Lester Robert Barnard (December 17, 1920 – April 15, 1951), known as Junior Barnard, was an American

Western swing Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands. It is dance music, often with an up-tempo beat, which attracted huge crowds to dance ...

guitarist who was a member of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

and his

Texas Playboys James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

. He was among the first electric guitarists to create a guitar effect that anticipated fuzz tone, which is usually associated with later guitarists.

Early life

Barnard was born into a musical family in

Coweta Coweta is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States, a suburb of Tulsa. As of 2010, its population was 9,943. Part of the Creek Nation in Indian Territory before Oklahoma became a U.S. state, the town was first settled in 1840.Oklahoma in 1920. Both his father, Hurl Lester Barnard and his uncle Robert played the fiddle and performed at barn dances and house parties. By the time he had reached 13 or 14 Junior had begun accompanying his father on guitar. His brother Gene was also an accomplished guitarist. At 15 Barnard began playing acoustic guitar with bands in the

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

area and he also had his own show on the KTUL radio station. He also worked as a staff musician backing groups such as Patti Page and Her Musical Pages.

Bob Wills

After a period of playing with fiddler Art Davis and the Rhythm Riders, Barnard was hired by

to play with the Lonestar Rangers which was fronted by John Wills, Bob's father. This began an on-off relationship with the Wills family that was to last the rest of Barnard's life. In 1936 Bob Wills formed the Sons of the West which was led by his cousin Son Lansford and Barnard was drafted in as guitarist. Around a year later, by which time this band was based in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, Barnard had left and returned to Tulsa to work for radio station KTUL. In 1937 he bought his first electric guitar and later that year replaced

Eldon Shamblin Eldon Shamblin (April 24, 1916 – August 5, 1998) was an American guitarist and arranger, particularly important to the development of Western swing music as one of the first electric guitarists in a popular dance band. He was a member of The ...

in Dave Edwards’ Original Alabama Boys, Shamblin having left to join the

. In 1938 Barnard was again part of the Wills organization this time playing guitar for The Rhythmaires led by Bob's brother Johnnie Lee. This lasted for six months before Barnard started playing with Wills’ father again in a band called Uncle John and his Young Five.

World War 2

By the time of America's entry into the war at the end of 1941, Barnard had recorded several sides with Johnnie Lee Wills for

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

and as 1942 progressed, he was called upon by Bob Wills to join the Playboys as many of Wills’ band were being called up for military service. By the fall of that year Wills himself had enlisted in the Army. Barnard received a deferment because of his excessive weight and went to work as a welder at a defense plant in California.

Guitar style and equipment

Barnard was one of the first guitarists to play in a style that deliberately incorporated a distorted guitar tone which he achieved by pushing low powered valve or tube amps to their limits. He developed a lot of techniques that are common amongst guitarists today such as fast runs, extreme string bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Barnard was also noted for his steady rhythm playing and chord use. Barnard's main guitar during his time as a Playboy was a blond

Epiphone Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...

Emperor arch top model which he inherited from

Jimmy Wyble James Otis Wyble (January 25, 1922 – January 16, 2010) was an American guitarist noted for his contributions to jazz and Western swing. Career A native of Port Arthur, Texas, Wyble worked in his early years for a radio station in Houston. He ...

after he replaced Wyble in 1945. Barnard also used a

Gibson ES-150 The Gibson Guitar Corporation's ES-150 guitar is generally recognized as the world's first commercially successful Spanish-style electric guitar. The ES stands for Electric Spanish, and Gibson designated it "150" because they priced it (in an in ...

from time to time but it was the Epiphone that was to become his main instrument as he developed his style and modified his equipment to match it. The guitar was first electrified by Junior when he added a

DeArmond Rowe Industries was a manufacturer of guitar pickups and other music-related devices, as well as electrical components utilized in the aerospace industry into the 1980s. Owner Horace "Bud" Rowe established a working relationship with budding el ...

pickup to neck position. At some point in 1947 a bridge position pickup was added by

Leo Fender Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor known for designing the Fender Stratocaster. He also founded the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In January 1965, he sold Fender to CBS, and later foun ...

