Tom Brumley; steel guitarist helped mold 'Bakersfield sound'

LOS ANGELES - Tom Brumley, a legendary steel guitarist who contributed to the "Bakersfield sound" of Buck Owens and the Buckaroos in the 1960s before spending 10 years performing with Ricky Nelson, has died. He was 73.

Mr. Brumley died Tuesday at Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, eight days after suffering a heart attack, said his wife, Rolene.

During his years with Owens, from 1963 to 1969, Mr. Brumley traveled the world and played on landmark recordings such as "Together Again," "I've Got a Tiger By the Tail," and "Act Naturally."

Mr. Brumley, whose "pure" steel sound was known in the music industry as "the Brumley Touch," received an Academy of Country Music Award for No. 1 Steel Guitarist in 1966.

"I grew up watching the Buckaroos," said country music singer Marty Stuart, who recorded with Mr. Brumley and knew him for 20 years. "To me, they were country music's answer to the Beatles. Tom's steel guitar parts stand as monumental and foundational works that are considered textbook in the vocabulary of country music.

"He was also, in my opinion, one of the cornerstone guys that kind of bridged country music and rock 'n' roll, as well, with his Ricky Nelson works."

Mr. Brumley left Owens's band in 1969, after Nelson invited him to play steel guitar with his band for his "Live at the Troubadour" album.

"It was a godsend being asked to join Rick's band, and I still think 'Garden Party' was a highlight of my recording career," Mr. Brumley told the Edmonton Journal in 2005. "Initially, I only accepted the offer to do four shows with him at the Troubadour, but I enjoyed it so much I stayed with him for 10 years."

Mr. Brumley said that Nelson, who died in an airplane crash on New Year's Eve 1985, "was such a great guy and we had such a close relationship that I still stay in touch with his boys."

Mr. Brumley later spent three years recording and touring with Chris Hillman and the Desert Rose Band.

From 1989 to 2003, he performed with his sons, Todd and Tommy, in the Brumley Family Music Show in Branson, Mo.

Over the last decade, he performed or recorded with artists such as Chris Isaak, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Ray Price, Reba McEntire, Rod Stewart, and Martina McBride.

Born in Stella, Mo., Mr. Brumley was the third of six children. Their father was Albert E. Brumley, a gospel singer, composer, and music publisher whose songs included "I'll Fly Away" and "Turn Your Radio On."

At 14, Mr. Brumley began playing bass in a band with his brothers Al, Bill, and Bob (and later Jackson), who played at local music festivals.

In 1962, Mr. Brumley's brother Al, who had just signed with Capitol Records, asked him to play steel guitar on his second recording session.

It was a fateful occasion.

"Buck Owens was down at the studio and heard Tom play on my session," Al Brumley recalled. "He told Don Rich, one of his sidemen, that if he ever had a chance to hire Tom, he would."

After Mr. Brumley got a job working in construction for his wife's father, he got the career-making call from Owens.