Mooney!!

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 10 Mar 2003 8:28 pm

I just got back from Dallas and, uh...

Mooney!!

Brad Sarno

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 10 Mar 2003 8:44 pm

Indeed.

Hi Brad!

JB

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Fulawka D-10 9&5
Fessenden D-10 8&8
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"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
www.johnbarnold.com/pedalsteel
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Greg Simmons · Post by **Greg Simmons** » 11 Mar 2003 12:13 am

Hi John & Brad - yeah, Moon is the Man!

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Greg Simmons
Custodian of the Official Sho~Bud Pedal Steel Guitar Website

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 11 Mar 2003 6:15 am

He's been my hero for so dang many years it's hard to remember. I didn't make the Texas show but I saw him at Scotty's and he did one helluva show. I walked into the GFI room and there he stood with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. This guy ain't changed a bit. He's still picking that great style as only he can do.

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Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 11 Mar 2003 6:40 am

What Brad said.

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 11 Mar 2003 8:54 am

For any newbie Mooney-philes out there (like me), which instructional courses (if any) teach or exemplify the Mooney style or something similar? Thanks ahead of time

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 11 Mar 2003 10:31 am

What's a good Mooney CD for catching the whole breadth of his style?

Greg Simmons · Post by **Greg Simmons** » 11 Mar 2003 11:54 am

Look for a Wynn Stewart CD called “California Country: The Best of the Challenge Masters” (though I think this may be out of print and of course you can’t go wrong with the Bear Family box set “Wishful Thinking”), also I really like a Warren Smith compilation CD called “Call of the Wild” on Bear Family. Also there's a Waylon Jennings live album (at Billy Bob's?)

Obvious songs:
Buck Owens: Above and Beyond, Under Your Spell Again, High as the Mountains, Nobody's Fool But Your's.

Haggard’s Swinging Doors, The Bottle Let Me Down, (All My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers.

Warren Smith: Odds And Ends (Bits and Pieces) I Don't Believe I'll Fall in Love Today

Wynn Stewart: It's Such a Pretty World Today

Waylon Jennings: Rainy Day Woman

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Greg Simmons
Custodian of the Official Sho~Bud Pedal Steel Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Greg Simmons on 11 March 2003 at 11:56 AM.]

Ron Page · Post by **Ron Page** » 11 Mar 2003 12:48 pm

To Greg's list, I'd add Waylon Live. Moon does a fantastic slow solo on The Last Letter. The crowd gets very still and then closes the solo with loud applause for Moon. One of his best solos.

The CD adds several tunes not included on the original LP album.

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HagFan

Chas Friedman · Post by **Chas Friedman** » 11 Mar 2003 1:03 pm

I have a Buck Owens Box set of 3 CDs, and
Ralph Mooney plays steel on at least half of
the 21 or so cuts on the first CD. I always
had loved his playing. He was also one of my
favorites at the Dallas show. The style is
just great. He's got a lot of "Elvis"
(figuratively.)
Actually, all the performers were terrific.
My personal favorites were
Reece Anderson (technique so flawless, it
was hard to believe a person was actually
playing),
Al Brisco (didn't hear him play Sunday since
I had to leave early that morning, but
listened to him lots in the Carter room,
Incredibly smooth and clear!)
John Hughey (beautiful sound!),
Ralph Mooney
But as I said, everyone that played was so
good that comparisons don't make much sense.
chas

Bill Myrick · Post by **Bill Myrick** » 11 Mar 2003 3:25 pm

Some of Ralph's licks must be hard to copy. I made a post in the tablature section asking is someone could tab the one measure fill right after the line "Mommas, Don't Let You Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys" and no takers !!!! I can't seem to find that roll he uses there.

Randy Pettit · Post by **Randy Pettit** » 11 Mar 2003 4:07 pm

I'm not sure what I enjoyed more - hearing Moon's great set, or just seeing the look on his face as he was having a blast the whole time he played. What a MAN!!!
[This message was edited by Randy Pettit on 11 March 2003 at 04:07 PM.]

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 11 Mar 2003 5:43 pm

Ralph has been one of my favorites for over 40 years! Ralph, I guess, is what we call a "stylist", or one who plays stuff that's just totally different and instantly recognizable. However, a lot of players don't know just how "hot" and commercial he played before he started playing the "pedal-stomping" stuff he's famous for. They've only heard his stuff behind Haggard and Waylon, and some of his old Wynn Stewart songs. I'm lucky enough to have a Gary Dean record he played on from about 1962 (which I don't think was ever released), and I'm tellin' you...

...the man was hot!!!

Buck Grantham R.I.P. · Post by **Buck Grantham R.I.P.** » 11 Mar 2003 8:40 pm

MOON IS " THE MAN "

Tom Olson · Post by **Tom Olson** » 11 Mar 2003 10:24 pm

any courses out there that teach the Mooney style or something similar?

Ricky Littleton · Post by **Ricky Littleton** » 12 Mar 2003 12:26 am

Paul Frarnklin had a talk-tape course called E9 Styles and Moon was mentioned and PAul demonstrated a little Mooney lick.

Other CD's for Moon's style are Buck Owens Sings Harlan Howard, Buck Owens "You're For Me".

Definitely Waylon Live. Beyond "The Last Letter" Moon torn up "Lonesome O'nry and Mean", "Never Been to Spain".

Moon is definitely one-of-a-kind and is the main reason I hated missing the Dallas show this year.

Well, theres always St. Louis...

Ricky

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Emmons LeGrande - 8x4
Session 400 Ltd
Dan-Echo, E-Bow, Ibanez Distortion, Boss Comp./Sustain, Ibanez Auto-Wah

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 12 Mar 2003 5:41 am

Jeff Newman has a course with a bunch of those licks, called Moon Eared and something. It's probably listed on Jeff's website.

Jerry Hayes R.I.P. · Post by **Jerry Hayes R.I.P.** » 12 Mar 2003 6:11 am

Those "Moon Eared" things were a regular series which appeared in the PSGA Newsletter from New York. I don't know whether Jeff ever put them out as a regular course but I think he should. It amazes me how Ralph gets that stuff that ain't on his guitar and the way he uses open strings along with his pedaled stuff up the neck. My favorite memory of him is a gig I did on a Sunday afternoon in the late 60's in LA. We had Bobby Austin for a guest and he brought Ralph so I got to pick lead guitar with them and watch him play looking right over his shoulder and I can say for certain that he does use both feet on those pedals. He's a national treasure. One of my favorite rides of his is on Wynn Stewart's "One More Memory"...JH

Joerg Hennig · Post by **Joerg Hennig** » 12 Mar 2003 10:22 am

He´s definitely among my "Top 5" of steel players. I don´t know if I´ll ever get a chance to see him in person, I´m just glad I caught both of his sets at last year´s Convention through Internet radio.
I think there is no such thing as a CD that catches the whole breadth of his style since it kind of evolved over the years. Mooney with Waylon is different than Mooney with Buck Owens, for instance.
Don´t forget the first (untitled) Buck Owens record, the one with "Under Your Spell Again", "Above And Beyond", "Second Fiddle", etc.
Some of the best Mooney I´ve heard so far is on "Just Between the Two Of Us" by Merle Haggard and Bonnie Owens. On some tunes he plays something that sounds way different, sweet and strange, almost like a non-pedal steel (I may be wrong)
Warren Smith "Call Of The Wild" is also loaded with Mooney on Fender.
If you want to hear Mooney play some beautiful timeless instrumentals, try to get a copy of "Corn Pickin´And Slick Slidin`" with James Burton. I´d say he does some pretty tricky stuff there sometimes, the hammer-ons on "Columbus Stockade Blues" sound real cool, and I wonder why "The Texas Waltz" hasn´t become one of the all-time classic steel instrumentals.
If you go and buy a bunch of old Waylon records hoping to hear a lot of Mooney, you´ll probably be disappointed because, overall, he´s shamefully under-represented there; on the average, only about two or three tunes per record have steel on them. But, to compensate, those usually really shine. For instance, "The Ramblin´Man" is worth checking out. Besides the title track and "Rainy Day Woman", it has Gregg Allman´s "Midnight Rider" with Mooney playing some real cool blues licks. What´s also excellent besides "Waylon Live" is the video from `78, "The Lost Outlaw Performance." Has several good close-ups of Mooney´s hands, less of his footwork, great selection of songs, very enjoyable.
I could go on and on...
Long live Ralph Mooney!

Joe H.

Greg Simmons · Post by **Greg Simmons** » 13 Mar 2003 8:46 pm

I got happy feet, 'cus...

Moon is IN THE HOUSE!

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Greg Simmons
Custodian of the Official Sho~Bud Pedal Steel Guitar Website

[This message was edited by Greg Simmons on 13 March 2003 at 08:46 PM.]

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 13 Mar 2003 9:10 pm

Brad, listen to the old Wynn Stewart records, Moon is on all of the hits!
Extremely tasty originaly playing! Wynn grew up in Pleasant Hope, Missouri about 25 miles from where I live in Ozark. [This message was edited by Keith Hilton on 13 March 2003 at 09:12 PM.]