1. Maurice Anderson - He pioneered the "Universal" single neck tuning and was known for his beautiful jazz playing. He was also the "A" in the MSA steel guitar company. youtube video 2. Bobby Black - Northern California living legend. Made his reputation with Commander Cody. youtube video 3. Noel Boggs - Southern California player known for his big chordal style. He played with Spade Cooley and Tex Williams. youtube video

4. Tom Brumley - Wonderful clean player who made his reputation with Buck Owens, and later played with Rick Nelson. youtube video 5. Jerry Byrd - The greatest non pedal player. Played on some Hank Williams' recordings. Spent his last thirty years playing in Hawaii. youtube video 6. Gary Carter - Wonderful current player who can be seen on Marty Stuart's TV show. youtube video

7. Curley Chalker - Probably the best musician to ever play the steel. He attacked the steel and played his own style of jazz . C6 - youtube video E9 - youtube video 8. Buddy Charleton - He travelled the country with the Texas Troubadours wowing the crowds with his beautiful playing on both necks. youtube video

9. Jimmy Crawford - Great "chicken picker" who backed up many Nashville stars. youtube video Also see Russ Hicks' video.



10. Terry Crisp - Unsung player who played with Ricky Skaggs & Reba McEntire among others. youtube video

11. Randall Currie - Plays with Brad Paisley. Probably the best young player around. Randall at 5:15 in: youtube video



12. Sonny Curtis - Played with George Jones for many years. youtube video

13. Jimmy Day - Jimmy & Buddy Emmons developed many of the changes for the E9 tuning while playing with Ray Price and others. youtube video 14. Pete Drake - Was the most commercial Nashville session man during the 1960s. Here's a video of him demonstrating the "talking guitar:" youtube video 15. Bob Dunn - The first hot electric steel player. Said to be influenced by clarinet players of the day. youtube video

16. Buddy Emmons - Considered the greatest pedal steel player. He did it all. youtube video 1 youtube video 2 17. Paul Franklin - The number one Nashville session man for the last thirty years. Also toured with Dire Straits. youtube video

18. Bobby Garrett - Wonderful Texas player who played with Charlie Walker, Dewey Groom and Hank Thompson among others. Famous for the instrumental "Rose City Chimes." youtube video



19. Sonny Garrish - Made his mark with Bill Anderson's "Po' Boys" before becoming a Nashville session man. youtube video

20. Lloyd Green - A leading Nashville session man in the '60s & '70s who would come up with different styles to suit his artists. Also known for his wonderful instrumental albums. youtube video 21. Don Helms - Hank Williams' steel man. youtube video



22. Billy Hew Len - Wonderful Hawaiian player in spite of not having a left hand. Watch the video!

23. Russ Hicks - Played with Barefoot Jerry & teamed up with Jimmy Crawford on a couple of chicken pickin' albums. youtube video

24. Sol Hoopii - The first virtuoso Hawaiian steeler. youtube video



25. John Hughey - Beautifully expressive player. Made his reputation with Conway Twitty & Vince Gill. youtube video 26. Bud Isaacs - In 1955 Bud invented the pedal changes that lead to the E9 tuning that is still used today. youtube video 27. Doug Jernigan - Hot Nashville picker for over 40 years. youtube video

28. Mike Johnson - One of the best modern players in Nashville. youtube video 29. David Keli'i - Master player who was the original steeler with "Hawaii Calls" from 1935-1952. 30. Sneaky Pete Kleinow - Had his own style and sound, and made his reputation with the Flying Burrito Brothers. Sneaky was also a TV animator. youtube video

31. David Lindley - His non pedal style with Jackson Browne was later embraced by Nashville as the way to play modern country rock. youtube video 32. Jay Dee Maness - The first call in L.A. Jay Dee is one of the most soulful and interesting players around. youtube video 33. Leon McAuliffe - Bob Wills' original steeler for many years and then lead his own bands. youtube video

34. Dick McIntire - Dick and his brother Lani were Hawaiian music royalty. youtube video 35. Ralph Mooney - Ralph helped define the sound of Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and later Waylon Jennings. His playing defined the "West Coast sound." youtube video 36. Jim Murphy - Wonderful player on both necks and then he'd pick up his sax and blow bebop. youtube video

37. Joaquin Murphy - The hottest jazzy player of the 1940s into the '50s. He played with Spade Cooley and Tex Williams. youtube video 38. Weldon Myrick - Nashville session man for 25 years who had beautiful tone and execution. youtube video 39. Jeff Newman - Excellent player who chose to become the consummate steel guitar teacher. He put on clinics and recorded many teaching LPs. youtube video

40. Gene O'Neal - Played with Charlie Pride until his untimely death. youtube video 41. Dickie Overbey - Wonderful Texas player whose career has had a renaissance in the last fifteen years. youtube video 42. Steve Palousek - Prodigious player, who's finally getting recognition. youtube video

43. Robert Randolph - Great rock player who came out of the church to become the "Jimi Hendrix of the steel guitar." youtube video 44. Herb Remington - Herb played with many great western swing bands, including Bob Wills', and wrote "Remington Ride." youtube video 45. Kayton Roberts - Beautiful non pedal player known for his harmonics, who played with Hank Snow. youtube video

46. Hal Rugg - Great Nashville session man primarily known for his beautiful playing with Loretta Lynn. youtube video 47. Mike Smith - Great player in the Phoenix area who chose not to stay in Nashville. Also known for his early collaborations with Paul Franklin. youtube video 48. Vance Terry - Vance was a prodigy who played with Billy Jack Wills in the early '50s. youtube video

49. Speedy West - Very original West Coast session man who made his reputation playing hot duets with Jimmy Bryant. youtube video 50. Tommy White - Grand Ole Opry steeler who's one of the best of the new breed. youtube video

Could Easily Be Listed Above:

Sez Adamson

Stu Basore

Randy Beavers

Terry Bethel

Bruce Bouton

Rocky Caple

Richard Comeaux

Johnny Cox

Tommy Detamore

Milo Deering

Ron Elliott

Buzz Evans

Santo Farina

Wayne Gailey

Marion Hall Tyler Hall

Norm Hamlet

Lew Huston

Barney Isaacs

Bobby Koeffer

Jim Loessberg

Tom Morrell

Gary Morse

Ray Noren

Russ Pahl

Al Perkins

Rick Price

Buck Reid

Randy Reinhardt

Alvino Rey Bert Rivera

Eddie Rivers

Billy Robinson

Larry Sasser

Johnny Siebert

Danny Stewart

Freddie Tavares

Travis Toy

Robbie Turner

Jim Vest

Jeremy Wakefield

Bob White

Pee Wee Whitewing

Little Roy Wiggins

Rusty Young