You want to hear the six strings swing? Check out this 55 song anthology by Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, who lived from 1921-2014 and made his guitar give 8 beats to every bar. His songs have been covered by bluegrassers, country gents and of course rock and rollers, influencing the likes of Glen Campbell and Roy Clark, providing a link between Western Swing and Rockabilly.
Of course, you get the famous “Guitar Boogie” instrumental by The Tennessee Ramblers, and his other masterly hand-quicker-than-the-eyes pieces such as “Boomerang”, and “Banjo Boogie”. But Smith was not a one trick pony, as you can hear dashes of Les Paul and Django Reinhardt on “After You’ve Gone” and “Bebop Rag” . His most famous composition, “Feudin’ Banjos” is included and his chops are quite impressive, while Smith slowly adapts to the harder edge of Marlin Brando with wild one rockers like “Rockin’ The News”, “Blue Rock” and “Teen-Age Rebel”. If you’re a guitarist, you’ll learn some licks there that are sweeter than a Tootsie Roll Pop.