Billy Briggs Was Born In Fort Worth Texas In 1919. He Apprenticed There Under Pioneering Electric Stell Guitarist Bob Dunn & Joined The Hi-Flyers In The Mid-1930's. He Followed A Stream Of Former Hi-Flyers To Amarillo In Late 1937 To Join The Sons Of The West & In The Coming Years Became One Of The Earliest Steel Guitarists To Significantly Expand Upon Dunn's Model. Briggs Built His Own Nine-String Steel Began Experimenting With New Tunings & Chord Voicings And When He Formed His Own Band Swinging Steel In 1939 Became Perhaps The First Steel Player To Attach Legs To His Guitar & Play Standing Fronting His Own Group. He Returned To The Sons Of The West In 1940 & Took Part In Their Tightly Arranged Forward-Looking 1941 Sessions For Okeh. He Held Together A Makeshift Sons Of The West Lineup For A While During The War Then Formed His Own XIT Boys In 1946. In Late '46 Or Early '47 Briggs Began An Association With Dan Allender's Dalhart/Amerillo-Based Time Label That Lasted To The End Of The Decade. A Single Release On Lew Preston's Folke Label Followed Before A Prolific Stint With Imperial 1950-53 Gave Briggs A Regional & Much Covered Hit "Chew Tobacco Rag" In 1951. Briggs Ended A Nine Year Association With Amarillo's Avalon Club In 1956 When He Dispanded The XIT Boys & Opened His Own Ill-Fated Hall. He Left Music Soon After & Died In California In 1984.