Nashville Guitar Great Pete Wade Passes

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Pete Wade. Photo: Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

Guitarist Pete Wade, who played on hundreds of Nashville hits, has died at age 89.

He can be heard on such all-time classics as Ray Price’s “Crazy Arms,” George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City,” Sonny James’ “Young Love” and Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn.” Wade was a first-call session musician for more than 60 years. He was also a former member of the Opry house band.

Pete Wade was born Herman Bland Wade in Norfolk, Virginia. He moved to Nashville at age 19 to join Price’s band The Cherokee Cowboys in 1954. He also toured and recorded with Kitty Wells. In his early Nashville days, he toured with such other future Country Music Hall of Fame members as Roger Miller, Jean Shepard, Ferlin Husky and Faron Young.

After playing on hits by both Price and Wells, he moved into steady recording-session work. In addition to Price, Wells, Tucker, Jones, Pride, James and Lynn, he played guitar on the recordings of such Hall of Fame members as Kenny Rogers, The Oak Ridge Boys, Merle Haggard, Dottie West, Johnny Cash, Charlie Louvin, The Statler Brothers, Willie Nelson, Porter Wagoner, Charlie McCoy, Roy Clark, Conway Twitty, The Everly Brothers, Bill Anderson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Marty Robbins, Brenda Lee, Waylon Jennings, Ernest Tubb, Connie Smith, Jerry Reed, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Bare, Reba McEntire and Patsy Cline.

His deft touch on the strings embellished such hits as “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” (Crystal Gayle), “Satin Sheets” (Jeanne Pruett), “Rose Garden” (Lynn Anderson), “Swingin’” (John Anderson) and “Harper Valley PTA” (Jeannie C. Riley).

He was also a member of the musician supergroup Area Code 615, which released a self-titled album in 1969. Though Wade was best known as a lead electric and acoustic guitarist, he could also play bass, steel guitar and many other instruments.

Affable and widely liked, Wade played on the records of many visitors to Music Row. They included Linda Ronstadt, Bob Dylan, Manhattan Transfer, Joan Baez, Ian & Sylvia, Leon Russell, Wayne Newton, Chubby Checker, k.d. lang, Henry Mancini and George Burns.

His main jobs were sessions with such top country stars as Donna Fargo, Keith Whitley, Johnny Rodriguez, Janie Fricke, B.J. Thomas, Moe Bandy, Billy “Crash” Craddock, Dave Dudley, Charlie Rich, Johnny Paycheck, Earl Thomas Conley, Lee Greenwood, Gene Watson, Sammy Kershaw, Eddie Rabbitt, Lacy J. Dalton, Moe Bandy, Billie Jo Spears and Vern Gosdin.

A who’s-who of Grand Ole Opry stars also recorded with Wade. They included Mandy Barnett, Charlie Walker, The Whites, Justin Tubb, the Gatlins, Billy Walker, Lonzo & Oscar, Hank Locklin, Jan Howard, Ray Pillow, Stonewall Jackson and Boxcar Willie.

His tenure as a session stylist stretched from vintage artists such as Carl Perkins and Bobby Helms to such contemporary stars as Kenny Chesney and Dailey & Vincent. The breadth of his abilities enabled him to back everyone from Junior Brown to Jerry Jeff Walker, from Dale Watson to The Highwaymen.

Pete Wade was honored with a Nashville Cats program at the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016. He penned an autobiography with Scot England in 2021 titled My Life, My Guitar, My God’s Plan. Willie Nelson wrote its forward.

Pete Wade passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 27. He is survived by his wife, three children, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. His funeral service will be private.

Robert K Oermann
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