Bud Issacs and Slowly

[Barry Blackwood]

Doesn't he really deserve credit, more than others, for popularizing the sound of the pedal steel guitar?

Probably so. Give the man his due.

[Rick Jackson]

Benjamin Franz " I read somewhere that he was trying to emulate the sound of a fiddle droning an open note while bending another note. " I spoke with Bud many times about this recording and you are correct. Bud was a big fan of both Alvino Rey and Speedy West, both already had pedals. He was looking for that sound of the fiddle. He actually built a home made pedal steel guitar but it kept falling apart. That's when he approached Paul Bigsby to build him a pedal steel. On a side note, he and Webb did not get along and that is why he only played on a couple of Webb's recordings. He told me that one night at the opry, he and Walter Haynes loaded Sonny Burnette's equipment into Webb's touring car and they both shoved him in as the car was taking off. Sonny didn't want to go but ended up staying with Webb for several years.....

[Donny Hinson]

This topic is very similar to the two-handed tapping technique in the Rock Guitar world. Eddie Van Halen is credited with 'inventing' it... which he actually did on his own with no outside influence. But, many people don't know that several players had made recordings using the technique prior to Eddie, including Billy Gibbons and Brian May.

I remember seeing the tapping technique done on a banjo in a movie short made back in the late 1930's. It shows up occasionally on TCM, but I never got the players name as it was given in the introduction credits. So, the technique was done on acoustic instruments long before electric spanish guitars were popular.

Not to derail the present topic, but here's my favorite of all the MODERN "tappers". This J.S. Bach piece is amazing!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c46fr2EZOhQ


`

[Tommy White]

I like Buddy Emmons’ version of recall about split pedals from him. I also believe Buddy Emmons was the main contributor to the design of what the instrument is and remains today.

[Barry Blackwood]

Amen, Tommy!

[Bill Ford]

To revive an old thread, one story I heard was, Buddy told Jimmy about splitting the pedals for the now A/B configuration...but didn't tell him which pedal was A,or B therefore the Day/Emmons setup.

BF

[Todd Clinesmith]

In 54 Vance Terry Split the pedals on his Bigsby T-8. He recorded in late 54 with Wills on the Decca label using the pedals quite a bit. This would be a few years before Emmons.

The tuning was based off of Noel Boggs'E13 . Which he achieved the same results as Isaacs, since the tuning is the basically the same .

Vance Terry:
E
C# ( lower to B on one pedal)
G# ( raise to A second pedal)
F#
D
B
G#
E

Isaacs:
E
B Raise to C#
G# Raise to A
F#
D
B
G#
E

[Bill Ford]

Todd, I remember watching a youtube video a while back that the steel player looked like he was lowering A/B pedals.

BF

[Craig A Davidson]

Sonny Curtis that played for George Jones had his pedals reversed.He lowered 5 and 6 to get an E from an A.

[Richard Sinkler]

Sonny Curtis that played for George Jones had his pedals reversed.He lowered 5 and 6 to get an E from an A.

So did Ernie Hager

[Todd Clinesmith]

I just edited my post. I originally( accidentally) had Vance's' other pedal written as a lower where it was a G# to A raise.

Bill, I have heard there were some players in the 50's that reversed the change to come out of A6 to E9.
Something like this:
E
C# (lower to B)
A (Lower to G#)
F#
E
C#
A
F#

[Jerry Jones]

Yet another take from Buddy on split pedals @ 11:30

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTowUMBmvew

[Eugene Cole]

I have always heard that "Slowly" was the first record with pedal steel. I found out through Facebook it appears there was others before Bud Issacs. Just curious if anyone here has heard the same info.

Paul; Yes the Slowly was recorded earlier; the earlier recordings however did not include the use of pedals for changes while playing. So; Bud is distinguished with credit as being the first to record a song which utilized the pedals to realize changes while playing.

Bud used a Paul Bigby PSG on the Slowly recording. It is a pretty unique instrument as I recall.

The guitar he used was listed for sale here on the Forum a few years ago and it appears that it was sold. Here in the link to that listing;
viewtopic.php?t=115643&postdays=0&posto ... y&start=50
Perhaps you can track down the buyer. Anyone that made such a purchase probably has access to the back story on this recording.

[Jussi Huhtakangas]

Slowly was the first hit song utilizing the E9 1 to 4 chord pedal change, but it wasn't the first time Isaacs used it on the record. Apparently this Red Foley song was recorded slightly earlier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtWt7DV1s2s

[Ian Rae]

Now that really is pedal steel as we know it, more so than Slowly.
Sometimes when it's in the background it even sounds like a fiddle!

[Jerry Jones]

Here's the studio log for both songs:

29 November 1953 [19:15-22:15] Castle Studio, The Tulane Hotel, 206 8th Ave. North, Nashville, TN - Webb Pierce, * and Wilburn Brothers (+ Hank Garland [gt], Chet Atkins [gt], Doyle Wilburn [rh gt], Bud Isaacs [steel], Ernie Newton [bass], Tommy Jackson [fiddle], Jack Kay [fiddle], Farris Coursey [drums])
070 85547/NA 3181 SLOWLY 9-28991 ED 2145/DL 5536 DL-8295 BCD-15522 088 112 442-2

4 January 1954 Castle Studio, The Tulane Hotel, 206 8th Ave. North, Nashville, TN - Red Foley (Producer. Paul Cohen)
268 85737/NA 3197 PIN BALL BOOGIE 9-29100 /DL-8294
269 85738/NA 3198 WALKIN' IN THE COLD, COLD RAIN 9-29339

So, looks like Slowly was cut first but not sure about release dates.

[robert kramer]

This post re: split pedals is very interesting.

Todd Clinesmith, I looked for the Vance Terry Bob Will's sessions you mentioned. He was on two Bob Wills' sessions:
January 24 and January 25th, 1955. cut at Decca in Hollywood.

Assuming Vance would use the one chord to four chord pedal(s) on the ballads, only, here are their titles: "Carnations for The Memory" (unissued) "New Dreamy Waltz (unissued), “Sincerely,” "I'll Follow You Wherever You Go," “Don’t Keep It A Secret."

(I am assuming he's not using those pedal(s) on the swing stuff: "New Osage Stomp," Four Five Times, etc.)

The ballads released were issued on Decca 45's:"Sincerely" / "Cornball Rag" (Feb 14, 1955) / "The Boston Fancy" / "Don't Keep It A Secret" (March 1955), "San Antonio Rose" / "I'll Follow Wherever You Go."

"Sincerely" was eventually released on LP "Western Swing Along" Vocalion VL-3735 (March 1965)



These are the only two cuts on YouTube. To me the playing is typical of Vance Terry which to say is awesome.

I would really like to know if anybody hears split pedals on these cuts. I don't have the chops to make a judgement.

Bob Wills “Sincerely”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW9Qqjg8DTE

Bob Wills “Don’t Keep It A Secret”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U5rZAbaXJM

[Mike Anderson]

@robert kramer - I sure don't have the knowledge to answer your question, but I'm happy to let you know that all the Vance Terry Wills sessions are on the Bear Family compilation "Faded Love," including the unissued tracks "New Dreamy Eyed Waltz" and "Carnations for the Memory."

[Tom Bradshaw]

I happened to run onto this topic. I think I can clear up the concern as to how Bud Isaacs came up with the Pedal Gliss. After finding my notes of the interview with him in the mid-90's I've put together my conversation with him about the incident. In so doing I concluded that I should make it available to all who check out the free article on my website titled "Chord Construction for the Pedal Steel Guitarist." Bud's story is a bit lengthy and I don't want to take up too much band-width here on the Forum.
So, for those who would like to learn how an accident led to the making of a revolutionary steel guitar sound, do this:

1. Open my website page by using the following link: http://www.songwriter.com/bradshaw/chor ... uction.php
2. Once there: Enter your email address and name in the boxes.
3. Click on "ENTER". My free "Chord Construction..." paper will open up to the Introduction.
4. Scroll down to the end of it where I list the Chapters.
5. Click on Chapter 3. It will open up.
6. Scroll down to nearly the end of it. There you will see three recollections of mine that I call "Digressions."
7. The first Digression will reveal the circumstances of how Bud contributed the sound that has led to so many additional players taking up our instrument. It also had a lot to do with Bud's induction into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
P.S.: Maybe that story and the others that are inserted throughout the paper will get more people to read my whole diatribe! ...Tom

[Jack Hanson]

Thanks for sharing, Tom!

