Herbert Leroy Remington (1926–2018) was an American

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional a ...

guitarist who played

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the Western United States, West and Southern United States, South among the region's Western music (North America), Western string bands. It is dan ...

music with

Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although S ...

from 1946 to 1949. A member of the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1979), Remington is known for his Hawaiian style playing combined with swing-based jazz soloing. One of his signature recordings was Bob Wills' "Boot Heel Drag", which appeared on the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of Wills' classic hit, "

Faded Love "Faded Love" is a Western swing song written by Bob Wills, his father John Wills, and his brother, Billy Jack Wills. The tune is considered to be an exemplar of the Western swing fiddle component of American fiddle. The melody came from an 185 ...

". He is also known for "Remington's Ride", a song that became a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

for steel players. Indiana-born Remington studied Hawaiian steel guitar as a youth, but serendipitously got into

music in his teens and became one of the genres most renowned steel guitarists.

Early life

Remington was born in

Mishawaka, Indiana Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South ...

, a suburb of

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

; his mother taught him piano until he was about eight years old. He learned to play a conventional guitar in the finger-picking style of

Merle Travis Merle Robert Travis (November 29, 1917 – October 20, 1983) was an American country and western singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rosewood, Kentucky, United States. His songs' lyrics often discussed both the lives and the economic expl ...

. He had lessons from door-to-door instrument salesmen and mail-order lessons at $1.25 per week. As a youth he was impressed when he first heard Hawaiian music played by a steel guitar at a local movie theater. He studied Hawaiian steel, taking sixty lessons from the

Oahu Music Company The Oahu Music Company was a music education program in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s to teach students to play the Hawaiian Guitar. Popular culture in America became fascinated with Hawaiian music during the first half of the twenti ...

that sold instruments and taught children from several nearby states. In high school he played steel guitar in a band called the "Honolulu Serenaders of South Bend Indiana".

Becoming a professional musician

After high school, he visited California in 1943 looking for a job. The Hawaiian music jobs he sought were filled, but he found an opening playing Western swing in a 12-piece orchestra, singer Ray Whitley’s band, the "Rhythm Wranglers". He then received his

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

draft notice In the United States, military conscription, commonly known as the draft, has been employed by the U.S. federal government in six conflicts: the American Revolutionary War, the American Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, an ...

for military service. When he was discharged from the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1946, the 20 year-old Remington, playing a double neck

Rickenbacker Rickenbacker International Corporation is a string instrument manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. The company is credited as the first known maker of electric guitars – a steel guitar in 1932 – and today produces a range ...

, auditioned for a steel guitar job in a band being formed by Bob Wills' brother, Luke Wills. The audition was in a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

hotel room crammed with musicians and Bob Wills was conducting it. Wills was impressed by Remington's skill to the point that he dismissed his current steel player and hired Remington on the spot for his own band. Remington said, "He took a chance on me not knowing if I would develop at all". Soon Remington was playing at venues like

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

's Aragon Ballroom for 5,000 people. After his time with Bob Wills, Remington played in the Hank Penny band and recorded "Remington's Ride" in 1949.

Leo Fender Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor known for designing the Fender Stratocaster. He also founded the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In January 1965, he sold Fender to CBS, and later foun ...

was a musical instrument maker who kept a careful eye on the most prominent musicians of the day, seeking their input in field-testing his new designs. He wanted famous players to play his instruments as an endorsement to help his fledgling business. Many musicians who attended Wills' dances were keen observers the band's musical gear. “When we got back from a tour”, Remington said, ”Leo’s desk would be just piled with orders from these people who would see our equipment.” Whenever the Bob Wills band returned to Los Angeles, Mr. Fender would take up all the amplifiers and supply the band with new models. Fender began building steel guitars, and gave Remington every new model he made thereafter without taking the old ones back, a process that continued until Fender's death.

Later life

In the 1950s, Remington left Hank Penny, married and settled in Houston, Texas. He worked with

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

providing Bob Wills tributes, and later toured and recorded as the "Playboys II", a band made up of alumni of Wills' original "Texas Playboys". Remington recorded regularly after 1972 with the "River Road Boys". In 1986 he manufactured a line of non-pedal steel guitars bearing his name, featuring his own modifications to the

Fender Stringmaster The Fender Stringmaster is a series of console steel guitars produced by Fender from 1953 to 1980. Models were available with two, three and four necks, each neck with eight strings. The four neck version, known as the ''quad'' or Q-8, was di ...

s. Based in Houston, he spent years performing Hawaiian music with his wife, Melba, in a Polynesian revue that toured the U.S. and had a residency in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. He was inducted into the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1979. His wife died in 2015; they had been married for 63 years. Remington died on October 27, 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Remington, Herb Steel guitarists 20th-century American guitarists People from Mishawaka, Indiana Western swing performers 20th-century American male musicians 1926 births 2018 deaths