Jimmy Bryant
Encyclopedia
Jimmy Bryant was a prominent American
session guitarist
. He was billed as "The Fastest Guitar in the Country".
, the oldest of 12 children. During the Great Depression
he played the fiddle
on street corners to help the family buy food, pushed to do so by his father.
After being wounded in World War II, he began working seriously on his guitar playing, influenced heavily by Django Reinhardt
. After the war, he returned to Moultrie then moved to Los Angeles county where he worked in Western films and played music in bars around L.A.'s Skid Row, where he met pioneering pedal steel guitarist Speedy West
. West, who joined Cliffie Stone
's popular Hometown Jamboree
local radio and TV show, suggested Bryant be hired when the show's original guitarist departed. That gave Bryant access to Capitol Records
since Stone was a Capitol artist and talent scout.
In 1950 Tex Williams
heard Bryant's dizzying jazz/country style and used him on his recording of "Wild Card". In addition, Bryant and West played on the Tennessee Ernie Ford
-Kay Starr
hit "I'll Never Be Free", leading to both men being signed to Capitol as instrumentalists. Bryant and West became a team, working extensively with each other]].
Bryant was a difficult musician to work with. By 1955 he left Hometown Jamboree
(retaining his friendship with West) and after various clashes with his Capitol producer Ken Nelson, the label dropped him in 1956. He continued working in Los Angeles and in the early 1960s he and his trio made an appearance in the Coleman Francis
film The Skydivers
.
During the 1960s he shifted into music production. Waylon Jennings
made a hit of his song "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
". He can also be heard playing fiddle on the Monkees' "Sweet Young Thing". In the early 1970s Bryant ran a recording studio in Las Vegas
, but finally relocated to Georgia before settling in Nashville
in 1975, the same year he reunited with Speedy West for a reunion album produced by Nashville steel guitar
ist Pete Drake
. Bryant played in Nashville bars and did some recording work but his personality did not mesh well with Nashville's highly political music and recording industry. In 1978, in declining health, Bryant learned that had lung cancer
; he was a heavy smoker. He died in Moultrie in September 1980 at the age of 55.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
session guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
. He was billed as "The Fastest Guitar in the Country".
Biography
Ivy J. Bryant, Jr. was born in Moultrie, GeorgiaMoultrie, Georgia
Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County and the third largest in Southwest Georgia behind Thomasville and Albany. As of 2009, Moultrie's population is 15,199 people. Since 2000, it has had a population growth of 6.07 percent....
, the oldest of 12 children. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
he played the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
on street corners to help the family buy food, pushed to do so by his father.
After being wounded in World War II, he began working seriously on his guitar playing, influenced heavily by Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt
Django Reinhardt was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer who invented an entirely new style of jazz guitar technique that has since become a living musical tradition within French gypsy culture...
. After the war, he returned to Moultrie then moved to Los Angeles county where he worked in Western films and played music in bars around L.A.'s Skid Row, where he met pioneering pedal steel guitarist Speedy West
Speedy West
Wesley Webb West , better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer. He frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol Records backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others...
. West, who joined Cliffie Stone
Cliffie Stone
Cliffie Stone , born Clifford Gilpin Snyder, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of California’s thriving country music scene after World War II during a career that lasted six decades...
's popular Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...
local radio and TV show, suggested Bryant be hired when the show's original guitarist departed. That gave Bryant access to Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
since Stone was a Capitol artist and talent scout.
In 1950 Tex Williams
Tex Williams
Sollie Paul Williams , known professionally as Tex Williams, was an American Western swing musician from Ramsey, Illinois....
heard Bryant's dizzying jazz/country style and used him on his recording of "Wild Card". In addition, Bryant and West played on the Tennessee Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
-Kay Starr
Kay Starr
Kay Starr is an American pop and jazz singer who enjoyed considerable success in the 1940s and 50s. She is best remembered for introducing two songs that became #1 hits in the 1950s, "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Rock And Roll Waltz"....
hit "I'll Never Be Free", leading to both men being signed to Capitol as instrumentalists. Bryant and West became a team, working extensively with each other]].
Bryant was a difficult musician to work with. By 1955 he left Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree
Hometown Jamboree was an American country music radio and television show broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California. The show was hosted by Cliffie Stone and first held at the American Legion Stadium in El Monte, California, and later at...
(retaining his friendship with West) and after various clashes with his Capitol producer Ken Nelson, the label dropped him in 1956. He continued working in Los Angeles and in the early 1960s he and his trio made an appearance in the Coleman Francis
Coleman Francis
Coleman C. Francis was an American actor, writer, producer, and director perhaps best-known for his film trilogy consisting of The Beast of Yucca Flats , The Skydivers , Red Zone Cuba , all three of which were filmed in the general Yucca Mountain, Nevada area and used preoccupation with light...
film The Skydivers
The Skydivers
The Skydivers is a 1963 film directed by Coleman Francis. It stars Kevin Casey as Beth, Eric Tomlin as Joe, Anthony Cardoza as Harry, and Marcia Knight as Suzy...
.
During the 1960s he shifted into music production. Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
made a hit of his song "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is the title of a song written by Ivy J. "Jimmy" Bryant and recorded by American country music singer Waylon Jennings...
". He can also be heard playing fiddle on the Monkees' "Sweet Young Thing". In the early 1970s Bryant ran a recording studio in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, but finally relocated to Georgia before settling in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in 1975, the same year he reunited with Speedy West for a reunion album produced by Nashville steel guitar
Steel guitar
Steel guitar is a type of guitar or the method of playing the instrument. Developed in Hawaii in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a steel guitar is usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use...
ist Pete Drake
Pete Drake
Pete Drake , born Roddis Franklin Drake, was a major Nashville, Tennessee-based record producer and pedal steel guitar player....
. Bryant played in Nashville bars and did some recording work but his personality did not mesh well with Nashville's highly political music and recording industry. In 1978, in declining health, Bryant learned that had lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
; he was a heavy smoker. He died in Moultrie in September 1980 at the age of 55.
External links
- http://www.countrystandardtime.com/jimmybryantFEATURE.html
- http://www.talentondisplay.com/jimmybryant.html
- http://jimmybryant.us