Remember these "OLD" LA Steel players?

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 8 Apr 2002 11:11 am

Do you remember these old LA steel players? I was wondering if they were still alive and if anyone knew their whereabouts.

Dave Knight
Skeeter Stoltz
Bill Weingarden
Major Simpson
Johnny Redd
Bo Pete
Johnny Davis
Dave Ziegler
Kenny Cox
Billy Tonneson
J.L. Jenkins (formerly with Johnny Lee Wills
Jimmy Smith
J.G. O'Rafferty
Carl Walden
Jerry Day
Mike Bennett (Bennedeto)
Don Robinson

Any others you can name? I'm getting old and I can't remember some of them by name..........Jerry H.
[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 08 April 2002 at 12:18 PM.]

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 8 Apr 2002 11:52 am

Billy Tonneson just played yesterday in Sacramento at a reunion of Shorty Joe's band, along with Bobby Black and Pee Wee Whitewing. As far as i know, he is still in Southern California.

I would like to hear something about J. L. Jenkins myself.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 8 Apr 2002 1:08 pm

James O'Rafferty and Jimmy Smith were one and the same dude. I understand he lives either in Kentucky or Missouri.

Carl Walden is a forumite.

I heard Dave Ziegler moved to Northern CA but I could be wrong. Nice guy. His mom was a fan of mine.

Johnny Davis is still playing but I don't know where or when.

though I do know the SONG "Where or When

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 8 Apr 2002 1:15 pm

21 years ago I copped a couple of lessons from Dave Zeiglar. He was unqustionably the best teacher I ever had. My first lesson lasted 8 hours, and only ended because I felt I couldn;t absorb any more. Dave wanted to teach me everything he had ever learned.

Dave does not teach for the money. He teaches because he genuinely wants to share his knowledge with younger players. I highly recommend him to anybody in So Cal who is interested in learning the steel. He lives in the high desert, halfway between L.A. and Arizona, but it's definately worth the drive out to see him.

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 8 Apr 2002 5:45 pm

Jerry, I have fairly recent contacts for Billy Tonnesson and Carl Walden, if you would like to email me I can pass them on.

Billy T. has been doing gigs with your old boss Sammy Masters in the last year or so on a rather informal basis.

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 8 Apr 2002 6:16 pm

What ?? Still no mention of DAVE ALLEN ??

Regards, Paul

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 9 Apr 2002 4:51 am

Here's a couple more:

Jerry Stevens, Jimmy Hill, Dave Pearlman, & Steve Silver.

Herb,
Thanks for the info on Jimmy Smith. I'd heard his name but had never met him. I knew James O very well and he never mentioned he was the other guy too. That's cool I guess.
I remember seeing Carl Walden on the forum some time back but haven't seen him on here lately.

Hey Paul,
Who's Dave Allen? I don't remember him.............

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney tuning.

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 09 April 2002 at 05:53 AM.]

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 9 Apr 2002 6:04 am

Jerry: Dave Allen is a steel guitarist I met in Anchorage, Alaska back in the 60s. I did a brief write up in Fretts about him. He was a great Chalker follower and was supposedly from Calfornia. Jason Odd and I have been looking for him but he has dropped off the face of the earth. I think we both are wondering what we may have missed by his departure from the PSG scene.

Regards, Paul

Perry Hansen · Post by **Perry Hansen** » 9 Apr 2002 8:38 am

Paul. What part of the 60s was Dave Allen in Anchorage. I was there from 62 to 65. He must have been there after that. The only steel players there at the time besides me was, Mike Young, Dale Robinson and of course, Danny Sneed. Wayne Gayley was there off and on with Paul Harper.

bob grossman · Post by **bob grossman** » 9 Apr 2002 9:31 am

Kenny Norman...

I think he played for Ole Rasmussen when Bill Tonnesen was in the army.

Al Vernon?

Chuck Foreman?

Paul Graupp · Post by **Paul Graupp** » 9 Apr 2002 10:00 am

Perry: The article appeared in Vol 3 of 1965 but I saw him at the Roaring 20s club sometime after the earthquake because I still recall seeing a lot of that damage.

I was working on an IG Team from HQs AFCC. We spent a lot of time in Anchorage but went all over the state and even out to Shemia (sp??) Island.

That was the only time I ever saw him but it left enough of an impression that I can still see him playing to this day. It was very good !!

Regards, Paul

Mike Black · Post by **Mike Black** » 9 Apr 2002 10:50 am

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 9 Apr 2002 12:22 pm

How about Carl West? Heard from him a while back. Johhny Davis someone told me was in COLO. But no verification.

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CJC

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 9 Apr 2002 8:07 pm

I've heard a couple of different storied on Johnny Davis, some say COLOR, others say Northern CA.
If Johnny went to CO, then he would have been another West Coaster who went that way, like the Bacon Brothers (well Shorty at least), Norm Forrest, Pat Price and others.. but not steel players, so I'll stick to the topic.

Bob Grossman has also mentioned Dave Allen, I believe Bob and Paul G. have made Chalker comparisons to his style of playing.
I'm fascinated that a talent like that can dissapear.

Carl West is playing informally, mainly at home in CA, but he did do a bit of a reunion gig with Jay Dee Maness, Dale Bennett and others in Oklahoma a while back, sounds like it was an awesome party.
Bob Tuttle and Al Petty are in Texas, as is Gene Fields.

Mike, Al Vernon did record with McGuinnis, I think he and Al Gershen both played steel on that 1960s bandstand only type LP by McGuinnis.

Does anyone have any articles on Paul Harper at all? ... Wayne Gailey was as mentioned, his steel player for some time.

Bob, yeah I checked and you are right Kenny Norman did play for Rassmussen while Billy served. He gets mentioned in the Ole Rassmussen CD notes by Kevin Coffey, the guitarist from Ole's group Earl Finley is quoted as recalling Norman as: "the best steel player, I thought, who ever lived."
No mention of his whereabouts now.

Carl Walden has been doing some things up at Gib Guilbeaus studio, there's quite a few projects going on there. Michael Johnstone and Sneaky Pete have been out there as well in the last year or so.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 10 Apr 2002 7:50 am

Hey Jason,
You mentioned the Bacon Brothers. One of the steel players I mentioned in the inital post was "Bo Pete". I don't know what his real name was but when I got out of the Army in 1963 he was playing at the Hitching Post in Gardena with Shorty Bacon. He had the name "Bo Pete" on the front of his steel guitar. Bill Bacon was also there on bass guitar at the time. There was another brother named Ed who was somewhat of a lowlife and didn't have near the talent of his brothers. Shorty was a good showman and he and Rose Maddox had an act together for a while.

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney tuning.

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 10 April 2002 at 08:53 AM.]

Carl West · Post by **Carl West** » 10 Apr 2002 11:08 am

Hey guys, remember Bobby Hines. worked with
Billy Armstrong,Wade Ray, Bob Morris, did great western swing and played a Fender 1000
and a mess of chords. Great player

Carl West
Emmons LaGrand lll D-10

Jim Bob Sedgwick · Post by **Jim Bob Sedgwick** » 10 Apr 2002 11:13 am

Jerry: Dave Knight- quit playing, driving truck SoCal. Skeeter, sold his stuff, sells car parts, still lives in SoCal. I heard that Major Simpson passed on. Haven't heard anything about Johnny Redd in years. Carl Walden might have a line on him. Jimmy Hill lives in Bull Head City, Az. Jerry Stevens and I occasionally have guitar pulls. Still plays great. I heard that Johnny Davis was back in Orange county but I haven't seen him. Haven't heard any word about Jimmy Collins in years.

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 10 Apr 2002 12:33 pm

Jerry,Ed Bacon played Bass VSS(very seldom sober)(open hole Kay) most of the time when the brothers were together.Billy Had that biG "Red"he called it ES 335 Gibson Guitar. Billy and His band played the Shamrock out on the PCH during the week and the Hiching post thurs and Sundays w/Jimmy(The Valley four) Moore on Drums.Bill had his own spot also on Cals Corral.Remember when it was safe to go to the HP Ballroom?.Nice to see Sammy Masters is still Working the left coast.

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CJC

[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 10 April 2002 at 01:36 PM.]

Roy Murphy · Post by **Roy Murphy** » 10 Apr 2002 1:32 pm

major simpson lives in the shreveport louisana area and still plays his sho-bud steel roy

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 10 Apr 2002 4:38 pm

The Bacon Brothers used to play together behind Shorty, of course that's when they weren't fighting each other!
Shorty and Billy recorded for the Ozark label, some pretty rare sides circa 1959-1960.
Around that time they also worked the Hitching Post with Johnny Davis and Blackie Taylor with singer Gene O'Quin.

