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Doug Jernigan Duane Marrs Jerry Fessenden Bob Saxton Ronny Dale Bill Goodwin Randy Beavers John Heinrich Willis Wade Charlie Archer Chad Udeen Cal Sharp Jim Vest
I got in my car the other night and the radio came on just in time to hear George Hamilton IV saying "... here's Jimmy Capps on the lead guitar" and a big ole grin came to my face ... and speaking of big ole grins, HorseRockRecords just released a compilation CD Legends of the Incredible Lapsteel Guitar featuring Bobbe Seymour ... hey, that's me!!! ... Gary Brandin, Harry Manx, Orville Johnson, Bob Brozman, Greg Leisz, Tom Morrell, Stacy Phillips, Herb Remington, Cindy Cashdollar, Ken Emerson, Kayton Roberts, Jeff Lang and "The Fugitive Steeler" ... oops, me again!
Read all about it on the bottom of our CD page.
Jim Vest was an unexpected surprise.
Those of you not familiar with Jim by name will probably remember his group ... The Nashville Cats.
Jim and I sat in my office and remembered and talked about some of the old times and the longer we talked, the funnier it got.
I recorded our conversation on my microscassette recorder. You hear all the store noises in the background but it's worth a listen. Just click the link below.
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I've known Cal Sharp for many, many years and have appreciated his friendship tremendously as he is one of the nicest, most thoughtful, considerate steel players in town. I'll never forget one fall when I was playing with Johnny Paycheck and we had to drive to Minnesota to play an outside festival ... Faron Young opened for us and by the time we went on, the temperature had dropped 50 degrees. Since we had just come from the south, I had no jacket or anything and I was absolutely freezing on the stage. Cal saw me as he was loading his stuff into Faron's bus and immediately ripped the big down filled jacket off the fiddle players back, threw it to me and said you can give it back to him in Nashville if you want. The fiddle player screamed, now I'm going to freeze. Cal said shut up and get in the bus, us steel players have to stick together.
A month later, I ran across the fiddle player, Ozzie Osmont, and gave him his jacket back. As cold as I was, I'll never forget the generosity of these two characters. It was like being thrown a rope when you're drowning. Cal Sharp? The finest!
Cal played with Red Sovine, Little Jimmy Dickens and Stonewall Jackson, before spending 10 years with Faron Young.
Cal is currently a graphic designer ... www.calsharp.com ... but still does session work and plays local clubs. He has two push-pulls he plays through Peavey Vegas 400 amps.
Chad Udeen and Eddie Pleasant.
Chad is a regular visitor to Steel Guitar Nashville and stopped by briefly just before leaving on tour with Andy Griggs. Since he was in a hurry, he promised to give us some words of wisdom the next time he's in.
Eddie made several million dollars being the merchandise man for Hank Jr. and gave it all away to friends and needy people.
*** U-P-D-A-T-E ***
Chad is back and you can hear our conversation, stupid jokes and all ... just click below.
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The great Charlie Archer from Ada, Oklahoma.
I met Charlie about 20 years ago at the Broken Spoke. Charlie played lead guitar with Conway Twitty from '73 to '93. After Conway died, he went to work for Opryland on the General Jackson riverboat. He put in his hours, studied and took the test to become a river pilot and since he lived on the river, went to work everyday in a rowboat.
Charlie's good friend, Jimmy Crawford, built up an Emmons double ten push-pull for him and he learned to play steel. Now he plays an Emmons LeGrande II and for the last year or so has been working for Loretta Lynn.
Loretta is back with MCA and working and writing lots of songs and that's just fine with Charlie who says it's just like old times when Conway and Loretta did all those duets together. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy!
Fast fiddlin' Willis Wade
Willis has done about everything an entertainer can do from the Opry to movies to worldwide tours.
Willis is a character I'd like you to know so take a listen to our talk.
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John Heinrich, multi-instrumentalist.
Busy session man around town playing steel, sax, flute and dobro. John was a member of the popular Berlin country music group, Western Union from 1981 to 1985. Upon returning to the States, he became a member of the Stockyard house band from 1986 to 1995. John keeps what's left of the rest of his time filled doing live gigs with various artists. Look for him at the Steel Guitar Convention in Dallas this March.
*** Rumors ***
A little birdie told me the Dixie Chicks are about to hire a well-known steel guitar player away from another famous Nashville act ... the little birdie went on to say that this steel player would add great musical credibility to this act ... wonder who that could be?
My crystal ball tells me Peavey is getting close to revealing a new steel guitar amp called the 112 (one twelve) and it will probably have a 12" heavy duty speaker, 80 watts of solid state power, headphone out that disables the internal speaker so you can practice without entertaining your family, volume pedal patch, CD/tape input, 3 spring reverb, XLR balanced output, send/return jacks and a Peavey tone mod kit incorporated into the circuit.
I cracked my crystal ball last time I dropped it but it seems to still be working.
Whatever happened to ... Randy Beavers?
You guys are in for a treat. Randy is back! He dropped by to visit me today and I must've looked malnourished because he immediately went out bought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken and made me eat it all.
