Lucky Oceans was born in Philadelphia in 1951 to a music-loving family who exposed him to jazz, classical, folk and experimental music. In 1970, he co-founded the Western Swing band he named ‘Asleep at the Wheel’ and began playing the pedal steel guitar. With Asleep at the Wheel, he recorded 7 albums for major record labels and toured the U.S.A. and Europe for an average of 250 dates a year, winning the Grammy Award for ‘best country instrumental’ in 1978.

In 1979, Lucky married Christine Haddow, an Australian who had been living in the US, and moved to her hometown of Perth, W. Australia where they raised a daughter and two sons. He toured and recorded with Paul Kelly, with Joe Camilleri and the Black Sorrows, starting to use the pedal steel guitar in new ways. He also began composing and writing music for film and television. In 1993, he won a second Grammy Award for a recording he made with Asleep at the Wheel, Chet Atkins and others. In 1995, he began presenting the iconic Radio National world music program ‘The Planet’ and presented the accompanying TV series of the same name.

Lucky released his debut solo album, ‘Lucky Steels the Wheel’ in 1982 and in late 2005 released his second solo record – ‘Secret Steel’ which the West Australian called ‘a tour de force of versatility and virtuosity.’

Currently Lucky leads his own group, the Zydecats, and has received the accolade of 'possibly the most influential and imitated steel guitarist of his generation.' Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.