pedal steel guitarists

Evelyn Brue-Roeder opened her music store in 1940! Her main focus in the early days was music lessons, however she soon added sheet music, accessories and musical instruments. She developed a passion for steel guitars as she witnessed their development over her career. When the pedal steel guitar was introduced she had to have one and has been playing and giving lessons on the instrument ever since. Evelyn and her husband George became active in various musical clubs including the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.
 

Wayne Burdick’s pedal steel guitar made by Paul Bigsby graced the cover of the luthier’s first catalog. Wayne befriended Mr. Bigsby in the 1950s while Wayne was a member of the Tex Williams Western Swing Orchestra. Wayne’s pedal steel can be heard on hundreds of recordings and in fact the very instrument made by Paul Bigsby was later purchased by Ron Middlebrook who loaned it to the Museum of Making Music for display beginning in 2008. Wayne also had a long friendship with Rob Crook, the creator of the Standel Amplifier. Wayne thought very highly of Crook and Bigsby and shared some of his thoughts on the men during his NAMM Oral History interview.
 

Buddy Emmons is on the short list of the most influential steel pedal guitarists in the world. Along with Alvino Rey and Speedy West, Buddy helped define the role of the instrument in pop and country music. We proudly note that all three of these legends are now included in the NAMM Oral History Collection. Buddy was co-founder of ShoBud and later worked closely with George Lewis on several noted adjustments and improvements to the instrument. In fact, their close friendship is evident by the number of trade shows that found both men at the ShoBud or George L’s booth talking about the old days.

Bud Isaacs designed a line of pedal steel guitars, teaming with fellow country music performer Shot Jackson to form the Sho-Bud Company. In his pursuit to create and develop new sounds for the instrument, Bud went to Paul A Bigsby to request a custom pedal steel guitar. The Bigsby became Bud’s main instrument in the heyday of his career as a recording artist in the 1950s. He played the Bigsby on stage at the Grand Ole Opry and recorded a long string of hits with the instrument including the widely influential “Slowly” with singer Webb Pierce. Bud married famed yodeler Geri Mapes who toured and recorded with Bud’s band for several decades. The couple became a regular feature at NAMM Shows as well as pedal steel guitar conventions around the world.

Lowell Kiesel, as the founder of the southern California guitar company Carvin, joined the ranks with Leo Fender, Paul A. Bigsby, and the Rickenbacker Company, in establishing the new era of electric guitar. In 1946 he formed L. C. Kiesel Company winding pickups on an old sewing machine.  As the company grew and the product line began to connect with musicians around the world, Lowell changed the name of the company to Carvin, after his sons Carson and Gavin.

Katinka Lathrop was married for over 60 years to a guitar player with a passion. After he retired from the ceramics industry, the couple moved to Modesto, California, where they opened a small retail shop. Her husband Buck was not too interested in the business of selling instruments, he mostly wanted to play with the people who came into the store and make sure they were pleased with their gear. Nearly everyone who came into the store jammed with Buck. Buck’s Music was opened in 1991 and Katinka carried on the store even after Buck’s passing in 2008. 

Buddy Merrill played the pedal steel guitar on the Lawrence Welk TV program from its start in 1954 until he left the show in 1974. Buddy played Fender products while on the Welk Show, which was an exciting time as several key instrument innovations were released during this time, including the Stratocaster. His passion for music and musical products started as a child when he played along side his country-western singing father, Les Merrill. After leaving the Welk Show, Buddy worked in the movies and wrote for background music for many years.  

Alvino Rey tinkered with putting a phonograph pickup in his banjo to increase the volume in 1927. His inventive mind also led to early guitar pickups and the design of a pedal-steel guitar. A life-long performer, he is also known to generations for his work during the swing era including his own big band, which he formed in 1939 as well as the fact that he married one of the famed King Sisters. He mastered the classical guitar and recorded and performed until just months before his passing at the age of 93 in 2004.  

George Roeder played the flamingo guitar and sang in Barber Shop Quartets ever since he was young. While he was taking lessons from Evelyn Breu, he took a liking to the retail business –as well as his teacher. After the couple married in the late 1960s, they formed a tremendous team both as musicians and as educators. The Roeders performed together for local clubs as well as international organizations such as the Pedal Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, which is held each year in St. Louis, MO.
 

DeWitt Scott knows about as much as a person can know about steel guitars! As a retailer he sold them, as a performer he played them, as a composer and author he wrote about them and as a fan he promoted them everyplace he went. As the founder of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, Dewitt (known as Scotty) promoted and honored fellow players with inductions into the Hall of Fame, a series of method books and by staging a yearly event for steel guitar fans around the world to gather together. For his great contribution to the instrument, the committee he formed back in the late 1960s inducted Scotty. His passion for the instrument is very clear, so is his dedication to keeping the art of steel guitar playing a live and well.