Tom Brumley

Pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley remains best remembered for his six-year stint as a member of Buck Owens' famed backing group the Buckaroos -- his contribution to the Owens classic "Together Again" is widely celebrated as among the greatest pedal steel solos in country music history. Brumley's work on the steel guitar combined a fluid dexterity with a melodic sense that emphasized melody over flash, though his work left no doubt that he was a master of his instrument. And while he was an accompanist and never a bandleader in the recording studio, his many recordings with Owens and Rick Nelson, as well as his work as a first-call sessionman, has earned him a reputation as one of the masters of the steel guitar. Born in Powell, Missouri, in 1935, Brumley was the son of gospel giant Albert E. Brumley, the composer behind such staples as "I'll Fly Away," "Turn Your Radio On," "I'll Meet You in the Morning," and "He Set Me Free." All six of the Brumley children possessed musical talent of their own, and when Tom's sibling Al Brumley, Jr. relocated to Bakersfield, California to join the cast of KERO-TV's daily country music showcase The Jimmy Thomason Show, Tom soon relocated west as well. Al Brumley, Jr. cut a series of little-noticed singles for Capitol, hiring Tom to play pedal steel on a 1963 session. Owens heard the resulting record and immediately extended Brumley an invitation to join the Buckaroos alongside guitarist Don Rich, bassist Doyle Holly, and drummer Willie Cantu after steel player Jay McDonald abruptly left the group. Brumley remained with Owens through 1969, and his stretch with the Buckaroos coincides with the creative and commercial zenith of the singer's career, a period that yielded smash hits including "Act Naturally" and "Tiger by the Tail" and effectively crystallized the fabled Bakersfield sound. After leaving the Buckaroos, Brumley signed on with Rick Nelson's Stone Canyon Band, appearing on the singer's 1972 comeback hit "Garden Party." In the years to follow, he also guested on sessions headlined by everyone from Dwight Yoakam to Reba McEntire to Chris Isaak. In 1989, Brumley retired from touring to rejoin Al Jr. in Branson, MO, where together they appeared at the 76 Music Hall headlining the Brumley Family Music Show, which also included two of Tom's children. In 1990, Brumley briefly returned to the road as a member of Chris Hillman's retro-style country group the Desert Rose Band. In the Desert Rose Band, Brumley took over on pedal steel from Jay Dee Maness, who had been Brumley's replacement in the Buckaroos. A member of both the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, Brumley died February 3, 2009, in San Antonio, TX; he was 73. A collection of Brumley's best performances from his years with the Buckaroos, Steelin' the Show, was released by Omnivore Recordings in 2018.
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