Don Helms
Encyclopedia
Don Helms was a steel guitar
ist best known as the steel guitar player of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys
group.
Helms was a featured musician on over 100 Hank Williams recordings and provided the high, piercing signature steel guitar sound on more than 100 Hank Williams songs and on 10 of his 11 number-one country hits.
Bill Lloyd, the curator of stringed instruments at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said of Helms: “After the great tunes and Hank’s mournful voice, the next thing you think about in those songs is the steel guitar. It is the quintessential honky-tonk steel sound — tuneful, aggressive, full of attitude.” Lloyd also credits Helms' sound as a major influence in shifting the sound of country music away from the hillbilly string-band sound popular in the 1930s and toward the more modern electric style that became prominent in the 1940s.
Helms played a double-neck 1948 Gibson Console Grande steel guitar, which lacked the foot pedals found on a more modern pedal steel guitar
, which did not come into prominence in country music until after Hank Williams' death in 1953.
After Williams' death, Helms went on to play on many classic country hits, including Patsy Cline
's “Walking After Midnight,” Stonewall Jackson
’s “Waterloo,” the Louvin Brothers
’ “Cash on the Barrelhead
,” Lefty Frizzell
’s “Long Black Veil” and Loretta Lynn
’s “Blue Kentucky Girl.”
Donald Hugh Helms was born in New Brockton
, Alabama
, performed with many country music
artists throughout the years including playing steel guitar on Lefty Frizzell's recording of "Long Black Veil". In the late 1950s Don played on several early Johnny Cash
recordings on Columbia Records
, "The Fabulous Johnny Cash
", "Now, There Was a Song!
" and "Hymns by Johnny Cash
". During the mid-1960s Helms played in the Wilburn Brothers backup band, The Nashville Tennesseans. He later played behind Hank Williams' daughter Jett Williams
.
Don Helms played for Hank Williams Jr. in addition to his Dad, and wrote "The Ballad of Hank Williams" which he performed with Hank Jr. on The Pressure Is On
LP Released in 1981. In the tune Don jokingly refers to being fired by both elder Hanks. He also performed with Jett Williams, Hank Sr.'s daughter.
His last four known sessions were (in order) with Mark David and The Nightly Lights on November 15, 2007, Joey Allcorn
's album All Alone Againhttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/joeyallcorn1 in early 2008 followed by sessions with Teresa Street and then what is believed to be his final ever session with Vince Gill
recording unfinished Hank Williams Sr. tracks.
Helms died on August 11, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee from complications of heart surgery and diabetes. .
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
ist best known as the steel guitar player of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys
Drifting Cowboys
The Drifting Cowboys were the backing group for American music legend Hank Williams. The band went through several lineups during Williams's career, and surviving members of the group continue to tour and make public appearances to this day....
group.
Helms was a featured musician on over 100 Hank Williams recordings and provided the high, piercing signature steel guitar sound on more than 100 Hank Williams songs and on 10 of his 11 number-one country hits.
Bill Lloyd, the curator of stringed instruments at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, said of Helms: “After the great tunes and Hank’s mournful voice, the next thing you think about in those songs is the steel guitar. It is the quintessential honky-tonk steel sound — tuneful, aggressive, full of attitude.” Lloyd also credits Helms' sound as a major influence in shifting the sound of country music away from the hillbilly string-band sound popular in the 1930s and toward the more modern electric style that became prominent in the 1940s.
Helms played a double-neck 1948 Gibson Console Grande steel guitar, which lacked the foot pedals found on a more modern pedal steel guitar
Pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a type of electric guitar that uses a metal bar to "fret" or shorten the length of the strings, rather than fingers on strings as with a conventional guitar. Unlike other types of steel guitar, it also uses pedals and knee levers to affect the pitch, hence the name "pedal"...
, which did not come into prominence in country music until after Hank Williams' death in 1953.
After Williams' death, Helms went on to play on many classic country hits, including Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline
Patsy Cline , born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Gore, Virginia, was an American country music singer who enjoyed pop music crossover success during the era of the Nashville sound in the early 1960s...
's “Walking After Midnight,” Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson (musician)
Stonewall Jackson is an American country singer and musician who achieved his greatest fame during country's "golden" honky tonk era in the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early years:...
