b. Leaf, Mississippi, October 4, 1937
Nashville Cat
Lloyd Green developed an emotional, resonant style of pedal steel guitar playing that gave him a distinct sound apart from other top steel specialists. Along with Jimmy Day, Buddy Emmons, and Bud Isaacs, he revolutionized the instrument with his ability to elevate a recording through dramatic melodic runs and innovative rhythmic and harmonic effects.
Green began playing Hawaiian steel guitar at age seven. Three years later he was performing professionally around Mobile, Alabama. His interest in pedal steel drew him to country music, and he toured in the bands of Hawkshaw Hawkins, Faron Young, and Ferlin Husky before his studio career took off—thanks to the staccato chords and syncopated single notes he added to Warner Mack’s 1965 hit “The Bridge Washed Out.”
Green has contributed to hundreds of country recordings, including classic hits by Charley Pride, Johnny Paycheck, Don Williams, Gene Watson, Alan Jackson, and others. He also recorded with Buffy Sainte-Marie; Peter, Paul and Mary; and Henry Mancini. His work on the Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo album greatly influenced the sound of country-rock, and his recordings with singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith helped set the stage for the new-century Americana movement.
The Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968
The Byrds, Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968
Lloyd Green used this 1967 Sho-Bud Fingertip pedal steel guitar on thousands of sessions, including those for the Byrds’ album Sweetheart of the Rodeo and for recordings by Bob Dylan, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, Johnny Paycheck, Michael Nesmith, and many others. Courtesy of Gary Boyd
Lloyd Green (left) with Linda and Paul McCartney
Listen to Lloyd Green
Selected Songs
The Byrds, “You Ain’t Going Nowhere” (Bob Dylan)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Roger McGuinn, lead vocal and electric guitar; Gram Parsons, organ; Chris Hillman, bass and harmony vocal.
From the album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968. Produced by Gary Usher at Columbia Studios, Nashville.
The Byrds, “One Hundred Years from Now” (Gram Parsons)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Gram Parsons, lead vocal; Clarence White, lead guitar; Earl P. Ball, piano.
Originally recorded for the album Sweetheart of the Rodeo, 1968. This version, with Gram Parsons on lead vocal, remained unreleased until 1990. Produced by Gary Usher at Columbia Studios, Los Angeles.
Paul McCartney & Wings “Sally G” (Paul McCartney)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar and dobro; Johnny Gimble, fiddle; Jimmy McCulloch, lead guitar; Paul McCartney, bass; Geoff Britton, drums; Linda McCartney, backing vocal.
Single, 1974. Produced by Paul McCartney at Sound Shop, Nashville.
The Monkees, “Some of Shelly’s Blues” (Michael Nesmith)
The musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Charlie McCoy, harmonica; Billy Sanford, guitar; Larry Butler, piano; Sonny Osborne, banjo; Bobby Dyson, bass; Willie Ackerman, drums.
Produced by Michael Nesmith at RCA Studio A, Nashville, 1968. The recording remained unreleased until 1990.
Bob Dylan, “If Not for You” (Bob Dylan)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Bob Dylan, piano.
Produced by Bob Johnston at Columbia Studios, New York, 1970. Lloyd Green’s overdub recorded at Columbia Studios, Nashville. This alternate version remained unreleased until 2015.
Charley Pride, “Just Between You and Me” (Jack Clement)
Among the musicians featured on this recording are Lloyd Green, pedal steel guitar; Harold Bradley, guitar; Wayne Moss, electric guitar; Pig Robbins, piano; Junior Huskey, bass; Jerry Carrigan, drums.
From the album Pride of Country Music, 1967. Produced by Jack Clement, Chet Atkins, and Bob Ferguson at RCA Studio B, Nashville.
Meet the Cats
Best known for his harmonica technique—distinguished by speed, clarity, and exceptional phrasing, Charlie McCoy is a multi-instrumentalist who has been recorded on bass, guitar, keyboards, percussion, saxophone, trumpet, and tuba.
Charlie Daniels proved pivotal to many of the Nashville recording sessions of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. Because Daniels had a strong blues influence, Johnston felt he would fit with the adventurous singer-songwriters.
Ben Keith was a prominent Nashville pedal steel guitarist and dobro specialist before becoming a producer and instrumentalist for Neil Young.
One of country music’s most admired and influential steel guitarists, Weldon Myrick taught himself to play lap steel and, at age thirteen, landed a job on a radio station near his hometown of Jayton, Texas.
Mac Gayden grew up fascinated by the R&B acts he heard in his hometown of Nashville. That interest helped him develop a style as a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter distinctly different from other Nashville studio pros.
Lloyd Green developed an emotional, resonant style of pedal steel guitar playing that gave him a distinct sound apart from other top steel specialists.
At age eighteen, Pete Drake heard steel guitarist Jerry Byrd on the Grand Ole Opry during a trip to Nashville. Duly inspired, Drake purchased a steel guitar in an Atlanta pawnshop. The decision not only changed his life, but impacted the sound of country and rock music.
Pig Robbins earned his stripes by creating the rocking piano on George Jones’s “White Lightnin’.” Over the ensuing decades, his integral role on Music Row recording sessions earned him membership in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2012.
In his distinctive fiddle style, Buddy Spicher combined a rich tonal quality with bluegrass precision and an adventurous sense of swing. After arriving in Nashville, he quickly gained attention as a dazzling instrumentalist capable of handling country, jazz, pop, and rock.
Inspired by Country Music Hall of Fame members Chet Atkins and Earl Scruggs, Wayne Moss’s iconic guitar riffs helped forge the identifiable sounds of country and rock hits.
Norbert Putnam is a widely admired bassist, record producer, and studio owner. He started his career in his teens recording with soul singer Arthur Alexander at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as part of a renowned rhythm section that included keyboardist David Briggs and drummer Jerry Carrigan.
Grady Martin was a member of a loose collection of legendary studio musicians known as the Nashville A-team. His versatility and creativity as a guitarist also appealed to younger rockers and singer-songwriters who came to Nashville.
David Briggs began playing piano on R&B, pop, and country hits in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in his teens. After a brief stint as a pop singer, Briggs moved to Nashville in 1964 to focus on a career as a studio musician.
Three-time Grammy winner Jerry Reed is most famous for his colorful, catchy story songs steeped in Southern attitude and lore. He was recognized as a groundbreaking guitarist with a guitar technique that gave an extra layer of funky, back-country grease.
The preferred drummer for artists across America—he built a lasting legacy with his work in R&B and rock.
Fred Carter Jr. began his career in northeastern Louisiana playing rock & roll. He backed Dale Hawkins, known for his rock hit “Susie-Q,” and later played with Ronnie Hawkins, Dale’s cousin, in his backing group, the Hawks. Carter left and was replaced by Robbie Robertson before the group evolved into the Band.