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
Wesley Webb West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003), 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 ...
and his session work.
Biography
Bryant was born in
Moultrie, Georgia
Moultrie is the county seat and largest city of Colquitt County, Georgia, United States. It is the third largest city in Southwest Georgia, behind Thomasville and Albany. As of the 2010 census, Moultrie's population was 14,268. It was originally ...
, the oldest of 12 children. During the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
he played the
fiddle on street corners to help support his family.
In 1943, Bryant would join the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, serving in France and Germany. While fighting in Germany he would be injured by a severly injured by a grenade, he would spend the rest of the war in a hospital, where he would meet
Tony Mottola
Anthony C. Mottola (April 18, 1918 – August 9, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist who released dozens of solo albums. Mottola was born in Kearny, New Jersey, Kearny, New Jersey and died in Denville, New Jersey, Denville.
Career
Like ...
, who motivated him to begin playing the guitar. Once the war ended, Bryant would join the
USO
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
, where he would play until he was discharged.
After the war, he would drift around various states, including
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Where he played as
''Buddy'' Bryant.
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
Wesley Webb West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003), 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 ...
. West, who joined
Cliffie Stone
Clifford Gilpin Snyder (March 1, 1917 – January 17, 1998), professionally Cliffie Stone, was an American country singer, musician, record producer, music publisher, and radio and TV personality who was pivotal in the development of Californi ...
's popular
Hometown Jamboree
''Hometown Jamboree'' was an American country music radio and television show simultaneously broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KLAC-TV/KCOP and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California beginning in 1949.
Synopsis
T ...
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, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
since Stone was a Capitol artist and talent scout.
In 1950
Tex Williams
Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...
heard Bryant's style and used him on his recording of "Wild Card". In addition, Bryant and West played on the
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for h ...
-
Kay Starr hit "
I'll Never Be Free
"I'll Never Be Free" is a song written by Bennie Benjamin and George Weiss and performed by Kay Starr and Tennessee Ernie Ford. It reached #2 on the U.S. country chart and #3 on the U.S. pop chart in 1950.
Other charting versions
*Louis Jorda ...
", 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'' was an American country music radio and television show simultaneously broadcast each Saturday night by KXLA radio, Pasadena, California and KLAC-TV/KCOP and KTLA-TV, Los Angeles, California beginning in 1949.
Synopsis
T ...
(retaining his friendship with West) and after various clashes with his Capitol producer
Ken Nelson, the label dropped him in 1956. In 1957 Jimmy Bryant was a part of one of the first integrated television shows featuring popular radio and television star Jimmie Jackson who hosted the show along with black Jazz violinist and recording star,
Stuff Smith
Hezekiah Leroy Gordon Smith (August 14, 1909 – September 25, 1967), better known as Stuff Smith, was an American jazz violinist. He is well known for the song " If You're a Viper" (the original title was "You'se a Viper").
Smith was, al ...
and black jazz percussionist and recording star, George Jenkins. He continued working in Los Angeles and in the early 1960s he and his trio made an appearance in the
Coleman Francis
Coleman Chambers Francis (January 24, 1919 – January 15, 1973) was an American actor, writer, producer and director. He was best known for his film trilogy consisting of ''The Beast of Yucca Flats'' (1961), ''The Skydivers'' (1963) and '' ...
film ''
The Skydivers
''The Skydivers'' is a 1963 American crime film produced by Anthony Cardoza, and written and directed by Coleman Francis. It stars actress Kevin Casey, Eric Tomlin, Cardoza and Marcia Knight, with a performance by influential guitarist Jimmy B ...
''.
During the 1960s he shifted into music production.
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
made a hit of his song "
Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line
"Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line" is a song written by Jimmy Bryant. Originally recorded by American country music singer Jim Alley, it was made famous by American country music singer and musician Waylon Jennings.
Waylon Jennings version
Jenning ...
". He can also be heard playing fiddle on the
Monkees
The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was conc ...
' "Sweet Young Thing".
In the early 1970s Bryant ran a recording studio in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, but finally relocated to Georgia before settling in
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
in 1975, the same year he reunited with Speedy West for a reunion album produced by Nashville
steel guitarist
Pete Drake
Roddis Franklin "Pete" Drake (October 8, 1932 – July 29, 1988), was a Nashville-based American record producer and pedal steel guitar player. One of the most sought-after backup musicians of the 1960s, Drake played on such hits as Lynn Anderson' ...
. 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 he had
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
; He played his final performance in August, 1979 at a club in North Hollywood
before he returned to his Georgia hometown.
He died in Moultrie in September 1980 at the age of 55.
References
External links
Brief biographyJimmy Bryanton
Find A Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryant, Jimmy
1925 births
1980 deaths
20th-century American guitarists
American country guitarists
American male guitarists
American session musicians
Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state)
People from Moultrie, Georgia
Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)
Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)
20th-century American male musicians