference to a steel player I have found so far are the Songs of the Soil sessions with Columbia. There are a number of "unknown dobro" on some of the Columbia sessions.

One interesting find. Cash recorded Steel Guitar Rag twice. Cash doing vocals on both recordings. Once in 86 and again in 96.
The 86 session does not list a steel player, which is weird for recording this number, so I wonder if Earl Ball was doing the steel on the keyboard or if one of the many guitarists were imitating the steel.
This recording does not list a release.

The 96 recording has Robby Turner on steel and dobro. This was released on Robby Turner's Man of Steel CD. So it is actually a Turner recording with Cash on vocals.

Don Helms is listed on a number of recordings as is Lloyd Green and Pete Drake.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 18 Dec 2002 11:50 am

"Now That Was a Song" was the name of the Cash album on which Don Helm's played steel.

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 18 Dec 2002 12:59 pm

Don played on "Understand Your Man"

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 18 Dec 2002 1:46 pm

cash had a steel player on a march 1955 session--guy named a.w. "red" kernodle.

songs recorded were:

hey porter (two takes, including the issued take on Sun 221 45 rpm, johnny's first released single)

folsom prison blues (unissued at the time; not the hit version)

wide open road (unissued til the 80s)

my two timin' woman (unissued till the late 70s or 80s)

above info taken from the bear family boxed set booklet.

as i recall from listening, mister kernodle leaves a lot to be desired.

mitch drumm

Kenny Dail · Post by **Kenny Dail** » 18 Dec 2002 3:37 pm

There was a rumor that June Carter did the Dobro sounds on "Understand Your Man". Can anybody verfy or dis-qualify this statement?

------------------
kd...and the beat goes on...

Tom Kaufman · Post by **Tom Kaufman** » 18 Dec 2002 5:54 pm

I thought that my ears had told me that Don Helms was playing steel on the Johnny Cash L P "Now There Was A Song." And according to what I'm reading here, my ears must not have been lying to me! It seems to me that I heard Cash say in an interview once that his brother, Roy, was supposed to have played steel before he did his first session for Sun. But he backed out before they went into the studio. I've noticed some steel on some other Cash cuts. One was Johnny's Version of the Jimmie Davis classic, "suppertime." Another was a thing he did for Columbia (I believe it was the flip side of "The Madtador) in both case, the steeler sounds like Don Helms.
Tom Kaufman

Andy Alford · Post by **Andy Alford** » 18 Dec 2002 6:47 pm

Don Helms on Understand Your Man

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 19 Dec 2002 10:15 pm

Red was actually part of the Cash band in 1954-1955, by all accounts he was a most rudimentry stylist and when he decided to leave (or got canned, I can't recall which) they simply had no desire to replace him.

It's important to note that Sam Phillips didn't really think a steel player was essential to a rockabilly group and most of the bands that tried their hands at Sun either lost the steel guy or cut country stuff. Sam wasn't really big on follow up singles at any rate, most Sun artists were lucky to have more than two sides. Obvious exceptions being Cash, Perkins, Presley, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis.