Oh great story OM, have you ever uploaded anything you've played to Youtube?...but I don't believe all country bands need a steel guitar...some had some didn't.
YouTube was not around, (let alone the computer), when my Dad was alive. My Dad died young during a fire in my parent's home. (Now, you got me tearing up.) But, I did a few songs with a country band a few years back. I don't know if they are still up or not. I will check later. I still play as a fill-in for a few country bands in the area where I live when a fiddle or harmonica player is needed and the band's guy may be unavailable because of sickness or other issues. I play maybe 2-4 gigs a year, but keep my fiddle by my side and play something on it almost everyday. Doug Kershaw from Louisiana was always my favorite fiddle player along with Grandpa Jones and the Monroe family. I really like playing Bluegrass, but my Dad preferred Country music. I know there are/were really a lot of great Bluegrass bands that have been around for awhile, including Flatt &Scruggs, Osborne Brothers and John Hartford. But, the Monroe Family and Grandpa Jones always added some excitement to their shows.
Bluegrass has quite a history and I wish people would read about it's roots. When I hear Bluegrass playing, I want to grab my fiddle and join in. I remember maybe 10 years ago, my wife and I were doing some Christmas shopping at the local mall. There was a music store inside and so I wondered in for no apparent reason, but thought maybe I would buy a few new picks. (I was always losing or giving away my picks.) The salesman was showing a customer a violin that he was considering purchasing for his daughter as a gift, but neither of them knew how to play it. The salesman asked me if by chance I knew how to play a violin and I told him no, but I can play a fiddle. He asked if I would mind just playing through a few bars of anything. Well, after a minute or two of getting it tuned, it didn't take me long before I was playing "Orange Blossom Special", which is on every fiddle player's favorite list of songs. I told him that it had a really good sound and it did (for the price). He sold the violin and I got a set of different colored picks free. (True story.)
A fellow asked me one time what the difference was between a violin and a fiddle. I told him that a violin has strings and a fiddle has strangs. (Old joke.) Here is some real talent: