Robby Turner, the pedal steel guitarist whose soulful mastery of the instrument is embedded in stardom-redefining songs for Waylon Jennings, Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton, has died. He was 63.
Turner’s son, Bobby, confirmed his death on Sept. 5.
Turner is survived by his son, Bobby, of Northeast Arkansas. His daughter, Mackenzie, and another son, Dylan, reside in Hermitage, Tenn. A celebration of life is scheduled for The Troubadour Theatre in Music Valley Village in October.
Legendary steel guitarist Robby Turner in conversation at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, July 2019
Turner excelled as a multi-instrumentalist for five decades. His career was born in his blood, as he was the son of Doyle and Bernice Turner, who played in Hank Williams’ band The Drifting Cowboys between 1944 and 1946.
At the age of 14, he had already spent two years as a steel guitarist sponsored by Shot Cannon’s Sho-Bud company, then the instrument’s preeminent maker. He honed his craft performing paid gigs in bars in Northeast Arkansas.
This renown led to him being called upon by Waylon Jennings to perform in the backing band for his “Wanted: The Outlaws” album, featuring Jennings alongside Jessi Colter, Tompall Glaser and Willie Nelson.
The album went on to become country music’s first platinum-seller.
What made Robby Turner’s pedal steel guitar playing noteworthy?
Turner’s son, Bobby, said he placed his father in a class of hall-of-fame caliber steel guitarists and session musicians with Paul Franklin and Lloyd Green. The performers are unique in that they have worked with so many major artists the genre has seen in the past 50 years.
“My father played with his heart and soul. Whether he was using a bar to slide across the strings, to using the volume pedal to make notes swell in and out of songs, he created the space for people to feel emotional journeys when listening to his solos or other certain parts of the songs (on which he played),” Bobby Turner said.
He recalled his father being called by legendary Memphis-based producer Chips Moman to play alongside Jennings, joining with Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson on the second “Highwaymen” album.
“My father playing alongside legends that I only knew from television made me realize that he was doing things that made him legendary, too,” Bobby Turner said.
Robby Turner’s work with Dave Cobb, Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton
Americana and country music’s roots-driven revival also intersected with Turner’s craftsmanship.
In 1996, Turner released “Man of Steel,” a self-released, solo instrumental album.
Waylon Jennings hand-selected him to work on “Goin’ Down Rockin’ – The Last Recordings.” The album featured songs that the Country Music Hall of Famer recorded before he died in 2002.
Robby Turner performs at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2018.
In 2018, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum celebrated its new exhibit, “Outlaws and Armadillos: Country’s Roaring ’70s,” with a concert that featured performances by Billy Joe Shaver, Jessi Colter, Jason Isbell, Bobby Bare, and many more. The performers were backed by a house band that included Turner.
The 2000s also saw the Arkansas native work with The Chicks, Rodney Crowell, Sara Evans, Shelby Lynne and Marty Stuart, among many others. By the turn of the 2010s, Turner had fallen in with producer and current MCA Records Chief Creative Officer Dave Cobb.
When Cobb moved to Nashville from Los Angeles in 2011, he was already familiar with the steel guitarist’s sound, having worked with him on a 2009 album for the Oak Ridge Boys.
As a go-to, on-call player for Cobb, his work appears on Sturgill Simpson’s 2013 “High Top Mountain” and Chris Stapleton’s 2015 “Traveller.”
“Robby was the best musician I’ve ever heard. He was a true steward of country music and really poured his heart into the studio and stage. He made everyone who got to play with him better; he changed the air in the room and lit up everyone’s faces when he went for a solo. We lost a true legend, a true friend and a keeper of the flame,” added Cobb.
Recently, Turner mentored Nashville-based steel guitarist Benjo Markus.
The performer currently tours with White Bluff, Tennessee-born country artist Larry Fleet.
“Robby Turner was my mentor and one of my best friends,” Markus said. “He was a legend in the true sense of the word, with an incredible career that was woven with stories you couldn’t make up. To be taught how to play the steel guitar from a man of his caliber was an absolute honor.”
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville pedal steel player Robby Turner dies at 63
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