Sho-Bud is a brand name for a manufacturer of pedal steel guitars that was founded by Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons in 1955 in Madison, Tennessee.
Sho-Bud is a brand name for a manufacturer of pedal steel guitars that was founded by Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons in 1955 in Madison, Tennessee.
In the early 1950s Shot installed string pullers with pedals on Fender, Rickenbacker, and other steel guitars. Shot approached steel guitarist Bud Isaacs to start the Sho-Bud company together, using the terms "Sho" named after Shot Jackson and "Bud" after Bud Isaacs. Bud Isaacs was an early partner in the endeavor, and was involved in designing the guitars [1] [2] but later left, after which Shot approached steel guitarist Buddy Emmons. In 1955 Buddy Emmons joined Shot and the two continued the endeavor to create the brand and company. [lower-alpha 1]
The brand was founded in a small garage in 1955 in Madison, Tennessee [4] [5] by Shot Jackson and Buddy Emmons, [6] [7] both active steel players in the 1950s. The company later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 1963. [4] [8] [9]
In 1963 Emmons left the company, and Shot's sons, David and Harry, accompanied Shot in building Sho-Bud Steel Guitars. [8] [10] Duane Marrs then joined the company. David Shot was involved in designing the first "all pull" mechanics of the company's steel pedal guitars, which allowed for more musical flexibility. [11] Later in 1963, Buddy Emmons left Sho-Bud to start his Emmons Guitar Company with Ron Lashley. [12] [13]
In the 1970s they also expanded their line and offered acoustic guitars. They also made a line of dobro-style resonator guitars in conjunction with Gretsch under the name Sho-Bro, a play on the word "dobro". [7] The name is currently owned by Gretsch, which purchased the company in 1979, [12] and there are no models in production.
Models produced include the Permanent, Fingertip, Crossover, Maverick, Professional, Pro I, Pro II, Pro III, Super Pro and LDG (Lloyd Green). [14] [15]
A steel guitar is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar in that it is played without using frets; conceptually, it is somewhat akin to playing a guitar with one finger. Known for its portamento capabilities, gliding smoothly over every pitch between notes, the instrument can produce a sinuous crying sound and deep vibrato emulating the human singing voice. Typically, the strings are plucked by the fingers of the dominant hand, while the steel tone bar is pressed lightly against the strings and moved by the opposite hand.
The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play unlimited glissandi and deep vibrati—characteristics it shares with the human voice. Pedal steel is most commonly associated with American country music and Hawaiian music.
The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional acoustic guitar, in which the performer's fingertips press the strings against frets, the pitch of a steel guitar is changed by pressing a polished steel bar against plucked strings. Though the instrument does not have frets, it displays markers that resemble them. Lap steels may differ markedly from one another in external appearance, depending on whether they are acoustic or electric, but in either case, do not have pedals, distinguishing them from pedal steel guitars.
Gretsch is an American company that manufactures and markets musical instruments. The company was founded in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York by Friedrich Gretsch, a 27-year-old German immigrant, shortly after his arrival to the United States. Friedrich Gretsch manufactured banjos, tambourines, and drums until his death in 1895. In 1916, his son, Fred Gretsch Sr. moved operations to a larger facility where Gretsch went on to become a prominent manufacturer of American musical instruments. Through the years, Gretsch has manufactured a wide range of instruments, though they currently focus on electric, acoustic and resonator guitars, basses, ukuleles, and drums.
E9 tuning is a common tuning for steel guitar necks of more than six strings. It is the most common tuning for the neck located furthest from the player on a two-neck console steel guitar or pedal steel guitar while a C6 neck is the one closer to the player. The E9 is a popular tuning for single neck instruments of eight or more strings. This tuning has evolved in the last half of the twentieth century with input from prominent performers including Jimmy Day, Ralph Mooney and Buddy Emmons to support optimal chord and scale patterns across a single fret on the 10-string pedal steel guitar.
Doug Jernigan is an American pedal steel guitarist and Dobro player. He is known for his infusion of country music with jazz using fast single-note solos. He was one of the first steel guitarists to play solos at speeds rivaling the banjo and fiddle. Jernigan performed with Faron Young, Johnny Paycheck, Vassar Clements, Little Jimmy Dickens, and Lorrie Morgan and was a Nashville recording session musician and teacher for decades. As of 2020, he has been the featured artist on nine instrumental albums in both jazz and country genres. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1994.
Harold Bradley "Shot" Jackson was an American country guitarist best known for playing Dobro and pedal steel guitar. He also designed and manufactured guitars under the name Sho-Bud.
A Session with Chet Atkins is the third studio album recorded by American guitarist Chet Atkins. It features Atkins introducing standard pop and jazz melded with country sensibilities. The liner notes state this is the first use of a celeste on a country record. The musicians include Homer and Jethro in the rhythm section. Atkins uses his new EchoSonic amplifier for the first time on his recordings.
Buddy Gene Emmons was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. 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.
