Bud Issacs

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 30 Sep 2001 10:02 am

I just came upon a really nice website of Bud Isaacs. For those newbies and Jerry Garcia fans

(tongue in cheek) Bud was the first to use pedals on a recording. The song was "Slowly" by Webb Pierce. http://www.members.aol.com/_ht_a/bigisteel1/myhomepage/ [This message was edited by Larry Miller on 30 September 2001 at 11:05 AM.][This message was edited by Larry Miller on 30 September 2001 at 11:06 AM.][This message was edited by Larry Miller on 30 September 2001 at 11:09 AM.][This message was edited by Larry Miller on 02 October 2001 at 05:02 PM.]

Doug Seymour · Post by **Doug Seymour** » 30 Sep 2001 4:08 pm

pedals as we think of them in connection with the E9th tuning & country music & Nashville TN today, but I suspect that
Alvino Rey recorded with pedals before (way before!)Bud Isaacs. Some one should know the facts better than I, but I recall it that way. How about it, Al Marcus, you were there before I was !

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 30 Sep 2001 4:16 pm

I'm sorry Doug, I meant to say pedals used to change one chord to another, i.e., a I to a IV. Sorry for the misinformation

, please check out the website![This message was edited by Larry Miller on 30 September 2001 at 05:17 PM.][This message was edited by Larry Miller on 30 September 2001 at 05:18 PM.]

Bob Carlson · Post by **Bob Carlson** » 30 Sep 2001 9:06 pm

As far as I know the first "record" made using a pedal steel was "Slowly" with Bud Issacs pushing the pedal. I wore out at least three of them. Bout drove my wife crazy.

I listened to (and played) a lot of big band music and I feel for sure If I had heard that sound before I would have gotten the record wore out a few of them.

Bob Carlson.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 30 Sep 2001 10:17 pm

Bud was the first known E to A change player but was nowhere near the first pedal player to be recorded. Alvino Rey and several others beat him by several years. Remember the pedal steel player on the Arthur Godfry T.V. show in 49-50? eight pedals, eight strings! Bud played a style that was simple for the masses to understand and love, me included. But Alvino was musically fantastic, ask the ultimate athority, Maurice Anderson about Alvino Rey! Ever hear an album called " A Swingin'Fling"? Pedal steel was around in the thirtys you know! Back to Bud Isaacs,man I loved that stuff,he played great! And may still!
J. Athurityus Historius III

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 1 Oct 2001 9:32 am

Pedals were indeed used prior to "Slowly", but not widely in the manner Bud Isaacs used them- making the sound of the action of the pedals a primary musical motif.

THAT was what changed things. imo.

Swingin' Fling!!! What a great record!!

Slowly!!! What a grat record!!

sorry about the broken audio links-I have some long overdue site maintenance to perform. "Slowly" samples are at Rebel and Ricky's site though, I think...
[This message was edited by Dave Van Allen on 01 October 2001 at 10:35 AM.]

Fred Murphy · Post by **Fred Murphy** » 1 Oct 2001 9:33 am

Bud hasnt't been doing too good lately. He fell off of a ladder while working on his house and was hurt pretty badly. I wish him a full recovery.

Bob Farlow · Post by **Bob Farlow** » 1 Oct 2001 10:34 am

I saw that Arthur Godfrey show. Who was that player?

c c johnson · Post by **c c johnson** » 1 Oct 2001 1:27 pm

That was Ricco Tercetti. )spelling) Pronounced TURKETY

Doug Seymour · Post by **Doug Seymour** » 1 Oct 2001 1:29 pm

There was a Rico Turquetti (sp?) I recall
playing pedals on Godfrey's show. Probably
who Bobbe may be refering to. I don't remember that much about him, but I think I
was probably properly impressed @ the time!
I guess Alvino didn't let you hear the pedals
change the chord so much. With Bud you pretty much knew that was what was happening!

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 1 Oct 2001 2:43 pm

Well put, by everybody,What great memories !
All these guys were great!
J. Rodny Scattergood III

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 1 Oct 2001 10:08 pm

Yep, that was Rico Turcetti. He copied an arrangement of St.Lous Blues of Alvino Rey" and was a bit hit. He built his own pedal steel.
There were 6 or 7 original Gibosn Electra-Harps, Alvino had the first one and I got a used one later.
In the 40's that was all that was available and you could put any tuning you wanted on it. 8 raises and 8 lowers on each pedal. 6 pedals.We used complicated pedal setups for that point in time.

Alvino made a great record of St.Louis blues in 1941. I have seen him in person a couple of times. We talked a couple of times on the phone last year. When I first saw him,he was 29 and I was 15. He is 92 now.

Yes, I guess he was the first pedal steel player. He called it Alvino Rey and his Singing Guitar.

