NE Sunday morning in 1966, at a little church in the south of Florida (Palmdale), Dannie Jones saw his first pedal steel guitar. While he never could remember the name of the group or the player, the sound of those bending notes and chimes left a lasting impression that literally set the course of Dannie's future. He knew right then, if he could get his hands on one of those guitars, he could play it.

When he was in the ninth grade, Dannie's family moved north to Auburndale in central Florida. It was while attending a sheet metal class in nearby Bartow that Dannie had occasion to go home with classmate, Freddy Johnson, for lunch. There at Freddy's house, in a back room under an old dusty army blanket, was a home built steel guitar that Freddy's daddy used to play. The "changers" (that's the parts that hook the pedals to the string bending mechanism) were made out of wire coat hangers and the name "Vern Page" was painted on the front in what looked like red lipstick. The guitar was hooked up to an old red(?) Fender amp, through a cheap, single-spring, outboard reverb unit. Dannie thought he was in heaven and over the next few weeks nearly drove Freddy's mother crazy trying to learn "Teach Your Children" (Crosby, Stills & Nash) on that old guitar.

It didn't take long for Freddy's mother to suggest that Dannie should buy the guitar and amp and take it home. Siezing this opportunity, Dannie persuaded (actually he used the term "pestered") Lewis Shumate (a friend and musician he knew at church) to front him the $400.00 to buy the rig. Freddy's mama was ecstatic to be rid of that old guitar..... and Dannie.

Local steel guitar legend, Bud Dockery, helped Dannie set-up his new guitar and get most of it working right. Bud operated heavy machinery and once told Dannie that, "if a man can operate a drag line, he can play a steel guitar". Bud could do both and taught Dannie a lot about the finer points of the instrument.

Dannie's high school years were spent playing in the church band where he eventually joined the "Southland Trio", a southern gospel group who had recently had national success with the single, "Just As The Sun Went Down". The group was made up of Lewis Shumate (acoustic guitar), Vernon Smith (bass), Levon Brown (electric guitar), and had Mickey Merritt playing piano. The group toured the southeast U.S. playing churches and old-time gospel sings. When they cut their next album ("Life's Worth Living Again"), Dannie got to do his first recording session.

Upon graduating from high school, Dannie accompanied Len Walls to Pensacola, Florida where they dismantled a defunct recording studio and brought it back to Auburndale and set it up. This was the beginnings of "Central Sound Studio", which would soon become a Central Florida institution in the regional country and gospel music scene. Danny (and most of the local musicians of the 70's) recieved invaluable studio experience over the next few years, working on the seemingly endless country and gospel sessions at Central Sound.

Dannie with John Huey (Conway Twitty's steel guitarist) - Wichita Falls, TX 1979

It was at Central Sound that Dannie met cousins, Carl and Jesse Chambers, and started to play locally in their "Dizzy Rambler Band", often backing up Judy Bailey, a local singing sensation from Lacoochie, FL. In 1978, Carl told Dannie that he had been approached by the Bellamy Brothers who were out of Darby, Florida (outside of Dade City) about putting together a touring band that might also have the opportunity to record. The Bellamy's had had a recent #1 pop hit with "Let Your Love Flow" and were looking to put together their own band as opposed to the band the record label had provided for them when that song had become a hit. It was what Dannie had always dreamed of and he spent the next 13 years on-the-road and/or recording with the Brothers.

In 1991, Dannie moved to Canada and spent the next four years or so doing studio work in and around Winnepeg. In 1991 and 1992 he was voted "Special Instrumentalist of the Year" by one of the major Canadian country music associations.

In 1995, Dannie began touring and recording with Martin Del Ray (who had several hits in the 80's) and in 1998 got the call to record steel and slide guitars on the album "Orange Avenue", by the rock band, Seven Mary Three. One of the tunes he played on was the #7 rock hit by that group, "Over My Shoulder". Not a bad feat for an ol' country boy.

As the new millenium approached, Dannie was once again working off and on with the Bellamy Brothers in the studio and on the road.

Dannie was one of those rare, natural talents and had a way with the steel guitar that few could surpass. He was a master of the expression pedal and could pull and bend the strings of the listener's heart as easily as the strings on the guitar.

Dannie Joe Jones passed away in his sleep on Monday, March 29th, 2003, in Barefoot Bay, Florida, of sleep apnea. He will be long missed for his extrordinary talent as well as his down to earth personality.