Growing up on a farm 10 miles east of Springfield, Speedy West first became acquainted with the steel guitar at a young age thanks to some neighbor boys who played. In fact, his stunning alacrity on ...

When you hear steel guitar in a song, it’s usually used as supplemental instrumentation, adding texture to the tunes. You generally don’t expect to see the men and women of steel in the forefront, and ...

The guitar, the banjo, the mandolin, the fiddle, and the upright bass are just a few of the instruments commonly associated with country music. Though there is one instrument missing from that list, ...

The pedal steel became central to his groundbreaking career.

KAILUA, Hawaii – Quincy Cortez plucks at a slim black box laid across his legs, his fingers flashing silver. Steel strings twang with each pull from the metal rings – wearable guitar picks – adorning ...

The late Pete Drake was a well-known Nashville session player whose pedal steel guitar licks were heard on many of country music’s biggest during the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. Songs like George Jones’ ...

An anchor of the classic mid-century Nashville sound, the pedal steel guitar has been a trusted part of the broader pop palette at least since Jerry Garcia added affable, if primitive, pedal steel to ...