Very sad news to report: our ninety-six-year-old mandolin-playing friend Scotty Broyles passed away a few days ago. I just found out the news from his daughters Judy and Jamie.
I first met Scotty when I wrote a story about the instruments made by Jim Harvey in La Jolla, California, back in the 1950s. Scotty had a Jim Harvey mandolin made for him in 1952, and he still played great and had great stories. He also took a bunch of incredible color slides of country music shows in the 1950s, which I licensed to be featured on many CD covers, books, and magazine articles. Scotty’s amazing color photo of Merle Travis graced the cover of my Merle Travis biography published a couple of years ago.
Scotty became an absolute legend with his yearly appearances at the Viva Las Vegas festival, charming audiences with his great musicianship, hilarious stage patter, and volume of personality that came out of the five-foot-tall ex-Navy man from Texas. I loved the soft lilt to his wonderful East Texas accent. I will always be able to hear that voice in my head.
Scotty was born in 1928, and it became a thing of wonder and disbelief to have Scotty on stage with us in the 2020s, talking about how he bought his first mandolin in 1939. How was it possible? He was a real connection to the old days, and there won’t ever be another like him. In fact, I’m pretty sure they broke the mold making Scotty Broyles. Scotty was a real unique guy. Just to give an example, his family had to talk him out of riding motorcycles in his mid-eighties, and in his house he proudly had a photo of his tiny, elderly self jumping in the air at a dirt track, riding some kind of newer dirt bike clearly meant for teenagers.
At the moment, they are working on a memorial service in Ridgecrest, California, but a date has not been set. Of course, we will have a “Scotty Broyles memorial corner” set up for both the Viva Las Vegas Guitar Geek and Hillbilly Fest shows. He was our buddy, our friend, and I haven’t even begun to process this loss. Right now, I’m at a loss for words. All I know is I’m so grateful to have met this hilarious, ornery, and talented man and to have called him my friend.
Rest in peace, William “Scotty” Broyles, 1928–2025. I hope they let you sing the risqué version of “Just Because” in heaven.
See more photos at Deke’s original post.
