Hilmer J. "Tiny" Timbrell (January 15, 1917 – May 7, 1992) was a Canadian-born

session guitarist Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

. Timbrell was born in Canada but moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue his career in music. For a time, he sold guitars at Fife & Nichols, a Hollywood musical instrument store located at the corner of Sunset & Vine inside Wallach's Music City. A "first call" guitarist at

Warner Brothers Studios Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, in the late 1940s Timbrell appeared in several motion pictures playing as part of a band. His reputation was such that he was hired to play guitar on recording sessions for singing stars such as

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...

, Billy Vaughn & His Orchestra,

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947 but shortly after he reorganized ...

, and pop and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artists such as

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

and

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

. Perhaps most significantly in his career, Timbrell played rhythm guitar for

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, first at

Radio Recorders Radio Recorders, Inc. was an American recording studio located in Los Angeles, California. During the 1940s and 1950s, Radio Recorders was one of the largest independent recording studios in the world. Notable musicians recorded at Radio Recorder ...

studios in Los Angeles for the making of the soundtrack for the film, '' Loving You'' and later on numerous other soundtracks for Presley films. In 1943, Timbrell married Margaret Ellen Scott. They had two children: Gail and Jay. Gail married and had three children: Roger, Nancy, and Steven. Steven followed his grandfather into the entertainment industry. He works as a Local 1 stagehand in New York City. In his later years, Timbrell worked as Los Angeles district sales representative for Chicago Musical Instrument Co., later named Norlin Music Corp., which at the time owned many instrument brands, including Gibson and Epiphone guitars. Tiny Timbrell died in 1992 at the age of 75.

Discography

With

*''

Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49 ''Harry James and His Orchestra 1948–49'' is a double album by American trumpeter Harry James with The Harry James Orchestra. The album consists of live radio transcripts recorded during 1948 and 1949 and was released in 1969 by Big Band Landmar ...

'' (Big Band Landmarks Vol. X & XI, 1969)

References

1917 births 1992 deaths Canadian pop guitarists Canadian country singer-songwriters Canadian country guitarists Canadian male guitarists 20th-century Canadian male singers 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from Los Angeles 20th-century American male musicians American male guitarists Canadian male singer-songwriters Canadian emigrants to the United States {{Canada-guitarist-stub