Jimmy Wyble

Dave Biller · Post by **Dave Biller** » 17 Jan 2010 10:17 am

Just received word that guitar legend Jimmy Wyble passed away just shy of his 88th birthday. He was a member of one of the best Bob Wills band lineups ever and a truly innovative and wonderful musician.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 17 Jan 2010 10:56 am

That's a real shame. He blurred the imaginary line between country and jazz, and was a great player in both genres.

Walter Stettner · Post by **Walter Stettner** » 17 Jan 2010 11:50 am

So sad to hear this. He was one of the great Western Swing players. RIP, Jimmy!

Walter

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 17 Jan 2010 12:31 pm

Dear Jimmy,
You were such a great inspiration and your playing is so easily recognizable. I believe you were a true pioneer and you added a new level of jazz sensibility to Western Swing music. Your later playing with Red Norvo and Frank Sinatra was equally inspiring for me. Thank you for sharing your great talent and for the wonderful teaching materials you wrote.
RIP.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 18 Jan 2010 4:37 am

RIP Jimmy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10o8Y-DW_Pc

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 18 Jan 2010 5:19 am

Damn!

I found out about Jimmy and Carl Smith in a span of 10 seconds by opening this section of the forum. I'll never learn.

I still get chills every time I hear Jimmy and Noel Boggs on Texas Playboy Rag.

Someone on this forum (Bob Hoffnar??) mentioned several years ago that Jimmy was trying to put together some sort of tribute (printed I think) to Noel Boggs and was then looking for stories, pictures, memorabilia, etc. I wonder what ever happened to the idea?

I wish I could have seen him perform live. I have a 10,000 word interview of Jimmy and he doesn't have one bad word to say about anybody--including Bob Wills. He mentions seeing Bob Dunn play around Houston when he (Wyble) was just learning in his teens.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 18 Jan 2010 6:54 am

I'm with Mitch - Jimmy Wyble and Carl Smith both gone, I dread opening this forum.

Jimmy has been one of my absolutely favorite guitarists of any style for a long time. I first discovered him digging through old jazz records at the Boston public library in the 60s - there is something about the clean line of his playing that has always struck me. Right up there with anybody to me. RIP, Jimmy.

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 18 Jan 2010 11:31 am

This is my favorite picture of Jimmy & Cameron Hill, with matching Epiphones, when they were the twin guitar line up in the Texas Playboys.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 18 Jan 2010 12:50 pm

Sorry to hear of his passing. That looks like the late great Les "Carrot Top" Anderson of steel guitar in that shot of the Wills band.....JH in Va.

Ken Newman · Post by **Ken Newman** » 18 Jan 2010 5:52 pm

jimmy had some great friends admiring his talent. a fine young musician here in orlando area re-jolted my jimmy memories when he turned me onto jimmy's you tube selections. that was great to have a young man say to me 'ya oughta hear this guy '..makes you feel good. yes jimmy,RIP

Earl Calvert · Post by **Earl Calvert** » 18 Jan 2010 11:14 pm

I love so many of those great Bob Wills recordings, but my all time favorite is 'Hang Your Head in Shame' that Jimmy and Cameron launched with those fantastic twin guitars. The band was on, Bob was ecstatic and magic happened!

Rest In Peace Mr. Wyble. Thanks for all the great music!

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 18 Jan 2010 11:44 pm

Alvin:

Part of a Wyble interview, talking about Wills, circa 1944:

JC: Was he a good guy?

JW: He was a wonderful guy! Oh he was so wonderful.

JC: Were you making a decent amount of money?

JW: Yeah, for that time. We only played three nights a week and he paid us $85 a week and took care of our hotel bills and bought our cowboy uniforms. All we had to buy was food. But anyway, I want to tell you about the theater dates. Bob said, “Boys, we’re going to make some theater appearances from L.A. to Chicago. We’re going to end up at the Oriental Theater in Chicago, and I want you boys to get two of the best and prettiest guitars you can find.” And he gave us a check for $1100.

JC: That’s amazing.

JW: Yes. So we went to Fife and Nichols on Hollywood Boulevard and told the salesmen-owner that we wanted two Gibson L-5s that look alike. He said he was sorry that he didn’t have any but that he had two Epiphone Emperors. He said they weren’t electric, but we said that that was okay because we’ll get DeArmond pickups. By the way, Cameron and I both had Charlie Christian guitars but they were kind of beat up. Anyway, we gave the guy the check of $1100 and it covered both the Epiphones.

JC: Did you trade the Charlie Christians?

JW: Oh no, we kept them.

JC: Good for you.

JW: We wouldn’t part with them. But let me make a point about Bob being a good guy. We played all up and down the West Coast, and at the end of each gig, Bob would get on the bus with a briefcase full of money. You see, MCA was booking Bob and they’d book him next door to Stan Kenton, or anybody big because Bob would always draw four or five thousand people – always. But he’d get on the bus and say, “Boys, we had a good night.” And he’d go down the aisle and put a hundred-dollar bill in each of our pockets (laughs).

