Speedy West, American guitarist and producer (b. 1924)
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. West, who began playing a pedal steel guitar built by Paul A. Bigsby in 1948, was the first country steel guitarist to use a pedal guitar. Nashville players like Bud Isaacs would adopt it in the early 1950s.
He was photographed by Herb Wise, the American photographer who found critical success with his portraits of artists from the 1960s and 1970s.
2003Nov, 15
Speedy West
Choose Another Date
Events on 2003
- 17Mar
2003 invasion of Iraq
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq. - 7Apr
Saddam Hussein
U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein's regime falls two days later. - 27Aug
North Korea and weapons of mass destruction
The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, convene to find a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of the North Korean nuclear weapons program. - 12Sep
Pan Am Flight 103
The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. - 12Nov
2003 invasion of Iraq
Iraq War: In Nasiriyah, Iraq, at least 23 people, among them the first Italian casualties of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, are killed in a suicide bomb attack on an Italian police base.