(1937-01-27)January 27, 1937 Mishawaka, Indiana, U.S.
Died
July 21, 2015(2015-07-21) (aged 78) Nashville, Tennessee
Genres
Country, jazz
Occupation(s)
Musician
Instrument(s)
Pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar
Years active
1952–2015
Labels
Mercury, Flying Fish
Musical artist
Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day.[1][2] He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981.[3]
Affectionately known by the nickname "Big E", Emmons' primary genre was American country music, but he also performed jazz and Western swing. He recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons, The Everly Brothers, The Carpenters, Jackie DeShannon, Roger Miller, Ernest Tubb, John Hartford, Little Jimmy Dickens, Ray Price, Judy Collins, George Strait, John Sebastian, and Ray Charles and was a widely sought session musician in Nashville and Los Angeles.[4]
Emmons made significant innovations to the steel guitar, adding two additional strings and an additional pedal, changes which have been adopted as standard in the modern-day instrument.[5] His name is on a US patent for a mechanism to raise and lower the pitch of a string on a steel guitar and return to the original pitch without going out of tune.[6] He won the Academy of Country Music's "Best Steel Guitarist" nine times, beginning in 1969.[2]
Anytime
Emmons Steel Guitar Jazz
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In 2013, two years before his death, he was honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame in a tribute called "The Big E: Salute to Buddy Emmons" featuring testimonials and performances by eminent musicians and hall of fame members.[4]
^Betts, Stephen L. (July 30, 2015). "Steel Guitar Great Buddy Emmons Dies". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. ISSN 0035-791X. OCLC 693532152. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
^ abKingsbury, Paul; McCall, Michael; Rumble, John, eds. (2012). "The Entries, A-Z". The Encyclopedia of Country Music (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199920839. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
^"The Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame". Scottysmusic.com. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
^ ab"Concert and Conversation: The Big E: Salute to Buddy Emmons". countrymusichalloffame.org. Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. September 21, 2013. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of...
Bigsby was in the process of building a guitar for steel virtuoso BuddyEmmons. Emmons heard Isaacs' performance on the song, and told Bigsby to make his...
Coming Home (co-written With Hank Cochran) Are You Sure (co-written With BuddyEmmons) Ashamed Au Jardin De Mes Reves (Albert Babin, rearranged) Bach Minuet...
Minors Aloud (subtitled BuddyEmmons with Lenny Breau) is an album by American pedal steel guitarist BuddyEmmons and Canadian guitarist Lenny Breau that...
Emmanuel BuddyEmmons Pedal Steel Hank Garland Country Danny Gatton Vince Gill Country Merle Haggard Roy Harvey Old time music, Bluegrass Buddy Holly Rockabilly...
lifetime, in addition to albums recorded with fiddler Buddy Spicher and pedal steel guitarist BuddyEmmons. Breau had problems with drugs beginning in the 1960s...
input from prominent performers including Jimmy Day, Ralph Mooney and BuddyEmmons to support optimal chord and scale patterns across a single fret on the...
becoming common in the U.S. One of the steel guitar's foremost virtuosos, BuddyEmmons, studied at the Hawaiian Conservatory of Music in South Bend, Indiana...
Music (1975), followed by Redneck Jazz (1978) with pedal steel guitarist BuddyEmmons appearing as a guest. He founded the band the Redneck Jazz Explosion...
Tubb and the Texas Troubadours. One of the Troubadours, steel guitarist BuddyEmmons, asked Rhodes to play in Tubb's style and invited him to work with the...
called The Superpickers. The lineup included steel guitarist BuddyEmmons, drummer Buddy Harmon, bassist Henry Strzelecki, pianist Willie Rainsford, and...
Ratatouille)". Apple Music (US). "The Big E: A Salute to Steel Guitarist BuddyEmmons". Apple Music (US). "Divided & United: The Songs of the Civil War". Apple...
manufacturers to ask whether the customer wanted a "Day" setup or an "Emmons" setup. Both Day and Emmons changed the instrument from 8 to 10 strings. Day added a new...
Emmons can refer to: BuddyEmmons (1937–2015), American musician Bobby Emmons (1943–2015), American musician Carlos Antoine Emmons (born 1973), American...
Price and Hal Smith. Cochran heard Nelson during a jam session with BuddyEmmons and Jimmy Day. Cochran had just earned a raise of $50 a week, but convinced...
Campbell Try a Little Kindness "Honey Come Back" Capitol Records 1970 BuddyEmmons Suite Steel "Wichita Lineman" 1970 Revelation Revelation "Jerusalem"...
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