JC: That’s tremendous.

JW: Isn’t that great? And you know, we loved one another. It was all about the music. It wasn’t about us. It was family.

JC: It was a great band, too.

JW: Well, I’ve been told that a lot of people really thought that Bob swung. And I think that came from the fact that Bob loved Bessie Smith and he loved Louis Armstrong. He loved jazz, but he really didn’t know that he loved jazz (laughs). It just made him feel good, so that’s why he liked it.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 18 Jan 2010 11:57 pm

There's a great Frank Sinatra cd which features the Red Norvo band that was in the original Ocean's Eleven movie, Jimmy's on guitar of course:
http://www.amazon.com/Live-Australia-19 ... B000005H36

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 19 Jan 2010 12:28 am

Exactly right, Jussi.

There a couple of instrumentals on that CD: Between the devil and the deep blue sea, and perdido.

This one is a dandy and all instrumental. It was recorded in 1957 I think, in stereo (very rare for the time), but was not released on vinyl till around the mid 80s. And now it is on CD:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/red-no ... d160669417

You can get a quick look at Jimmy if you look at the "wide screen" version of the original "Ocean's 11", with Norvo (backing Dino I think), but the standard version as seen on TV cuts off the edges of the frame and so you don't see Jimmy---going from memory here.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 19 Jan 2010 12:30 am

Thanks for the tip Mitch, have to get that one!

Mitch Drumm · Post by **Mitch Drumm** » 19 Jan 2010 12:44 am

Wyble is also in the Norvo band on the Capitol LP by Dinah Shore "Dinah Sings The Blues With Red". Don't know if it is on CD.

Here is Jimmy's listing at IMDB:

http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0943602/

I was not aware of "Hands Of A Stranger" with Norvo and don't know if Jimmy gets screen time.

The IMDB listing doesn't include another film:

"Screaming Mimi" from about 1955. The Norvo band is in it. I saw it on TV 25 years ago and am not sure if Wyble is on screen. Pretty sure it is on DVD?

Avert your eyes from Anita Ekberg and Gypsy Rose Lee in "Screaming Mimi" if you must. Personally, I didn't bother averting.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 19 Jan 2010 12:47 am

It is as an import at least, a bit pricey:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Sings-Some-Blues-wi ... 588531f8f8

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 19 Jan 2010 6:37 pm

I can't remember the year but it was when Jimmy was playing in Wade Ray's band at "Cowtown" on Vermont Ave. in South Los Angeles. Cowtown was a rather small club with the bandstand next to the aisle that led to the Kitchen and Rest Rooms. You could sit and listen and talk to the Band between numbers. Jimmy and the Band was playing almost in your face.
The accoustics of the room were really great and you never got blasted out by the Band. I think Stan West was playing upright 5-string Bass and Eddy Martin playing non-pedal steel. Can't remember the Drummer. It was very enjoyable to listen to Jimmy's playing.

Mike Delaney · Post by **Mike Delaney** » 21 Jan 2010 6:33 pm

I had the honor of knowing Jimmy when I was at G.I.T. (79-82). To say I learned a lot from him would be an understatement, but what a guy! He was the gentlest soul, just a loveable person.

Billy Tonnesen · Post by **Billy Tonnesen** » 22 Jan 2010 4:17 pm

A Western Swing classic was Jimmy's Guitar Ride on the 1940's Bob Wills record of "Rolly Polly". Most Guitar players over the years have copied or tried to copy this ride every time the band played Rolly Polly.

Robbie Bossert · Post by **Robbie Bossert** » 23 Jan 2010 4:00 am

Johnny Gimble once said that "Jimmy was still his favorite guitar player". Considering who Johnny has worked with over the years, that's quite a statement.

R.I.P. Jimmy.

Robbie Bossert

Andrew Brown · Post by **Andrew Brown** » 24 Jan 2010 2:56 pm

I think it's safe to say that Wyble was the best guitarist who ever worked with the Texas Playboys. A little known fact is that he rejoined them briefly in 1954.

I suppose he was the last surviving member of the WWII era Texas Playboys?

Here's some footage of him guitar-syncing a very electric solo on an acoustic guitar from one of Wills' movies:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM50ZQpSSTY

Andrew Brown · Post by **Andrew Brown** » 24 Jan 2010 3:01 pm

Mitch Drumm wrote:Alvin:

Part of a Wyble interview, talking about Wills, circa 1944:

JC: Was he a good guy?

JW: He was a wonderful guy! Oh he was so wonderful.

That was a little surprising to read that. Buddy Ray, who was close to Wyble, joined at the same time but didn't like Bob at all! He was only in the band a few months.

Andrew Brown · Post by **Andrew Brown** » 24 Jan 2010 3:14 pm

Here's a better copy of the Guild promo pic:

The Steel Guitar Forum

Jimmy Wyble

Jimmy Wyble

jimmy wyble RIP

Rolly Polly