Bobby Koefer, a revered steel-guitar player and early proponent of Fender musical instruments, died March 16 in Bend, Oregon, following a brief illness. He was 95.

A self-taught musician, Koefer invented an unorthodox playing style with an unusual grip on the bar in his left hand and utilizing only a thumb pick on his right hand. His career began in Dallas in the mid 1940s and he worked with Bob Wills at MGM Records and also played Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry with Pee Wee King.

Koefer’s association with Fender instruments began early and included a close friendship with bandmate Bill Carson, who had by then played a key role in developing the Stratocaster.

“I started using Fender amps when they first started making them,” Koefer recalled in Carson’s 1998 biography. “I used to have one that was in a blond, curly maple cabinet and a red, fuzzy front with a couple of chromium-plated strips down the middle. I was one of the first players in Dallas to get one of those.”

In 1954, Koefer was given a Fender steel by salesman Don Randall, and he met Carson the following year, when the Billy Gray Band was being organized.

“We made an instrumental album for Decca,” he remembered in ’98, “and a lot of people are still making some good comments about it, even though it was recorded a long time ago.”
Koefer later moved to Alaska and worked in construction for 25 years. He returned to music when he moved to Oregon in ’89, playing Western swing with Eldon Shamblin, Tommy Allsup, Johnny Gimble, and Carson, among others. Other notable venues and events on his resumé were the Lincoln Center in New York and the 2009 presidential inauguration.

This article originally appeared in VG’s July 2024 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.