Over the years, countless guitarists have come to Nashville with as little as $5.00 in their pockets and their guitars slung over their backs in hopes of getting a job and making their dream a reality. Only a chosen few ever made it; especially those whose 'fingerprints' are left on #1 hit recordings. Guitar great Jimmy Capps is one of those chosen few.

 

  For years now, Jimmy has been a part of turning songs he's never heard before into hits...and in some cases...even 'classics'.

These timeless classics include:

 

* "Stand By Your Man" - Tammy Wynette"

* "He Stopped Loving Her Today" - George Jones

* "The Gambler" - Kenny Rogers

* "The Rose" - Conway Twitty

* "The Lighthouse" - The Hinsons

 

  As one of Country Music's finest guitar players, Jimmy Capps is a 'master of smoothness'. He is known in the studio for his ability to move flawlessly from 'electric to acoustic' with a polished and refined touch that he brings to every recording or performance he is part of.

 

  When you hear the richness and grace of his acoustic intros on "The Gambler" (Kenny Rogers) ..."How Blue" (Reba McEntire) ... "Near You" (George Jones and Tammy Wynette) ..."After All These Years (Barbara Mandrell) ...16th Avenue (Lacy J. Dalton) ... and on Conway Twitty's "I Don't Know A Thing About Love"... it comes as no surprise that this gifted guitarist can easily alternate into his more distinctive, electrifying sounds that you hear on the intros of Waylon's "Brown-Eyed Handsome Man"...Terri Gibbs' "Somebody's Knockin' "... Charley Pride's "Honky Tonk Blues" ... or The Louvin Brothers' "How's The World Treating You" and "Second Time Around" ... just to name a few.

 

  Some other incredible recordings you can hear Jimmy on are George Strait's "Amarillo By Morning" and "Unwound" ... Alan Jackson's "Here In The Real World" ... The Oak Ridge Boys' "Elvira" and "Sail Away" ... Barbara Mandrell's "Sleeping Single In A Double Bed" and "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" ... Conway's "Lost In The Feeling", "Red Neckin' Love Makin' Night", and "Don't Call Him A Cowboy" ... John Denver's "Some Days Are Diamonds" ... as well as such artists as Andy Williams ...  Ray Charles ... Mac Davis ... John Conlee ... Moe Bandy ... Joe Stampley ... Billie Joe Spears ... Johnny Paycheck ... Janie Fricke ... and all of Ronnie Milsap's recordings through 1988, to include such hits as "Smoky Mtn Rain" and "Legend In My Time".

 

  At one time, Jimmy averaged 520 recording sessions a year.

 

  In 2014, Jimmy was inducted into both the Musicians Hall of Fame and North Carolina's Music Hall of Fame. He was also featured on the August 2019 cover of International Musician magazine highlighting his 61 years on stage. In May, 2019, Jimmy was honored with a memorial marker on the sidewalk in front of his boyhood home at 216 W. Church St., Benson, NC and the street is known locally as Jimmy Capps Parkway.