

This versatility would come in handy in 1942, when he moved to Los Angeles and joined a number of bands including Artie Shaw and Benny Goodman. The Guy Who Played Barney Is Now A Tantric Sex Instructor By Shenequa Golding Janu10:25am Gettt Images For those of us who are old enough to remember the control Barney & Friends had. Barney's suit was basically a 70-pound, 120-degree mobile sweat tent with a head that didn't swivel, and no visibility except through Barney's open mouth. This experience had a lasting effect on Kessel, and he began to uncover his own voice.īy incorporating elements of the blues music from his youth, as well as a harmonic vocabulary inspired by guitarist George Van Eps, Kessel's style was dynamic and versatile.

Just across the room from Christian himself, Kessel froze, not wanting to sound like an imitator. However, when the two inevitably met at a jam session, Kessel realized that he needed to develop a style of his own. And I think I sounded like him in the early years of my playing". I idolized his playing, and when I was in high school, I waited for his records to come out. Kessel admits, "There's no doubt that I was a fan of his. His first exposure to the guitar was from blues musicians who played in boxcars by the railway tracks near his house.Īs a teenager, his main influence was another Oklahoma jazz guitar great - Charlie Christian. in an interview with vice, david joyner, who played barney from 1991 to 2001 while actor bob west provided the voice for the purple behemoth, said that he now owns a tantric massage practice, where. His universally-loved style also helped him forge a career as a session guitarist in Hollywood, playing with icons including Frank Sinatra and the Beach Boys.īarney Kessel was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1923.

#Who played barney series
Barney Kessel was a masterful and highly influential jazz guitarist that played with Oscar Peterson, Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and the Wrecking Crew. Barney & Friends is an American childrens television series targeted at young children aged 27, created by Sheryl Leach.The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992.
