Ernie Hagar remembered...

[Herb Steiner]

California steel guitarist from years past, Ernie isn't mentioned very much here in Forumland, but he was a fixture here in CA for years. When I was first starting out as a full time pedal steel player in 1968, Ernie's albums, very Speedy-esque in nature, were influential.

I stumbled across this bio of Ernie and it rekindled many memories for me. It's quite an interesting read and should be required reading for many new steel players.

https://www.bigvjamboree.com/ERNIE-HAGA ... 20He%20was

[Brad Bechtel]

Thanks for sharing this, Herb! A fascinating read about a great musician.

[Richard Sinkler]

I met Ernie when he was in Santa Cruz playing for Larry Hosford. My brother and I would drive from the East Bay to Santa Cruz, or anywhere Larry was playing. During that time, he either worked or owned a music store in Santa Cruz that was Sho-Bud dealer. I was looking to step up from my ZB S10 to a D10. I spent like 2 to 3 hours with Ernie one day. Great guy , and a great player.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he have his guitar set up "backwards" like Sonny Curtis? The 3rd and 6th strings open tuned to A, and 5 and 10 tuned to C#? The A and B pedals would then lower those strings to G# and B. And his knee levers would swing in an arc rather than linear from left to right, or vice versa. I was so intrigued by his levers.

His stint with Commander Cody was awesome too. I am also amazed at how little he gets mentioned.

[Craig Stock]

Thanks for posting that Herb, I had only known his work on the Commander Cody album ‘Lost Planet Airmen’.

‘California Okie’ is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Thanks for this piece, it sure does fill in the missing pieces!