Buddy Emmons Dies – Influential Pedal Steel Guitarist Was 78

Buddy Emmons, widely considered to be a true master of the steel guitar, died in Nashville on Wednesday. He was 78-years-old. While Emmons might not be very popular, he has lent his talent to nearly every top artist from George Strait to Judy Collins and from Ray Price to Ray Charles.

Country music has always had a special place for the steel guitar, and Buddy Emmons wove magic with his fingers, reported Rolling Stone. Steve Fishell, who plays pedal steel for Emmylou Harris, spoke about the legend.

“You’re talking about the ability to play fiery, complex, single-note solos that just would leave you staggered when you heard them, coupled with really imaginative chordal work. And it all just seemed effortless.”

Steel guitar is still considered a very complex piece of musical instrument. Even experienced musicians and artists have chosen to leave the steel guitar to the pros like Emmons. The pedal steel needs absolute finesse to produce a sweet mellifluous sound. The guitar requires perfect harmony between pedals, knee levers,and sometimes two sets of strings. Fishell likened the instrument to the insanely frustrating cube puzzle Rubik’s cube.

“It’s like a Rubik’s Cube of a musical instrument that’s not unlike driving a stick-shift truck through landmines. It’s just rife with possible accidents left and right.”

If that’s wasn’t difficult enough, Buddy Emmons went ahead and made it even more complex to further refine the sounds and add more diversity. The musician split one of the pedals into two and added a pair of strings to expand the tuning, reported NPR. Asked how could he manage such complexity and produce great music, in a rare interview, Emmons explained.

“My senses were a little keener. It allowed me to hear what I was doing in a different way. It allowed me to feel what I was doing in a different way. I just liked the feeling of what went on in my head while the lights were out.”

Buddy Emmons has been playing the lap steel guitar since the age of 11. He shared he developed an interest in the complex musical instrument and the ability to play it while listening to country music on the radio.

Born Buddy Gene Emmons, the artist’s love affair with the instrument began the day his father bought him a six-string lap steel and signed him up for lessons, reported MSN. Though he was 78 and retired, details of the time and cause of death were not immediately available.

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