Pete Wade

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]

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.^[4] 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.^[5] From 1954 to 1964, Wade toured with Price,^[6] played guitar with the Cherokee Cowboys,^[2] and is credited with having aided in establishing the "shuffling sound" of Price's music.^[7] He also played lead guitar in the Country Deputies with Faron Young in 1957 and 1958,^[4] 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".^[9]

Wade performed alongside Bobby Bare and Margie Bowes at the 30th annual summer concert series in Nashville in 1966.^[10][11] As a member of the Nashville Guitars, Wade performed as part of the 1967 Grammy Awards.^[12]

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".^[13] 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.^[14] He had also received a certificate in 1975 for his work as a session musician on number one charting songs that year.^[15]

Wade was known for keeping a notebook with copies of the musical compositions for the sections of the songs he played over his career.^[16]

In 1990, Wade opened Pete Wade's Music Hall and the Oak Tree Restaurant in Springfield, Tennessee.^[17] Musicians Loretta Lynn, Kitty Wells, Johnny Wright, Vic Willis, and Don Helms helped break ground for the construction of both businesses.^[17] In 1991, the performances were broadcast live on WDBL Saturday evenings.^[6]

The Reunion of Professional Entertainers selected Wade as the top musician at their CMA banquet in 2002.^[7] The Country Music Hall of Fame honored Wade in 2016 as part of their series on "Nashville Cats".^[18]

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][9]

• Pete Wade at AllMusic
• Pete Wade discography at Discogs
• Pete Wade at IMDb