Lloyd Lamar Green is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 No.1 country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (1968), Charlie Rich's “Behind Closed Doors” (1973), The Oak Ridge Boys’ “Elvira” (1981), and Alan Jackson's “Remember When” (2004). Green was a one of an inner circle of elite recording studio musicians known colloquially as the Nashville A-Team. In a career beginning in the mid 1960s and spanning a quarter-century, Green performed on more than 5000 recordings helping to create hits for scores of artists such as Charley Pride, The Byrds, Johnny Cash, The Monkees, Don Williams, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, and many others. His 1968 performance on the Byrds' landmark album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, influenced generations of non-mainstream country guitarists. He was featured on Ken Burns' Country Music documentary film in 2019. Green was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1988.
Thomas Rexton Brumley was an American pedal steel guitarist and steel guitar manufacturer. In the 1960s, Brumley was a part of the sub-genre of country music known as the "Bakersfield sound". He performed with Buck Owens and the Buckaroos on hits such as "Cryin' Time" and "Together Again". His solo on "Together Again" received particular acclaim by critics. Brumley later spent a decade with Ricky Nelson and performed on "Garden Party" and the In Concert at the Troubadour, 1969 album.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop is an album by American country singer Ernest Tubb, released in 1960. It is named after Tubb's record shop in Nashville.
Neil Lanny Flanz was a Canadian pedal steel guitarist who grew up in Montreal. In the mid-1960s he moved to Nashville and played on the Grand Ole Opry. He later lived in Florida and Austin, Texas. The Austin Chronicle dubbed Flanz' playing style as "country traditionalist". He is perhaps best known for his performance as a member of Gram Parsons' Fallen Angels. He played and toured for over 30 years with artists including Marcia Ball, Emmylou Harris, Charlie Louvin and Joe Sun. Flanz was inducted into the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2016.
Robert's Western World is a honky-tonk located on lower Broadway in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ralph Eugene Mooney was an American steel guitar player and songwriter, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1983. He was the original steel guitarist in Merle Haggard's band, The Strangers and Waylon Jennings's band, The Waylors.
Forrest "Bud" Isaacs (1928–2016) was an American steel guitarist who made country music history in 1954 as the first person to play pedal steel guitar on a hit record. He is known for his playing his innovative technique on Webb Pierce's 1954 recording of a song called "Slowly" which became a major hit for Pierce and was one of the most-played country songs of 1954. Isaacs was the first to push a pedal while the strings were still sounding to create a unique bending of notes from below up to join an existing note; this was not possible on older lap steel guitars. The stunning effect he created was embraced by country music fans and many lap steel artists rushed to get pedals to imitate the unique bending chords that he played. Music historians pinpoint the actual dawning of country music's modern era to Isaac's performance on this song. He became a much-favored session player and performed on 11 top country records the year following the release of "Slowly". Even though pedal steel guitars had been available for over a decade before this recording, the instrument emerged as a crucial element in country music after the success of this song.
Zane Beverly Beck (1927–1985) was an American steel guitarist and builder of pedal steel guitars. He is best known for his 1952 innovation of adding knee levers to the pedal steel guitar to alter the pitch of certain strings, a feature which has become a standard on all modern-day instruments. Other inventors had patented crude knee-operated devices as far back as 1933, but none were successful. Beck revolutionized the concept into a durable and reliable mechanism and was the first to put knee levers on production guitars. He became a member of the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1991). As a musician, he performed on the Grand Ole Opry and Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride. Beck formed the ZB Music Company which manufactures steel guitars, later called BMI.
Jimmy Day was an American steel guitarist active in the 1950s and 1960s whose career in country music blossomed about the time the pedal steel guitar was invented after pedals were added to the lap steel guitar. He was a pioneer on pedal steel in the genres of Western swing and Honky tonk and his modifications of the instrument's design have become a standard on the modern pedal steel. Day's first job after high school was performing on the Louisiana Hayride as a sideman accompanying developing country artists including Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Willie Nelson, Jim Reeves, Ray Price and Elvis Presley. He recorded and toured with all these artists and was featured on hit records by of many of them, including Ray Price's, "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches by the Number". He was a member of Elvis Presley's band for about a year, but, along with fellow bandmate Floyd Cramer, resigned after Presley requested them to re-locate to Hollywood; instead, Day moved to Nashville to work as a session player and Grand Ole Opry musician. He was a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame (1994) and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1999). Day died of cancer in 1999.
The Oahu Music Company was a music education program in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s to teach students to play the Hawaiian Guitar. Popular culture in America became fascinated with Hawaiian music during the first half of the twentieth century and in 1916, recordings of indigenous Hawaiian instruments outsold every other genre of music in the U.S. By 1920, sales of Hawaiian guitars and instruction had become well established and Oahu Music Company was the leading purveyor of these programs. The organization canvassed nearly every city in the United States, often door-to-door, selling both their Oahu-brand instruments and lessons for young people to join their weekly classes.
The Steel Guitar Hall of Fame is an organization established in the United States in 1978 to recognize achievement in the art of playing the steel guitar. The organization's stated purpose is:
To establish a Hall of Fame and Museum to support the art, popularity, and prestige of the steel guitar, to honor those musicians and composers who have made significant contributions to the steel guitar world, and to educate the public regarding the steel guitar.
