Friday, May 29, 2026

I Love Sharing My Music With Others

Proverbs 18:1, “Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.”

I've been playing pedal steel guitar for 34 years since 1992, which has been a passion for me over the years. I started playing lap steel in 2006. My Mom Barbara Jean Stewart (1935-2001) while she was still alive enjoyed hearing my steel guitar. My father took this photo in 1998 at his Rescue Mission on Chicago's West Side...

Dad took a photo of Mom and Me (1998)

She went to Heaven on August 20, 2001. I miss my mother. I thank God for music.

Here are some of my Mom's Gospel piano recordings. She never played anything except hymns of the Christian faith:
Here are some of my steel guitar recordings:
When I moved from Chicago to the island of Guam in 2004 and lived there for 17 years, I learned to play the Hawaiian lap steel guitar, which was fitting for living on an island.

I just ran across this pretty song today and thought I'd share it with everyone. I love country music with a pedal steel guitar (mostly 1970s music). Nearly all of today's so-called "Country music" is garbage. Alan Jackson is right, country music is dead! This song is a pretty song with nice lyrics and has a great pedal steel guitar. ...

You Must Be out of Your Ever Lovin' Mind

Many years ago, I started a dedicated website just for the Hawaiian steel guitar, which is mostly played using the C6th tuning. On my website you'll find several hundred songs containing steel guitar, which is the best way to learn to play any musical instrument, by saturating your ears and mind with what a particular musical instrument is capable of doing.

This was the song in 1992 that drew me into learning to play the pedal steel guitar, "My Wonderful Jesus" by The Gospel According To Steve, Leroy And Brother Dave. My favorite Hawaiian steel guitar artist is Jerry Byrd (1920-2005). I met Jerry in 1993 in Winchester, Indiana, at the bi-annual Hawaiian Steel Guitar Convention. I also met famous steel guitarist Bud Tutmarc (1924-2006) at the convention in 1993. When I attended Hyles-Anderson College (1985-1993), I bought one of Bud's gospel cassettes at the college's bookstore. Bud Tutmarc made many recordings with the Ralph Carmichael orchestra. ...

“For Ever and Ever” - Bud Tutmarc & Ralph Carmichael (1969)

Lloyd Green (born 1937) is my favorite pedal steel guitar artist, and one of my musical heroes. I had the privilege of meeting Lloyd and his late wife Dorothy, in 1995 at the International Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis. Lloyd has recorded pedal steel guitar and Dobro on about 30,000 songs as a career Nashville musician from the 1960s throughout the late 1980s, including all of Don William's recordings. Lloyd played steel guitar on "Remember When" by Alan Jackson. Here is "In The Garden" by Lloyd.

I had been offered countless times on Guam a full time job to play my steel guitar in bars and nightclubs (they offered me $200 per night), which I always kindly turned down because I never wanted to use my God-given talent to help the Devil sell booze. Plus, by God's grace, I have never drank one drop of Liquid Devil, and by God's grace I never will. Those aren't my kind of places. I have always played freely at home, nursing homes, weddings, or in the sand at the beach when I lived on Guam. Music makes the world a better place.

These days at just play my musical instruments at home for the dog, Miss Pickles.

I Love Playing 5-String Banjo

I had learned to play the 5-string banjo in the late 1980's but there was no internet back then and living in Chicago meant I had no inspiration. Chicago is a Blues town! But in 2017 I learned about a guy named Dave Hum (1966-2012) in Salisbury, England, and his music inspired me to get back into my banjo playing, which I am still passionate about.

I made this banjo blog as a tribute to Dave Hum, and to share my own Bluegrass and folk backing tracks with other musicians. Last week I recorded the popular folk song using the Double C tuning (gCGCD), 'Whisky Before Breakfast.' Here is 'Old Spinning Wheel' that I recorded last year in Standard tuning (gDGBD). I really like playing this song, 'Mason's Apron,' also played in Standard tuning. And 'My Grandfather's Clock' in Standard tuning.

The banjo is a happy instrument. Thanks be to God, I have a Deering Calico (maple neck) and Golden Wreath (mahogany neck) banjo, and a Recording King Elite-85 banjo (maple neck), but I mostly enjoy playing my Deering Goodtime Special (hard rock maple) student model. The Goodtime Special is 3 pounds lighter than my other banjos, which helps my neck since I have an old injury that causes me tremendous pain all the time. I love the 5-string banjo!

God Is Faithful And Good

These days I just play at home at my leisure, when my neck pain and related afflictions aren't stifling my ambition. When you're suffering in constant chronic neck pain, and taking multiple different prescription meds, you don't want to do anything except rest. My burning neck pain is so bad every day, and the burning nerves throughout my upper body, et cetera. I digress. I have no complaints to the good LORD, He is wonderful and I love Him.

Kindly said, I don't claim to be a good Christian, but God knows that I do care and I want to be a blessing to as many people as I can for Christ with my website ministry, which is my greatest passion, serving Jesus. I enjoy making music with my banjo, steel guitar and other stringed instruments, but those things don't change lives or earn me rewards in Heaven. So, I am making an investment with my ministry labors!

I hope you've enjoyed hearing some of my music. I just wanted to take a break from my other articles and share my music with everyone. Tomorrow we'll be back to my regular ministry articles.  God be the glory. Music makes the world a better place.

God is good, just and faithful!

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I Love Sharing My Music With Others

Proverbs 18:1, “ Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.” I've been playing pedal ste...