[Bill Ford]

Hey Tom, Look what I found in some of my "stuff", also have some of the magazines that you published back then. Thanks for all you have done, and still doing for the steel guitar folks.Also FWIW, I had an MSA D12 like the one pictured in Anatomy of the pedal guitar.
Bill

[robert kramer]

Thanks very much Mr. Bradshaw.

[Jim Palenscar]

I have the original 78 by Webb Pierce signed by Bud in the shop- (Because the penmanship is so nice I actually suspect it was signed by Geri ).

[Willis Vanderberg]

My first Fender pedal steel came with the pedals moving the open A tuning to E
This guitar was #035.

[Chris Scruggs]

Since this thread had been revived, I thought I would clarify something from earlier…

Sonny Burnett’s Bigsby was originally Johnny Sibert’s Bigsby, and it was originally a non pedal D8. After Slowly came out, Sibert sent it back to a Bigsby and had pedals added. Paul Bigsby himself, without being specifically asked to, added THREE pedals to the Bigsby (instead of the standard two pedals like Bud Isaacs) and sent it back to Sibert. Bigsby set the guitar up with split pedals in what would later be known as “Day” set-up. Sibert only briefly played the guitar with the pedals attached at home (his boss Carl Smith didn’t want the Webb Pierce sound in his band), and soon after that, Webb Pierce called Sibert and said he needed to buy his Bigsby from him*. They worked out a deal and Webb bought the Bigsby and Sonny used it on many hot sessions.

However, Sonny had no use for the split pedal arrangement as Bigsby had installed, so Shot Jackson set it up with the single Isaacs pull. Fast forward to ‘57 or so and Buddy and Jimmy split the pedal in a way that made an impact on the rest of the playing world.

So yes, Sonny briefly had split pedals on the Sibert Bigsby, but the potential for split pedals wasn’t explored while Sonny used it and it was soon set back to Isaacs two pedal arrangement, with B and G# both raising on a single pedal.




* Webb needed a pedal steel in his band as Bud Isaacs had reinvented his whole sound on Slowly, but unfortunately for Webb, Bud worked for Red Foley. The first thing Webb did was try to get the musicians union to strong arm Bud into quitting Foley and joining Webb but George Cooper (president of local 257) told Webb, “sorry Webb, but we outlawed slavery in Tennessee back in 1865).

The next thing Webb did in his desperate search to keep this “new” pedal sound in his music, was to contact Paul Bigsby and attempt to rush order a guitar. Bigsby said it would be a 2-3 year wait for an instrument. Webb said “ I don’t think you understand who you’re talking to, I’m Webb Pierce and I have the biggest hit record in the country right now with one of your instruments and I need one immediately.” Bigsby said “ well, I don’t think YOU understand who YOU’RE talking to, I am Paul Bigsby and I make my guitars one at a time in the order they were commissioned.” After a few more minutes of the two men pounding their chests, things settled down and Bigsby recommended Webb could purchase a used Bigsby from someone who already owned one. That led Webb to contact Johnny Sibert. Webb said he needed the instrument and would pay any price. Sibert said he didn’t really want to sell. Webb said he’d pay twice what he payed for it originally, which was $400. Webb gave him $800 and Sibert agreed to sell. The next time Webb went into the studio, Sonny B played it on More And More.

In the early ‘60s, this guitar was extensively modified by Shot Jackson to be essentially a “Bigbsy in Sho~Bud drag” and was sold to Lloyd as Lloyd’s first ‘Bud, who played it on many hits in the mid ‘60s, like Warner Mack’s The Bridge Washed Out). Bobbe Seymour bought it in the early 2000s but since Bobbe passed away, the current whereabouts are unknown.