It was with great sadness that I learned, over the weekend, that my Ronny Bennett had passed away, following a period of ill-health.
I first met Ronny about 25 years ago while trying to find a supplier of lap steel guitars. I knew nothing of his illustrious and interesting past but, over the following years, I came to know him as a gentle, humble man who had been a quiet star of country music from the 1960s-1980s. He played pedal steel guitar in The Hillsiders, the first British country act to perform at the Grand Ol’ Opry in Nashville, appeared regularly on British TV – Pebble Mill, George Hamilton IV’s weekly TV show, and worked in a studio where Elvis was recording in the next room. Apparently Elvis asked to meet the band but, by the time Ronny’s band had finished, Elvis had left the building!
Not only was he a great player, he turned his engineering mind to good use making his own instruments. I watched him working on these over the years, incredibly complex mechanisms including a keyless tuning system, each part manufactured by Ronny in his workshop on the Wirral. He supplied me with hundreds of lap steel guitars over the years and it was always a joy to visit him to pick up stock.
A little over 20 years ago, I had a phone call from a lady with a lovely Highland brogue. She asked me if I could give her Ronny’s number, something I didn’t usually give out. Sheena and Ronny’s paths had crossed in the mid-1970s, while both were touring Scotland with their respective acts, and they became close, but their lives followed different paths until they reconnected all those years later.
Ron thanked me for passing on his number and announced that he and Sheena were going to get married, which they did in 2008. A move to a new house, and workshop, just outside Inverness, followed a little while later, and my visits became fewer but more special. I will never forget their hospitality and generosity, putting me up on my annual trips to the Highlands of Scotland, and sharing many stories of their lives in music.
Every morning, Ron would don his workshop coat and disappear to his shed for the day – making, repairing, fixing and tweaking instruments sent to him from all over the world, not just his own. He was a giant in his field.
I’ll miss Ronny – the chats and his quiet wisdom – but I know that the last decades of his life were happy ones. Mark Pugh.
RIP Ronny Bennett (7th June 1942 – 21st August 2026)
On behalf of Music Instrument News, we send our sincere condolences to Ronny’s friends and family and thank Mark Pugh of Stones Music for sharing this tribute with us.