Anyone play steel and sing... at the same time!?

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

I've always done some singing while playing steel. You have to be a bit judicious about what you try to accomplish on your instrument when you are in the middle of a vocal line or you will lose your concentration - one danger is that you will lose track of your microphone proximity and your voice will fade away. I have thought about trying one of those headset doohickeys that a lot of singers are using.

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Like DVA, I've been lazy about it in recent years. Most of the bandleaders I work with now don't even know that I sing. I don't bring a mike to a gig unless specifically asked to.

Just lazy. My song list is getting pretty old, too.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (E7, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Billy Woo · From: Los Angeles, CA, USA

I play and switch off from Elec guitar to Steel and sing lead. One of the hardest songs to pull off for me is "Just Call me Lonesome" by Radney Foster, singing lead is tough on this one. Now, a question to all the above. What is the best way to set up an A/B box system to switch from guitar to steel and keep my Tubefex going at the same time? at the moment I am plugging my guitar direct to amp and psg to tubefex to 2nd input of amplifier?

Jim Bob Sedgwick · From: Clinton, Missouri USA

Count me in: I will have to say both the singing and the playing suffer somewhat, tho.

Craig Allen · From: BEREA, KENTUCKY, USA

Yup, all the time.
I front from the steel, and do 1/3 of the bands vocal work

Tim Rowley · From: Pinconning, MI, USA

To Billy Woo:

It depends on a couple of factors, but assuming you want to be able to run both the steel and the standard guitar through the Tube-fex, here's my recommendation:

Run the steel to the "A" input and the guitar to the "B" input of the A/B box, the output of the A/B box to the input of the Tube-fex, the output of the Tube-fex to the volume pedal, and the output of the Tube-fex to the amp. Use the best cables you can get (i.e. George L) and keep them just as short as possible because of the Hi-Z situation. It gets more complicated if you have to separately pre-amp the guitar or if there is a problem with tone. Send me an E-mail so we can discuss this in more detail.

For my setup I use a home-built A/B box with a heavy duty double-throw center-off switch and broom clips to attach it to the leg of my steel guitar. It works great, is well shielded, and does not cause any hum. In the past I have also tried using mixers but in doing so some tone is sacrificed due to capacitance, signal strength is compromised, and headroom problems can occur. You are right to stick with the A/B box IMHO as long as it's placed correctly in the chain

Tim R..

Vern Kendrick · From: Earth

Hell,..I cant even play steel at the same time

Van Ertel · From: Lutherville, MD USA

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Billy Phelps. His set in St Louis was a real treat.

George Keoki Lake · From: Edmonton, AB., Canada

Coming from a non-pedal area...Singing and playing steel is very common in Hawai'i. Amongst those who do it and do it well are Alan Akaka, Casey Olsen, Harold Hakuole, Greg Sardinha to name but a few. Even Jerry has been known to play and sing! Most manage to play fills at the end of phrases while singing either solo or three part harmony. I cannot recall any of them actually playing hot riffs while singing.

Robert Thomas · From: Mehama, Oregon, USA

I have found that if you use a mike that clamps to your head and has a small mike in front of your mouth, that you can maintain
eye contact and move your head up, down and around and not have to fight a stationary mike helps tremendously. I play by myself, so I play the melody while I sing. I feel anyone can do this if I can. Just practice a lot. I have a HWP Mullens d-10, 8+4, Korg KR55 rythum machine, Roland Space echo, Mutron bi-phase and Run this all through a Peavey XR350, with 2 separate speaker cabinets. Each cabinet has 2 jensen 12 inch,16 ohm speakers and 1, 8 ohm horn driver. I also use a Bigsby vol/tone pedal.
Have fun, that is what it is all about.

John Kavanagh · From: Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada * R.I.P.

I played in a jazz/blues trio where I played bass, harmonica, and sang, all more or less at the same time. It was sort of like white water rafting...

