# Pedal Steel Guitar songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [September 26, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279 "2022-09-26T18:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/1 "2022-09-26T18:34:12Z")
Recent posts on CSNY have reminded me what a great song _Teach Your Children_ is. The harmony is golden, of course, but the other great thing about it is the **steel guitar**. Can anyone recommend any other great pedal steel guitar songs? ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/2 "2022-09-26T19:00:15Z")
There a loads of them, but my favorite pedal steel song is the Flying Burritos Brother’s “Christine’s Tune”. That’s Sneaky Pete Kleinow. You also should check out anything by Michael Nesmith and the First National Band. His steel player Red Rhodes was fantastic. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7f2g4IDxlEk/maxresdefault.jpg "Christine’s Tune") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f2g4IDxlEk) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gayAMQ7PILQ/maxresdefault.jpg "I Fall to Pieces") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gayAMQ7PILQ) Another favorite track: Uncle Tupelo’s “Anodyne”. Can’t remember the name of the pedal steel player at the moment. ETA: looked it up. Lloyd Maines. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WZtdUkqhSgk/maxresdefault.jpg "Anodyne") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZtdUkqhSgk) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/3 "2022-09-26T19:15:06Z")
I’m reading different accounts as to whether this song is technically using a “pedal steel” guitar, versus a “lap steel” (I suspect it’s the latter), but either way, “Sleep Walk” is an awesome song. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2rwfqsjimRM/hqdefault.jpg "Santo & Johnny "Sleep Walk"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rwfqsjimRM) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/4 "2022-09-26T19:25:02Z")
I sure have bookmarked this thread, I’m a big sucker for pedal steel guitar. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/5 "2022-09-26T19:41:54Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/PH0K6ojmGZA/maxresdefault.jpg "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K6ojmGZA) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/6 "2022-09-26T20:06:31Z")
Grand Junction by Poco [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/piCcozkmMFI/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC5AKKAgwIABABGHIgVCg7MA8=&rs=AOn4CLBi-M3pl50F1CAh4Ph8F7S_MAFXHw "Poco - Grand Junction") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piCcozkmMFI) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/7 "2022-09-26T20:10:00Z")
Yeah, Rusty Young for Poco always played great. His pedal steel guitar often sounded like a cross between guitar and organ, I don’t know how he did it and what effects he used. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/8 "2022-09-26T20:29:53Z")
OMG, I’ve wanted to know the name/artist of this song for YEARS! Thank you thank you thank you thank you… ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/9 "2022-09-26T20:33:42Z")
There is a ton of pedal steel by Jerry Garcia on the New Riders of the Purple Sage album. Here’s “I Don’t Know You:” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/fssRI1jvCn4/maxresdefault.jpg "New Riders of the Purple Sage - I Don't Know You") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssRI1jvCn4) There is some fun and unusual pedal steel on King Sunny Ade’s “Ja Funmi” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JBxreBgrJSA/hqdefault.jpg "Sunny Ade - Ja Funmi") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBxreBgrJSA) The same guy played on Paul Simon’s Graceland ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/10 "2022-09-26T20:33:53Z")
Love that version of ‘I Fall to Pieces’. These are great. Keep the recommendations coming! ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/11 "2022-09-26T20:36:46Z")
[Dire Wolf (2013 Remaster) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBua6awzByg) Dire Wolf by the Grateful Dead (yep, Jerry Garcia, of course) is another favorite of mine. Also great vocal harmony coupled with steel guitar. Don’t murder me I’m begging you please don’t murder me pleeeeease don’t murder me. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/12 "2022-09-26T20:36:58Z")
Buddy Emmons was a master. Also check out his work with Lenny Breau. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/UBbzvS1uuF0/hqdefault.jpg "Danny Boy - Buddy Emmons") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBbzvS1uuF0) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/13 "2022-09-26T20:40:09Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > OMG, I’ve wanted to know the name/artist of this song for YEARS! Thank you thank you thank you thank you… You are most welcome! I remember having heard the song here and there for years (in the '80s and early '90s), without knowing the name or the artists (and this was before the Web, of course, which would have made looking it up far easier). Mazda used the song for a Miata ad in '91, and that’s when I finally was able to figure it out – I asked my mother (born in 1940), if she recognized the song, which she did, and she gave me the name of it. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/IjG8o9b5D40/hqdefault.jpg "1991 Mazda Miata "Sleepwalk" commercial") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjG8o9b5D40) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/14 "2022-09-26T20:43:45Z")
The album, Lost in the Ozone, by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airman has lots of great pedal steel. The title track is an example: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/heK8QjhWGag/maxresdefault.jpg "Commander Cody - "Lost In The Ozone"") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heK8QjhWGag) ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/15 "2022-09-26T20:46:20Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > he album, Lost in the Ozone, by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airman has lots of great pedal steel. The title track is an example: I love it!! When I was a kid ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ was my favorite song. Commander Cody comes through once again. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/16 "2022-09-26T20:49:07Z")
Heh, I own a couple of pedal steels, I’m not very good at playing them, but I enjoy them. And yeah, Bobby Black is one of the absolute greats. It doesn’t hurt that everyone else in the band was basically one of the greats, as well. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2iawlT3HHW0/maxresdefault.jpg "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette) (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iawlT3HHW0) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OLHj1tGDrKs/maxresdefault.jpg "San Antonio Rose (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLHj1tGDrKs) Seriously, that version of San Antonio Rose is _THE_ version for me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2xAdHOfxj5w/maxresdefault.jpg "Big Mamou (Live)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xAdHOfxj5w) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/17 "2022-09-26T20:50:15Z")
Look no further than [Elvis!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve5Gd7QCBiA) ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/18 "2022-09-26T20:55:25Z")
Probably need to include Robert Randolph in this list, here’s his “Crossroads:” I can’t remember the song that made me go buy “The Word” which was his band with the North Mississippi All Stars but holy smokes: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/WvSNetMUZgA/maxresdefault.jpg "Robert Randolph & The Family Band "Cross Road Blues" Tampa Bay Blues Festival April 9, 2022") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvSNetMUZgA) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/19 "2022-09-26T21:01:10Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > When I was a kid ‘Hot Rod Lincoln’ was my favorite song. It’s funny you say that. It was my first favorite song, and my parents bought me the LP around when it came out, when I was four or five years old. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279/20 "2022-09-26T21:03:04Z")
Definitely need at least one Red Rhodes track in this thread [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/reT0pYBciDM/maxresdefault.jpg "Crippled Lion") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reT0pYBciDM) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedal-steel-guitar-songs/972279.md?page=2)