A No Depression Most Memorable Music Book of 2022

The acknowledged maestro of the pedal steel guitar, Buddy Emmons lent his unparalleled virtuosity to over five decades of hit recordings and set standards that remain the benchmark for musicians today.

Steve Fishell's merger of biography and memoir draws extensively on in-depth interviews with Emmons and the artist's autobiographical writings. Emmons went from playing strip clubs to a Grand Ole Opry debut with Little Jimmy Dickens at age 18. His restless experimentation led to work with Ernest Tubb and Ray Price—and established him in a career that saw him play alongside a who's who of American music. Fishell weaves in stories and anecdotes from Willie Nelson, Brenda Lee, Linda Ronstadt, Pat Martino, and many others to provide a fascinating musical and personal portrait of an innovator whose peerless playing and countless recordings recognized no boundaries.

A one-of-a-kind life story, Buddy Emmons expands our view of a groundbreaking artist and his impact on country music, jazz, and beyond.

|Preface

Buddy Emmons Timeline

Lower Broad, 1965

Back Home in Indiana

Chops

Sin City

Motown

Raisin' the Dickens

Discovery Days

The Importance of Being Ernest

California Interlude

Color of the Blues

A Troubadour Again

The Cherokee Cowboys

Emmons Original

Night Life

Steel Guitar Jazz

The Bottom

Rainbows All Over Your Blues

Suite Steel

Back to Nashville

The Great Stream

Gentle on My Mind

Hold On

The Sound Factory and Swing Shift

Awards and Battles

Where the Sidewalk Ends

When I Call Your Name

Steel Guitar Heaven

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Appendix A: Tributes and Testimonials

Appendix B: Buddy Emmons's Tunings and Pedal Changes

Notes

Index

|"A portrait as complex as Emmons' playing. Blending new research with (authorized) use of writings from Emmons' abandoned autobiography, Fishell, using technical and layman's terms, reveals a man fueled by perfectionism." —Vintage Guitar
"Fishell tells a captivating story in radiant prose, a reminder of how brilliant and influential Emmons' playing, writing, and inventiveness were. . . . Buddy Emmons: Steel Guitar Icon is a book that's been waiting for someone like Fishell to write, and it's required reading for anyone interested in the history of country music in general and the steel guitar in particular." —No Depression
"A well-grounded and well-rounded book about a man whose influence on Americana music, and beyond, cannot be over-estimated." —Americana UK
|Steve Fishell is a Nashville-based pedal steel guitarist, Grammy-winning record producer, and educator. He has performed on chart-topping records for Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Eric Church, and Emmylou Harris, with whom he has toured and recorded for forty years. Fishell has also produced number one singles for Pam Tillis, Radney Foster, and Charlie Major. Fishell teaches at the University of New Haven.