Lester Robert Barnard, known as Junior Barnard, was an American Western swing guitarist who was a member of Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys.
16 Facts About Junior Barnard
1.
2.
Junior Barnard was among the first electric guitarists to create a guitar effect that anticipated fuzz tone.
3.
At 15 Junior Barnard began playing acoustic guitar with bands in the Tulsa area and he had his own show on the KTUL radio station.
4.
In 1936 Bob Wills formed the Sons of the West which was led by his cousin Son Lansford and Junior Barnard was drafted in as guitarist.
5.
Around a year later, by which time this band was based in Amarillo, Texas, Junior Barnard had left and returned to Tulsa to work for radio station KTUL.
6.
In 1938 Junior Barnard was again part of the Wills organization this time playing guitar for The Rhythmaires led by Bob's brother Johnnie Lee.
7.
Junior Barnard received a deferment because of his excessive weight and went to work as a welder at a defense plant in California.
8.
Junior Barnard was one of the first guitarists to play in a style that deliberately incorporated a distorted guitar tone which he achieved by pushing low powered valve or tube amps to their limits.
9.
Junior Barnard developed a lot of techniques that are common amongst guitarists today such as fast runs, extreme string bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs.
10.
Junior Barnard was noted for his steady rhythm playing and chord use.
11.
Junior Barnard's main guitar during his time as a Playboy was a blond Epiphone Emperor arch top model which he inherited from Jimmy Wyble after he replaced Wyble in 1945.
12.
Junior Barnard used a Gibson ES-150 from time to time but it was the Epiphone that was to become his main instrument as he developed his style and modified his equipment to match it.
13.
Eldon Shamblin recalled that both he and Junior Barnard used volume pedals when it was time to take a solo; it was never clear when Wills would like players to solo and with the volume control tucked away due to the design of the DeArmond pickup, the pedal became a time saving device.
14.
Junior Barnard died five hours later at Fresno County Hospital.
15.
Junior Barnard was 30 years old and left behind his wife and two sons.
16.
Junior Barnard appeared on the following tracks in the Tiffany Transcriptions series:.