Died On This Date (September 22, 1980) Jimmy Bryant / Famed Session Guitarist
themusicsover Jimmy Bryant
March 5, 1925 – September 22, 1980
Jimmy Bryant was an in-demand session guitarist whose played on numerous country and jazz recordings during the ’50s and ’60s, most notably those by Tennessee Ernie Ford. He was equally adept at country and jazz, and was often referred to as the fastest guitarist in the country. During the ’50s, Bryant partnered with steel guitar great, Speedy West to record for Capitol Records. A heavy smoker, Jimmy Bryant died of lung cancer at the age of 55.
What You Should Own
Gram Parsons was a highly influential singer-songwriter who helped launch what would later be called country rock and then alt-country or Americana. Parsons began playing the guitar as a teenager to escape a less than ideal home life. The first group he played with, the Shilohs, were a folk band in the tradition of the Kingston Trio. When the band broke up, he and other Boston area folk musicians formed the International Submarine Band with whom he began to develop a sound the borrowed the best from country, folk and rock. They enjoyed moderate success, primarily getting airplay on the up-and-coming progressive radio stations. In 1968, Parsons was asked to join the Byrds as a replacement for David Crosby and Michael Clarke. He started on keyboards but soon switched to guitar, helping guide the group down a more country rock path. Parsons left the Byrds in the summer of 1968. He joined back up with the Byrds’ Chris Hillman soon after to form the Flying Burrito Brothers whose debut, The Gilded Palace of Sin would be a direct influence on the likes of the Eagles, Dwight Yoakam and later, Wilco and Ryan Adams. By the early ’70s, Parsons was working as a solo artist while recording and performing with good friend, Emmylou Harris. It was during this period that Parsons’ inner demons were taking control in the form of substance abuse. He was also spending more and more time in an area he had become fond of, Joshua Tree National Monument in the desert outside of Los Angeles. He liked to go there and take LSD while searching for UFOs. It was during one of these trips that Gram Parsons apparently overdosed on morphine and alcohol and died at the age of 26.
Red Foley was one of country music’s most popular performers during the ’40s and ’50s. He sold upwards of 25 million records during his career, and his “Peace In The Valley” was the first gospel record to be certified a million-seller. Known as Mr. Country Music, Foley became part of the Grand Ole Opry’s radio program in 1946, and a decade later, he successfully transitioned to television. After performing during two Grand Ole Opry shows in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Red Foley died of heart failure in his sleep later that night. He was 58 years old.
Charlie Walker was not only a hit-making country singer, he was also one of the genre’s most respected disc jockeys. He began his career at a San Antonio radio station in 1951, and by the mid ’50s, he was recording for Decca Records, and later, Columbia Records. His 1958 recording of Harlan Howard’s “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down” is a staple of country music. Walker became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1967. He passed away while sufferering from colon cancer at the age of 81.