[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4567]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING LARRY PETREE

 Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the life 
of Larry Petree, a beloved member of the Bakersfield community and a 
pioneer in the creation of a uniquely Californian brand of country 
music.
  Larry Petree was born in Oklahoma in 1933 at the heart of the Great 
Depression. Like so many Americans from Dust Bowl communities in the 
1930s, at the age of 9, Larry's family moved out West and settled in 
Bakersfield, CA. He attended Bakersfield High School before going on to 
serve a tour of duty in the U.S. Army and then working for over three 
decades as a mechanic with the Kern County Fire Department, where he 
could overhaul truck engines with ease.
  But Larry's friends and fans knew him best working with a different 
instrument. From his seat behind his pedal steel guitar, he helped to 
produce the ``Bakersfield Sound,'' an entirely new, rock `n roll-
inspired genre of country music that introduced the sounds of 
California country to a national audience in the 1960s.
  For decades, Larry's masterful control of the twangy steel guitar 
brought life and energy to the honky-tonks and watering holes of the 
Central Valley. Playing alongside country artists Red Simpson, Tommy 
Hays, and the Western Swingsters, his music joined the likes of Merle 
Haggard and Buck Owens to help fuel a movement that proved California 
could be home to the country music industry. And he did it all, in 
large part, thanks to the support of his wife Betty, his beloved 
partner for over 60 years.
  California is grateful for his service to our country, his 
contributions to our culture, and for the timeless music he introduced 
to our communities.

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