Pedal steel guitar great Sonny Curtis died Oct. 11 after a battle with Alzheimer's.
The Somerset, Kentucky, resident was 83.
Curtis — not to be confused with the "I Fought The Law" songwriter of the same name — was best known as a longtime sideman to George Jones and Tammy Wynette.
He joined Jones' "Jones Boys" in 1964. That turned into a gig with Jones and Wynette when the couple married in 1969. Upon their divorce in 1975, Curtis stayed with Wynette's band until 1980.
During that 16-year run, Curtis backed up dozens of other country stars that traveled with Jones and Wynette on package shows, including Conway Twitty, Charley Pride, Minnie Pearl, Roy Clark and Jean Shepherd.
He can be heard on dozens of Jones' albums from the 1960s, and Curtis released an album of his own in 2002, called "Reflections."
Curtis is survived by his wife of 19 years, Barbara.
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