JayDee Maness (born January 4, 1945) is an American

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...

ist who is a veteran

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

in Los Angeles. He is known for his work with

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

and

the Buckaroos The Buckaroos were an American band led by Buck Owens in the 1960s and early 1970s, who, along with Merle Haggard's The Strangers (American band), The Strangers, were involved in the development and presentation of the "Bakersfield sound." Their ...

Ray Stevens Harold Ray Ragsdale (born January 24, 1939), known professionally as Ray Stevens, is an American country and pop singer-songwriter and comedian, known for his Grammy-winning recordings "Everything Is Beautiful" and "Misty", as well as novelty ...

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist b ...

, and

the Desert Rose Band The Desert Rose Band was an American country rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1985 by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers), with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. The original lineup included Bil ...

. Maness received The Academy of Country Music's "Steel Guitarist of the Year" award 18 times and was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 2003.

Early life

Maness was born in

Loma Linda, California Loma Linda (Spanish for "Beautiful Hill") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States, that was incorporated in 1970. The population was 24,791 at the 2020 census, up from 23,261 at the 2010 census. The central area of the c ...

, in 1945 and grew up in nearby

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

. His father wanted him to play steel guitar and bought him a six-string

Magnetone Magnetone was a brand of Maton Guitars under which their first electric guitars and guitar amplifiers were sold. The brand was discontinued in the 1960s, and all subsequent Maton instruments were simply branded ''Maton''. See also *List of ...

electric steel guitar with amplifier at a price of $30. He began playing at age 10. At first, he did not know how to tune the instrument properly and used an E chord like a traditional guitar. He did not have finger picks and played for a year just using his fingers. He later took some lessons and emerged with a working knowledge of the instrument. His father played rhythm guitar and, with two more musicians, got a job playing with thirteen year-old JayDee at an

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Hall. After high school, he married and began working at a pest control firm in the citrus orchards of

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

. After four years he decided to pursue a career in music and made the switch from

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 ...

pedal steel The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can p ...

. His experimentation with the knee levers on the pedal instrument resulted in positioning them contrary to accepted practice. He received his first break into recording session work after

Cliffie Stone Clifford Gilpin Snyder (March 1, 1917 – January 17, 1998), professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American country music, country singer, musician, record producer, Music publisher (popular music), music publisher, and radio and TV personality ...

heard him play and asked him to come to a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

session. Maness was introduced to

Jimmy Bryant Ivy John Bryant Jr. (March 5, 1925 – September 22, 1980), known as Jimmy Bryant, was an American country music guitarist. He is best known for his collaborations with steel guitarist Speedy West and his session work. Biography Bryant wa ...

whom he credits for instructing him "when ''not'' to play, when ''to'' play and in general how to record". He later moved to Los Angeles, was employed as a musician at the Palomino Club. His skills were recognized, and he entered into the inner circle of elite session musicians in Los Angeles.

1960s session work

On the California folk and country scene of the early 1960s, he played with a number of local acts, including Eddy Drake, Gene Davis and Norm Forrest, and found work as an in-demand session musician in the Los Angeles area. In the summer and autumn of 1967, he was one of the three session musicians that recorded with

' short-lived

International Submarine Band The International Submarine Band (ISB) was a country-rock band formed by Gram Parsons in 1965, while a theology student at Harvard University and John Nuese, a guitar player for local rock group, The Trolls. Nuese is credited with having persuad ...

. He first recorded with the band on a pair of singles ("Luxury Liner" and "Blue Eyes") before contributing to the group's sole album, '' Safe at Home''. According to music writer Mark Deming, this album was one of the first rock albums to have a distinct county influence. After the demise of the International Submarine Band, Maness joined

in the studio in early 1968 and played on their seminal ''

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as c ...

'' album, contributing

on four of the album's 11 tracks: "The Christian Life", "You Don’t Miss Your Water", "You're Still on My Mind", and "Life in Prison" (session musician

Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 Chart Hit, No.1 Country music, country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O- ...

played pedal steel on four other tracks that were recorded in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

). Maness toured with the Byrds in California while the album was in post-production but with the departure of Parsons in August, 1968, Maness' tenure with the Byrds ended. Maness next played with

, for about 18 months. During this time the band had two No. 1 songs on the ''Billboard'' country music charts in 1969 ("

Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass "Who's Gonna Mow Your Grass" is a 1969 single written and recorded by Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He ...

" and " Tall Dark Stranger") and recorded two live albums (''Buck Owens in London "Live"'' and ''Buck Owens "Live" in Scandinavia'').

