Wait A Minute
An instant classic for The Seldom Scene and widely recorded by artists across many genres, “Wait A Minute” was written in 1972 by Herb Pedersen, who at just 20 years old was already a notable songwriter and contributor to the American music scene. He would go on to earn significant renown through his solo artistry and his work in bands that include Country Gazette, Loafer’s Glory, The Dillard’s, The Laurel Canyon Ramblers, The Desert Rose Band, Hillman and Pedersen, and J2B2 (John Jorgenson Bluegrass Band), with which he’s still touring today.
For decades now, Pedersen has been sought after as a session musician (guitar, Scruggs-style banjo), arranger and producer, and harmony vocalist. His list of credits expands pages and includes work in television (“Hill Street Blues,” “Rockford Files”) and accompaniment to fellow ground-breaking artists like Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Johnny Rivers, Vassar Clements, Earl Scruggs, Dave Grisman, Michael Martin Murphey, and Pedersen’s good friend and frequent collaborator, Chris Hillman (The Byrds, Desert Rose Band).
“I love Herb as a brother having known him for 60+ years,” said Hillman, who performed with Pedersen in multiple configurations throughout the years, most recently as the duo Hillman & Pedersen. “I’ve worked with some amazing singers and musicians throughout my career, but none come close to Herb’s beautiful vocal harmonies. His love of bluegrass has shown through in his music as a great five-string banjo player and a gifted rhythm guitarist. He’s a pure joy to work with and has a great sense of humor. I always loved singing ‘Wait a Minute’ live with Herb over the years. We captured the true essence of the song in our rendition, and we recorded a live version on our Rounder album, At Edwards Barn.”
From Tough Discussion to Tender Song
Being in high demand, well, demands steady time on the road. That road time, together with the resulting conversations surrounding its effects on the home life, inspired this, one of Pedersen’s most well-received songs. “My wife at the time was complaining to me about how much road work I was doing,” recalled Pedersen. “She said, ‘Wait a minute. Are you going back out on the road again?’ and we went back and forth.”
With that phrase, ‘Wait a minute,’ fixed in his mind, Pedersen sat down to contemplate the commonality of his situation. “I thought of people I know in the music business,” he said, “and I wondered, ‘Have they had this problem as well?’” Guitar in hand, he wrote the song in about 20 minutes, starting with that short title phrase that sings much like it would be spoken. “It became a good way to start the song because it evokes questions from the listeners who hear ‘Wait a minute’ and wonder, ‘what’s he talking about?’”
Pedersen maintains a captivating, conversational melody throughout the song, pulling listeners into discourse that is real and highly relatable to anyone with a job or dream that takes them away from home (Wait a minute … did I hear you say you’re going far away again? Try to change it / I can’t take the lonely nights without your love).
“I took the negative part of the conversation and turned it into a positive love song. I didn’t really know where it would fit in because at the time, I was into bluegrass and doing studio work,” continued Pedersen, who hadn’t approached the writing with a certain genre in mind. “I played it for Johnny Rivers, who I was working with at the time. He loved the song, and we recorded it for his album Road [1974].”
A Classic is Born
Other than playing it for Rivers, Pedersen initially hung onto “Wait A Minute” with his own solo album in mind. “But I also wanted to send it out there,” said Pedersen, who eventually shared the song with members of The Seldom Scene, who cut both “Wait A Minute” and Pedersen’s “Old Train” for their 1974 album, Old Train.
“I appreciate the respect they gave me as far as writing the song, though my friend John Duffey probably claimed it was him,” joked Pedersen of The Seldom Scene’s recording. “I’m kidding, of course. They did it close to the way I’d envisioned it and later recorded it myself. John and Mike played beautiful backup on it. It was very nicely done.”
Tom Gray, the Scene’s original bassist, recalled the distinct bass pattern of the song. “The demo from Herb had someone playing the 1,2 beats … usually the bass plays the 1 and 3, with emphasis in between, but with that song, it was 1, 2, and you leave the 3 and the 4 open. So, I started doing the same thing,” said Gray. “That song has become such a treasure for The Seldom Scene. Of course, we played it every day, but if you want to hear the best recorded version in my opinion, listen to the live performance from the Tommy Hunter Show, broadcast out of Toronto, Canada.”
Reminiscing about other great performances of “Wait A Minute,” Gray reflected fondly on the original Seldom Scene’s 2014 induction into the International Bluegrass Music Association Hall of Fame and the reunion performance that happened that night. “Since Dudley Connell joined the band, the band has often shared the lead vocals on that song. So, when we had a reunion of The Seldom Scene members, John Starling would come back, and I would come back,” he explained. “John would take a verse as would Lou Reid and Connell, and for us guys playing the bass in the back—we would take turns trading the same bass fiddle in the middle of the tune. When the band was inducted into the Hall of Fame, we performed it just that way—Ronnie Simpkins and I sharing the bass. I was always glad when we got to have those reunions that I got to play the verse behind John Starling. It was the two older guys back together.”
Staying Power
Versions of “Wait A Minute” abound and include (among many others) Pedersen’s solo recording (Southwest, 1976), his Laurel Canyon Ramblers recording (Blue Rambler 2, 1996), and Alan Jackson’s country version recorded for his Alison Krauss-produced Like Red on A Rose (2006). The latter, noted Pedersen, included just two of the three verses and took a slow, piano-oriented approach that drives home the sorrow of being the one always doing the leaving (doing the road, get the music done and move along / what good does it do, you play your songs for her and hear her say …).
Like The Seldom Scene, Pedersen has made a habit of performing the popular song regularly throughout the years, especially with Hillman & Pedersen and now with J2B2. Even after playing it and hearing it by others for so many years, Pedersen enjoys the song and continues to receive favorable reviews and in-person statements from fans who tell him the song hits close to home. “It’s one of those chord progressions that I really like,” he said. “A lot of artists get tired of doing songs they’ve written. They’d like to do other things. I do that, too, but I include ‘Wait A Minute’ among my favorite songs that I’ve written.”
We’ve seen how “Wait A Minute” is a striking juxtaposition between abiding love and longing and the frustration of constant separation from a loved one. It takes a skilled writer to so delicately capture both sides of what can be an impossible situation. Hillman stated it well when he said of his friend’s song, “Both in his insightful lyrics and melody, one feels the angst of having to travel away from home and family. Out of the many great Herb Pedersen songs, this one stands alone as sheer brilliance.”
