Tom Morrell, the musician

Mike Neer · From: NJ

I'm beginning to study the playing of Tom Morrell and I was wondering if anyone had any anecdotes or insights into Tom, the musician?
Any of his history? I'm sure there's quite a bit here on the forum,
but searches don't usually turn up too much info concentrated in one place.

Such a wonderful player--there is a quality to his playing that I've never heard in any other player.
He could really swing his butt off with authority. If anything, I think Tom is often overlooked.

Definitely one of the, if not the, deepest Jazz steel players I've heard yet.
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Fred Shannon · From: Rocking "S" Ranch, Comancheria, Texas, R.I.P.

Most of the old timers called Tom by his nickname, "The wolf". In his early years he studied in the music store where Reece Anderson was teaching and Reece can fill you in on the results. He was a total perfectionist and loved to share the spotlight with a couple of lead players of the Time Warp Tophands; Leon Chambers who attacks every song as if it were his arch enemy and Richard Fields who was so laid back one could go to sleep in his presence. His last guitar was made by Carson Wells out of a mesquite ? log sawn from a tree in the Wolf's front yard. The story from Carson is that Wolf came to see him and threw the log on the floor of Carson's shop and told him to make a 10 string lap out of it and he would be to pick it up when Carson finished. All of that transpired within about 3 months as Carson, who is a very good friend of mine, related it to me.

That's a start for sure.
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Phred (Indian)

Ray McCarthy · From: New Hampshire, USA

I have the "Stylin" CD by Tom Morrell and the Time Warp Tophands. Fantastic musicianship all around, and Tom's non-pedal playing makes me wonder why we need pedals Exclamation

Jerome Hawkes · From: Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA

i was talking to Eddie Rivers (Asleep at the wheel) about Tom and he mentioned one tidbit -
Eddie said when he first met Tom, "he had at the bar for a WHILE" and Eddie was expecting to be throughly disappointed in the set - he said that disappointment was gone when he got up there and ripped it as if was nothing.
- he had that big Bigsby T-10 with the inside 2 necks strung up and the outside neck was his "bar" where he would set his drinks and ashtray.
like Jerry Byrd and Buddy Emmons - there was nobody even close to him (that i am aware of) in the style he chose to play - way, way ahead of the pack.

its a BLESSING that he recorded those Tophand CDs - as there would be little of his playing available. my jaw dropped when i first heard them - i was expecting they would be good, but not prepared for that level of playing.
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'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II

Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

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Mike Neer · From: NJ

I don't have any of those recordings--I have the first 14 volumes of How The West Was Swung and the Tribute to Roy Rogers by Don Edwards.
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Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

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Michael Lee Allen · From: Portage Park / Irving Park, Chicago, Illinois

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Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

JERRY BYRD told me that Tom Morrell was one of the finest steel guitarists he had every met. JERRY did cut one song on a Morrell CD........

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

I spoke with him once, at the Texas Steel guitar show, the morning after he had played, the night before, and he was a little hung over, but the real problem was that he had lost his picks. He said that he'd rather lose the guitar than the picks. Saw him later that afternoon and he had found them under the bed.

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

Tom was a real character- I've heard quite a few stories of which a few might be suitable for inclusion here! (I'll hope the original participants fill you in).
I'll always feel very fortunate that I got to meet and hang with Tom, and sit right in front of him at his late-night blowout at Scotty's convention. Absolutely mind-blowing control, and his phrasing always so musical. I imagine much like watching Joaquin...
I was going to tell you to make sure to get every one of the Time Warp Top Hands discs, but sounds like you're most of the way there. "Wolf Tracks" is another one, but I think it's just a compilation of various tracks from the series.
While it can be a bit daunting, watching and listening to a player of such dimension and character is one of the most inspiring and joyful experiences life presents, IMO.
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Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

I figured he was called Wolf, because, man, a player like this couldn't have been human. He was, like, from another planet.
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Mike Neer · From: NJ

I know that Tom had his demons, but I'd really like to delve more into the side of him that's talked about less: his musicality.

What was his history? How did he arrive where he did? Who were his influences? Things of that nature.

What is the most adventurous recording of him?
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MARK GILES · From: HAMILTON, TEXAS

Mike, Tom had a huge record collection and liked Louis Jordan,Count Basie among others. Tommy was himself a trombone player,guitarists,bassist, and I believe drummer. He was also one of the finest, most accomplished pedal steel guitarist ever. He went back exclusively to non-pedal sometime in the late 70's to early 80's. I don't really know why. I ask him once why he didn't play a pedal guitar at the Dallas show and surprise everyone who didn't know he could play pedals.(this was in 2001 or2002). In his deadpan,non chalant way he said,"hell, everybody does that". He was one of a kind,and a musical genius. Just ask any musician who ever played with him. Reece or Bud Carter would know more about his history than I do. I didn't get to know him till '74 or '75. By then he was already a monster. BTW, He is the M in MSA.

Bob Hickish · From: Port Ludlow, Washington, USA, R.I.P.

