Harold Lee Chalker (October 22, 1931 – April 30, 1998), known professionally as Curly Chalker, was an American pedal steel guitarist. Born in Enterprise, Alabama, Chalker began playing the lap

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 ...

while still in his teens and made his professional debut in the nightclubs of Cincinnati, Ohio.

As a sideman

In the 1950s, Chalker was touring Texas with

Lefty Frizzell William Orville "Lefty" Frizzell (March 31, 1928 – July 19, 1975) was an American country and honky-tonk singer-songwriter. Frizell is known as one of the most influential country music vocal stylists of all time. He has been cited as in ...

, replacing C.B. White, and played on the Frizzell cuts, "Always Late (With Your Kisses)" and "Mom and Dad's Waltz" (both in 1951). Chalker played

dobro Dobro () is an American brand of resonator guitars owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally a gui ...

on these recordings. Chalker then joined Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys, and was featured on the 1952 cuts, "Cryin' in the Deep Blue Sea" and "The Wild Side of Life". After two years in the US armed forces, Chalker joined the Springfield, Missouri-based ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...

'' ABC Radio and TV series for several years, backing

Red Foley Clyde Julian "Red" Foley (June 17, 1910 – September 19, 1968) was an American musician who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II. For more than two decades, Foley was one of the biggest stars of the gen ...

and

Porter Wagoner Porter Wayne Wagoner (August 12, 1927 – October 28, 2007) was an American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. In 1967, he introduced singer Dolly Parton on his television show, ''The Por ...

. During this time Chalker switched from the lap steel to the pedal steel guitar. In 1959, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he played behind fiddler Wade Ray, and later joined the band of the long-time Golden Nugget fixture Hank Penny. Roy Clark (of ''Hee Haw'' fame) also played with Penny and the two became friends. Chalker relocated to Nashville in 1965, and became successful as a session musician.

Solo work

In 1966, he made an instrumental album for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

entitled ''Big Hits on Big Steel''. This record was produced by fellow steel guitarist

Pete Drake Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988) was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anders ...

. The follow-up release was ''More Ways to Play'' released in 1975. In 1976 he released an album consisting exclusively of

Gordon Lightfoot Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr. (November 17, 1938 – May 1, 2023) was a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved worldwide success and helped define the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s. Widely considered one of Canada's greatest songwriters, ...

covers, entitled ''Nashville Sundown''. Chalker also appeared with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, recording the album, ''Counterpoint'' which was shelved for years after its completion.

Collaborations

A prolific studio musician and sideman, Chalker performed on records and on stage with artists such as

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

the Gap Band The Gap Band was an American Contemporary R&B, R&B and funk band that rose to fame during the 1970s and 1980s. The band consisted of three brothers: Charlie Wilson (musician), Charlie, Ronnie, and Robert Wilson, along with other members; it wa ...

, Ray Price,

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

, and

Bill Haley and the Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

. One of his most notable collaborations was ''S'Wonderful (Four Giants of Swing)'' (1976), on which he collaborated with jazz violinist

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie Lan ...

, guitarist Eldon Shamblin and mandolinist Jethro Burns. On this album, the quartet played classic swing tunes by composers such as

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned jazz, popular music, popular and classical music. Among his best-known works are the songs "Swan ...

and

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

. Chalker also appeared on work that was outside the country and Western and swing genres, including appearances on

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

's 1969 hit "The Boxer" and

Marie Osmond Olive Marie Osmond (born October 13, 1959) is an American singer, actress, television personality, author, and businesswoman. She is known for her girl next door, girl-next-door image and her decades-long career in many different areas. Her musi ...

's "

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". Proving that he had a mind for the unconventional, Chalker also appeared on Chinga Chavin's 1976 album, ''Country Porn''. Chalker was also a member of the house band of the television show ''

Hee Haw ''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired from 1969 to 1993, and on TNN from 1996 to 1997. Reruns of the series were broadcast on ...

'' for 18 years, with his friend and former bandmate,

Roy Clark Roy Linwood Clark (April 15, 1933 – November 15, 2018) was an American singer, musician, and television presenter. He is best known for having hosted '' Hee Haw'', a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969 to 1997. Clark wa ...

. In 1973, to meet the demands for low-maintenance and lighter amplifiers,

Hartley Peavey Hartley Peavey (born December 30, 1941) is an American entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation, a musical equipment innovation and production company. A 1964 graduate of Mississippi State University, Peavey has b ...

sought Chalker's guidance, along with that of

Buddy Emmons Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) was an American musician who is widely regarded as the world's foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day. He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1981. Affectionately known ...

and other steel guitarists in developing the Session 400 amplifier, which went into production in 1974. In 1985 he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

Death and legacy

Chalker died on April 30, 1998, from a cancer-related brain tumor. In 2009, he was honored by the Wiregrass Festival of Murals in

Dothan, Alabama Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Alabama, Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale County, Alabama, Dale and Henry County, Alabama, Henry counties. It had a population ...

. His likeness is featured next to 16 other country music performers with ties to the

Wiregrass Region The Wiregrass region, also known as the Wiregrass plains or Wiregrass country, is an area of the Southern United States encompassing parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The region is named for the native ' ...

on a mural in downtown Dothan. He is survived by his son Lee Jarane Chalker

Personality

While Chalker earned a reputation both as an innovator and performer, he was also known for his quick temper and strong personality. Sometimes after onstage mistakes, he had a tendency to slam down his fretting bar and yell profanities, a habit that led bandleader Hank Thompson to remark:

Discography

* ''Big Hits on Big Steel'' ( Columbia, 1966) * ''More Ways to Play'' (Mid-Land, 1975) * ''Nashville Sundown'' ( GNP Crescendo, 1977 * ''S'Wonderful: Four Giants of Swing'' (

Flying Fish The Exocoetidae are a family (biology), family of Saltwater fish, marine Actinopterygii, ray-finned fish in the order (biology), order Beloniformes, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven genus, ge ...

, 1977) with

, Eldon Shamblin, and Jethro Burns

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalker, Curly 1931 births 1998 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists Guitarists from Alabama Pedal steel guitarists People from Enterprise, Alabama Military personnel from Alabama 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians es:Curly Chalker he:זוט סימס