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!
My grandfather, Eddie Kirk, played rhythm guitar & sang with Ernie Ford, as well as Merle Travis, in their bands, along with speedy west! When we found out that Speedy West was still alive outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma, my family and i went to see him on a day trip & we reminisced about the country western songs of the 40s & 50s that speedy & our grandpa had played!
Speedy west, suffered a stroke in his later years, leaving him partially paralyzed on his right side. However, in this video, he literally dusted off one of his old steel guitars, tuned it by ear, & played the melody you hear in this video. We're pretty sure he hadn't done this in Years, & that this was probably his last performance. RIP.