Bobby Lee (Robert Paul Lee born 1949, died 2023), was a

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

player and active promoter of the instrument, creating several

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

s and most recognized as the founder of the website the Steel Guitar Forum. Inspired by the steel guitar styles of

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

and Don Helms, Bobby Lee took up the

steel guitar A steel guitar () is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar i ...

in 1972. He started performing with country bands in Northern California in 1975, and became a common fixture in Sonoma County's country music scene starting in 1979. His country band affiliations included The Cowpokes, The Western Rhythm Gang, The Wheelers, Scott Gerber, The StringBusters and The Country All-Stars, among many others. In 1996, he recorded and produced Quasar Steel Guitar, a CD of his steel guitar music. In 2001, Bobby Lee joined John Reese and Open Hearts, a band that plays original music in a wide variety of styles. He played on two of their CDs, and left the band in 2008. In 2009, he created The Burnside Scramblers with Al Stern, Ehlert Lassen, and Dennis Lassen. The band focused on western swing music and standards. As "b0b" (his online handle), Bobby became involved in BBSes in the 1980s. He used that experience to start The Steel Guitar Forum in 1997. Over the years that followed, The Steel Guitar Forum has become the online center of the international steel guitar community. In addition to his musical and internet activities, Bobby Lee was a professional software engineer specializing in consumer graphics applications.

References

External links

The Pedal Steel Pages

The Technical Academy Plays -b0b-
an album of computer-generated music programmed by Bobby Lee in 1991.
b0badel
a variant of Citadel BBS software created by Bobby Lee in the early 1990s.
BBS Documentary Interview

The Burnside Scramblers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Bobby Pedal steel guitarists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)