Jimmy Day
Jimmy Day (born
James Clayton Day; 1934–1999) was an American
steel guitarist active in the 1950s and 1960s whose career in
country music blossomed about the time the
pedal steel guitar was invented after pedals were added to the
lap steel guitar. He was a pioneer on pedal steel in the genres of
Western swing and
Honky tonk and his modifications of the instrument's design have become a standard on the modern pedal steel. Day's first job after high school was performing on the
Louisiana Hayride as a
sideman accompanying developing country artists including
Hank Williams,
Webb Pierce,
Willie Nelson,
Jim Reeves,
Ray Price and
Elvis Presley. He recorded and toured with all these artists and was featured on
hit records by of many of them, including Ray Price's, "
Crazy Arms" and "
Heartaches by the Number". He was a member of Elvis Presley's band for about a year, but, along with fellow bandmate
Floyd Cramer, resigned after Presley requested them to re-locate to
Hollywood; instead, Day moved to
Nashville to work as a
session player and
Grand Ole Opry musician. He was a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame (1994) and the International
Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1999). Day died of cancer in 1999.
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