Born 94 Years Ago in Georgia, the A-Team Steel Guitar Master Who Played on Timeless Hits by Tammy Wynette, Charlie Rich, and Lynn Anderson

On this day (October 7) in 1932, Pete Drake was born in Augusta, Georgia. He discovered the steel guitar as a teenager and rose to prominence in the Atlanta area. After moving to Nashville, he fell in with the A-Team, a group of first-call session players. Drake played on several country classics, including “Stand by Your Man,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” and “Rose Garden.”

When Drake was 18, he traveled to Nashville and attended the Grand Ole Opry. There, he saw Jerry Byrd play a lap steel and fell in love with the instrument. He went home and built his first steel guitar. After he taught himself to play, largely using Byrd’s records, he bought a used lap steel.

According to the Country Music Hall of Fame, things changed for Drake in 1954. That’s when he heard Webb Pierce’s “Slowly.” More specifically, he heard Bud Isaacs playing a pedal steel. Drake was one of many steel players who followed Isaacs’ lead. Like his first instrument, he built his first pedal steel guitar.

Later that year, he formed a band called Sons of the South. The band included Roger Miller, Jerry Reed, Doug Kershaw, and Joe South. Dick Van Dyke was also in and out of the band. Finally, in 1959, Drake moved to Nashville.

Pete Drake Goes to Nashville

Things weren’t easy for Pete Drake during his first couple of years in Nashville. The Nashville Sound–which replaced fiddle and steel guitar with string arrangements–was becoming increasingly popular. Eventually, he found work as a touring musician. He traveled with artists like Marty Robbins and Don Gibson. Before long, he got tired of living on the road.

When Roy Drusky heard Drake playing with Carl and Pearl Butler on the Opry, he invited the young musician to play on his next session. The song, “Anymore,” was a hit. More importantly, it was Drake’s doorway into being a full-time session musician. Before long, he was among Nashville’s A-Team. At one point, he was so busy that he had to take quick naps in his car between sessions. As a result, he played on some of country music’s most beloved songs. Here are a few highlights.

• “Jolene”–Dolly Parton
• “The Gambler”–Kenny Rogers
• “He Stopped Loving Her Today”–George Jones
• “Stand by Your Man”–Tammy Wynette
• “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden”–Lynn Anderson
• “The Most Beautiful Girl”–Charlie Rich

Drake Didn’t Limit Himself to Country Music

Pete Drake played on a long list of country classics. However, he didn’t limit himself to country music. He worked on several Elvis Presley albums. When Bob Dylan recorded John Wesley Harding, Nashville Skyline, and Self Portrait in Music City, he called on Drake. He also played on George Harrison’s first post-Beatles solo album and Ringo Starr’s first country LP.

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In the early 1960s, Drake built a “talk box” for his pedal steel. He introduced his talking steel guitar on Bill Anderson’s 1963 album Still. He also recorded several solo albums using the effect. Peter Frampton heard him use it on Harrison’s All Things Must Pass and was inspired. So, we also have Pete Drake to thank for rock classics like “Show Me the Way” and “Do You Feel Like We Do.”

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