Orville J. Rhodes, better known as Red Rhodes or O. J. Rhodes (December 30, 1930 – August 20, 1995), was an American pedal steel guitarist. His mother taught him to play the

Dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

at the age of five, but at the age of fifteen he switched to the

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

. He was a boxer and an oil company engineer before he settled into music. He moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1960 and became a

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 ...

. Rhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

albums with

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James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

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, and many other groups, as part of the Wrecking Crew studio musicians. He is most often remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's solo albums in the early 1970s. Rhodes is also credited with the "other-worldly" effects he created with pedal steel on

The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar across the world during the ...

futuristic album ''

The Ventures in Space ''The Ventures in Space'' is an LP album by the guitar-based instrumental group the Ventures, released in 1964. Information on its jacket states that "All of these unusual & other-worldly sounds have been created with musical instruments rather t ...

'' in 1964. In the late 1970s Rhodes shifted his focus from performing to guitar electronics at his Royal Amplifier Service shop in Hollywood, California. There Rhodes modified amplifiers and created his custom Velvet Hammer

guitar pickups A pickup is a transducer that captures or senses mechanical vibrations produced by musical instruments, particularly stringed instruments such as the electric guitar, and converts these to an electrical signal that is amplified using an instru ...

for

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, Gerald RayGerald Ray and other influential guitarists.he worked with Aspen of Groovetubes and made their GT electronics amp. His shop staff included future instrument makers David Schecter,

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and Bill Chapin.

Rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...

restricted Rhodes' public performances and recordings in the 1980s and 1990s, with the notable exception of his appearance on Michael Nesmith's ''Tropical Campfires'' album and tour in 1992. Rhodes fell ill soon after this tour, and died on August 20, 1995.

Discography

Solo projects

*''Once a Day and Other Steel Guitar Country & Western Favorites'', 1961, Crown *''Blue Blue Day and Other Steel Guitar Country & Western Favorites'', 1962, Crown *''Steel Guitar Rag and Other Country and Western Favorites'', 1963, Crown *''Red Rhodes Live at The Palomino'', 1969, Happy Tiger *''Velvet Hammer in a Cowboy Band'', 1973, Countryside *''Red Rhodes' Steel Guitar'', 1979, Alshire *''Fantastic Steel Guitar'', 1980, Exact *''Steel Guitar Favorites'', 1990, Alshire

Session work

*''Skid Row Blues, Nothin', et al., 1963, Hal Ford Forrest D Halford *''The Ventures in Space'', 1964,

*'' Begin'', 1968, The Millennium *'' Notorious Byrd Brothers'', 1968,

*''

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'', 1968,

*'' Bubblegum, Lemonade, and... Something for Mama'', 1969, Cass Elliot *''

Instant Replay Instant replay or action replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had j ...

'', 1969,

*'' It's Not Killing Me'', 1969,

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*'' Hand Sown ... Home Grown'', 1969,

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*''Nancy'', 1969,

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*'' Weeds'', 1969,

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*''

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'', 1969, Sagittarius *'' Magnetic South'', 1970,

*''

Loose Salute ''Loose Salute'' is the second solo album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith released during his post-Monkees career. Issued by RCA Records in 1970 and dedicated to Tony Richland, it peaked at No. 159 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts ...

'', 1970,

*'' John Phillips (John, the Wolf King of L.A.)'', 1970, John Phillips *''

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'', 1970,

*''

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'', 1970,

*''

Nevada Fighter ''Nevada Fighter'' is the third solo album by American singer-songwriter Michael Nesmith during his post-Monkees career. The album is also the third and final album with Nesmith backed by the First National Band. Released by RCA Records in 1971, ...

'', 1971,

*''Possum'', 1971, Possum *''Lead Free'', 1972,

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*'' One Man Dog'', 1972,

*'' Hold On Dear Brother'', 1972

*'' Rhymes and Reasons'', 1972,

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*'' Son of Schmilsson'', 1972,

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*'' A Song for You'', 1972,

*'' Summer Breeze'', 1972,

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*'' Tantamount to Treason'', 1972,

*'' And the Hits Just Keep on Comin''', 1972,

*''

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'', 1972,

*''Five & Dime'', 1973,

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*''Pure Country'', 1973, Garland Frady *'' Pretty Much Your Standard Ranch Stash'', 1973,

*''Valley Hi'', 1973, Ian Matthews *'' There's an Innocent Face'', 1973,

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*''Calabasas'', 1974,

*'' L.A. Turnaround'', 1974,

Bert Jansch Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s as an acoustic guitarist and singer-songwriter ...

*''Black Bach'', 1974,

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*'' The Prison'', 1974,

*''

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'', 1975,

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*''

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'', 1975,

*''Midnight on the Water'', 1975,

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*''Marriott'', 1976,

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*''Sweet America'', 1976,

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...

*''Frolicking in the Myth'', 1977,

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*''Road Songs'', 1977,

Hoyt Axton Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...

*'' The Way I Am'', 1981,

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*'' Tropical Campfires'', 1992,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhodes, Red 1930 births 1995 deaths Pedal steel guitarists Guitar pickup manufacturers People from Alton, Illinois Guitarists from Illinois American country guitarists American male guitarists American session musicians Deaths from pneumonia in California 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians The First National Band members