Ernie Hagar remembered...

[Herb Steiner]

California steel guitarist from years past, Ernie isn't mentioned very much here in Forumland, but he was a fixture here in CA for years. When I was first starting out as a full time pedal steel player in 1968, Ernie's albums, very Speedy-esque in nature, were influential.

I stumbled across this bio of Ernie and it rekindled many memories for me. It's quite an interesting read and should be required reading for many new steel players.

https://www.bigvjamboree.com/ERNIE-HAGA ... 20He%20was

[Brad Bechtel]

Thanks for sharing this, Herb! A fascinating read about a great musician.

[Richard Sinkler]

I met Ernie when he was in Santa Cruz playing for Larry Hosford. My brother and I would drive from the East Bay to Santa Cruz, or anywhere Larry was playing. During that time, he either worked or owned a music store in Santa Cruz that was Sho-Bud dealer. I was looking to step up from my ZB S10 to a D10. I spent like 2 to 3 hours with Ernie one day. Great guy , and a great player.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he have his guitar set up "backwards" like Sonny Curtis? The 3rd and 6th strings open tuned to A, and 5 and 10 tuned to C#? The A and B pedals would then lower those strings to G# and B. And his knee levers would swing in an arc rather than linear from left to right, or vice versa. I was so intrigued by his levers.

His stint with Commander Cody was awesome too. I am also amazed at how little he gets mentioned.

[Craig Stock]

Thanks for posting that Herb, I had only known his work on the Commander Cody album ‘Lost Planet Airmen’.

‘California Okie’ is one of my favorite songs of all time.

Thanks for this piece, it sure does fill in the missing pieces!

[Taylor Kropp]

Ernie has really become one of my favorite players. His tone is outstanding on the Commander Cody S/T record.

He was a Sho Bud guy right ? Wonder what amp he was playing through in the 70s

I recently uploaded the two Larry Hosford Shelter Records albums to YouTube and his playing is all over them especially the second album “Crosswords”. Incredible Country Rock gold!

https://youtu.be/FjeW8XPaaxk?si=-YTZYU8zsjhRkoRm

https://youtu.be/0HRbH1KAeXk?si=vRuNTnluOxZMJKXQ

[Dave Zirbel]

Here’s an album Ernie recorded in the mid 60’s on a Fender 1000. Speedy West was a big inspiration to Ernie.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8s ... vLLaPBB1Ob

And an old photo from a honkytonk somewhere near the California central coast

IMG_1967.jpeg