Dickie Overby, Billy Braddy, Jimmy Bryant, Jimmy Day and many more

December 5, 2013

Nice to see John Mayer on the David Letterman show with a wood body Emmons steel guitar beside him onstage. John draws a younger crowd and we can credit him for showing steel guitar to the younger masses.

I have had several requests to write about other players and a couple of vocalists. Your interest is greatly appreciated. One player I’ve been asked about is one that I haven’t seen in many years, but I remember him well from our early meetings. Dickie Overby, a fine steel guitarist from Texas, I met in 1959.

We were doing a show in Colorado Springs. I was backing up Jan Howard and her husband, songwriter Harlan Howard on a very large show at the downtown civic center. Archie Campbell was also on the show. My favorite artist on the show that day was Wynn Stewart with his big hit “It’s Such A Pretty World Today”. He was very nice to all us musicians.

Dickie Overby was backing up another artist on the show but I can’t remember who. I remember Dickie had a ten pedal Fender 1000 with no knee levers. Every pedal worked on both necks. We were talking about other musicians and I remember how he responded when I mentioned Billy Braddy.

Braddy was the steel guitarist with Gary Van and the Western Starlighters. I knew back in 1959 that Dickie was going to be a very good well known steel player. Now here he is in the Hall of Fame.

Great guitar players I’ve worked with in Nashville are wonderful players like Jimmy Bryant who I worked with in Las Vegas upon obtaining an extra job with Billy James at a club just off the main strip. I was booked in the Golden Nugget with Claude Gray and Bud Isaacs and Jerry Isaacs opened the show for us.

Jimmy Bryant was a real hoot to work with. Every song we played turned into a jam session between us. We turned out to be good friends on the side. I hated going back to Nashville when the job was over. As a matter of fact, I stayed an extra month in Vegas and thought seriously about moving there permanently but the call of sessions in Nashville was too great.

A couple of years later, Jimmy Bryant moved to Nashville. He told me one night in a club that he wasn’t feeling very well and he was going to the hospital the next day to get looked at. Jimmy died within a week of this. I was very sorry about this and still miss him.

I’ve talked to Speedy West about him many times as they were a famous duo in the 50s and 60s. Speedy said that he was just a character that was continually putting the world on and he trouble at times getting along with him. It was after this that I got to know Speedy very well. A nicer, warmer, more tender human being I’ve never known.

I met Jimmy Day on a trip through Nashville in January 1960. Jimmy had a good career going at this time and had worked and recorded with many artists including Jim Reeves and Ray Price. I was driving through Nashville down Broadway and saw the Ernest Tubb Record Shop sign on the right.

I luckily found a parking place right in front of the record shop (try that today). Got out of my ’50 Mercury, walked inside and there was only a female clerk and no customers. I asked if they had Buddy Emmons records since I knew he had recorded a couple for Columbia. Silver Bells was one of them.

The clerk said that Buddy had just been in and walked across the street to Tootsie’s to play the pinball machine. I immediately shot out the door and went over to Tootsie’s. I walked into Tootsie’s and it was empty also except for two guys playing the pinball machine, one of which was Buddy who remembered me from my letter to him and meeting him in Norfolk in 1956.

He asked me if I knew the guy playing the game with him. I said “No”. The guy stuck out his hand and said, “Hi. I’m Jimmy Day.” This was the beginning of a long friendship and ended up with Jimmy and I doing a wonderful album together which we still have in the store. I think Jimmy played as well as he ever had on that album.

I also worked with Billy Sanford, Grady Martin, Chet Atkins, Leo Jackson, Dale Sellers, Dave Kirby (Dale was the left handed guitar player on HeeHaw), Hank Garland, Jimmy Capps and Spider Wilson. I found these all to be very helpful for my playing and my career. All of these players played with great taste and knew when to get out of the way of the steel guitar.

Naturally there are several more lead players I’ve worked with but these turned out to be good friends.

Here’s a steel guitar Christmas wish list you can print out and give to your family.

