Speedy West
Wesley Webb West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003), better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer. He frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol Records backing band for Tennessee Ernie Ford and many others. The duo also recorded with non-Capitol artists in Los Angeles. In 1960, Speedy played on and produced Loretta Lynn's first single. During his time at Capitol, he played on over 6000 recordings, including pop records by artists like Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. West, who began playing Paul Bigsby's second ever pedal steel guitar in 1947, was the first country steel guitarist to use a pedal guitar. Nashville players like Bud Isaacs would adopt it in the early 1950s. After a stroke in 1981, West was unable to play pedal steel, but would continue to attend steel guitar conventions. His health would continue to deteriorate and he would pass away on November 15, 2003. |
Birth and Death Data: Born January 25, 1924 (Springfield), Died November 15, 2003 (Oklahoma)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1951 - 1956
Roles Represented in DAHR: steel guitar
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | E1VB-0659 | 10-in. | 6/29/1951 | The lamp of faith | Frank Worth Orchestra ; Roy Rogers ; Roy Rogers Riders ; Frank Worth | Male vocal solo, with male vocal ensemble and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |
Victor | E1VB-0661 | 10-in. | 6/29/1951 | Good luck, good health, God bless you | Frank Worth Orchestra ; Roy Rogers ; Roy Rogers Riders ; Frank Worth | Male vocal solo, with male vocal ensemble and instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |
Decca | L 9127 | 4/5/1956 | Southern fried chicken | Hank Penny | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |||
Decca | L 9128 | 4/5/1956 | I'd rather pick a guitar | Hank Penny | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |||
Decca | L 9129 | 4/5/1956 | Rock of Gibraltar | Hank Penny | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |||
Decca | L 9130 | 4/5/1956 | Wham! Bam! Thank you Ma'am | Hank Penny | instrumentalist, steel guitar | |||
Decca | L 9174 | 4/19/1956 | Texas never would-a made it (without Ol' Tennessee) | Hank Penny | instrumentalist, steel guitar |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "West, Speedy," accessed December 9, 2023, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/350516.
West, Speedy. (2023). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 9, 2023, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/350516.
"West, Speedy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2023. Web. 9 December 2023.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Speedy West
Discogs: Speedy West
Allmusic: Speedy West
IMDb: Speedy West
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: West, Speedy - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n91093405
Wikidata: Speedy West - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1351286
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/41022377
MusicBrainz: Speedy West - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/bd9f96c7-813f-4515-ae3a-a9ec906dffea
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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