. This seems to be a

lapsteel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ...

pickup as the strings actually pass through the pickup structure rather than over it. For this set up Junior began running two amplifiers, one for each pickup: an Epiphone and a

Fender Pro The Fender Pro was an instrument amplifier manufactured by Fender Electric Instruments from 1946 to 1965. It was characterized by its dual 6L6-family power tubes and single 15" speaker, with output power increasing from 18 watts up to 40 watts over ...

model with 15 inch speaker.

recalled that Junior used a volume pedal when it was his time to take a solo. Because it was never clear when Wills would like players to solo, the pedal became a time saving device.

Death

On April 15, 1951, while scouting for places to play in

Riverdale, California Riverdale (formerly, Liberty Settlement) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 3,153 at the 2010 census, up from 2,416 at the 2000 census. Riverdale is located south of Fresno, at an el ...

(south Fresno County), Barnard and his brother-in-law, Billie Earl Fitzgerald were killed in an automobile accident when their car collided with six members of the Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo) track team. Fitzgerald died instantly and Barnard died five hours later at Fresno County Hospital. He was 30 years old and left behind his wife and two sons.

Discography

* ''The Tiffany Transcriptions'', Bob Wills (Collectors Choice) Junior Barnard appeared on the following tracks in the Tiffany Transcriptions series: The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 1 Nancy Jane Dinah Cotton Patch Blues Sweet Jennie Lee I Hear You Talkin' The Girl I Left Behind Me Straighten Up And Fly Right Little Betty Brown Nobody's Sweetheart Now Blackout Blues What's The Matter With The Mill The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 2 Take Me Back To Tulsa Faded Love Right Or Wrong Bring It On Down To My House Cherokee Maiden Steel Guitar Rag Stay A Little Longer Roly Poly Time Changes Everything Ida Red Maiden's Prayer San Antonio Rose The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 3 Basin Street Blues I'm A Ding Dong Daddy Milk Cow Blues Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone It's Your Red Wagon Good Man Is Hard To Find Barnard Blues I Never Knew Baby Won't You Please Come Home The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 4 Texas Playboy Theme You're From Texas Lum & Abner Special (San Antonio Rose) Texarkana Baby Little Joe The Wrangler Texas Plains Home In San Antone Blue Bonnet Lane Along The Navajo Trail Spanish Fandango My Brown Eyed Texas Rose Red River Valley Texas Playboy Theme (Closing) The Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 5 My Window Faces The South I Had Someone Else Before I Had You Don't Cry Baby Three Guitar Special China Town Fat Boy Rag Sweet Kind Of Love A Little bit of Boogie Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 6 Oklahoma Hills Sally Goodin (Instrumental) I Had A Little Mule Playboy Chimes Never No More Hard Times Blues I'll Get Mine Bye And Bye I'm Putting All My Eggs In One Basket Oklahoma Rag Sally Goodin Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 7 Keep Knockin' (But You Can't Come In) Worried mind My Gal Sal Too Long Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 8 Miss Molly Ten Years Blues For Dixie Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Sun Bonnet Sue Sitting On Top Of The World There's Gonna Be A Party For The Old Folks South Trouble In Mind Little Liza Jane Sioux City Sue My Confession Get Along Home Cindy Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 9 Texas Playboy Rag My Life's Been A Pleasure G. I. Wish Shame on you You Don't Care What Happens St. Louis Blues (Part One) St. Louis Blues (Part Two) Sentimental Journey Back Home In Indiana Tiffany Transcriptions Vol 10. Betcha My Heart I'm Crying My Heart Out It's All Over Now Jealous Hearted Me Don't Sweetheart Me Miss You I Want My Mama I Dreamed Of An Old Love Affair Echoes From The Hills Hawaiian War Chant When Day Is Done Put Your Arms Around Me Will There Be Any Yodeling In Heaven Tumbling Tumbleweeds To You Sweetheart Aloha There's A Silver Moon On The Golden Gate Pal Of My Lonely Hour

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnard, Junior 1920 births 1951 deaths American country guitarists American male guitarists Western swing performers Guitarists from Oklahoma People from Coweta, Oklahoma 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Oklahoma 20th-century American male musicians Road incident deaths in California