Learn to play “Honky Tonk Queen” by Whitey Morgan and the 78’s. The tablature has all the pedal steel parts exactly as they are heard in the studio recording, plus more. In addition to the tablature book, the download includes four rhythm tracks so you can hear all the steel parts and practice playing along in three different keys.
This is a classic country shuffle in the key of G at 112 bpm. Drew Howard did an incredible job playing the steel on the original recording from Whitey Morgan and the 78’s self-titled second studio album in 2010.
This song has a lot of great fills that take up 4 beats (give or take) between vocal lines. Many country songs call for these kinds of fills, so these are useful ones to commit to memory for improvisational recall.
There’s an excellent steel solo mid-song that has some classic Ralph Mooney influences. In fact, the Mooney influence is felt throughout most of the song.
The fills in the tablature are transcribed from the original studio recording. Since the steel parts are a big part of what makes this such a great song, I stayed true to those original recorded parts. However, I also added steel fills in sections where the studio version featured electric guitar or fiddle fills. For those, I took inspiration from live performances of the song, where the incredibly talented Brett Robinson improvised a variety of tasteful fills.
Purchase the complete digital download of the pdf tablature book and all audio tracks on this page. If you would like a physical book and CD, please contact me directly or purchase one from my eBay store.
Song Preview:
Included rhythm tracks:
- Honky Tonk Queen (Key of G) (With Steel)
- Honky Tonk Queen (Key of G) (Without Steel)
- Honky Tonk Queen (Key of A) (Without Steel)
- Honky Tonk Queen (Key of F) (Without Steel)
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s – Honky Tonk Queen on YouTube: