Speedy West, Merle Travis, Judy Hayden 1951

Aaron Jennings · From: Montana, USA

Great collection of 3 songs with Speedy West.

It looks like Speedy on his Bigsby, but with a different board covering up the pedal rods than I am used to seeing.

Merle on his Bigsby as well - which I don't think he played for very long?

Check it out!

https://youtu.be/Mj6SQyK_VAA

Walter Stettner · From: Vienna, Austria

Great stuff! Thanks for posting!

Kind Regards, Walter
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www.lloydgreentribute.com

Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

I found this very cool documentary of Merle Travis with Speedy and someone else?
Anyone know who the other steel player is?

http://acousticguitar.com/video-merle-travis-tv-documentary-now-streaming/

Also in some parts he is playing a huge deco style triple neck steel.
Not sure but it looks like it says "Starto Chord" or something like that...
Anyone know?
_________________
Inlaid Star Guitar 2006 by Mark Giles. SD-10 4+5 in E9th; http://luthiersupply.com/instrument-gallery.html
2017 Mullen SD-10, G2 5&5 Polished Aluminum covering. Custom Build for me. Great Steel.
Clinesmith Joaquin Murphy style Aluminum 8 String Lap Steel Short A6th.
Magnatone Jeweltone Series Lap Steel, Circa 1950? 6 String with F#minor7th Tuning.
1956 Dewey Kendrick D-8 4&3, Restoration Project.
1973 Sho~Bud Green SD-10 4&5 PSG, Restoration Project.

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

That's Eddie Martin.

I really like his style, but he seems to have disappeared in the 1950s. He made a handful of records under his own name in the late 40s and did some sessions backing Dub Dickerson, The Frontiersmen, Red Murrell, and was even on Ray Price's first recording session.

He's also seen in the "Old Chisholm Trail" soundie by Travis playing a standard lap steel. I think that big console guitar shown in the pic below is home made.

That says "Electra Chord".

Did you catch that shot in the documentary of Travis with a guy sitting behind Speedy West's Bigsby with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth??

Looks like Paul Bigsby himself to me.

Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

Thanks Mitch, I'm getting educated here!

I'd not seen any mention of his name before.
I also was under the impression that Chalker was the one on Ray Price's first recording.
Think I read that somewhere, but I may be wrong or perhaps I did read it and the writer was wrong.

I think you may be right about the being Paul Bigsby at the steel, but haven't seen enough photos of him to know, but this one below.
Would love to see Paul Bigsby and Chuck Wright in the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.

On it being Electra Chord, I took the first image to be an "S" but I think your right there too. Was hard to see in the video with the older poor definition and not being on him very long.
He did sound real good and he did play a lap steel on parts of that documentary.

As for the Electra Chord, I'll stop complaining about the weight of my D-10, Ha ha ha.

Maybe some day someone will take the time and effort to write a history of the instrument, but I'm afraid there would be a very small market for it.
Thanks again for the information.

_________________
Inlaid Star Guitar 2006 by Mark Giles. SD-10 4+5 in E9th; http://luthiersupply.com/instrument-gallery.html
2017 Mullen SD-10, G2 5&5 Polished Aluminum covering. Custom Build for me. Great Steel.
Clinesmith Joaquin Murphy style Aluminum 8 String Lap Steel Short A6th.
Magnatone Jeweltone Series Lap Steel, Circa 1950? 6 String with F#minor7th Tuning.
1956 Dewey Kendrick D-8 4&3, Restoration Project.
1973 Sho~Bud Green SD-10 4&5 PSG, Restoration Project.

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

Yeah, not too many good pictures of Paul around.

Here's a closeup in the 1950s.

He's got a diastema that would do David Letterman proud in this pic. I think the pic with the Crocker is earlier than this one and no sign of a diastema, so I'd guess he at times was between dentists.

Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

Both of the Paul A Bigsby photos in the thread above are in Babiuk's book. There are other (possibly rare) photos of Speedy West, Joaquin Murphy, Merle Travis and others with early Bigsby instruments. There are plenty of other later artists and instruments featured as well. I remember the book being very spendy when I bought it (2009), but it is a fantastic book and turned out to be well worth the cost. If it is still in print, I heartily recommend the book to anyone interested in PAB or the musicians of his era.

Andy Babiuk. The Story Of Paul Bigsby Father Of The Modern Electric Guitar. FG Publishing: 2008.

It looks like Mitch posted again while I was writing. I don't believe that latest photo from him is in the book, but there is another pic with PAB in those same stage clothes.

I enjoy building, maintaining, modifying and so on of stringed instruments almost as much as I enjoy playing them. To that you may add that I also enjoy reading the history of the instruments and the people who played them. Cool

Enjoy! Pick on it!
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke

Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

Hi Michael,
That Book by Andy Babiuk, The Story Of Paul Bigsby Father Of The Modern Electric Guitar looked good so I ordered it on Amazon.
A used copy with good dust cover for $18.95 plus shipping. Not bad.
Will look forward to the reading and pictures. Shocked

Thanks for the tip.
Andy Very Happy

_________________
Inlaid Star Guitar 2006 by Mark Giles. SD-10 4+5 in E9th; http://luthiersupply.com/instrument-gallery.html
2017 Mullen SD-10, G2 5&5 Polished Aluminum covering. Custom Build for me. Great Steel.
Clinesmith Joaquin Murphy style Aluminum 8 String Lap Steel Short A6th.
Magnatone Jeweltone Series Lap Steel, Circa 1950? 6 String with F#minor7th Tuning.
1956 Dewey Kendrick D-8 4&3, Restoration Project.
1973 Sho~Bud Green SD-10 4&5 PSG, Restoration Project.

Michael Maddex · From: Northern New Mexico, USA

Andy, I am glad that you found my post interesting or useful. It sounds like you got a real good price on the book and I know that you will not be disappointed with it. Enjoy!
_________________
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke

Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

Hi Michael,
More expensive books were to be found and most in the range I paid were listed as Good with possible damage, underlining, highliting missing cover, etc...
Clean were for the most part about double in price or higher.
This listed in good condition with clean cover.
Thanks again.
_________________
Inlaid Star Guitar 2006 by Mark Giles. SD-10 4+5 in E9th; http://luthiersupply.com/instrument-gallery.html
2017 Mullen SD-10, G2 5&5 Polished Aluminum covering. Custom Build for me. Great Steel.
Clinesmith Joaquin Murphy style Aluminum 8 String Lap Steel Short A6th.
Magnatone Jeweltone Series Lap Steel, Circa 1950? 6 String with F#minor7th Tuning.
1956 Dewey Kendrick D-8 4&3, Restoration Project.
1973 Sho~Bud Green SD-10 4&5 PSG, Restoration Project.

Larry Lenhart · From: Ponca City, Oklahoma

I have the Paul Bigsby book and it is a great book. I also have the Bear Family cd set of Merle Travis and in that box set is a rather large booklet about Merle, where it talks about his association with Mr. Bigsby...another interesting read of that time era...one of my favs for sure ! He told Paul he didnt like the idea of having the tuning pegs on opposite sides,,,made tuning more difficult and Paul drew the one-sided tuners desing on a napkin...thats the story I read somewhere in one of those sources. Of course Merle went on to use a Super400. I took that Bigsby book to a luthier in Phoenix and asked him if he could build a guitar like the BT50 I think it was and he said yes for $2800...I backed out but I shoulda had him build it !
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