By Marco den Ouden
What do Sheryl Crow, The Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Judy Collins, Steely Dan and many other popular folk and rock stars have in common? All have used steel guitar in their music at one time or another. I never realised how ubiquitous this instrument was until I started listening to the nominations for this topic. It most decidedly is not just an instrument used for country music and Hawaiian music.
There were so many songs I liked from the 398 suggestions made by the Song Bar community that my longlist numbered 155 songs. Whittling that down took some judicious pruning. And there are a lot of great songs left on the cutting room floor, so to speak.
Of course, the steel guitar is a staple of country & western so you’ll find a good selection of country in the lists. The lyrics in one of the B-listers explains the appeal of the steel guitar to country aficionados. In The Steel Guitar Song, Kim Murray sings: “If lonely had a sound, I know what it would be. It’s the sound that the steel makes when they play a song for me.” Song Bar patron Noodsy describes the sound as “plaintive” while untergunther says it conveys “yearning.” I described it in one of my comments as “lush”.
But it is more than that. It is a staple of many blues artists, which is no surprise because the blues also often expresses a yearning, plaintive loneliness. Steel guitar and especially its sister the slide guitar can also offer a hard driving sound often found in rhythm and blues.
One thing worth noting is that the steel guitar, unlike rhythm guitar or bass guitar or drums, often provides more than just a background to sing over. In many songs, especially in country music, the steel guitar is actually another voice. It harmonises with the singer and adds to the overall mood of the song in a way that no other instrument can quite capture.
For the A List, I tried to avoid the obvious and went for songs that showcased the versatility of the instrument and its variations, that stood out in some way. Some of the more obvious songs made their way into the B List. I was surprised at how many different countries these selections are from. So here is an annotated list with a short description.
Going in the Right Direction
Artist: Robert Randolph and the Family Band
Steel Guitar Player: Robert Randolph
African-American Pentecostal churches refer to the steel guitar as “sacred steel” and Randolph learned to play guitar at his church. Discovered at a “sacred steel” convention, he went on to form his band and this song reflects his strong religious roots, but this ain’t gospel music, that’s for sure!
That should have whetted your appetite! So let’s move on to some virtuoso playing from two country artists - both women.
Steel Guitar Rag
Artist: Barbara Mandrell
Steel Guitar Player: Barbara Mandrell
We think of Barbara Mandrell as a country singer, but she is also a superb musician. Here she plays a steel guitar standard with flare.
Speedin’ West
Artist: Cindy Cashdollar
Steel Guitar Player: Cindy Cashdollar
I had never heard of Ms. Cashdollar before but was blown away by her steel guitar chops. Fabulous! And you gotta love the name!
Emmylou
Artist: First Aid Kit
Steel Guitar Player: Mike Mogis
Sweden might seem like an odd place to find country music but sisters Klara and Johanna Söderberg performing as First Aid Kit display the close connection that steel guitar has as a voice augmenting the singers. This song also shows that yearning, plaintive aspect of C&W. The steel is played by their engineer, mixer and producer Mike Mogis.
Dire Wolf
Artist: The Grateful Dead
Steel Guitar Player: Jerry Garcia
The Grateful Dead, while known primarily as a rock band, were cross-over artists with a strong connection to American country and western music. Frontman Jerry Garcia plays pedal steel guitar on this number. The lyric line “don’t murder me” is a reference to the Zodiac killer who was terrorizing San Francisco at the time. The title, Dire Wolf, is a speculative reference to The Hound of the Baskervilles. The dire wolf is an extinct, prehistoric, carnivorous dog.
From country we take a trip across the Pacific to that other land where steel guitars are particularly popular - Hawaii. In Hawaiian music, there is again a plaintive yearning to the sound, as well as a deep nostalgia. There is also a sensuous quality to Hawaiian steel guitar. Staples in the genre include songs like Lovely Hula Hands which evoke the gentle swaying of a hula dancer.
Aloha Oe
Artist: Ricky King
Steel Guitar Player: Ricky King or maybe a session musician
If you thought it was unusual to find country singers in Sweden, how about Hawaiian songs played by a German by the name of Hans Lingenfelder. Who? That’s Ricky King’s birth name. Didn’t quite have the zing he wanted to become a pop star. King plays guitar and I don’t know if he double-tracked and played steel as well on this song. It could be a studio musician. Info on him is scarce. But Aloha Oe is an Hawaiian standard and wonderfully evocative of the islands.
