Webb Pierce: steel players

Butch Foster · From: Pisgah, Alabama, USA

Webb Pierce's songs featured great steel. I used to put those quarters into thejukebox just to hear the steel backup and break. Besides Bud, who played on many of his recordings, and what pickers worked the road with him-probably some of our forum friends. What were your impressions when you first heard his sound with PSG?

Steve Hinson · From: Hendersonville Tn USA

Butch,it seems to me that Sonny Burnette played on some of Webb's records...at least that's what I was told by some very reliable sources...I'm sure that he worked the road with Webb at one time...Pete Drake played with him some when he first came to town too,I think.

[This message was edited by Steve Hinson on 26 May 2003 at 02:06 PM.]

Tom Kaufman · From: Denton, Maryland, USA

Butch: If I'm not mistaken, it seems to me that Jimmy Day may be on some of Webb's earlier stuff; not for sure of exactly which ones. I seem to recall hearing that Day did work the road back in those days as well..early 50s, perhaps. I have the Bare Family 4-CD box set. But either there is no listing for musicians..or I havn't been able to find owhere that listing would be included.
Tom Kaufman

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

Jimmy Day once told me that after he and Floyd Cramer left the LA Hayride, they went to Nashville and worked with Webb. Webb came to Jimmy and told him he was going to have let his friend go because he could only play on the white keys !!

He sure learned a lot of piano real fast and they used to say that he got the pedal steel sound on a piano after Shot Jackson put some pedals on it for him !! I recall Chet saying once in an RCA record flyer that Floyd was the sound of a pedal steel guitar transcribed to a piano. Just Shows To Go ya !

Regards, Paul

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 26 May 2003 at 04:28 PM.]

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 27 May 2003 at 04:24 AM.]

Gary Walker · From: Morro Bay, CA

Paul, I don't know whether you remember or not but that style of piano playing was not Cramer's idea but that of Don Robertson who also wrote "Please Help Me I'm Falling" and other fine songs. The style is, to this day, called the Cramer style. He's gone but Robertson is still alive and collecting royalties on his songs.

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Bear Family box set lists the session players, Jimmy Day, Bud Isaacs, Sonny Burnette and Don Helms all played on Webb's 50's Decca recordings. I don't have the book here on front of me, so could be, there were others too. Story goes, that when "Slowly" hit big, Webb called Paul Bigsby to order one of his steel guitars, so that whoever worked on the road with him, could play the "Slowly"-licks. Paul said "fine, the waiting time is two years". Webb got all mad and yelled "don't you know who this is!!". Bigsby couldn't care less for stardom and said Webb had to wait in line like every one else. So on those Gannaway films of Webb, you can see Sonny Burnette playing a Bigsby, which he bought from Johnny Siebert.

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

Jussi: Just a week or so ago, I was e-mailing somebody back in PA that I had seen a steel player with WP whose steel had the name covered with masking tape. I asked him at that show if he was Bud Issacs and he just smiled and said No ! I never found out the rest of the story until your post.

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES !!

Regards, Paul

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Paul,

chas smith R.I.P. · From: Encino, CA, USA

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: