A gifted steel guitarist who has backed up some of the biggest names in country, rock, and pop music in a career that has spanned six decades, was also a witness to some of the first salvos in the country-rock revolution. began playing club dates when he was just 15, and in 1967 he appeared on , the groundbreaking album from ' . A year later, when had joined , played on the sessions for their iconic country-rock album , and later on he would join bassist in the successful country group . All this is in addition to years of playing live shows and recording sessions with the likes of , , , , , , , , and many more.

was born on January 4, 1945 in Loma Linda, California, in San Bernardino County. was just ten years old when he took up the steel guitar; a neighbor was selling a Magnatone lap steel and matching amp for fifty dollars, and his father was willing to pay for it in installments. After taking 12 lessons in a 13-week course, learned from then on by listening, digging into the music of , , , and . By 1960, was playing lap steel and pedal steel well enough to sit in at local clubs, and in 1965 he joined the house band at the Aces Club in City of Industry, a gig he held down for three and a half years. Not long after he began working at the Aces Club, two regular customers introduced themselves — , a young rock musician with a passion for country music, and , a former bluegrass picker who played bass with . enjoyed talking about music with and , and when ' group were signed to record an album for LHI Records, he asked to play on the sessions. The album, 1967's , was one of the first rock albums to display a strong and distinct country influence, but the restless broke up the band before the album came out, limiting its impact. soon joined , and group leader allowed ' country inclinations to dominate their next album. asked to play steel guitar on what would become 1968's , often cited as the album that launched the country-rock movement.

While ' work with gave him an audience among rock fans, for the next few years he devoted himself to country. did regular session work for bandleader and producer , and beginning in 1969 he spent a year on the road as a member of ' road band , as well as appearing with on the first season of the TV series Hee Haw. In 1970, joined the house band at North Hollywood's famed country music venue the Palomino Club, and except for a year spent working with in 1975, he would play there regularly until 1978. That year, was hired to play on the score for the pilot episode of the television series The Dukes of Hazzard, and he would contribute pedal steel to the show's music through its seven-season run. In addition to his work on The Dukes of Hazzard, was an in-demand session player, playing on dozens of recording sessions, contributing to film and television scores, and making several appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, backing up , , and , among others. In 1986, and were among the founding members of , a group that blended vintage and contemporary country influences. The group scored a number of hits on the country charts, including "He's Back and I'm Blue," "One Step Forward," and "Love Reunited," before left the band to return his focus to session work. played on 's first two albums, recorded in the mid-'80s, and in 2000 persuaded him to join his road band, and continued recording and touring with and his group until 2004.

rarely recorded as a solo artist, though he appeared on a 1970 album called Suite Steel, which also featured fellow pedal steel masters , , and . In 2016, released an instrumental album, From Where I Sit, and in 2018 teamed up with , a fellow steel guitarist who also played on the sessions, to record Journey to the Beginning: A Steel Guitar Tribute to the Byrds. The album, in which they offered new interpretations of ' country-accented material, also included guest appearances from , , of , and of . ~ Mark Deming

Jay Dee Maness

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