Pa’ahana
Artists: Bob Brozman & Ledward Kaapana
Steel Guitar Player: Bob Brozman
Bob Brozman was an ethnomusicologist from New York and played National resonator guitars from the 1920s and 1930s as well as acoustic steel guitar. Ledward Kaapana is a Hawaiian musician who plays a variety of instruments and is best known for playing slack-key guitar. The album this song is on describes the music as Hawaiian acoustic steel and slack key guitar duets.
A lot of duets were suggested. One of my favourites comes from Britain.
Songs of the Nightlife
Artists: Luke Vibert & B.J. Cole
Steel Guitar Player: B.J. Cole
This is a mellow and melodic duet from British pedal steel guitar virtuoso B.J. Cole and electronic music wizard Luke Vibert. Cole was much in demand throughout his career as a session musician, having played with Elton John, Procul Harum, the Walker Brothers, Kiki Dee, Joan Armatrading and Cat Stevens, among others.
National Hawaiian Lap Steel Guitar, 1935
Death Have Mercy
Artist: Harry Manx
Mohan Veena Player: Harry Manx
We’ve had music from the Hawaiian islands and from the heartland of America as well as performers from America, Sweden, Germany and Britain. So for a bit of a switch up, here’s a Canadian who plays the mohan veena, an Indian sister to the steel guitar. Manx studied for five years with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, the inventor of the mohan veena (yes, he named it after himself - wouldn’t you?)
Poem for Eva
Artist: Bill Frisell
Steel Guitar Player: Greg Leisz
Bill Frisell is a prolific American guitarist, composer and arranger. Poem for Eva is a mellow tune from his Good Dog, Happy Man album and features Greg Leisz on steel guitar. Leisz’s musical talents have graced the work of numerous artists including Eric Clapton, k.d. Lang, Sheryl Crow and Bruce Springsteen. He collaborated with Frisell on six albums.
Alone and Forsaken
Artist: Lucky Oceans (with Paul Kelly)
Steel Guitar Player: Lucky Oceans
Lucky Oceans is an American steel guitarist formerly with Asleep at the Wheel. He has lived in Perth, Australia since 1980 where he continued his musical career. Here he collaborates with popular Australian troubadour Paul Kelly.
Look Away
Artist: Larkin Poe
Steel Guitar Player: Megan Lovell
Larkin Poe are an American rock band fronted by sisters Megan and Rebecca Lovell. Megan explained how to play lap steel in a video our Landlord included in his introduction to this topic. She sings as well as she plays - captivatingly. The sisters are distantly related to author Edgar Allan Poe and Larkin Poe is the name of their great-great-great grandfather.
Shake Shake
Artist: Gaby Jogeix
Steel Guitar Player: Gaby Jogeix
We started with a good rockin’ number and we close with one as well. And we visit another country to do so. Gaby Jogeix is a Spanish artist who uses lap steel to perform his driving brand of rock. A rousing way to close out our set.
The Artfully Super-Slip-n’Slide A-List Playlist:
The Bumper-Bend-And-Slide B-List Playlist:
1. The Steel Guitar Song - Kimberly Murray - Steel Guitar: Dicky Overbey
2. Surf Medley - Junior Brown - Steel Guitar: Junior Brown - medley is Pipeline, Walk Don’t
Run & Secret Agent Man - Brown plays a two-necked guit-steel.
3. Far Away Eyes - The Rolling Stones - Steel Guitar: Ronnie Wood
4. I Live For You - George Harrison - Steel Guitar: Pete Drake
5. Alternate World - Son Lux - Steel Guitar: Christopher Wray
6. Dust My Broom - Elroy James - Slide Guitar: Elmore James
7. Stand By Your Man - Tammy Wynette - Steel Guitar: Pete Drake
8. Lipstick Sunset - John Hiatt - Slide Guitar: Ry Cooder
9. You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere - The Byrds - Steel Guitar: Lloyd Green
10. Reincarnation - Susanne Sundfør - Steel Guitar: Greg Leisz
11. Statesboro Blues - Taj Mahal - Slide Guitar: Taj Mahal
12. Tomorrow is a Long Time - Sandy Denny - Steel Guitar: Sneaky Pete Kleinow
13. Who Do You Love - Juicy Lucy - Steel Guitar: Glenn Ross Campbell
14. Harvest Moon - Neil Young - Steel Guitar: Ben Keith
15. Since She Started to Ride - Jonathan Richman - Steel Guitar: Tom Brumley
16. Woodstock - Matthews Southern Comfort - Gordon Huntley
17. Forever - Pete Drake - Steel Guitar: Pete Drake - Drake invented the Talk Box to create his talking steel guitar
18. St. Louis Blues - Alvino Rey & his Orchestra - Steel Guitar: Alvino Rey - Rey created a version of a talking steel guitar long before Pete Drake which he demonstrates here. The clip is from 1944.
