Jimmy Day

Jimmy Day (born James Clayton Day; 1934–1999) was an American steel guitarist active in the 1950s and 1960s whose career in country music blossomed about the time the pedal steel guitar was invented after pedals were added to the lap steel guitar. He was a pioneer on pedal steel in the genres of Western swing and Honky tonk and his modifications of the instrument's design have become a standard on the modern pedal steel. Day's first job after high school was performing on the Louisiana Hayride as a sideman accompanying developing country artists including Hank Williams, Webb Pierce, Willie Nelson, Jim Reeves, Ray Price and Elvis Presley. He recorded and toured with all these artists and was featured on hit records by of many of them, including Ray Price's, "Crazy Arms" and "Heartaches by the Number". He was a member of Elvis Presley's band for about a year, but, along with fellow bandmate Floyd Cramer, resigned after Presley requested them to re-locate to Hollywood; instead, Day moved to Nashville to work as a session player and Grand Ole Opry musician. He was a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame (1994) and the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1999). Day died of cancer in 1999.