Anyone who hung around the steel guitar shows will remember the whiz-kid, child prodigy from Tulsa, Oklahoma who would steal the show just about anywhere he went and then went on to work for many great Nashville acts. A few years ago, Randy withdrew from the music scene and started a construction/contracting business. Now in his early 40's, Randy is ready to come back and if the private concert he gave me today is any indication, he's back with a vengence. The ZumSteel of 24 years has been replaced by a rosewood Emmons LeGrande II and I hope his insurance is paid up because with those hot licks Randy plays, that Emmons may be in danger of catching fire. Randy will be playing the steel guitar shows again real soon as well as master sessions and gigs.
In addition to steel guitar and construction, Randy is a hot-rod fanatic with a special talent for making 351 Ford Windsor engines produce 3 times their stock horsepower dependably. Whatever he does, Randy is not the kind of man to do anything half way so watch out 'cuz you're gonna love this guy the way I do!
Snowstorm hits Nashville.
Slick, slippery roads brought traffic to a crawl and an absolutely "brilliant" decision by the school board to get all the kids in school and then close school for snow had parents who fought the elements getting to work struggling to get to children left shivering in the cold after being dropped off by school buses thus adding thousands of cars to the already clogged highways.
Do you suppose they sit around trying to figure out what the absolute dumbest decision they could make would be and then make it?
George Carlin could have had a field day!
Anybody who ordered anything yesterday, please be patient because those orders won't be shipped until Tuesday since Monday is a holiday.
We do have a skeleton crew to take orders.
Bill Goodwin, wonderful friend and funny, funny man.
Bill was an MGM recording artist in the early sixties and I was one of his first steel players. He would do anything for a laugh or on a dare. I have even seen him come out on stage in a dress and use Roy Drusky for a straight man.
One day Bill decided he wanted off the road, so he walked into Hubert Long's booking agency and asked him for a job. He never had to look back. The job fit him like a glove and he rose to executive vice-president. After Hubert died, Bill started his own agency and lured such prize clients as Bill Anderson, Jean Shepard, Roy Drusky, Billy Walker and John Conlee. John literally became a member of the family by marrying Bill's sister-in-law.
Bill has had a very rich and illustrious career in most all phases of the music business in Nashville. Now, happily retired, Bill and his wife alternate between a home in Colorado and one in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin. He keeps busy collecting cars and is also an avid private pilot.
Jerry Fessenden pays a visit.
Jerry is renouned for using the finest materials available in his guitars. His classically designed creations have the tone, the feel and the playability of the finest guitars of the past.
These low-production, high-quality guitars reflect Jerry's craftsmanship, attention to detail and eye for beauty. Steel Guitar Nashville is proud to be a dealer for this fine instrument.
Ronny Dale, famous bass player and now, steel guitarist in Nashville.
Ronny toured with Ernest Tubb for several years as a front man and bass player. He has worked in Nashville in clubs and sessions for many more years. His wonderful personality and talent has carried his notoriety near and far.
He's a bass playing legend in country music. He loves steel guitars and steel players. Ronny owns several steel guitars and a big collector of vintage Sho-Bud and Emmons steels.
Doug Jernigan dropped by to wish us a Happy New Year.
Just a little history for those of you who aren't aware. Doug came to Nashville in 1968 and started playing with David Houston. Through the years he has played with Faron Young, Jim and Jesse, Little Jimmy Dickens, Johnny Paycheck, Lorrie Morgan and Jack Greene.
That's Doug's steel you hear on Lorrie Morgan's "Out Of Your Shoes", "Five Minutes", "Dear Me" and "Trainwreck Of Emotions". You also hear him on Faron Young's "Occasional Wife".
How does Doug spend his time these days? He likes to fish and walk and fish and be outside and fish and he teaches steel guitar one-on-one. Doug spends three days with a student in a one-on-one situation and tailors what he teaches to what the player needs. His focus is on taking that person to a professional level. Doug says that when a student leaves him after three days, he takes with him enough material to keep himself busy learning for the next six months.
Doug's tip for players at all levels ... practice scales an hour a day everyday.
Bob Saxton, Mr. Mellow.
Bob is about as laid-back as they come, until he gets a guitar in his hands!
Merle Travis and Chet Atkins were his heros. These days, Bob devotes his time to volunteer work at senior centers and nursing homes. Each summer, he goes to Alaska and performs exhibition shows for Churches, prisons and rehab centers. You can catch his act at the Alaska State Fair also.
Bob was gracious enough to lend his talents to my Thumb Picking videos where you can see him get straight to the heart of the matter with his virtuoso demonstations.
He has a Christian CD and a Christmas CD available. Email me if you're interested and I'll pass it along to my good friend whose talent I respect and admire.
Duane Marrs, inventor of the pack-a-seat.
In his years with Sho-Bud, Duane worked in Research and Development designing and building prototypes with David Jackson, Shot Jackson's son. Together they created the pieces that went into the production guitar.
The quality and reputation of the guitar speaks well for the men behind it and I am proud of the working relationship I have with Duane because Duane is one of my secret weapons ... one of the reasons you can be sure the Sho-Bud you buy from Steel Guitar Nashville is as good as it gets.
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Steel Guitar Nashville 123 Midtown Court Hendersonville, TN. 37075
Bobbe Seymour's Steel Guitar Nashville is the world's largest steel-only guitar store!
We carry the finest steel guitars and accessories available.
Shop where the pros shop ... at Steel Guitar Nashville!
Call (615) 822-5555 or Email Bobbe