My 50-Year Infatuation with Pedal Steel Guitar and the Renegades Who Pushed Its Evolution Beyond Country Music
Back in my carefree, whiskey-drinking, pot-smoking collegiate days during the early '70s at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, I fell under the spell of an Austin-based Texas swing group that had come to town to perform on campus in the Student Union. They wore authentic cowboy hats and cowboy boots and looked every bit as Texas as their role models, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys (even though their towering 6' 7" frontman, Ray Benson, was actually a Jewish guitarist-singer from Philadelphia named Ray Siefert and their pedal steel ace, Lucky Oceans, was born Reuben Gosfield, also Jewish and hailing from Philly). But they loved American roots music, particularly Texas swing and boogie boogie, and their renditions of Count Basie's "Jumpin' at the Woodside" and Louis Jordan's "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," which later appeared on their self-titled 1974 Epic Records release, really got under my skin. I distinctly remember dancing on top of a table during that first Asleep at the Wheel concert I attended while my drunken pal Leonard did a face-plant on the floor of the cafeteria in the middle of, appropriately, "Blood-Shot Eyes." And he hit it perfectly, right on the downbeat.
That night, I fell in love with Lucky Oceans and his pedal steel guitar, though I didn't realize it at the time. In fact, I had already heard pedal steel guitar on several recordings throughout the '60s and early '70s without ever fully clocking what that plaintive, crying sound actually was. Pete Drake's famous "talking box" technique, which made the pedal steel seem to actually speak, appeared on Tammy Wynette's 1968 hit "Stand By Your Man" as well as on Bob Dylan's 1969 album Nashville Skyline. Jerry Garcia contributed some tasty pedal steel work to the Grateful Dead's 1970 album American Beauty, to Jefferson Airplane's 1969 album Volunteers, and to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's 1970 album Déjà Vu. Other session aces like Lloyd Green, Jaydee Maness, and Jerry Brightman shaped the sound of country and pop recordings throughout that era as well.
The instrument's evolution beyond country music accelerated through various genre explorations. Harvey Mandel's jazz-influenced albums featured pedal steel prominently, while artists like Joni Mitchell and Frank Zappa incorporated the instrument into their experimental work. Dickey Betts' 1974 solo album Highway Call showcased John Hughey's contributions to rock and instrumental fusion.
During the 1980s, pedal steel found unexpected applications in ambient music through Brian Eno's work and in World Beat through King Sunny Adé's Nigerian juju music. Texas blues musicians like Sonny Rhodes and Hop Wilson brought gritty, soulful approaches to the instrument, establishing it beyond traditional country contexts.
Junior Brown's invention of the "guit-steel"—a double-necked hybrid instrument—represented a significant innovation. His eclectic repertoire ranged from honky-tonk standards to Jimi Hendrix covers, exemplifying alternative country's creative potential.
Buddy Emmons emerged as perhaps the most technically accomplished pedal steel player, performing jazz standards with virtuosity that rivaled horn players. His collaborations with guitarist Lenny Breau and participation in the Redneck Jazz Explosion demonstrated the instrument's capacity for sophisticated harmonic improvisation.
Speedy West's 1950s recordings with guitarist Jimmy Bryant established a template for instrumental virtuosity, featuring rapid-fire technical passages that influenced generations of musicians.
Early pioneers like Alvino Rey developed talking box techniques decades before Pete Drake's commercial success, while Leon McAuliffe and others with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys established foundational approaches to the instrument.
Contemporary sacred steel players have transformed the instrument through church-based traditions. Robert Randolph gained international recognition with his use of distortion and wah-wah effects, earning comparisons to Jimi Hendrix. Roosevelt Collier and DaShawn Hickman continued this lineage while expanding into secular contexts. The Campbell Brothers' 2014 performance interpreting John Coltrane's complete A Love Supreme demonstrated the instrument's spiritual resonance.
Experimental and avant-garde practitioners have pushed further boundaries. Susan Alcorn combines traditional pedal steel with extended techniques influenced by free jazz, Indian classical music, and folk traditions. Dave Easley brings jazz sophistication to New Orleans contexts, tackling challenging material from Ornette Coleman and Thelonious Monk.
Mike Neer's audacious interpretations of Thelonious Monk's compositions on lap steel, and Greg Leisz's atmospheric work across numerous recordings, have established new aesthetic possibilities. Rich Hinman's recent explorations blend ambient and electronic elements with pedal steel.
Emerging figures include Will Van Horn, Maggie Björklund, Chas Smith, and Lionel Wendling, whose reinterpretations of Wayne Shorter and the Mahavishnu Orchestra demonstrate continuing innovation.
Lucky Oceans, the original inspiration for this journey, eventually moved to his wife's hometown of Fremantle, Western Australia in 1980. While gigging with his own band, Lucky also hosted a national radio show in Australia for 21 years and in 2005 released his solo album, Secret Steel. Last year he served as musical director for an Aboriginal music project from Northwest Australia that toured nationally. "It's basically country music by Aboriginals," he explained, "where they are effectively melding it with their 60,000-year-old song lines tradition."
Lucky also participated in a 2004 compilation curated by lap steel ace Elliott Sharp for his ZOAR label called Secular Steel, which included lap steel and pedal steel performances by the likes of Nels Cline, Susan Alcorn, Henry Kaiser, Stephen Ulrich, B.J. Cole, Roger Kleier, Joe Goldmark, Eugene Chadbourne and others.
And what's next for Mr. Oceans? As he said, "Having been knocked out by Coltrane's Temple University concert in 1966 (he was 15 at the time of that monumental concert on November 11, 1966 in Philadelphia, documented on the stunning 2014 Resonance Records release, Offering: Live at Temple University), I am trying to put together a spiritual jazz ensemble." Stayed tuned. Sparks will fly.