Sho-Bud, the Jackson family and the "Nashville Sound"

In the early 1950′s, Shot began installing string pullers with pedals on Fenders, Rickenbackers, and other steel guitars. In 1955 he and Buddy Emmons joined forces and started ”Sho-Bud”, the first manufacturer of pedal steel guitars. Buddy would go on to build his own line of steels, while Shot’s creations at Sho-Bud continued, with sons Harry and David at his side.

In the late 60′s, David developed and patented a new pedal-actuated pitch changing device that would become the most replicated string-pulling mechanism in the guitar industry. David operated Music City Manufacturing Company, which is where the majority of Sho-Bud steel guitars were built from 1970 to 1981. His son, William, worked at the factory throughout his teenage years, apprenticing not only under his father, uncle and grandfather, but also alongside Yasu Kamiya, Paul Franklin, AJ Nelson, Duane Marrs and other notable guitar builders and artists.

Harry and Shot occupied the upper floor of the Sho-Bud shop at 416 Broadway (now Robert’s Western World), Harry building custom steels while Shot worked repairs and new designs on acoustics and dobros.  David was around the corner on 2nd Avenue, running MCMC.

The Sho-Bud pedal steel helped shape the sound of country music from its infancy with its unique tone and pitch changing characteristics, helping to carve out that “Nashville Sound”. The instrument also added interesting musical textures to rock, gospel, pop and jazz, used by acts such as the Beach Boys, Yes, Poco, the Eagles, many Sacred Steel artists and others.

In addition to steel guitars, the company’s trademark ‘heart, spade, diamond and club’ icons could be found on, flat-top guitars, electric guitars , dobros (“Sho-bro’s”), banjos and amplifiers. Custom Sho-Bud guitars were built for music legends such as George Jones, Ernest Tubb, Roy Roy Clark, many Opry stars and others. The world’s most famous Martin N-20,  Trigger, came from the walls of Sho-Bud, outfitted with a Baldwin bridge and PrismaTone pickup, installed by Shot.

During this era, Sho-Bud produced the “Sho-Bud Showcase”, a radio program that aired on WSM, late-night Saturday after the Opry. Jack Boles interviewed local and touring steel players, incorporating songs off their records, promoting the artists and guitars.

On Saturday nights, Opry stars would make their way through the back door of the Ryman Auditorium, across the alley and into the back door of Sho-Bud to share stories from their weekly travels.This tradition continued until 1981, when Sho-Bud was sold to Baldwin.

In 1983, Shot Jackson suffered a major stroke, only two months after selling his guitar repair business. He never fully recovered his speech nor his ability to play an instrument. In 1986, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He suffered another stroke in 1990 and died in 1991.

Twenty+ years after taking a break from the guitar business, David and Harry returned with fresh ideas, joined by David’s daughter Dawn Jackson (singer/songwriter and founder of Sho-Bud Music), under the new name, Jackson Steel Guitar Company.

Flying a bit underground, they developed and patented some of the most simplistic yet innovative components in the industry. They released ten models of pedal steel guitars under the Jackson Steel name, including the Shot Jackson Commemorative, BlackJack, BlackJack Custom, Xtreme, Ultra Lite, Madison ’63, Standard, Pro IV, SlideKing Custom, Pro V, and Maverick HD.

In addition to the classic pedal steel design, they released the the SlideKing line of lap steels, resonators, slide guitars and bass guitars with foot pedals and/or on-board pitch changers. 

Together, the Jackson family has taken the original Sho-Bud pedal steel guitar to a higher level of excellence in sound, mechanics and beauty. They continue to design and produce instruments and string pulling components that enable musicians around the world to create fresh sounds and achieve unique bends. Building on innovative design ideas and nearly sixty years of experience the Jackson’s core focus is to render The Ultimate Sound, and to promote the loyal fans and artists that have supported their brands over the years.