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Steel player with Warren Smith ??
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The Steel Guitar Forum
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Steel player with Warren Smith ??
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This topic was originally posted in this forum: Wanted To Buy |
| Author | Topic: Steel player with Warren Smith ?? |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 05 August 2000 01:37 PM
Hi Warren Smith used to record for Sun Records in the 1950s and although most of his "hits" were rockabilly he recorded some great country stuff too Andy ------------------ |
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Steve Hinson Member Posts: 1837 |
posted 05 August 2000 02:31 PM
Tele-I'm only familiar with a couple songs that Warren Smith recorded-"I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today"(?) and"Odds and Ends"...I believe Ralph Mooney played steel on those two sides-but I'm not sure-Gregg,can you help us? |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 05 August 2000 02:43 PM
Steve, I think these are from the 1960s..unfortunately I haven't heard an of his post Sun stuff. He was a fine country singer with a strong voice Andy |
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Gregg Galbraith Member Posts: 314 |
posted 05 August 2000 02:59 PM
I bought a Bear Family CD by Warren a few years ago in St. Louis. The title is "Call of the Wild." There are 31 songs included, mostly from his days on Liberty Records. These were from the early 1960s. The tunes that Tele mentioned are not included, but the ones Steve spoke about ARE, and Ralph Mooney was on steel. Some of Ralph's intros and TAs are practically indentical to the ones he later played on the same tunes with Buck Owens. A good example of this is "Foolin' Around." Ralph was truly "on fire" when this stuff was recorded! The accompaning booklet details a tragic and somewhat wasted career and life of a very good country singer. |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 05 August 2000 03:17 PM
I don't think it was Ralph Mooney, at least it is not the style he played with Buck. I recorded the soundfile in low quality to keep it small (still 200kb), it might take a while to load. Must be around 1956-57 |
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KEVIN OWENS Member Posts: 209 |
posted 05 August 2000 04:17 PM
In the book "Pedal Steel Guitar- a manual of style" there is a section on John Hughey. Hughey was asked the following question:"I've heard some early Sun recordings with steel on them. A lot of it was Stan Kesler. You did some work back then too?"
[This message was edited by KEVIN OWENS on 05 August 2000 at 04:18 PM.] |
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Chris DeBarge Member Posts: 811 |
posted 05 August 2000 06:12 PM
I was also gonna say Stan Kesler, after all he co-wrote "I Forgot To Remember To Forget You"(done, of course, by Elvis at Sun). I believe he plays on some of the Charlie Feathers Sun material, such as "Defrost Your Heart". |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 06 August 2000 12:21 AM
Thanks for all the replies. I myself thought that it was Hughey since he also played with Slim Rhodes. Maybe he read this and he could confirm this. Andy |
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Mitch Drumm Member Posts: 299 |
posted 06 August 2000 02:47 AM
there are 2 warren smith cds on bear family; one collects his 60s recordings, mostly with mooney for the liberty label. the other, "classic recordings 1956-1959" on bear family 15514, collects his sun recordings from the 50s. 31 songs, most of which do not have steel at all, but the only steel man identifed in the liner notes is stan kesler. he was a wonderful country singer. dead about 20 years now and sorely missed. [This message was edited by Mitch Drumm on 06 August 2000 at 02:48 AM.] |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 06 August 2000 02:57 AM
So it must have been Stan Kesler. Bear Family does pretty good reserches before they release something. Cool never realised that he was a steel player. I only know him as he author of the Presley tune...... Andy |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 06 August 2000 09:06 AM
Stan 'the man' Kesler. Used to play steel in the Memphis country group the Snearly Ranch Boys, he sessioned for the Sun and Flip labels, eventually switching to bass guitar for Sun recordings from around 1956 to 1959, in 1959 he formed Echo studio with another ex-Sun dude named Jack Clement. He was pivotal in getting Sam The Sham off the ground in the 1960's, also doing studio engineering at Sun and ohter studios. In the 1980's he formed the Sun Rhythm Section with other ex-Sun pickers and I think he still leads a version of the group. Warren Smith was also in the Snearly Ranch Boys, and I think it's important to note that the bulk of the Sun rockabilly artists were originally in country bands. From 1960 to about 1964 he recorded for Liberty Records on the West coast where Ralph Mooney, Jim Pierce and Johnny Western were involved in his sessions alongside the usual West Coast suspects. |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick Member Posts: 1234 |
posted 06 August 2000 03:40 PM
Guys: I know that Al Petty did some recording work with Warren Smith. Blue Smoke comes to mind. I know that cut was by Al. |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 06 August 2000 11:23 PM
Ooh, Al Petty, now there's a name i've been thinking of lately, geez Jim Bob are you honing in on my brain waves or do I have no life other than thinking about Long Beach pickers......sigh, actually don't answer that. I don't suppose you know what label is 'Blue Smoke'was on? |
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Jim Bob Sedgwick Member Posts: 1234 |
posted 07 August 2000 01:17 AM
Jason: If I remember correctly, Warren was recording for Liberty records at the time. I am not positive of this. At one time I had that particular record, but I lost my record collection when my house burned down in 1990. Maybe you can research the label.  |
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Ray Cothren Member Posts: 327 |
posted 07 August 2000 04:21 AM
Jason, Blue Smoke was Liberty 55699 recorded 4/2/64 in Hollywood. Tommy Allsup (producer), Bobby Bruce (leader) plus 9 others. From booklet: "Warren's last session for Liberty was recorded in April 1964. Blue Smoke featured a strong vocal harmony and a hook as big as all outdoors. The track also featured some soaring fiddle and steel work and a dynamically recorded rhythm section.The song charted at #41 in August 1964. It's flipside Judge and Jury featured another fine instrumental sound and a vocal strongly reminiscent of Frankie Miller." |
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Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 07 August 2000 07:03 AM
Hey Tele, Quote "Although most of his hits were Rockabilly he recorded some country stuff too?" I believe that his "Only" hits were country. Warren Smith had a great voice and style for sure. He left the music business and went to making liscence plates for the state of California later on I believe. I loved that harmony on "Odds and Ends, Bits and Pieces of an Old Love Affair". Jason, if you've got contact with Billy Mize he could tell you some stories about Warren. Ralph Mooney's steel work on "I don't believe I'll fall in love today" is sheer artistry and flows together so good! ------------------ Have a good 'un! JH U-12 [This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 07 August 2000 at 07:05 AM.] |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 07 August 2000 09:14 AM
Jerry, I don't think Warren was really a big hit maker, but 'Ubangi Stomp', wasn't that a hit around 1956? I'm starting to get all of these Sun guys mixed up a little. I used to have this awesome tape taken from all the more rare {or forgotten} performers on Sun, Slim Rhodes, Warren, etc...only problem was the person who made it for me never listed the songs, only the artists, so for years I kept getting who was who mixed up. In other words I could be wrong about Ubangi Stomp {which is a classic!!!!!} P.S..thanks Jim Bob, Ray and Smiley {for the email} and helping clear up what label Blue Smoke was on. |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 07 August 2000 01:02 PM
I always thought his biggest hit was "Rock'n'Roll Ruby" ..?!! The problem with all the Sun guys is that they often used the same band and played with the same style and sound. Andy |
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Jerry Hayes Member Posts: 3306 |
posted 07 August 2000 07:18 PM
Hey Jason, I guess I never heard any of those Sun rockabilly records of Warren's. I do remember that his country stuff did pretty well in Southern California and got a whole lot of air play on KFOX in Long Beach. All the bands did his country songs but none of that other stuff. Does anyone know why he went to prison? I'd heard that he got a pretty long stretch for something. ------------------ |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 07 August 2000 07:25 PM
I love ol' Sam, but his decisions drive me nuts. I can see why he let Elvis go, it was a real shot in the arm for the label and they had the classic little label problem, ie: the distributors would order the copies, sell them all and then not pay Sun, or hold off payment as long as possible until the label went bust so they would never have to pay. A classic case of the short sightedness of the early Record Industry. Of course the Record Industry has matured and looks to the future for all it's artists now..{ahem, ahem} But yeah, when he let Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash go, he could have inticed them, but as Seriously though, all through Sun's history there's Sam cutting a great record and letting it sink without a trace, and ditching the artist. |
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Mitch Drumm Member Posts: 299 |
posted 08 August 2000 12:35 AM
jerry: if the liner notes to one of the two warren smith bear family cds can be believed, warren spent 18 months in huntsville prison after being "repeatedly arrested for after hours visits to drug stores". this would have been around 1970. he apparently developed an addiction to amphetamines and battled the bottle as well. by all accounts he was very frustrated and disillusioned by the business. he is frequently regarded as a rockabilly singer, but some of his earliest recordings circa 1956-57 for Sun, such as "so long i'm gone", "i'd rather be safe than sorry", and "black jack david" are as country as the law allows. what a voice this guy had. he died at 47 of a heart attack in 1980, but at least got some belated recognition overseas and toured england in the last years of his life. |
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Tele Member Posts: 965 |
posted 08 August 2000 12:51 AM
Most of the 1950s Rockabillies are very popular on the European Rockin' scene and Warren Smith is one of the heros. His recordings were among the best Sun produced at that time and some of his greatest stuff wasn't even released back then. Thanks for all the input, I'm really amazed how many replies this thread got! I'll have a similar one coming up next Jason, can't wait to see what you have for me then. Where did you get all the information from???
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 08 August 2000 10:23 AM
Oh books, the forum, forumites, other forums, websites, etc. It's out there, but man it takes a lifetime to get it all together, sure seems that way. |
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Jody Sanders Member Posts: 2889 |
posted 08 August 2000 10:58 AM
Cliff Holloway, Who was Warren" manager had a commercial carpet business in Texarkana, I believe. He could shed a good deal of light on Warren's career if he could be located. Also, Bill Gilbert who has a car lot in Cameron,Texas knows a lot about Warren's career. Jody. |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 09 August 2000 09:04 AM
Thanks Jody, I'm always fascinated by artists who have links to the West Coast and Texas, like Wynn Stewart, Ralph Mooney, Willie Nelson, Janet McBride, Phil Baugh, Vern Stoval, etc..not forgetting the forum's own Herb Steiner among others. |
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