The 1970s and 1980s

In 1970 Maness joined Tony Booth, who was then leading the house band at L.A.'s Palomino Club. He recorded with Booth on several of his early '70s

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

albums, including ''The Key's in the Mailbox'' and ''Lonesome 7-7203''. Manness' reputation as a session player led to recording or touring with

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith or Mike Nesmith, (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop rock band the Monkees and co-star of the TV series ''The Monkees'' (1966� ...

, Ray Price and others. According to musician

, one of Maness's most recognizable pedal steel solos occurred during a 1975 recording of

Errol Garner Erroll Louis Garner (June 15, 1921 – January 2, 1977) was an American jazz pianist and composer known for his swing playing and ballads. His instrumental ballad "Misty", his best-known composition, has become a jazz standard. It was first re ...

and Johnny Burke's "

Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...

", while jamming in the studio with fellow musicians, which Stevens describes as "an accident ... one of life's little bonuses." The track, which was recorded in two takes, and featured Maness's 20-second solo, won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for best arrangement of 1975 and became the title track of Stevens' ''

'' album of the same year.

The Desert Rose Band, Eric Clapton, and other work

In 1985, Maness became one of the founding members of the

Desert Rose Band The Desert Rose Band was an American country rock band from Los Angeles, California, founded in 1985 by Chris Hillman (formerly of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers), with Herb Pedersen and John Jorgenson. The original lineup included Bi ...

, a country-rock group, with fellow ex-Byrd

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent ...

John Jorgenson John Richard Jorgenson (born July 6, 1956) is an American musician. Although best known for his guitar work with bands such as the Desert Rose Band and The Hellecasters, he is also proficient on the mandolin, mandocello, Dobro, pedal steel gu ...

Herb Pedersen Herbert Joseph Pedersen (born April 27, 1944 in Berkeley, California) is an American musician, guitarist, banjo player, and singer-songwriter who has played a variety of musical styles over the past fifty years including Country music, country, ...

, Steve Duncan and Bill Bryson. He left the band in 1990, but returned to it in 1998 and has remained part of the line-up since then. Maness's acclaimed bridge solo on Eric Clapton's 1992 hit "

Tears in Heaven "Tears in Heaven" is a song by English guitarist, singer, and songwriter Eric Clapton and Will Jennings, written about the death of Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor. It appeared on the 1991 ''Rush'' film soundtrack. In January 1992, Clapto ...

" was, according to the musician, another piece of recording luck that came out of the blue for him:

"Eric Clapton is another long story. I went to the studio n 1991 got all my stuff loaded in, got inside and somebody told me 'Eric isn't feeling well and isn't going to show up today. Can you come back tomorrow?' So tomorrow comes, and Eric is there, feeling better. We took all day to do that one song. When he finally got the take that he wanted, I thought I was finished - I was unloading and putting stuff away. Eric says 'Wait, wait, I want you to do the solo on this record,' and we stayed, just the two of us, and finished. And the rest is history! It really became a good record for him. And I got a platinum record of that one on my wall, Eric signed it and gave it to me."

In 2018, Maness reunited with Lloyd Green on the 50th anniversary of ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' to record ''Journey to the Beginning: A Steel Guitar Tribute to the Byrds'' at Cinderella Sound in Nashville for Coastal Bend Music. The album is an instrumental tribute to ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'', and features a vocal of "

You Ain't Goin' Nowhere "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by American musician Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performin ...

" featuring guest vocalists

Jeff Hanna Jeffrey R. Hanna (born July 11, 1947) is an American singer-songwriter and performance musician, best known for his association with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. His professional music career has spanned six decades. Early life Hanna was born in D ...

Richie Furay Paul Richard Furay (born May 9, 1944) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member (with Buffalo Springfield). He is best known for forming the bands Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Bruc ...

, and

Jim Lauderdale James Russell Lauderdale (born April 11, 1957) is an American country, bluegrass, and Americana singer-songwriter. Since 1986, he has released 31 studio albums, including collaborations with artists such as Dr. Ralph Stanley, Buddy Miller, and ...

Awards

Maness has won the ACM award for steel guitar on 18 occasions (1970, 1971, 1974–76, 1980 (tied with

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known by ...

), 1982, 1983, 1986–90, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2002).

External links

Website of JayDee ManessBend Music - current label featuring JayDee ManessWebsite of The Desert Rose Band within the website of Chris Hillman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maness, JayDee 1945 births Living people American country guitarists American male guitarists Steel guitarists Pedal steel guitarists American country rock musicians American rock musicians American pop musicians Musicians from California Country musicians from California People from Loma Linda, California The Byrds members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians International Submarine Band members