CCMA- Canadian Country Music Association have decided there is not enough interest in the STEEL GUITAR and will no longer have it as a category in their nominations and voting going forward. Ed Ringwald (Pee Wee Charles) has won in this category 4x since 1991 - His talent can be heard not only in so many iconic Lightfoot tunes but also Anne Murray, George Canyon Jim Witter, Ian Tyson and with his current ensemble- Western Swing Authority.
This is so, so wrong of the CCMA to not include such an integral instrument in country music - Ed's playing on many, many Lightfoot tunes that are now legendary helped make them a part of our national psyche and renowned around the world.
Those songs would not have the soul and emotion without Ed's innovative touch and genius at adding a major layer to the Lightfoot sound.
So many recordings by other artists that have pedal steel in the mix would not be the songs they are without the artistry of the pedal steel musician. At the annual Lightfoot tribute shows in TOronto there is another renowned steel player, Burke Carroll adding that layer of soul to the Lightfoot tunes.
Ed says, : """ .I've always said.....The Steel Guitar is the "sound of rock bottom loneliness, heart stabbing isolation....it' the soundtrack of ecstatic self pity....the musical glue that holds together the emotion in a song" ......it will always be and never change."""
CALL OR E-MAIL your displeasure with this very wrong decision: DON GREEN @ Don Green, President-CCMA
Phone: 416-947-1331 x215
Email:
dgreen@ccma.org