Mike
here is a YT sound track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTA23OenyO8&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL2A44BCA73958403B

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Thanks for all the great info. Anyone else?
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Bill Cunningham · From: Atlanta, Ga. USA

Mike, I have three…….

At a 1997 show at The Starry Plough in Oakland when Tom was out there with Don Edwards, I asked Tom why he quit playing pedals and he dryly said “I just wanted to play without them”.

At one of Carl Dixon’s shows here in Atlanta (maybe 1999), a friend of ours was invited by Bobby Caldwell to play twin guitars on Tom’s set. Tom didn’t know our friend’s ability, wasn’t too happy, and again dryly said something like “Life’s too short to play with bad musicians”.

I’ve had the honor of playing steel with Johnny Gimble a couple of times over the years when he has been to Georgia. Johnny has a thousand stories I think. Once he engaged me to talk about steel players we both liked when we were alone in a quiet dressing room. I mentioned Tom and of course he had a story. He said at the time Tom started taking lessons from Maurice, Maurice and Johnny were playing in Dallas, at the Longhorn Ballroom I believe. On Sunday afternoons it was usually slow and they would let Tom get up and try to play with the band. He could only barely play Coconut Grove and nervously patted his foot so hard it shook the entire stage. Johnny said, “I thought to myself I don’t know if that boy will ever make a steel player.” Johnny said he lost track of Tom a little later. In a few years, when Johnny moved to Waco he heard Tom as he had moved there too. Johnny said, “Man, had he learned to play by then!”
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA

David Wright · From: Pilot Point ,Tx USA.

I remember the day Tom & Maurice went to cut the Sextex Session, Maurice had his guitar, Tom was out on the floor where we had used guitars for sale, strumming and hitting pedals to see what they were doing, then he said, this one will do, and off they went...

I met Tom in Jan 1970, and worked with him and Maurice at MSA..So many things come to mind when I think about Tom, but in just a few words I will say he was and still is the Greatest non pedal player .. bar them ALL!!!, from past to present, here is a cut you need to hear!, Clean, single notes , sharp, cords, biggest you can get, voicing of cords, his own...He took the old fashion non pedal steel and made it sound modern...
With that said, all you non pedal players , set you sights to Tom's level of playing!..and if you want to learn how to do that, come to Tx and study with the other Greatest non pedal player in the world, Maurice Anderson..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahXNyuZoltQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjBlIwAoNYc&feature=related

Tracy Sheehan · From: Fort Worth, Texas, USA

I first met Tom in N.M.in 1962 or 63. He was playing a Fender 1000 and yes,he could play it. The drummer Hoot Borden later drove the bus for Ernest Tubb after something which i forget happened to his legs. Hoot and i grew up about 30 miles from each other him on the Ok.side of the red river and me on the U.S. side in Tx. Smile

and played together in Altus,Ok. Have often wondered what ever became of Hoot. Tracy

Billy Easton · From: Nashville, TN USA

I had the opportunity to see, talk, and listen to Tom at several of the TSGA shows in the early 2000's. He could get so much out of the 10 string non-pedal steel, that even though I am a big fan of pedals, my roots go back to pre-pedal days. And I have to tell you that listening to Tom, I did not miss the pedals one bit!! Today I listen to the Time Warp Tophands CDs that I have every day at work, and I am so amazed at what he did. I count myself as one of his biggest fans.

Billy
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Nashville, TN

Anthony Locke · From: Texas, USA

I did two gigs with him in Dallas around 2001. I was playing standard guitar and he was playing console steel. I had heard of him at that time but had never listened to any of his work. Needless to say, his musicianship was top-notch and I remember wanting to just pass my solos to him because he sounded so great. I can't remember what kind of steel it was, although I'm pretty sure it was a single 8, or 10 of somekind. He sure got a lot of music out of that steel.

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

Tom has to have been the only guy in the world who could play Bud's Bounce on a non-pedal guitar.

He once played in L.A. at the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, which is less than 5 miles from my home. Of course I went to see him and we had dinner afterward. He told my (among other things) that his favorite artist was Frank Sinatra.
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Ken Morgan · From: Midland, Texas, USA

Just an anecdote or two

1. I did more than a couple shows with Tom. One particular day he showed up to the job in a an International Scout that had no doors, no dash (but a CD player hotwired into the console somehow), and a metal folding chair for a driver's seat that looked to be welded to the frame.

2. On a different job, someplace in Ft Worth, it was HOT as the dickens, but inside was cool, if not near cold. They were doing a sound check, and there was a girl singer (wearing some summer time shorts) standing arms reach in front of Tommy. Anyhow, as she was prepping to hit a high note, Tommy reached over with his ice cold steel bar and gently placed it on the inside of this girl's thigh, pretty high up, at the exact moment she was to hit the high note. Needless to say she hit that note, and went WAAAAY over.

The man always had a kind word, a slightly blue joke, and seemed to go out of his way to come over and say hello. Always seemed to be laughing at something.
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67 Shobud Blue Darling III, scads of pedals and such, more 6 strings than I got room for

Ken Morgan
Midland, TX

Mike Neer · From: NJ

Any more insights?
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