Bo Pete and Billy Hines are names I've seen or heard mentioned, but that's about all I know, Carl and Jerry.. you know more on these guys you mentioned than I do.

Has anyone heard of a steel player named Speedy Price?
He worked with a performer named Bobby Wayne (not the guy who went on to work with Haggard, Freddie Hart and Wynn Stewart), he was a bandleader who originally worked pickup jobs around Southern CA. In the late 50's/early 60's he replaced Glen Troutman (a.k.a. Glen Glenn) as front man for Fred Maddox's band at the King Of The Bass club in Ventura,CA. (before your time I believe Jerry). Bobby went on to put his own band together called The Roulettes which consisted of: Speedy Price (Steel), R. W. Lasswell (Drums) (Speedy & R. W. wrote 'Make A Left And Then A Right' which was a hit for Johnny & Jonie Mosby on Capitol 1967), Patsy Lee Hughes (Bass), and a guy named Chief Big (Lead Guitar). They worked out of the Club Vegas in Oxnard and had a live radio remote broadcast on KSPA in Santa Paula,CA . Bobby Wayne He recorded for local labels, even had a couple LPs on Crown in the late 1960s, not sure if Price played on them or not.

Michael Brewer · Post by **Michael Brewer** » 10 Apr 2002 6:29 pm

I didn't see any mention of Eddie Martin with Wade Ray at The Red Flame on South Vermont though I think Eddie has left us.

Also Curly Cochrane. Curly was one of the good ones in the early 50's.

Mike Brewer

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Mike Brewer

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 13 Apr 2002 8:20 am

Hey Jason,
Yes I remember Speedy Price AKA Vernon "Speedy Price". In the mid sixties I was playing at the King of the Bass in Ventura six nights a week and doing the Monday night thing at the Club Vegas in Oxnard. Bobby Wayne was the regular house band and featured Speedy on his Fender 1000 double 8 steel played through a Fender Super Reverb amp. He got a great sound out of it ala Mooney style. Chief Big who's real name was Roy Peters was on lead guitar and played a Strat through a Fender Bandmaster piggyback amp with an EchoPlex I believe. I was doing the Mondays with a guy named Clark Rohn from Los Angeles with me on lead guitar and Don Robinson on steel who played with Larry (something) at the Crow's Nest on the other nights and Billy Graham formerly with Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, on bass guitar. The drummer was named Bill Sammons who was just called "Sam". I remember a show at the Ball Stadium in Ventura which featured Joe Maphis and Rose Lee. The backup band was the Club Vegas Group. The thing I most remember is that the instruments weren't miked and you couldn't hear the steel because Speedy played with a low power open back Fender Super Reverb. After a couple of numbers they put a mike in front of his amp and it was OK. Everyone else including Joe Maphis played closed back amps. Joe had a Standel which had two 15' JBL's in the thing. Chief Big's Fender was a closed back Bandmaster which although it was the same power rating as Speedy's it projected because everything came out the front...........I guess I've rambled on enough, Have a good 'un.......Jerry

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney tuning.

Michael Johnstone · Post by **Michael Johnstone** » 13 Apr 2002 12:42 pm

Somebody mentioned Dave Pearlman.He's alive and well in L.A. and like a few other steel players in town,he owns and runs a recording studio.It's called "Rotund Rascal" and it's down in North Hollywood.Dave is one of the best pickers in town. -MJ-

Jason Odd · Post by **Jason Odd** » 14 Apr 2002 7:50 pm

Jerry, I gotta email you about something, thanks for the additional notes.

Mike, I know Dave, another yougun' back in '69 who used to sneak into the Pal' and watch Red Rhodes in action (the list of young L.A. area guys who used to see Red at his shop or the Pal' include Ethan Reilly, Dave, and possibly the forum's own Herb Steiner who was a good lad and apparently never snuck into the Pal).
The last time I was in touch with Dave he was doing a rap session as producer/engineer in his studio.

Jim Leonard · Post by **Jim Leonard** » 19 Apr 2002 2:31 am

Jim Corwin was another fine player. Also in the late 50s Larry Spears blossomed into a great playerI was the original steel player with the Billy Armstrong band. It started as the Texas Tiny band at the Irish World in Englewood then moved to the B and J Rancho in Long Beach. There it became Billys band. I wss with them for 3 years. When Iwent in the Service in 54 Bobby Hines took my place