Ralph Mooney

Along with Speedy West, Buddy Emmons, and Pete Drake, Ralph Mooney was one of the true steel guitar innovators in country music. He was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, and first became interested in the instrument after hearing another steel pioneer, Leon McAuliffe. As a teenager in the '40s, Mooney moved to California, where he gradually developed his style by exhaustive playing with numerous bands, in both live and studio situations. In the '50s and '60s, Mooney was hired as a staff musician for Capitol Records, where he played on the early recordings of Buck Owens and is heard pr...