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286:, who joined Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours for a stint in 1958-1959, author Steve Fishell notes: "the Texas Troubadours - considered one of the top bands in country music - proved to be a perfect vehicle for jazzy swing instrumental ideas and arrangements. The band routinely sang and played at dances for two hours before Tubb was introduced, with Buddy and lead guitarist Billy Byrd leading the charge."
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and would no longer be taking it. This instrument, modified to prominently display Byrd's name instead of Bryant's, was then sold to Billy and became his featured instrument on recordings and film clips up until he took delivery of his own
Byrdland guitar in 1955 (see below). This guitar was sold in
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Taking a break from life on the road with Tubb, Byrd recorded several solo instrumental albums between 1959 and 1964 before returning to Tubb's band for a second stint in 1969 until retiring from life as a professional musician in 1973 to run a taxi company in
Nashville. He died from natural causes
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thinline series by several years. Byrd is believed to have received instrument #1, while
Garland received #2 and subsequently also #3 which was supplied in a custom cherry sunburst finish. Later, Gibson also produced what was apparently a special order double cutaway version of the Byrdland for
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bands) and as such was influential in establishing this role in
Nashville style country music. Although little of his jazz chops was on display in his featured lead breaks with Ernest Tubb, according to other Nashville players in his day he was considered the "best pop jazz player in town" and
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the late 1950s to a Tulsa guitarist named Dick
Ganders, and subsequently into a private collection on the U.S. East Coast, and is extensively documented in the section entitled "Jimmy Bryant / Billy Byrd Bigsby solid-body electric guitar #10749" on "The Bigsby Files" website.
252:. With Tubb's band he favored simpler lead lines which can be heard on Tubb hits such as "Jealous Loving Heart," "Two Glasses Joe" and "Answer the Phone." Another side of his lasting legacy is the instrument that bears his name, the Gibson
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thinline electric archtop guitar, developed with input from Byrd and fellow country/jazz guitarist
Garland, which was in initial production from 1955 through 1969, and subsequently revived for limited runs several times later.
30:
282:(speaking for himself and Hank Garland) is quoted as saying: "Without him coming along and showing us that jazz stuff, we never would have been able to do what we did." In an essay on pedal steel great
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as lead guitarist with the latter's Texas
Troubadours, a position he occupied until 1959, followed by a second stint between 1969 and 1973, when he effectively retired from the music business.
432:
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Billy's use, reverting to a standard scale length, which can be seen on the cover of 1964's "The Golden Guitar of Billy Byrd" and was later on loan to, and displayed at, the
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and learned to play the guitar at 10 and appeared on radio playing with local bands whilst still in his teens. At the age of 18 he joined the house band at
Nashville's WSM
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Some examples of Byrd's playing on his lead breaks are analysed by Sam Smiley on his instructional website at the page labelled "Billy Byrd Intro Solos".
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and then worked with Herold
Goodman and the Tennessee Valley Boys and Wally Fowler and his Georgia Clodhoppers before and after serving in
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Byrd was one of the earliest and most widely known featured lead electric guitar players with a popular country outfit (other than the
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and others. He helped to popularize the role of the electric lead guitarist in country music and, with fellow guitarist
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347:...any record cut between 1949 and 1959; especially 2 Bear Family Ernest Tubb compilation boxes covering this period
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From 1955 onwards, Byrd was associated extensively with the Gibson guitar named after himself and Hank
Garland, the
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321:, a thinline, electric, single cutaway archtop with a shortened scale that presaged Gibson's popular
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301:. In 1949 he was on the waiting list for a new solid-body electric guitar from noted guitar maker
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and was informed that a novel, double-cutaway instrument initially constructed for guitarist
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751:"Billy Byrd" entry in The Encyclopedia of Country Music, 2004 edition, on Google Books
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713:"Random Guitar Blather: George Harrison, Johnny Cash and Billy Byrd Update !!!"
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in Nashville. In his later years he was also pictured at home playing a late-1960s
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Byrd initially favored Gibson archtop guitars and by the late 1940s was playing a
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Byrd performing with Ernest Tubb's band in the 1950s (still frame from film clip)
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The Story of Paul Bigsby: The Father of the Modern Electric Solid Body Guitar
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had become available since Bryant had entered an endorsement deal with
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462:"Obituaries: Billy Byrd; Lead Guitarist for the Texas Troubadours"
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229:. In 1949 he commenced his most important association, that with
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A self-taught guitarist influenced by jazz players such as
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guitar, named after parts of the names of both players.
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still in his home town of Nashville on August 7, 2001.
