Pete Drake
October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988
Pete Drake was an in-demand Nashville producer and pedal steel guitarist during the ’60s and ’70s. In 1950, Drake formed an Atlanta based band that included Joe South, Doug Kershaw, Jerry Reed and Roger Miller. He later moved to Nashville where he played on hits by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lynn Anderson, Tammy Wynette, Joan Baez, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. While in Nashville he developed a unique device to play his guitar through – it was called a “talk box” and it would reach the masses in later recordings by Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh. Drake died of lung cancer on July 29, 1988. Pete Drake passed away of natural causes on July 29, 1988.