19. Stony Road - Chris Rea - Slide Guitar: Chris Rea
20. All I Wanna Do - Sheryl Crow - Steel Guitar: Bill Bottrell
21. Magic in the Blues - Dave Stewart - Slide Guitar: Orianthi
22. It Is What It Is - Kacey Musgraves - Steel Guitar: Bucky Baxter
23. Someday Soon - Judy Collins - Steel Guitar: Buddy Emmons
24. Matte Kudasai - k.d. Lang & The Siss Boom Bang - Steel Guitar: Joe Pisapia
25. You Only Believe Me When I’m Lying - Zoe Muth & The Lost High Rollers - Steel Guitar: Dave Harmonson
26. Beautiful Blue - Mudcrutch - Steel Guitar: Josh Jove - Tom Petty’s first band. This is from a 2016 reunion album.
27. Alright - Darius Rucker - Steel Guitar: Dan Dugmore - Rucker is the former frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish
28. Pauline - Dr. Nico & L’African Fiesta Sukisa - Steel Guitar: Docteur Nico Kasanda
29. Your Own Sweet Way - The Notting Hillbillies - Steel Guitar: Paul Franklin - The Hillbillies are a musical project created by Mark Knopfler.
30. My Oklahoma Home - Bruce Springsteen & the Sessions Band - Steel Guitar: Marty Rifkin
GIbson 1947 BR-4 Lap Steel Guitar
The Instrumental Bonus C-List:
1. East St. Louis Toodle-Oo - Steely Dan - Steel Guitar: Jeff Baxter - This song is notable for the way Baxter imitates the muted trombone in this cover of the Duke Ellington classic.
2. Dido’s Lament - B.J. Cole & Emily Burridge - Steel Guitar: B.J. Cole - Cole teams up with cellist Burridge in this soulful duet.
3. Sleepwalk - Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Steel Guitar: Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Couldn’t pass up the chance to reprise Santo and Johnny’s classic Sleepwalk (which is zedded) Kleinow was an original member of the Flying Burrito Brothers and became a popular session musician performing with artists such as The Everly Brothers, Rita Coolidge, Joni Mitchell, Spencer Davis and many others.
4. Little Martha - Tedeschi Trucks Band with Jerry Douglas - Slide Guitar: Derek Trucks, Resonator Steel: Jerry Douglas - This is really a Trucks-Douglas duet.
5. Apache - Doug Beaumier - Steel Guitar: Doug Beaumier
6. Still of the Night - Santo & Johnny - Steel Guitar: Santo Farina
7. Apartment #9 - David Hartley - Steel Guitar: David Hartley
8. Midnight in Old Amarillo - Cindy Cashdollar - Steel Guitar: Cindy Cashdollar
9. Fly Hawaii - Luke Vibert & B.J. Cole - Steel Guitar: B.J. Cole
10. How Great Thou Art - John Russell & David Hartley - Steel Guitar: both Hartley and Russell play steel sequentially in this gospel classic
11. Mansion on a Hill - Zane King - Steel Guitar: Zane King
12. Weightless - Brian Eno - Steel Guitar: Daniel Lanois
13. Lonesome Depot - David Rothon - Steel Guitar: David Rothon - an interesting piece blending steel guitar with the sound of falling rain.
14. Sugar Moon - The Waikikis - Steel Guitar: Jo Van Wetter - The Waikikis, despite their name, were sirf music band fromBelgium. I’m guessing that Van Wetter is the steel guitarist.
15. Montague d’Or - Convergence - Steel Guitar: B.J. Cole - Convergence is a collaborative effort of Shinya Fukumori (drums), Chris Montague (guitar), Iain Bellamy (tenor sax) and B.J. Cole (pedal steel).
16. Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar and Orchestra - Nashville Chamber Orchestra - Steel Guitar: Gary Morse
Guru’s Wildcard Pick:
Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay - Steel Guitar: Pete Drake
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Slide this way: songs featuring steel guitar. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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