Steel Guitarist Pete Drake, Inducted Into Country Music Hall Of Fame, Also Influenced Rock & Roll

The late Pete Drake was a well-known Nashville session player whose pedal steel guitar licks were heard on many of country music’s biggest during the 60s, 70s, and early 80s. Songs like George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” “Tammy Wynette’s “Stand by Your Man,” Kenny Rogers “Lucille,” and so many more. His influence was so prevalent throughout those three decades, he has just become the first steel guitar player ever inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

During the peak of his career, Drake maintained such a busy session schedule, he was playing on most of the music coming out of Nashville.

“At one point,” his widow and business partner, Rose Drake says, “Pete was on 59 of the top 75 songs on Billboard.”

Drake’s ability to enhance a song with the pedal steel stretched beyond just the country music genre. He recorded with Elvis, played on a number of Bob Dylan’s albums, including the song “Lay Lady Lay,” and performed on George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” solo album.

He was also a producer, song publisher, and even an inventor of sorts. He created the Talk Box which could push the sound of the guitar through a tube, and when the tube was inserted in one’s mouth, it could be used to shape sounds or words.

The effect was so unique, he used it to record hit record of his own, something unheard of for a steel guitar player. His release of Forever earned him the nickname “King of the Talking Steel Guitar.”

His talk box would go on to influence rock music, as well. In 1970, Drake showed his prototype to a 20-year old Peter Frampton at Abbey Road Studios in London.

“I’d been asked by George Harrison to play acoustic guitar on these recording sessions,” Frampton recalls. (Harrison was recording All Things Must Pass.) “And then about the second or third day, George said, ‘We’ve got Pete Drake coming over from Nashville.”

After Drake arrived, and during some downtime in the studio, he asked Frampton if he’d be interested in hearing something a little “different.” When Frampton said yes, Drake pulled out a small box and set it on top of his steel guitar.

“And all of a sudden, he’s plugging this is here, plugging this in there, and then gets out a plastic tube, “Frampton says. “I thought what is he doing? Then he puts the tube into his mouth and the pedal guitar just starts singing to me.”

It immediately resonated with Frampton who, as a child, heard a similar sound on a rock and roll show he listened to on Radio Luxemburg. It was used to announce the station’s call letters. He’d remembered the sound he heard all those years ago, and couldn’t believe a device that could create something like it, was sitting right in front of him.

Frampton would later learn to work with a talk box, eventually creating the signature sound heard throughout his 1976 album Frampton Comes Alive. The album would sell more than 8-million copies making Frampton an international superstar.

Others would use it, too. In fact, Joe Walsh recorded “Rocky Mountain Way,” using that same talk box Drake had showed Frampton.

During the George Harrison sessions, Drake also met Ringo Starr. Ringo wanted to record a country album, so Drake invited him to Nashville and served as producer on his “Beaucoups of Blues” album. Drake’s wife says they got along so well, the two traded shirts.

“Pete said he really liked Ringo’s shirt,” Rose says. “They were both the same size, so Ringo took it off and gave it to Pete. They actually swapped shirts.”

The shirt is on display at Nashville’s Musicians Hall of Fame Museum. It’s there alongside Drake’s legendary “Ole Goldie” steel guitar that created the many different sounds heard on so many of Nashville’s greatest songs and albums.

With Drake’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame, visitors there can see a display highlighting some of the Georgia-native’s story, and his many contributions to music, (Drake was inducted Sunday along with The Judds, Ray Charles and drummer Eddie Bayers.)

Country artists and musicians who knew and worked with Drake are excited he’s now a member of the CMHOF.

Singer Brenda Lee called him a genius on the steel guitar and a true gentlemen.

Fellow steel guitar legends agreed with Lloyd Green describing Drake as “a master,” and Paul Franklin saying, “Pete could make his guitar bleed anytime anywhere.”

And those in the rock and roll world are also singing his praises.

“It’s so well deserved, obviously,” says Frampton. “His legacy, first of all, he was one of the all-time best steel players. He was on the A team, and played on so many country hits that are legendary.”

And secondly, Frampton goes on to add, he came up with that talk box.

Rose says Pete Drake enjoyed teaching and sharing what he knew, embracing and encouraging young talent, and when it came to playing the instrument he loved, his main goal was always to showcase both the artist and the song.

“Pete’s thing with playing sessions was you’ve got to listen to the lyrics and fill in, and give the artist a break,” Rose says. “That’s the reason he did slides. He didn’t try to play the whole song or the whole verse. He just did a slide and a fill-in. If you listen to the records he played on, his sound always stands out, but it never interferes with the song or the artist.”

Visitors to the Country Music Hall of Fame can now get a better understanding of Drake’s legacy and his music.