Date: September 2, 1954

Place: Capitol Recording Studio, 5515 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, CA

This 1954 Capitol 45 rpm record is a guitar instrumental featuring two ace session guitarists who worked for Capitol Records throughout the 1940s and 1950s and who appeared on hundreds of hit records released by other artists. They also made many records which Capitol released under their own names.

Jimmy Bryant is here heard playing a Stratosphere Twin double-neck electric guitar that was custom made for him. One neck has 12 strings, the other has 6 strings. Bryant tuned the 12 string neck so that when played, the sound is that of two lead guitars being played in harmony. The 6 string neck had standard tuning. Bryant begins this record by playing the 12 string neck. He then switches to the 6 string, then back again to the 12 string neck. Speedy West is heard playing one of the first pedal steel guitars ever made. This one was custom made for West by Paul Bigsby in 1948.

Bryant was born in the year 1925 in Moultrie, Georgia. He died there of lung cancer at age 55 in 1980. West was born in Springfield, MO in 1924. He died in 2003 at his home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma at age 79.

Other musicians heard on this record are Billy Strange, Rhythm Guitar; Allen Williams, Bass; Pee Wee Adams, Drums; and Billy Liebert, Piano.

Rock on!
Mike