Remembering the great Buddy Emmon. . 2015 Buddy Gene Emmons (January 27, 1937 – July 21, 2015) . Pedal steel guitarist, Buddy Emmons died of a heart attack in Nashville, Tennessee. He was widely regarded as the world’s foremost pedal steel guitarist of his day and was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1980. Affectionately known by the nickname “Big E”, Emmons’ primary genre was American country music, but he also performed jazz and Western swing. He recorded with Linda Ronstadt, Gra