’s “Waterloo,” the Louvin Brothers
Louvin Brothers
The Louvin Brothers were an American country music duo composed of brothers Ira Lonnie Loudermilk and Charlie Elzer Loudermilk , better known as Ira and Charlie Louvin. They helped popularize close harmony, a genre of country music.-History:The brothers adopted the name Louvin Brothers in the...
’ “Cash on the Barrelhead
Cash on the Barrelhead
"Cash on the Barrelhead" is a song written by Charlie and Ira Louvin, known professionally as the Louvin Brothers, which was first recorded and released in 1956 as the B-side of "You're Running Wild"...
,” Lefty Frizzell
Lefty Frizzell
Lefty Frizzell , born William Orville Frizzell, was an American country music singer and songwriter of the 1950s, and a proponent of honky tonk music. His relaxed style of singing was an influence on later stars Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, George Jones and John Fogerty...
’s “Long Black Veil” and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
’s “Blue Kentucky Girl.”
Donald Hugh Helms was born in New Brockton
New Brockton, Alabama
New Brockton is a town in Coffee County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,250. The community was named for Huey E. Brock, settler.New Brockton is part of the Enterprise–Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, performed with many country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artists throughout the years including playing steel guitar on Lefty Frizzell's recording of "Long Black Veil". In the late 1950s Don played on several early Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
recordings on Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, "The Fabulous Johnny Cash
The Fabulous Johnny Cash
The Fabulous Johnny Cash is the third album by country singer Johnny Cash. It was released in January 1959 by the Columbia label, after Cash's departure from Sun Records, and was re-issued in 2002 by Sony Music's Legacy imprint...
", "Now, There Was a Song!
Now, There Was a Song!
Now, There Was a Song! is the ninth album by Johnny Cash, featuring songs by Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, and George Jones. It was released in 1960 on the Columbia label.-Track listing:...
" and "Hymns by Johnny Cash
Hymns by Johnny Cash
Hymns by Johnny Cash is the fifth album and the first gospel album by Johnny Cash. It was originally released in May 1959, then re-issued in 2002 with an alternate version of "It Was Jesus" as a bonus track...
". During the mid-1960s Helms played in the Wilburn Brothers backup band, The Nashville Tennesseans. He later played behind Hank Williams' daughter Jett Williams
Jett Williams
Jett Williams is an American country music performer.Jett is the daughter of country music icon Hank Williams, Sr. and Bobbie Jett, whose brief relationship with Hank Williams occurred between his two marriages. She is a posthumous child; her birth in Montgomery, Alabama occurred five days after...
.
Don Helms played for Hank Williams Jr. in addition to his Dad, and wrote "The Ballad of Hank Williams" which he performed with Hank Jr. on The Pressure Is On
The Pressure Is On
The Pressure Is On is a studio album by American country music artist Hank Williams, Jr.. It was released by Elektra/Curb Records in August 1981. "All My Rowdy Friends " and "A Country Boy Can Survive" were released as singles...
LP Released in 1981. In the tune Don jokingly refers to being fired by both elder Hanks. He also performed with Jett Williams, Hank Sr.'s daughter.
His last four known sessions were (in order) with Mark David and The Nightly Lights on November 15, 2007, Joey Allcorn
Joey Allcorn
-Style:Allcorn's music is a blend of neotraditional and alternative country music. He cites Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Faron Young, Buck Owens, and Jimmie Rodgers among his idols; modern-day influences include BR549, Robbie Fulks and Dale Watson...
's album All Alone Againhttp://www.cdbaby.com/cd/joeyallcorn1 in early 2008 followed by sessions with Teresa Street and then what is believed to be his final ever session with Vince Gill
Vince Gill
Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
recording unfinished Hank Williams Sr. tracks.
Helms died on August 11, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee from complications of heart surgery and diabetes. .
External links
- Don Helms official Myspace page
- Hank Williams official website
- The Drifting Cowboys website
- New York Times obituary for Don Helms, August 16, 2008
- Don Helms performing "Bye Bye Blues," mid-1960s
- Don Helms performing "Fireball Mail," late 1960s
- Don Helms performing "Cold, Cold Heart," 1968
- Don Helms performing at the Hank William Museum, 2006
- Don Helms performing "Cold, Cold Heart," 2007
- Don Helms warming up for a session with Mark David, 2008
- Don Helms performing "Move It On Over" with Joey Allcorn, 2008