Jimmy Bryant
This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2019) |
Jimmy Bryant | |
---|---|
Birth name | Ivy J. Bryant, Jr. |
Born | Moultrie, Georgia, U.S. | March 5, 1925
Died | September 22, 1980 Moultrie, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 55)
Genres | Country music |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar |
Labels | Capitol, Sundazed Records |
Ivy John Bryant Jr. (March 5, 1925 – September 22, 1980), known as Jimmy Bryant, was an American country music guitarist. He is best known for his collaborations with steel guitarist Speedy West and his session work.
Biography
Bryant was born in Moultrie, Georgia, the oldest of 12 children. During the Great Depression he played the fiddle on street corners to help support his family.
In 1943, Bryant would join the United States Army, serving in France and Germany. While fighting in Germany he was severely injured by a grenade, and would spend the rest of the war in a hospital, where he would meet Tony Mottola, who motivated him to begin playing the guitar. Once the war ended, Bryant would join the USO, where he would play until he was discharged.[1]
After the war, he would drift around various states, including Georgia, Tennessee and Washington, D.C., where he played as ''Buddy'' Bryant.[2] He 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 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
During the 1960s he shifted into music production.
He died in Moultrie in September 1980 at the age of 55.
References
- ^ "Jimmy Bryant: faster guitar player resurfaces – December 2003". www.countrystandardtime.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ a b "Jimmy Bryant | Vintage Guitar® magazine". September 23, 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-59223-372-4.