When Dave Pruitt was fifteen, he wanted to play guitar with his two older brothers in their rock band. "They told me I'd never get it." Dave was determined to be a guitarist, so he formed his own band and for the next ten years played with groups of his own. Finally in 1981 Dave and his brother Dick formed the Bel Airs, and they have performed together ever since. One of the guitars Dave plays is a Danelectro Silvertone that he bought secondhand before they were popular. He says, "It's one good sound." The Bel Airs have released four albums and played with many other blues musicians over the years, including Tracy Nelson, Taj Mahal, and Anson Funderburgh.
Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Dave Pruitt at Bubba's Blues Corner; Helena, Arkansas, 2017
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
