Born on This Day in 1928, the Legendary Pedal Steel Player Who Played for Waylon Jennings, Buck Owens, & Merle Haggard—and Helped Redefine Honky Tonk

On this day (September 16) in 1928, Ralph Mooney was born in Duncan, Oklahoma. He fell in love with the steel guitar at a young age and went on to have a legendary career in country music. Over the years, he played with Merle Haggard, Wynn Stewart, Buck Owens, and many more. He also spent more than a decade as Waylon Jennings’ pedal steel player. More importantly, though, he co-wrote one of the most important songs in the history of modern honky tonk music.

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Many country fans know Mooney for his longtime connection to Jennings. He was part of the Outlaw Country originator’s band for around 20 years. Before that, he was the original steel guitar player for Haggard’s band, the Strangers. He also played on several Bakersfield Sound classics. However, before he took a job as a side man for any of those legends, he co-wrote one of the most pivotal songs in the history of modern country music.

[RELATED: 3 of the Greatest Pedal Steel Guitar Solos in Country Music History]

The Great Ralph Mooney Shapes Country Music with a Song

Mooney co-penned “Crazy Arms” with Chuck Seals in 1949. Seven years later, Ray Price recorded the song and took it to the top of the country chart, where it stayed for 20 weeks. This established the up-and-coming Price as a country star. More importantly, it introduced the “Ray Price beat,” a shuffling 4/4 rhythm that soon became the standard for honky tonk music. It was also one of the first songs to feature a drum kit.

As podcaster and country music historian Tyler Mahan Coe put it in his episode about Mooney, “When the public hears something new that they love that much, it’s not ‘new’ anymore. It’s the way you do it from now on.” The song drastically changed the world of honky tonk and country music. It was also a precursor to the lucrative Nashville Sound.

Oh, He Was Also a Top-Tier Pedal Steel Player

After co-writing the song that changed country music forever, Ralph Mooney went on to make a name for himself as a pedal steel player of the highest order.

By the early 1950s, Mooney joined the up-and-coming country star Wynn Stewart’s band. At the same time, he was taking session work up and down the West Coast. By the end of the decade, Mooney began recording with Buck Owens. When Owens put together the Buckaroos, he chose Jay McDonald because he could mimic Mooney’s style.

Mooney continued playing with Stewart through the early 1960s. After a chance encounter at a club, Stewart invited Merle Haggard to play bass and sing backup in his band. Soon, he returned to Bakersfield to pursue his solo career. Mooney played on Haggard’s first four records. Later, he became one of the Strangers and toured with Haggard until 1967.

One night, Mooney and guitarist Ray Nichols were playing together between sets, and Richie Albright heard them. The drummer was impressed with Mooney’s pedal steel skill and decided to introduce him to Waylon Jennings. He joined Jennings’ band, the Waylors, in 1970.

He made his final recordings with Marty Stuart for his 2010 album Ghost Train: The Studio B Sessions. The next year, on March 20, 2011, Mooney died of cancer at the age of 82, leaving behind an undying legacy.

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