522:"The Big E: A Salute to Steel Guitarist Buddy Emmons"
198:, was responsible for input into the design of the
162:(17 February 1920 – 7 August 2001) was an American
746:Billy Byrd biography by Bruce Eder on allmusic.com
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483:
767:
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760:Discography of American Historical Recordings
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552:"Billy Byrd Intro Solos (Sam Smiley Music)"
334:guitar which he claimed was his favorite.
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821:20th-century American singer-songwriters
682:"Random Guitar Blather: A Rare Byrdland"
651:"Hank Garland's 1955 Gibson #3 Byrdland"
768:
580:
433:"Who Were Billy Byrd and Hank Garland"
468:from the original on 11 December 2015
826:20th-century American male musicians
723:from the original on 5 February 2018
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692:from the original on 4 February 2018
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631:from the original on 3 November 2017
601:from the original on 4 February 2018
413:from the original on 4 February 2018
796:American country singer-songwriters
786:Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee
519:
342:
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661:from the original on 4 August 2017
384:(compilation) (Warner Bros., 1964)
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847:
836:Singer-songwriters from Tennessee
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562:from the original on 29 July 2015
501:from the original on 24 July 2016
831:American male singer-songwriters
816:Country musicians from Tennessee
791:20th-century American guitarists
711:Kyle, Dave (18 February 2011).
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680:Kyle, Dave (18 February 2011).
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581:Babiuk, Andy (1 January 2009).
382:The Golden Guitar Of Billy Byrd
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368:included on various artists:
16:American musician (1920–2001)
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801:American country guitarists
587:. Hal Leonard Corporation.
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328:Country Music Hall of Fame
265:Influence and guitar style
166:lead guitarist (with some
811:Guitarists from Tennessee
609:– via Google Books.
378:(Scripture Records, 196?)
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806:American male guitarists
625:bigsbyfiles.blogspot.com
403:"Obituaries: Billy Byrd"
717:dkyle21.blogspot.com.au
686:dkyle21.blogspot.com.au
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556:www.samsmileymusic.com
363:Lonesome Country Songs
41:Background information
756:Billy Byrd recordings
476:– via LA Times.
627:. 27 February 2012.
495:www.etrecordshop.com
491:"BILLY BYRD TRIBUTE"
359:(Warner Bros., 1959)
655:www.scottymoore.net
174:who performed with
621:"The Bigsby Files"
464:. 10 August 2001.
409:. 10 August 2001.
188:George Hamilton IV
160:William Lewis Byrd
145:George Hamilton IV
51:William Lewis Byrd
407:independent.co.uk
238:Charlie Christian
213:Byrd was born in
180:Oak Ridge Quartet
154:
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137:Oak Ridge Quartet
88:, Tennessee, U.S.
71:, Tennessee, U.S.
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532:on 23 March 2016
528:. Archived from
520:Fishell, Steve.
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439:. Archived from
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370:Tennessee Guitar
343:with Ernest Tubb
242:Django Reinhardt
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66:17 February 1920
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372:(Starday, 1962)
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357:I Love a Guitar
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172:studio musician
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273:players with
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534:. Retrieved
530:the original
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307:Jimmy Bryant
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284:Buddy Emmons
271:steel guitar
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246:Hank Garland
235:
227:World War II
212:
196:Hank Garland
159:
158:
120:Years active
81:(2001-08-07)
781:2001 deaths
776:1920 births
338:Discography
303:Paul Bigsby
299:Gibson L-7C
293:Instruments
231:Ernest Tubb
176:Ernest Tubb
133:Ernest Tubb
129:Formerly of
770:Categories
727:5 February
696:4 February
665:4 February
635:4 February
605:4 February
566:4 February
536:5 February
505:4 February
472:4 February
447:2018-02-03
437:gibson.com
417:4 February
389:References
311:Leo Fender
184:Tex Ritter
141:Tex Ritter
111:Instrument
103:Occupation
62:1920-02-17
47:Birth name
23:Billy Byrd
219:Tennessee
215:Nashville
209:Biography
124:1938–1973
86:Nashville
69:Nashville
721:Archived
690:Archived
659:Archived
629:Archived
599:Archived
560:Archived
499:Archived
466:Archived
411:Archived
319:Byrdland
254:Byrdland
203:Byrdland
106:Musician
758:at the
332:Standel
164:country
97:Country
591:
200:Gibson
178:, the
135:, the
114:Guitar
93:Genres
729:2018
698:2018
667:2018
637:2018
607:2018
589:ISBN
568:2018
538:2018
507:2018
474:2018
419:2018
351:solo
248:and
240:and
168:jazz
76:Died
56:Born
772::
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482:^
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64:)
60:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
_-_still_from_1950s_film_clip.jpg)