I played St.Louis blues, of course I too copied after Alvino Rey. Yes we played so smooth that you didn't know we were using pedals, very smooth chord changing. That was what we aimed for.

But Bud Isaac is the one who got the attention of everyone who was playing country music........al

Don Walters · Post by **Don Walters** » 2 Oct 2001 5:18 am

Bud Isaacs' playing on Slowly forever changed the way steel guitar was/is played in country music, and that's the most important point, most would agree.

Bob Carlson · Post by **Bob Carlson** » 2 Oct 2001 9:02 am

Thats the point I was trying to make In my post but didn't do a very good job.

I stated If I had heard that sound before I would have went nuts then and wore out a few of them records like I did with Slowly.

Bob Carlson

bob grossman · Post by **bob grossman** » 2 Oct 2001 9:40 am

I believe Vance Terry had a few pedals on his Bibsby when he played for one of the Wills Bros. at Ft. Washington Beach - wherever that is. Speedy had pedals on his Bigsby. There was a player named Joe Boole, I think. Also a Bigsby, if I recall. Anyone remember him? Correct me if I'm wrong.

These guys played chords.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 2 Oct 2001 4:07 pm

Alvino was working in a non-traditional formatto begin with, after all how many steels (console guitars) made it to big band arrangements?
Speedy did do some big band sessions inthe 1950s, but that's not really what we're talking about here is it.

In regards to Bigsby's, the first pedal models were about 1948; but what inspired them?

Bob, hi how you doing?
I don't know anything about Joe Boole, but maybe Paul G. or one of the other Bigsby fanatics (I mean that in a nice way) will post on this topic.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 2 Oct 2001 4:21 pm

The stuff Bud did with Chet Atkins was very good. There's more to Bud than just squeezing the old A and B pedals! Does anyone know what kind of guitar Bud had that was covered in leather?[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 02 October 2001 at 05:22 PM.]

Ian McLatchie · Post by **Ian McLatchie** » 2 Oct 2001 6:24 pm

Further to what Dave says, Swingin' Fling by Alvino Rey is an ultra-cool record that would be worth owning just for the cover and the cheesy comments on the back ("I danced all night, with my wife, of course!" "Fantabulous! Wild! Mad! Crazy! Wicked!").
I found an exc.+ copy at a local vinyl dealer a few months ago for ten bucks. One of the best buys I've made in a log time.

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 3 Oct 2001 11:16 am

Don Walters, I'll agree, Bud Isaacs changed the way we all(mostly) look at steel today. His is the INVENTER of the E 9th style. NOTHING should ever be taken away from him. He didn't invent pedal steel guitar but he invented the most dominant style played on it.
Read this last sentence again, this is the summation of this whole post.
Bud Isaacs should be much more known than he really is. He is the daddy of E9th steel guitar.
K. Historis Knowlitalisopolitov esq. III[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 03 October 2001 at 12:17 PM.]

Bud Isaacs · Post by **Bud Isaacs** » 3 Oct 2001 8:46 pm

Hello. This is Geri. Bud doesn't like to do computers so I will try. THANK YOU for all the kinds words you have said about Bud. --- LARRY, The Steel Guitar you ask about was a Fender. Bud said that someone had made a leather cover for his Steel with his name across the front. I told him that you guys on the Forum were talking about him. (He is watching the ball game) He said to tell you that, he had used his pedals on a couple of tunes before "Slowly" came out. They were with "Red Foley". "Walking in the Cold Cold Rain" and "Blue Guitar" on the Decca Label. He said that he was trying to get a sound like 3 Fiddle's with his tuning. We all know that there were pedals before Bud used his, Bud has mentioned several. But we want you to know that we LOVE Alvino. We have ALWAYS ENJOYED AND ADMIRED all the other great Steel Players over the years no matter what style of Steel they play. MOST OF ALL, We are just THANKFUL that we live in a Country, where we are FREE to play the Music we love. God Bless, THANKS AGAIN Geri and Bud[This message was edited by Bud Isaacs on 03 October 2001 at 10:00 PM.]

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 4 Oct 2001 4:39 am

The above post is exactly the reason I love this forum. All the arguing and petty stuff is just that, petty. Isn't it great that we can correspond and communicate with the historical figures of the steel guitar? In the words of a fellow forumite "Is this a great Forum, or what!!!!

Larry

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 4 Oct 2001 7:11 am

Well, it don't get much better than that does it?
Bobbe, I imagine you've got the Dance-O-Rama series with the set where Bud is featured on steel with the Nashville studio group.
It would have to be some hot stuff I'd imagine.

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 5 Oct 2001 5:06 pm

He said that he was trying to get a sound like 3 Fiddle's with his tuning.

, THE GENESIS OF MODERN DAY PEDAL STEEL GUITAR!! WOW!!!