Who plalyed lead on Ronstadt's version of Willin'?

I know it's probably covered in the basic b-bender history book but I don't know if if was Bernie Leadon or...? And I figured one of you would know. What I do know is that it's awfully sweet playing! Thanks, Will

According to Discogs:

Willin
Harmonica – Jimmy Fadden*
Electric Guitar – Bob Warford
Steel Guitar [Pedal] – Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Written-By – Lowell George
Backing Vocals, Drums, Acoustic Guitar – Andrew Gold
Backing Vocals – Herb Pedersen
Bass, Backing Vocals – Kenny Edwards

Bob Warford is the soloist on that song... one of the all time great bender solos...

Bob is pretty amazing. check out his playing with Robb Strandlund (http://web.me.com/macmanager/tunes/ag.mp3)

...and Sneaky Pete sure did play some beautiful pedal steel, too.

Tim

Bob Warford. He had the second ever b bender after Clarence. His white 54 tele was formerly owned by Clarence. Clarence played it while he owned it on the Byrds Sweetheart of The Rodeo (before it had a bender). Bob Warford is a member of the Clarence White forum and answers questions all the time.

Bob Warford. He had the second ever b bender after Clarence. His white 54 tele was formerly owned by Clarence. Clarence played it while he owned it on the Byrds Sweetheart of The Rodeo (before it had a bender). Bob Warford is a member of the Clarence White forum and answers questions all the time.

so is that the tele james burton gave to clarence white? tj

Thanks so much you guys, we all looked the same in the late 60's, early 70's and I googled and couldn't find a definite answer, I knew you guys would come through! That name keeps coming up, I'll check him out. Funny, I'm having a b-bender put in my JV strat by Bill Warford (B&W Benders), I've asked him if he's related to Bob and he isn't but it seems pretty coincidental to me. Thanks again!

and it is one of the best solos of all time in my book, bender or not and...Sneaky Pete's beautiful solo which dovetails perfectly with Bob's is also a moment for the history books, would'a loved to have been in that studio that day!

There is some great concert footage on You tube of Bob playing a concert in Australia with the Everly Brothers using that Telecaster with bender.
Great Bender licks.

There is some tab for the solo, and a couple of you tube videos of that break availble on the net...if I recall Bob even corrected one of the videos...which is why there are two...Bob also does it on the bender instructional record he did with Gene Parsons

That break is a good "must learn" ...

Dark End of the Street kicks some a$$ on that album too. One of my most favorites.

What a cool solo. Makes me want a bender.

Here's some other great clips of Bob Warford on Bender

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/mp3/02.%20Nightengale_RecordPlant.mp3

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/mp3/SilverThreads.mp3

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/mp3/TriedSoHard_Matthews_Warford.mp3

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/mp3/darkend_detroit13feb74.mp3

and check out the bender tracks Bob did with Robb Strandlund back in the 70's

http://www.robbstrandlund.com/bender.html

Bob played a similar break on a tune on Herb Pederson's solo record.

I like the "almost overdriven" tone he gets with his LPB.

...and Sneaky Pete sure did play some beautiful pedal steel, too.

Tim

Agreed.

Bob played a similar break on a tune on Herb Pederson's solo record.

I like the "almost overdriven" tone he gets with his LPB.

Me too. The really difficult part (and why I admire Bob so much) is getting that sound live and maintaining it without it getting too blurry or too brittle...

it is an art in itself.

I did not know that Robb and Bob played together. Cool.

Tim, I agree. Sneaky Pete was about the best there was IMO. The musicianship on those early Rondstadt records was just amazing. I used to listen to them all, and just sit there with my mouth open, and the stereo cranked all the way up. Over and over.

Late at night I'd switch to headphones, and listen to them some more. I could still do that to this day...just to hear those great players.

MI1UBiWsm14

Here's EmmyLou, James Burton and Bob Warford

http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/EmmyLou_Bob_JamesB_hotband.jpg



Here's some old pix that Bob was nice enough to let us take at past Clarence White forum jams
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/bobtele2.jpg
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/bob_and_drake.jpg
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/BobWarford.jpg
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/BobWarford1.jpg
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/BobWarford2.jpg
http://www.clarencewhiteforum.com/images/BobWarford3.jpg

To answer an earlier question it's NOT the Tele James Burton sold to Clarence. The white one (above) supposedly came from Buck Owens to Clarence, who then used it on all the Byrds session work he did. Bob traded Clarence a Roy Noble acoustic for it.

It's one of the *weirdest* Teles on the planet. I've played it at jams and some gigs I've done with Bob, and for most players it would be simply unplayable. It has a Strat neck with a carved-down headstock and unique-alloy stainless steel frets. They've been on there since Bob got it...and since Clarence got it. Never been refretted, they show no sign of wear, and they are tiny and low - you have to pick REALLY light or it'll buzz like a bucket 'o bees. Those frets, the LPB-1 plugged into the amp (a Vibrolux Reverb hot-rodded by Red Rhodes) and Bob's fingerpicks (he plays hybrid, but with at least one...might be two, I don't recall) give him that snarling, gritty, biting tone that is his trademark. He laughs about "being in a rut" - he's used the same equipment since the 70's...he and I used the same Gibson teardrop picks and had bought handfuls of them - which was good, because they were discontinued for years! He has (as I recall) one of Brian's blender units as a backup to replace a Tube Screamer he bought just in case his LPB-1 died (which is held together with rubber bands).

The bender, engineered by Bob and his dad, uses a similar changer-type mechanism to the one Gene built for Clarence, but it's much simpler and more refined. It also has a VERY short throw - under a half-inch. Bob is a tremendous example of making the tools do what you want rather than making the tools specific to a certain style - he plays those slow, legato bends and you'd swear it's a long-throw.

Jim,
I guess I need to dig out my ancient LPB-1, and repair it!

Great info! Interesting history....thanks Jim!

I used an LPB-1 back in the 70's to get more volume and grit from my old Bandmaster. It really kicked it up a notch. I think I still have it in a box somewhere with broken battery leads and screws missing.....I have one of the new ones on my pedal board. I think it's supposed to be pretty much the same design as the old ones. Adds a nice edge, I think. Costs about $40.