Biography
J.B. Brinkley ranked among Texas's leading session guitarists throughout the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on discs by Andy Starr, Jerry Fuller, and the Chuck-A-Lucks while also releasing his own material. A classic journeyman whose country work helped open doors for rock & roll without ever scoring a hit in the newer style himself, Brinkley grew up in Texas and first performed vocals with the Crystal Springs Ramblers on numbers such as "Fort Worth Stomp" beginning in 1937. His major break arrived late in the decade when he entered the Light Crust Doughboys as guitarist and singer, taking the lead vocal slot on the group's 1941 sides. Although few Doughboys tracks from those years have surfaced on CD, his delivery of the unissued Vocalion recording "It's Funny What Love Will Make You Do" can be found on Columbia-Legacy's Roots & Blues: The Retrospective 1925-1950.
Following World War II, Brinkley continued to make records, yet he earned his strongest recognition as Dallas's premier session guitarist, handling regular dates for numerous other artists. Alongside fellow pickers Paul Buskirk and Lefty Perkins, he anchored Joe Leonard's Linn Records roster, serving in effect as the label's counterpart to Scotty Moore. His blues-inflected Western swing phrasing translated readily into rockabilly and mainstream rock & roll, powering hot sides such as the Chuck-A-Lucks' "Disc Jockey Fever" and Andy Starr's "Do It Right Now," where he not only supplied lead lines but typically directed the studio ensembles. Throughout the 1950s Brinkley remained a central figure at Linn and one of the most active guitarists in the Dallas-Fort Worth circuit, though he did issue a lone single on Dot Records in the middle of the decade.
In 1958, billed under his own name, Brinkley recorded a single for Leonard. The A-side, the catchy novelty "I'll Be Your Baby," offered a pop-flavored rock & roll track in the vein of Elvis Presley's RCA-Victor output of the time, spotlighting the Ryles Sisters' harmonies and Brinkley's brief spoken asides, with Light Crust Doughboy Marvin Montgomery supplying tenor banjo. The stronger B-side, Brinkley's own instrumental "Guitar Smoke," evoked "Raunchy" while granting the guitar greater space and featuring striking baritone saxophone from Jodie Lyons. That release served as Joe Leonard's introduction of the Linn subsidiary Kliff Records. Brinkley remained busy on the Texas circuit for decades, contributing to countless rock & roll and country sessions and cutting material for Major Bill Smith, producer of Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby," Paul & Paula's "Hey Paula," and J. Frank Wilson's "Last Kiss." He died at age 68.
Following World War II, Brinkley continued to make records, yet he earned his strongest recognition as Dallas's premier session guitarist, handling regular dates for numerous other artists. Alongside fellow pickers Paul Buskirk and Lefty Perkins, he anchored Joe Leonard's Linn Records roster, serving in effect as the label's counterpart to Scotty Moore. His blues-inflected Western swing phrasing translated readily into rockabilly and mainstream rock & roll, powering hot sides such as the Chuck-A-Lucks' "Disc Jockey Fever" and Andy Starr's "Do It Right Now," where he not only supplied lead lines but typically directed the studio ensembles. Throughout the 1950s Brinkley remained a central figure at Linn and one of the most active guitarists in the Dallas-Fort Worth circuit, though he did issue a lone single on Dot Records in the middle of the decade.
In 1958, billed under his own name, Brinkley recorded a single for Leonard. The A-side, the catchy novelty "I'll Be Your Baby," offered a pop-flavored rock & roll track in the vein of Elvis Presley's RCA-Victor output of the time, spotlighting the Ryles Sisters' harmonies and Brinkley's brief spoken asides, with Light Crust Doughboy Marvin Montgomery supplying tenor banjo. The stronger B-side, Brinkley's own instrumental "Guitar Smoke," evoked "Raunchy" while granting the guitar greater space and featuring striking baritone saxophone from Jodie Lyons. That release served as Joe Leonard's introduction of the Linn subsidiary Kliff Records. Brinkley remained busy on the Texas circuit for decades, contributing to countless rock & roll and country sessions and cutting material for Major Bill Smith, producer of Bruce Channel's "Hey Baby," Paul & Paula's "Hey Paula," and J. Frank Wilson's "Last Kiss." He died at age 68.