Robert randolph steel guitar6/2/2023 ![]() ![]() "It sits on four legs it has pedals and knee levers that you sit down on a chair. He recently discussed the steel guitar and its influence on Lickety Split with NPR's David Greene. Randolph's soul, gospel and R&B twist has made him just that: a rock star, complete with a handful of Grammy nominations. "Because you were, you know, the main rock star." "Growing up as a kid in the church, you always wanted to be the pedal-steel guy," he says. ![]() It's an instrument that Randolph says he always imagined himself playing. "Guys bought these cheap lap steels for $30, $40, $50 and started this rhythmic sound, while trying to mimic the human voice after the old deacons and elders would finish singing." "It's been going on since my grandmother was born," Randolph says. From there, it became an instrument that helped usher in a new gospel style. In the 1920s, African-American Pentecostal churches began using the steel guitar in place of an organ. That's where he first played the "sacred steel" guitar, a driving force behind the band's soulful new album, Lickety Split. As a kid, he grew up attending the House of God church in Orange, N.J. The 33-year-old frontman of Robert Randolph & The Family Band has strong roots in gospel music.
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