Pete Finney, a steel guitarist who toured with country music star Patty Loveless for more than 20 years and also recorded with Reba McEntire, the Chicks, Vince Gill and the Judds, died on Feb. 7. He was 70.

Finney’s death was confirmed in a statement by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. No cause of death was provided, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“He exemplified how top instrumentalists can adapt to a range of styles and settings, whether in a recording studio, a concert stage, or the corner of a small nightclub,” the Country Music Hall of Fame wrote on social media.

Finney was born in Maryland in September 1955 and played with singer-songwriter Liz Meyer, the Times reported. He moved to Austin, Texas, in the 1970s before relocating to Nashville in the mid-1980s.

After arriving in Tennessee, Finney toured with Foster & Lloyd, the Times reported. His diverse musical talented were appreciated by many artists, as he recorded with Beck, Jon Byrd, Shemekia Copeland, Justin Townes Earle, Jon Langford, Jim Lauderdale, Allison Moorer, Ron Sexsmith and Candi Staton.

Finney avoided disaster in 1991 while touring with McEntire. One of the tour’s planes crashed into a mountain near San Diego, killing eight band members. The plane was headed for a show in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the Times reported. Finney was on a second plane headed to Indiana; McEntire was not on either aircraft.

Michael Nesmith, who made the pedal steel guitar an essential element of his solo work, recruited Finney in 2017 to tour with him. Finney also toured with Nesmith and Micky Dolenz on the Monkees’ final tour before Nesmith’s death in 2021.

Finney was also a country music historian, according to American Songwriter. He was the co-curator of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s exhibition “Dylan, Cash, and the Nashville Cats: A New Music City,” according to the website.

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