What player's could you ID just hearing them?

Jim West · Posted 6 Nov 2002 7:46 am

What players could you make a 95% positive ID just hearing them on the radio or on a CD? What player has a style and a tone that makes you say, "I know who that is!"

For me it's -

Buddy Emmons
JayDee Maness
Sneaky Pete

Anybody else have any?

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

John Hughey
Paul Franklin
Dan Tyack
Bruce Bouton

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Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Big E, Noel Boggs, Joaquin, Speedy, Chalker, Lloyd Green.

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George McLellan · From: Duluth, MN USA

Don Helms
Johnny Siebert
Jerry Byrd
Keyton Roberts

I'd say Al Brisco, but I can't hear as fast as he can play.

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SUAS U' PHIOB
Geo

[This message was edited by George Mc Lellan on 06 November 2002 at 08:00 AM.]

Roy Ayres · From: Riverview, Florida, USA, R.I.P.

Most of the well-known from the "old days":
Joaquin Murphey, Noel Boggs, Alvino Rey, Jerry Byrd, Speedy West, Herb Remington, Leon McAuliff, Roy Wiggins, Pete Kirby.
*************
Edited to add Curley Chalker
and Don Helms.

[This message was edited by Roy Ayres on 06 November 2002 at 08:13 AM.]

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

I'd have to add early Brumley, and early Lloyd Green, and early Buddy Charleton to those already mentioned. In the past 15 years, it's gotten harder to recognize players...as their sound is a lot more uniform, or homogenous than it used to be. This isn't the fault of the players, but more the fault of the producers. Live, they're still recognizable, but on their CD backup work...forget it.

DJ Sillito · From: Lethbrige, Alberta, Canada

1. Paul Franklin - probably a style that alot of us try to emulate because he is on so many great recordings with alot of artists.
2. Bruce Bouton - especially noticeble for his fast pickin' style on Ricky Skaggs recordings
3. Jay Dee Maness - A style that is recognizeable especially from his days with Desert Rose Band.
4. Others who I recognize may be because they are guilty by association (so to speak)
- Michael Johnson on Paisley's recordings
- Jeff Peterson on Clint's recordings (great dobro also by Jeff)

These are just a few that stand out for me.

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Carter D-10 8P 5K
Nashville 400, ProfexII

Joe Miraglia · From: Jamestown N.Y.

Jim--That would be me! You didn't say it had to sound good. If you were to hear me play with my style and tone you would definitely say "I know who that is!" All kidding aside, the style and tone is like a fingerprint with some of them being more promenent than others. I would add Pete Drake to the list. Joe

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Dan Dugmore. Very distinctive. He uses an original big body Sho-Bud Pro-II. Its very recognizable along with his style.

Joerg Hennig · From: Bavaria, Germany

Ralph Mooney and Buddy Cage!

Kenny Davis · From: Great State of Oklahoma

Lloyd Green
Buddy Emmons
Pete Drake
Hal Rugg
Weldon Myrick
Ralph Mooney
Jim Vest
Kayton Roberts

Rick Garrett · From: Tyler, Texas

Bobby Garrett
Lloyd Green
Buddy Emmons

Those are the 3 I'd choose.

Rick Garrett

Hap Young · From: Yuma, AZ, USA

How about Bud Isaacs
Loyd
Buddy
Hal
Curley
Herby

Ian Finlay · From: Kenton, UK

I'm amazed nobody's mentioned Vance Terry yet!

Ian

Bob Helms · From: Garfield, Arkansas, USA

I like most all steel pickers.. But I was influenced in my younger days by Tom Brumley and a little later by Norm Hamlet. Bob H.

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Jason Stillwell · From: Caddo, OK, USA

I remember when I first started learning on steel thinking, "I can tell guitar players apart, but steel players all sound alike to me." Well, eight years later my ears have developed a little. I was scanning the dial last Sunday night and stopped on a great steel break. "Weldon Myrick!" Sure enough when the singer came back on it was Reba McEntar

singing Invitation to the Blues. That was the first time I've been able to recognize Weldon, thanks to my newly-purchased Connie Smith CD. I can usually (I stress usually) tell if it's Emmons, Jimmy Day, Mooney (that's kind of a given), Hughey, Franklin, Tom Brumley, sometimes Bruce Bouton, Lloyd Green.