Bob Stone · From: Gainesville, FL, USA

There are several contemporary "Sacred Steel" musicians who sing as they play. Calvin Cooke, Aubrey Ghent and Robert Randolph are among the first that come to mind. Not only do they sing, they really move around. Robert might get up and stomp and dance and quickly return to play the steel several times during the course of a number. I have seen Aubrey Ghent do James Brown glides across the floor while still playing as well as get down on one knee while playing.

And of course Willie Eason sang on 6 of 7 the 78s he recorded in the 1940s and 50s. He made a career out of singing while playing lap steel. He would talk to his steel ("What did you say?" or " You better hush your mouth!") and make it answer back.

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

I was going to post this yesterday but I didn't have a last name for this player and still don't today. Perhaps he will recognize his work or someone else will know who I am talking about.

In the late 60s I was working as a TV Engineer. On sunday mornings I would work in VTR and load and play shows like the Happy Goodmans (sp ?). The steel man was singing as well as playing. Later in the 80s he was working with Johnny Paycheck (also a former steel man.) and I spent an evening with him at Whiskey River, Macon, GA. He opened the show with a knock-out rendition of What's Forever For and playing excellent steel guitar at the same time.

His name was Mike - - - - ?? I could make a guess but I won't because there are so many good players named Mike and I'm sure I'd offend someone either way. He played an Emmon D-10 but I think there were only three or four strings left on the C6th neck. He said he never used it but I wondered to myself, why not take those old strings off and put a pad on there. I'd like to think now that he had so much work, time wouldn't allow for that.

Regards, Paul

[This message was edited by Paul Graupp on 09 October 2001 at 05:59 AM.]

Joerg Hennig · From: Bavaria, Germany

Sam White R.I.P. · From: Coventry, RI 02816

I try to play Steel and Ido better playing than I would if I sang.I have four of the Steel players in The R.I Steel Guitar Assoc. that are great Steel players and real good singers.We Have Manny Escbar who can triple yodel,Roger Traham who does a great job on (Look at us),Len Amaral who is a great singer and Andy Perry who is also great at both.
Sam White

John Steele · From: Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

I agree with Jim C. and ebb... Pete Burak does a really great job at it. I happened into a side room at a convention and soaked it in for a while...
The hair's gotta go though.

-John

Gary Harris · From: Hendersonville, TN, USA

Of course, Pete Drake did it and recorded it.
One of the few pedal steel players that had his own distinctive sound.
I saw Smiley Roberts do it this week and did a bang up job.

TomP · From: Encino Ca

Leon McAuliffe was my favorite. Enjoyed his sangin' a lot more that Tommy Duncan's.

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-Tom www.tompowell.org

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Gary, the story I heard was that when Pete Drake's "talking guitar" style was at it's peak, he couldn't learn all the songs fast enough to record them, so Jeff Newman played them and Pete mouthed the words.

Ed Webster · From: Salem, Oregon -USA

Richie Dell, wherever he is now, does a single, using an auto. drummer/bass machine and has done this VERY successfully since back in the 60's. He was my mentor in the transition from triple neck Fender to the pedal scene and blew me away with the kind of steel he could play along with all that other stuff going on as well as singing. Anyone know where Richie is today? Lat I heard he was in the Lubbock, TX area.

chris ivey · From: california (deceased)

i've sung quite a bit in the past...lead and harmony. lead singing is alot easier if the band knows the tune!

Jim Florence · From: wilburton, Ok. US * R.I.P.

If you're old enough you could remember Wayne Newton and his brother Jerry as the Rythym Rascalls on TV like in 1957 where Wayne played steel and sang while Jerry played guitar. It was very cute Wayne was probably 15 or 16, and they had a parakeet that stayed on his steel. The bird seemed to enjoy being on camera.

Jussi Huhtakangas · From: Helsinki, Finland

Jeremy Wakefield sings and plays steel with The Lucky Stars, and does a heck of a job on both.
Jussi

Red Kilby · From: Pueblo, CO, USA * R.I.P.

What about Weldon Myrick???? He sings and plays.

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