6 sets CC E9 Premium Strings, free Secrets DVD … $44.99
6 sets CC E9 Custom Strings, free Secrets DVD … $44.99
6 sets CC C6 Premium Strings, free Secrets DVD … $62.99
Goodrich 120 Volume Pedal   …   $149.99
Goodrich Low Profile Volume Pedal   …   $169.99
500K Volume Pedal Pot   …   $21.99
Steel Guitar Leg   …   $44.99
Non-Pedal Leg Socket   …   $23.99
Emmons Backing Plate   …   $26.99
S-10 Guitar Cover   …   $19.99
D-10 Guitar Cover   …   $19.99
Large Guitar Cover   …   $19.99
Leg & Rod Bag, Denim   …   $12.99
Leg & Rod Bag, Vinyl   …   $22.99
Pocket Shirt, Large   …   $12.99
Pocket Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Pocket Shirt, XXL   …   $12.99
Sho-Bud Shirt, Medium   …   $12.99
Sho-Bud Shirt, Large   …   $12.99
Sho-Bud Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Sho-Bud Shirt, XXL   …   $12.99
Sho-Bud Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
SG Nashville Shirt, Medium   …   $8.99
SG Nashville Shirt, Large   …   $8.99
SG Nashville Shirt, XL   …   $8.99
SG Nashville Shirt, XXL   …   $8.99
SG Nashville Shirt, XXXL   …   $8.99
Super Pro Shirt, Small   …   $12.99
Super Pro Shirt, Medium   …   $12.99
Super Pro Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Super Pro Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
Logo Shirt, Small   …   $12.99
Logo Shirt, Medium   …   $12.99
Logo Shirt, Large   …   $12.99
Logo Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Logo Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, Small   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, Medium   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, XXL   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
Emmons Shirt, XXXXL   …   $12.99
Cobra Coil Shirt, Small   …   $12.99
Cobra Coil Shirt, Large   …   $12.99
Cobra Coil Shirt, XXL   …   $12.99
Cobra Coil Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
Long Sleeve Shirt, Large   …   $17.99
Long Sleeve Shirt, XL   …   $17.99
Long Sleeve Shirt, XXL   …   $17.99
Long Sleeve Shirt, XXXL   …   $17.99
Vintage Shirt, Large   …   $12.99
Vintage Shirt, XL   …   $12.99
Vintage Shirt, XXL   …   $12.99
Vintage Shirt, XXXL   …   $12.99
Steel Guitar Nashville Hat   …   $8.99
Bobro Reso Simulator   …   $224.99
Cobra Coil Bar, Std.   …   $44.99
Cobra Coil Bar, Large   …   $44.99
Cobra Coil 12 String Bar   …   $44.99
Cobra Coil Sitar Bar   …   $44.99
Nylon Resophonic Bar   …   $35.99
Strings, E9 Premium   …   $9.99
Strings, E9 Custom   …   $9.99
Strings, C6 Premium   …   $12.99
Strings, Universal 12   …   $13.99
Strings, Cobra Coil Dobro   …   $8.99
Strings, Cobra Coil Lapsteel   …   $9.99
Soulful Steel CD   …   $8.99
Masters Collection CD   …   $8.99
At The Feet Of God CD   …   $8.99
As Time Goes By CD   …   $8.99
Rhythmatic CD   …   $8.99
Steel Guitar Classics CD   …   $8.99
Steel Guitar Favorites CD   …   $8.99
No Pedalers Allowed CD   …   $8.99
Tennessee Country CD   …   $8.99
Priceless II CD   …   $8.99
Cure For The Blues CD   …   $8.99
Pure Country Steel CD   …   $8.99
Treasured Friends CD   …   $8.99
Bobbe Seymour Live CD   …   $8.99
Bobbe’s Christmas CD free with every order.
Gift Certificates available in any amount. Please call the store.

Merry Christmas from all of us at Steel Guitar Nashville.

Bobbe Seymour

www.steelguitar.net
info@steelguitar.net
www.youtube.com/bobbeseymour

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