Lloyd Green

Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American pedal steel guitarist and session musician. Green was a member of the country music studio musician collective known as the Nashville A-Team, and has performed on more than 5,000 recordings, for artists such as Charley Pride, The Byrds, Country Johnny Mathis,Johnny Cash, The Monkees, Don Williams, Paul McCartney, and Bob Dylan. His playing on The Byrds' 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo influenced generations of steel guitarists. Green was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1988.

Early life Lloyd Green at age 10, in a photo used in promotional materials by the Oahu Music CompanyGreen was born on October 4, 1937 in Leaf, Mississippi, about 40 miles southeast of Hattiesburg. He and his family moved to Mobile, Alabama at the age of four, where he began to take music lessons. At age seven, he applied for lessons at the Oahu Music Company, but they did not take students under fourteen. Oahu allowed a "test lesson" for him. When they found his strong aptitude, they let him enroll. He was an exceptional student, to the extent that Oahu used him in their promotional materials and newsletters. Green said, "I became the poster child for the course when I was about 10 years old" (see photo). They have remained together over five decades.

Early career Green joined Faron Young's road band in December 1956 and stayed for 18 months. After a one-month tour with Ferlin Husky, with money tight, he swore never to tour again The SESAC job put Green in the middle of the action on Nashville's Music Row. He said, "...the first week I was there, Slim Williamson, who owned Chart Records, hired me for a demo and master session." He turned down a U.S. tour with McCartney due to the fact that he didn't want to lose work in Nashville. Music writer Peter Cooper called the album "a genre-bender that illuminated a path that led to modern California Country, Americana and alternative country music". In 2018, Green and fellow steel guitarist JayDee Maness teamed up to make a tribute album called Journey to the Beginningː A Steel Guitar Tribute to the Byrds.

Many steel guitarists point to Green's 1968 performance on Charley Pride's In Person album as the highlight of Green's career to that point. He has performed with over 500 artists, has played on 116 number one hits, and over 100 top ten hits. He was featured with a speaking part on Ken Burns' Country Music documentary film in 2019. He moved up to a 1943/1944 Rickenbacker Bakelite electric at age ten (1947) with an Oahu amplifier (see photo). About that time, Green was playing a Fender Stringmaster lap steel, which had been retrofitted with pedals. In 1956, he was hired by Faron Young for an 18-month tour. Young said Green's steel was an "embarrassment" because it looked so shoddy, then loaned Green a triple-neck Bigsby model with one pedal.

Green left Faron Young in mid 1958, and received a new guitar courtesy of Shot Jackson, who traded Green's old Fender for a Rickenbacker doubleneck with two retrofitted pedals. Green used this "Rick" for the next three years. In 1963, he played a double-neck Bigsby on which Jackson added six pedals. By 1964 he played Sho-Bud steels and in 1966 changed to a Sho-Bud "fingertip" double 10 model which he played on many country hits.

In 1973, Green designed a guitar for Sho-Bud. It was a single E9 neck on a double neck cabinet. The empty space (usually filled by a C6 neck) was a padded blank. Prior to this, a single neck on a double neck cabinet setup did not exist. Called the LDG, the guitar was named for Green, but the middle initial was incorrect. This was done purposely and with Green's knowledge by Sho-Bud's David Jackson but the exact reason is unclear. It was the fourth and last Sho-Bud guitar that Lloyd played on sessions. Green used three different Sho-Bud volume pedals, rotating them at intervals to keep the potentiometers working efficiently. He owned a 1943 Dobro square neck (serial number A–147) given to him by Hank Williams Jr. during a recording session in 1969. Green used it on many sessions, most notably on Don Williams' records.

Discography as a solo artist Albums Year Album US Country Label

Hawaiian Enchantment (his name is not featured on the cover)

Modern Sound Big Steel Guitar (aka The Big Steel Guitar)

Time 1966 Day for Decision

1967 The Hit Sounds

Mr. Nashville Sound

Cool Steel Man

1969 Green Country

Little Darlin

Moody River

Chart Music City Sound (with Pete Wade)

MGM 1971 Lloyd Green and His Steel Guitar

Prize 1973 Shades of Steel

Steel Rides

Ten Shades of Green

Midland 1977 Stainless Steel (aka Feelings)

GRT 1980 Lloyd's of Nashville

Midland 1992 Reflections

Spark 2003 Revisited

LG 2018 Journey to the Beginning: A Steel Guitar Tribute to The Byrds ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo''' (with Jay Dee Maness)

Coastal Bend

Also appears on 1984: The Celestial Sounds of Steel Guitars (VGK) with JB Van - produced by Robin Vosbury and Lloyd Green 2010. The Lloyd Green Album (Red Beet) with Eric Brace 2010: Master Sessions'' (Red Beet) with Eric Brace and Peter Cooper

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album US Country CAN Country 1967 "Pedal Pattle (aka Pedal Paddle) — — "The Hit Sounds" 1968 "Mr. Nashville Sound" — — Mr. Nashville Sound 1969 "Bar Hoppin'" — — Cool Steel Man "Robin" — — Moody River "Tell Ya What" — — 1970 "Ride Ride Ride" — — Mr. Nashville Sound "My Happiness" (with Pete Wade) — — Music City Sound "Release Me" (with Pete Wade) — — 1971 "Midnight Silence" — — Lloyd Green and His Steel Guitar "Sound Waves" — — 1972 "Morning Has Broken" — — Shades of Steel 1973 "I Can See Clearly Now" 36 98 "Here Comes the Sun" 73 — "Dixie Drive-In" — — 1974 "Atlantis" — — "Seaside" — — Steel Rides "Canadian Sunset" — — 1975 "Sally G" — — "I Can Help" — — 1976 "Darisa" — — Ten Shades of Green "You and Me" 92 — Feelings 1977 "Feelings" — — "Whistler" — — single only 1979 "Ricochet" — — Lloyd's of Nashville