FAST FRIENDS

Years ago my brother was flipping through my CDs and stopped for a second, and pulled one out, saying "Where did you get this?" It was a Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant compilation, and my brother, a guitarist and a fiend of excellent pickers, was surprised that I was even cognizant of the duo. When I told him that a women I knew had given it to me, he said "God, she must really like you." That made me feel good, both because it was a stamp of approval from my brother, and because the women was, and continues to be, someone special, someone who knows my taste so well, that when she turns me on to this person or that, I absolutely follow up on it. (Within these pages, she's known as the Mystery Suggester.)

West was a pedal steel player, and Bryant was a guitarist, Both, as my brother well knew, were excellent pickers, fast and clean, insanely fast on some stuff (listen to "Old Joe Clark"). They met each other playing in backing bands in Los Angeles in the forties, the catalyst for their friendship being a mutual appreciation of each other's playing. They would end up playing on hundreds of sessions together over the next couple decades.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Flippin' the Lid mp3 at Ari Zucker
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Old Joe Clark mp3 at Rocky 52
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Sleep Walker's Lullaby mp3 at Rocky 52
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Yodeling Guitar mp3 at Rocky 52
Video:
Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant - Flyin' High at YouTube
Visit:
Speedy West at Rockabilly Hall of Fame
Jimmy Bryant at Wikipedia
Primordial Pickers - Old post about other, uh, pickers