Pete Wade obit

Pete Wade, Guitarist on Countless Nashville Hits, Dies at 89

His clean tone and less-is-more approach made him a studio stalwart and a pioneer of what came to be known as the Nashville Sound. 

He was not on the list.

Nashville “A Team” member, “Nashville Cats” honoree, and a man that played some of the most memorable parts on some of the most memorable country music songs in history has passed away.

Whether you recognize his name or not, you most certainly recognize the work. Pete Wade played on the #1 Ray Price hit “Crazy Arms.” He played on what many consider the greatest country song in history, “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by George Jones.

Though it’s Pete Wade’s session work that most people recognize, his career commenced performing in some of the most legendary live bands in country music history. Wade was a member of Ray Price’s Cherokee Cowboys from 1954 to 1958, and from 1960 to 1963. He was also part of Faron Young’s Country Deputies from 1957 to 1958. Throughout his early career, Pete Wade also performed live with Kitty Wells, Ferlin Husky, Faron Young, Roger Miller, Jean Shepard, and Elvis Presley.

Pete Wade would become a mainstay in country music studio sessions for some 60 years. Beginning his session work in the 1950s, he would go on to participate in the Johnny Cash American Recordings into the 2000s, and played on Dale Watson’s album Carryin’ On released in 2010. In between he would play on albums from Linda Ronstadt, Kitty Wells, Johnny Paycheck, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jerry Reed, Waylon Jennings, Kenny Rogers, Leon Russell, K.D. Lang, Joan Baez, The Statler Brothers, and many more.

Some more of the legendary songs Pete Wade played on include:

Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City”

Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue”

Sonny James “Young Love”

Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden”

Tanya Tucker’s “Delta Dawn”

Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A.”

Jeanne Pruett’s “Satin Sheets”

John Anderson’s “Swingin’”

…and many more.

Along with piano player Hargus “Pig Robbins” and steel guitar player Lloyd Green, Pete Wade was part of the nucleus of what became known as Nashville’s “A Team.” He was also a member of the musician supergroup called Area Code 615, which released a self-titled album in 1969. Though Wade was best known as a lead guitarist, and Ray Price once called him “my favorite electric lead guitar,” he was a multi-instrumentalist who could also play bass, steel guitar, and a host of other instruments.

One of the reasons Pete Wade was so revered by both his fellow musicians and many singers was due to how adept he was playing with a steel guitar player. Understanding the steel guitar himself, he was able to infer his parts to whatever the steel guitar was doing, and vice versa, resulting in a more harmonious collaboration.

Originally from Norfolk, Virginia, Pete Wade was born Herman Bland Wade on December 16th. He moved to Nashville when he was just 19 to be a guitar player, and immediately went to work for Ray Price. It was announced on Wednesday, August 28th that he’d passed away at the age of 88.

Pete Wade penned an autobiography with Scot England in 2021 called My Life, My Guitar, My God’s Plan.