Top 10 Best Songs Featuring a Pedal Steel Guitar
The pedal steel guitar was developed in the 1950s by adding pedals and levers to an ordinary console steel guitar. It is an essential staple of country music, but it has also been used occasionally outside of the Nashville scene.Note: I am not as dedicated a country music fan as I am a rock music fan, so much of the material on this first draft of the list is either country rock or not country at all. Therefore, I encourage all true country music fans to contribute to this list.
Additionally, the songs on this list can belong to any genre, as long as they feature a pedal steel guitar and not a lap steel. People often confuse the two, so keep that distinction in mind.
As any dedicated country fan will tell you, this is one of the first country songs to feature a pedal steel guitar. Buddy Isaacs played the solo, being the first to push the pedal while the notes were still sounding.
Jerry Garcia played the pedal steel guitar on this song. He did it in exchange for the members of Crosby, Stills, and Nash teaching the Grateful Dead how to sing in three-part harmony.
"Sneaky Pete" Kleinow played the pedal steel guitar. He did something different by running it through a fuzz pedal whenever he played a solo.
Session man Al Perkins played on this song. You can hear his pedal steel playing all over the country rock scene of the '70s.
Doesn't get better than the Stones and Al Perkins.
Al Perkins is a country rock legend!
Jimmy Page played the pedal steel guitar. He also used one on "That's the Way" and "Your Time Is Gonna Come."
Another prominent session musician, Lloyd Green, played the pedal steel guitar riff that keeps recurring throughout the song.
Outside musician John Keane added the pedal steel guitar to this song.
Played by Ben Keith. He's worked with Neil Young for over 40 years.
Really beautiful pedal steel played by Bernie Leadon to go with the beautiful harmonies.
Let's give this song some more votes.
John Sebastian played the steel guitar here. Makes sense, considering that this song is his ode to Nashville musicians.
The Newcomers
This should be #1 given the sheer talent of its creator.
Jeff Baxter played pedal steel guitar. Since this song was a cover of a Duke Ellington song (the only cover they ever did), they had Jeff play what would have been the trombone solo on a pedal steel guitar.
He played steel guitar on a couple of other songs from the Pretzel Logic album. He tried to avoid using overly country-sounding licks.
Nice list! Apologies if this added item isn't correct (I'm not a massive Pink Floyd fan), but I have it on good authority that this song does have a pedal steel guitar featured within. So...
Played by Nashville session musician Pete Drake, who had previously worked with Bob Dylan on Nashville Skyline. George wrote this song as encouragement for Dylan to get him out of his shell when he stopped performing live.
This is one of many songs that Rusty Young played pedal steel on during Poco's early years. More than any other band, they defined the genre that came to be known as country rock.
Slide guitar played by Duane Allman on the Live at the Fillmore East album.
