Pedal Steel Guitarist JayDee Maness To Be Featured As Next ‘Nashville Cats’ Honoree

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Pedal steel guitarist JayDee Maness will be featured by The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in its in-depth “Nashville Cats” interview series on April 12 in the museum’s Ford Theater.

At the outset of his 60-plus-year career, Maness helped sow the seeds of country-rock, recording with the Byrds on their landmark 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo and with Gram Parsons’ International Submarine Band. Additionally, he was a founding member of the Desert Rose Band and toured with Buck Owens’ Buckaroos. As a session musician, he has recorded with Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Dwight Yoakam and Country Music Hall of Fame members Vince Gill, Ray Stevens and Tanya Tucker, among many others.

Among his best-known contributions is the pedal steel solo on Eric Clapton’s multi-Platinum 1992 single “Tears in Heaven,” and his playing also appeared in the background music for the TV series The Dukes of Hazzard throughout its seven-season run. Maness is an 18-time winner of the Academy of Country Music’s Steel Guitar Player of the Year award.

The interview will be moderated by museum writer-editor Dave Paulson and will be illustrated with rare photos, film and recordings. After the program, Maness will sign commemorative Hatch Show Print posters. “Nashville Cats” is included with museum admission and free to museum members, but seating is limited, and a program ticket is required for admittance.

The “Nashville Cats” series began in 2006 by honoring Don Helms and Country Music Hall of Fame members Harold Bradley and Charlie McCoy. Since its inception nearly 20 years ago, “Nashville Cats” has showcased stories and songs from 53 musicians and session singers who have played important roles supporting the artists in either the recording studio or on tour.

Lorie Hollabaugh
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