Paul Franklin

One of the great pedal steel guitarists in country music history, Paul Franklin didn't have a major-label release to his name until he teamed up with Vince Gill on Bakersfield, a 2013 tribute to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. Bakersfield arrived over 40 years after Franklin's first appearance on a hit record. When he was a teenager, he played steel guitar on "It's So Nice to Be with You," a 1972 Top Ten soft rock hit from Gallery, who hailed from Franklin's hometown of Detroit. After relocating to Nashville, he became part of Barbara Mandrell's touring band, the first in a long...