When I was in grad school in 1966-67, Joyce and I lived on Aster Drive in Nashville. Across the street and down a couple of houses lived a Nashville musician and his wife. His name was Jerry Byrd and played steel guitar. He was in his mid forties at that time and had already made a name for himself in Nashville. But he obviously hadn't made a fortune. He played with everyone from Hank Williams to Chet Atkins in the 40's and 50's. By the 60's he was continuing his side work for studios and appearing regularly on the Opry. Although we saw him in the yard sometimes, we never met him. But we did see him on local tv on the Bobby Lord afternoon show.
According to one of his fan club sites, the pedal steel guitar was the new rage in Nashville at the time and Jerry refused to play it. He stuck with his Rickenbacher Bakelite lap top steel guitar and the Volu-tone Amp. That and other frustrations eventually led him to move to Hawaii where he enjoyed a great career until his death in 2005. His fans remember him as the Master of Touch and Tone.
The Cumberland Post
My Backyard, Six Miles from the Cumberland River
The older I get the more I appreciate "old school" guys (and gals). It's not just stickin' with the tried and true, it's also having a deep respect for tradition, and traditional ways. Mr. Byrd can PLAY that thing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting your memories, thots, and the music, of the one and only Jerry Byrd, a true master of the steel guitar. He was special, and will live on thru his wonderful music, as well as in the hands of his students and many admiring steel players whom he influenced for decades and around the world.
ReplyDeleteHe was also a very nice and funny guy, whom is dearly missed.