Don Helms
Musician
Hank Williams: Hank Williams Revealed: The Unreleased Recordings (Review)...Mother's Best show built around that hit theme. This disc's show has six more tracks including "Twin Guitar Polka", credited to Don Helms (steel guitar), Sammy Pruett (guitar), and the Drifting Cowboys; and "Eighth of January", which... In this article: Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys, Orange Blossom Special, Lovesick Blues, I Saw the Light, Don Helms, and Fire on the Mountain |
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USATODAY.com | August 12, 2008
Hank Williams band member Don Helms dies at 81 - USATODAY.com
...Fame and Museum said in announcing a program honoring Helms in 2006. Helms had played with Williams in local Alabama venues in the early 1940s, the museum's profile said. His career was interrupted by Army service, and he eventually rejoined...
In this article: Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys, Lefty Frizzell, Patsy Cline, All rights reserved, Cold, Cold Heart, Long Black Veil, and Your Cheatin' Heart
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Reuters | August 14, 2008
Steel guitarist Don Helms dies in Nashville
...Jr. and grandson Hank Williams III. Helms played Williams' classic tunes on recordings by Patsy Cline ("Walkin' After Midnight"), Lefty Frizzell ("Long Black Veil") and Stonewall Jackson ("Waterloo"). Reporting by Pat Harris; Editing by...
In this article: Hank Williams, Nashville, Marty Stuart, Long Black Veil, Walkin' After Midnight, Stonewall Jackson, and Lefty Frizzell
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Wikipedia | September 01, 2009
Jerry Rivers
...Hank Williams. Rivers was, with steel guitarist Don Helms, bassist Hillous Butram and guitarist Bob McNett part of a quartet whose work with Williams has given them a special place in the affections of country music fans. That they largely...
In this article: Hank Williams, Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys, Nashville, Cold, Cold Heart, Jambalaya, Why Don't You Love Me, and Ferlin Husky
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InRich News | August 13, 2008
Don Helms, 81, guitarist for Hank Williams, dies - News - inRich.com
...chose to remain closer to home when Williams headed to Nashville. But by the time Williams joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1949, he'd brought Helms back into the Drifting Cowboys. Following Williams' premature death, Helms joined Ray Price's...
In this article: Hank Williams, Vince Gill, Drifting Cowboys, Fred Rose, Nashville, Hank Williams Jr., Rodney Crowell, and Bon Jovi
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Drifting Cowboys
...day version of the group, the backing band for William's daughter Jett Williams, was led by original Drifting Cowboys steel guitarist Don Helms; another version of the group known as "Hank's Drifters" features original Drifting Cowboys...
In this article: Drifting Cowboys, Herbert "Lum" York, Pee Wee Moultrie, Hank Williams, Jett Williams, Rockabilly, Ray Price, and Joe Pennington
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www.washingtonpost.com | August 17, 2008
Celebrated Steel Guitarist Don Helms, 81
...player. He even accompanied rock performers Bon Jovi and Kid Rock. At the time of his death, Mr. Helms was working with singer Vince Gill on an album of Hank Williams songs. He also performed once a month at Robert's Western World, a...
In this article: Hank Williams, Drifting Cowboys, Nashville, Trademark, World War II, WSFA, Cold, Cold Heart, Morphine, and Jambalaya
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Don Helms
...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...
In this article: Hank Williams, Long Black Veil, Jett Williams, Surgery, Hymns by Johnny Cash, Walking After Midnight, The Fabulous Johnny Cash, and Stonewall Jackson
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Description from Wikipedia:
Don Helms (February 27, 1927 - August 11, 2008) was a steel guitarist 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.”
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.
Helms died on August 11, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee from complications of heart surgery and diabetes. He was the last surviving member of Hank Williams' Drifting Cowboys group.
- Name At Birth:
- Donald Hugh Helms
- Death Date:
- August 11, 2008
- Occupation:
- Musician
- Years Active:
- 1942-2008
- Associated With:
- Drifting Cowboys
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