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Jimmy Day, 1934-1999
By Lee Nichols
FEBRUARY 1, 1999:
If the death of Austin blues guitarist T.D. Bell on January 9 was a hard
blow for the Central Texas music scene, the loss of steel guitar player Jimmy Day
must be measured in even larger terms -- its impact resonates on a national, even
worldwide scale. Buda resident Day died of cancer Friday, January 22 at the age of
65.
There are a select few musicians whose talent is so highly regarded that their
names literally become synonymous with their instrument -- Jimi Hendrix on the guitar,
John Coltrane and Charlie Parker on the saxophone, Miles Davis on the trumpet. In
the world of steel guitar, those names were Buddy Emmons and Jimmy Day.
Of course, Jimmy Day never received the fame of those other names -- he was primarily
a sideman, rather than a band leader -- but like all sidemen, he helped make the sounds
that made the stars famous. Day's résumé alone is mind-boggling; name a
country music hall of famer from the Fifties or Sixties, any one, and chances are,
he played with them. And there's a reason he hooked up with so many great musicians
-- they sought him out.
But Day also played with some smaller names as well, which must be seen as a measure
of their talent. When you're the guy who laid down the opening licks of Ray Price's
"Crazy Arms," you don't have to play with also-rans. Clay Blaker, Alvin
Crow, and Don Walser are among the Central Texas regional talents who received the
Jimmy Day stamp of approval and benefited from his talents.
Day was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on January 9, 1934, and grew up in Louisiana.
He heard Shot Jackson playing the steel guitar in 1948 and fell in love with the
instrument, developing a friendship with Jackson (Day, Jackson, and Emmons together
manufactured their own brand of pedal steel, the Sho-Bud, beginning in 1957). He
quickly mastered the instrument and was soon among heady company; the same year he
graduated from high school, 1951, Day auditioned for The Louisiana Hayride,
the Shreveport radio show which at the time rivaled the Grand Ole Opry in importance,
and backed Webb Pierce and Red Sovine. That same year, he recorded with Pierce on
"Don't Do It Darlin'," which went to number one.
From there, there are just too many highlights to mention. Day moved among the
upper echelons of country royalty until the late Seventies, when Nashville began
its attempts to destroy country music, often dropping the steel guitar from recordings
altogether. Day returned to Central Texas in 1978 and sought out audiences who still
appreciated true country. Among his gigs were the now-legendary Monday nights with
Don Walser's Pure Texas Band at Henry's Bar & Grill. He moved to Nashville in
1991 for some session work when Nashville rediscovered the steel, but then settled
down in Buda again shortly thereafter.
As said, the best way to understand the impact of Jimmy Day is to look at his
résumé, so here it is (no, we're not making this up): Webb Pierce, Red
Sovine, Hank Williams, Jim Reeves, Lefty Frizzell, Elvis Presley, Ray Price, Ernest
Tubb, Willie Nelson, Johnny Bush, Ferlin Husky, George Jones, Tracy Nelson &
Mother Earth, Sammi Smith, Leon Russell, Commander Cody, Clay Blaker, Alvin Crow,
Don Walser, Skeeter Davis.

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