Pete Wade Explained

Pete Wade
Birth Name:Herman Bland Wade
Birth Date:December 16, 1934
Birth Place:Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
Death Place:Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S.

Herman Bland "Pete" Wade (December 16, 1934 – August 27, 2024) was an American guitarist. Wade worked as a session musician in Nashville, playing on numerous hits including "Crazy Arms" by Ray Price, "He Stopped Loving Her Today" by George Jones, and "Fist City" by Loretta Lynn.[1] [2] He was considered to be part of the Nashville A-Team.[3]

Life and career

Herman Bland "Pete" Wade was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 16, 1934.[2] [1] When he was 19, he moved to Nashville to be a guitar player. During his trip to Nashville, he only had $3, his suitcase, two ham sandwiches (he forgot the sandwiches on a bus) and telephone numbers for Don Helms and Jerry Rivers. Helms helped Wade join the Cherokee Cowboys, the band of Ray Price.[4] From 1954 to 1964, Wade toured with Price,[5] played guitar with the Cherokee Cowboys,[2] and is credited with having aided in establishing the "shuffling sound" of Price's music.[6] He also played lead guitar in the Country Deputies with Faron Young in 1957 and 1958,[7] replacing Jimmy and Johnny Fautheree.[8] By the late 1960s, Wade was a full-time session musician. His career included playing on songs such as "Crazy Arms", "He Stopped Loving Her Today", "Mountain of Love", "Fist City", "Harper Valley P.T.A." and "Delta Dawn".

Wade performed alongside Bobby Bare and Margie Bowes at the 30th annual summer concert series in Nashville in 1966.[9] [10] As a member of the Nashville Guitars, Wade performed as part of the 1967 Grammy Awards.[11]

In 1976, the Nashville chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences included Wade among the 22 artists named that year as part of the "Superpicker Band '76".[12] Wade was part of the group of session artists in Nashville known as the Nashville A-Team for the thousands of records on which their music is featured.[13] He had also received a certificate in 1975 for his work as a session musician on number one charting songs that year.[14]

Wade was known for keeping a notebook with copies of the musical compositions for the sections of the songs he played over his career.[15]

In 1990, Wade opened Pete Wade's Music Hall and the Oak Tree Restaurant in Springfield, Tennessee.[16] Musicians Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Johnny Wright, Vic Willis, and Don Helms helped break ground for the construction of both businesses.[16] In 1991, the performances were broadcast live on WDBL Saturday evenings.[5]

The Reunion of Professional Entertainers selected Wade as the top musician at their CMA banquet in 2002.[6] The Country Music Hall of Fame honored Wade in 2016 as part of their series on "Nashville Cats".

Wade died of complications from hip surgery at his daughter's home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, on August 27, 2024, at the age of 89.[1] [2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Friskics-Warren . Bill . September 1, 2024 . Pete Wade, Guitarist on Countless Nashville Hits, Dies at 89 . . September 3, 2024 . live . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20240901153709/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/01/arts/music/pete-wade-dies.html . September 1, 2024 .
  2. News: Oermann . Robert K . August 30, 2024 . Nashville Guitar Great Pete Wade Passes . . September 3, 2024 . August 30, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240830225951/https://musicrow.com/2024/08/nashville-guitar-great-pete-wade-passes/ . live .
  3. Web site: September 2, 2024 . Pete Wade, guitarist on countless Nashville hits, dies at 89 . September 9, 2024 . Texarkana Gazette . en.
  4. Web site: August 29, 2024 . A-Team Guitarist Pete Wade Dead at 89 . Cindy . Watts . . September 8, 2024.
  5. News: Goldsmith . Thomas . May 10, 1991 . New club shows session veteran wears many hats . . . 87 . 130 . D9 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033755/https://www.newspapers.com/image/115524624/ . live .
  6. News: Havighurst . Craig . November 8, 2002 . Legends of Country honored at banquet . . . 98 . 312 . 6B . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033755/https://www.newspapers.com/image/111928666/ . live .
  7. News: Coroneos . Trigger . August 28, 2024 . Country Guitar Legend Pete Wade Has Passed Away . Saving Country Music . September 3, 2024 . August 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240829031637/https://savingcountrymusic.com/country-guitar-legend-pete-wade-has-passed-away/ . live .
  8. Book: Diekman, Diane . 2012 . Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story . . Urbana, IL . 9780252093807 . 785781188. 55.
  9. News: Farthing . Sara . August 22, 1966 . Bare Brings Sunshine To Overcast Concert . . . 61 . 113 . 1 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033735/https://www.newspapers.com/image/111851698/ . live .
  10. News: August 28, 1966 . Concert Due Glittering End . . . 61 . 119 . 1A, 6A . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033735/https://www.newspapers.com/image/111855404/ . live .
  11. News: March 2, 1967 . Nashville To Share In Grammy Awards . . . 61 . 305 . 47 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033857/https://www.newspapers.com/image/113322606/ . live .
  12. News: Harvey . Lynn . March 29, 1976 . Hargus Robbins Top 'Superpicker' . . . 70 . 357 . 1, 10 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033756/https://www.newspapers.com/image/112435957/ . live .
  13. News: Cooper . Peter . August 13, 2006 . Session players get a little bit of limelight . . . 102 . 225 . D5, D6, D7 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033735/https://www.newspapers.com/image/277513310/ . live .
  14. News: Harvey . Lynn . February 17, 1975 . Hargus Robbins Named 'Musician of the Year' . . . 69 . 316 . 1, 7 . September 3, 2024 . limited . September 6, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240906033858/https://www.newspapers.com/image/108986675/ . live .
  15. Book: Isenhour, Jack . 2011 . He Stopped Loving Her Today: George Jones, Billy Sherrill, and the Pretty-Much Totally True Story of the Making of the Greatest Country Record of All Time . . Jackson . 9781617031021 . 744549327 . 120.
  16. News: Oermann . Robert K. . August 4, 1990 . Nashville Notes . . . 86 . 187 . D1 . September 3, 2024 . limited.

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