ABBA

Singer-songwriter and steel guitarist from Jayton, Texas, whose older brother, Tex, enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and left his amp and single neck behind for his junior of twelve years to tinker around with. Before long, young Weldon was good enough to jam with some friends, and they even made their own recordings on a contraption known as a rec-o-cut.

At the age of thirteen, he was wooed by Henley Diggs and the Double Mountain Boys to join them for live gigs and a weekly radio show which aired in Stanford, Texas. He expanded his music capital by learning to play lead and rhythm guitar, and continued to sharpen his picking skills with fellow musician, Ben Hall.

Ben eventually left Breckenridge for Lubbock, where he worked as a disk jockey. This gave Weldon an opportunity to visit him in “the big city” and meet artists such as Sonny Curtis, Johnny Duncan, and Buddy Holly. Buddy Holly would eventually record one of Weldon’s compositions, “It’s Not My Fault”. The Grand Ole Opry traveling players made frequent stops in Lubbock and Weldon got to sit in sometimes with the band.

In the early 1950s, he decided to test the waters in Nashville, Tennessee, where he recorded a demo with Lubbock native Hope Griffith. It was enough of a taste to motivate him and his family to move there in 1963. His first gig was with comedian Pap Wilson, with whom he played for several months, all the while looking for opportunities at the Opry.

In the meantime, Bill Anderson was looking for a steel guitar player and asked Weldon to join his band. He did some recording dates with Bill and Connie Smith, whom Bill had discovered. In 1965, Weldon quit Bill’s band and joined Connie’s. They went out on the road, but Weldon had been bitten by the recording bug, and soon returned to Nashville to pursue studio work.

On a routine visit to the Opry, he was surprised to find that Hal Rugg was the only steel guitarist left there, and needed someone else to help carry the load. Ott Devine hired him on the spot, and Weldon had landed the ultimate steady gig, a tenure at the Opry and Ryman Auditorium that lasted thirty-two years, from 1966 through 1998.

In the meantime, there were recordings to be made, and awards to be won. A couple of the albums on which he appeared in the 1970s include Dan Fogelberg’s Home Free and Dave Loggins’ Country Suite. He also won the NARAS Super Pickers Award six years running, from 1974 through 1979. In 1991, he was inducted into the Texas Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

His recording career continued to flourish on CDs such as Everybody’s Reaching out for Someone by The Cox Family, and Alan Jackson’s Greatest Hits Collection.

Other artists and groups with whom he has worked include Roy Acuff, Chet Atkins, Joan Baez, Bobby Bare, Jim Ed Brown, Glen Campbell, Rita Coolidge, Helen Cornelius, Janie Fricke, Tom T. Hall, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Elvis Presley, Jerry Reed, Hargus “Pig” Robbins, Marty Robbins, Johnny Rodriguez, Linda Ronstadt, Leon Russell, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, and Pam Tillis.

He has appeared on more than twenty-four gold records and many of country and western’s most memorable hits, such as “Funny Face” and “Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” by Donna Fargo, “Harper Valley P.T.A.” by Jeannie C. Riley, and “Right or Wrong” and “You Look So Good in Love” by George Strait.

In 1997, he was enshrined in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame at the annual International Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis, Missouri.

Since his retirement from the Grand Ole Opry in 1998, he has remained active at venues such as the Smoky Mountain Jamboree and steel guitar conventions throughout the U.S. He also continues to perform live with Opry artists in Nashville and beyond. When he’s not performing, chances are you can find him on the fairway, honing his golf game.

Hargus “Pig” Robbins recordings

Chunky People (Jim Vest/David Chamberlain)

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