JB Arnold · From: Longmont,Co,USA (deceased)

I haven't been around long enough to recognize the legends-but I would know Buddy Cage, Garcia, Moon, an probably Bobby Black, just from hearing them.

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"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
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Henry · From: Europe

BUDDY EMMONS (from another planet)
the REST with RESPECT
,,,,,,are steelplayers.
(with there CHARM & IMPERFECTION

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

From days in the past....I could accurately identify a major portion of the then current name-players; S.West; Joaquin M; N.Boggs; R.Wiggens; Don Helms; Remington, McAuliff; and of course Jerry Byrd.
Today about the only ones I can grab are Lloyd Green; John Hughey; sometimes Hall Rugg. All the rest out there, playing in the same tuning, playing most of the same licks..........sound all the same to me.
Oh well...so much for "personal identity".

Mac Lloyd · From: St. George, Utah

Tom Brumley
Donnie Herron
L.Green
Buddy

And of course…Johan Jansen

Eddie Malray · From: South Fulton, Tennessee, USA

I can always tell if it's Emmons, Green or Hughey. Most of all Hughey

Paul Graupp · From: Macon Ga USA

I used to be able to recognize all of them but now I'm down to just one.....ME !

I know all those mistakes and funny moves no one else would think of doing........

Regards, Paul

compuserve · From: ENGLAND

LG
PF
JH
HW
BE
AND ME.

Dan Tyack · From: Olympia, WA USA

The steel playing styles that are easiest to ID (for me) are:

Buddy Emmons
Paul Franklin
Lloyd Green
Pete Drake

However, I can testify that these guys are so widely imitated that when the player emulating the style is sufficiently good, I can't tell the difference, especially with Buddy and Paul. I have heard Buddy play together with Randy Reinhart, and with my eyes closed I could not tell the difference. There are a bunch of players who have recorded tracks that would fool me in the 'Emmons style', including Koos Biel and Neil Flanz.
25 years ago Paul was absolutely unmistakeable, but today there are a number of players active in the recording biz who are good enough to fool Paul Sr. (and probably good enough for Paul Jr. to check his studio logs). Hell, I have recorded stuff for Muzak on songs that Paul originally played on that you would swear were the real thing.
In terms of the big name recording steel players, the one guy who I can always tell is Jerry Bird. Another who is pretty distinctive to me was Pete Drake. Even when players like Paul Franklin and Dan Dougmore cop his style you can always tell the difference. Dan Dougmore is pretty distinctive amoung the new crop. But I can't always tell if it's him.
Sneaky Pete has always been an incredibly distinctive voice, and very little copied. JD is also very distinctive, but I heard more that a couple JD clones when I worked in LA, so I couldn't guarentee a track from him.
There are a bunch of Nashville players who have distinctive styles who have been mentioned. But for me most of those guys are so versatile that it's hard to pin down. For example, Hal Rugg's playing on those Loretta Lynn records is so distinctive. But when I worked with Hal and Weldon on the Opry, for 95% of the time you really couldn't tell who was playing (if one was playing for a song that the other had played the session for, he would totally cop the others feel). Bruce Bouton is another example. Bruce has a number of 'signature' recordings, and a recognizable personal style, but on many of his recordings he echos the styles of Buddy,Sonny, Paul, Pete (Drake) or whatever is most appropriate for the song (I've been surprised more than a few times).

I can always tell it's me on recordings where I do my thing, but that's because my style is so warped...

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www.tyack.com

Brett Day · From: Pickens, SC

I recognized Jay Dee Manness when he played for the Desert Rose Band in the eighties and early nineties. I also recognized Paul Franklin and John Hughey. I'd heard John play on Vince Gill's recordings after "When I Call Your Name" and "Never Knew Lonely". I read a lot of the names of the musicians on the tapes or records. I heard Bruce Bouton play with Ricky Skaggs in the 80's. Brett Day, Emmons S-10

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