1.Jerry Byrd 2. Buddy Emmons 3. Jimmy Day 4. LLoyd Green 5. Pete Drake 6. Hal Ruggs 7. Welbon Myrik
I would have to put Lloyd Green and Buddy Emmons at the top of the list for virtuoso instrument playing mastery, technical expertise and versatility, adapting steel guitar to most any kind of music they were in studio to lay tracks for. Certainly, Pete Drake, and Weldon Myrick belong at the top of the best of the Nashville Session steel players for the last 50 years or more. While Leon McAuliffe and Roy Wiggins in the 1930's and 40's pioneered and paved the way for the country music steel guitarists coming along in the 50's 60's; we cannot leave this list without crediting the virtuoso technical and musical versatility of much later steel guitarists, whom have been the top-drawer, first-call session players in Nashville studios for the last 30 years or so. Namely, the best of the Nashville Session Steel players: Paul Franklin Jr. That's how my votes would stack-up, of the 7 best steel guitar players, ever! Thank you for a fun question to muse over and answer! Sincerely, Jazz Me109 PS: When editing what I've written above, I found it amusing and quite interesting that Paul Franklin, Jr. wound-up at the bottom of my list, when indeed he should be at the top of the list! I guess I feel that way about all of the steel guitar masters, that I've listed here, though! Oh well!...Have a great day! :)
1. Buddy Emmons 2. Jimmy Day 3. Tom Brumley 4. Ralph Mooney 5. Shot Jackson 6. Jerry Byrd 7. Speedy West
