Birth name Gerald Lester Byrd Name Jerry Byrd Role Musician | Instruments Lap steel guitar Movies Country Music Holiday Years active 1935–2005 | |
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Albums On the Shores of Waikiki, Byrd of Paradise Similar People Melveen Leed, Sam Rivers, Alvin Ganzer, Stephen H Sholes | ||
Jerry byrd friends anytime anywhere
Gerald Lester "Jerry" Byrd (March 9, 1920 – April 11, 2005), was an American musician who played the lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music, as well as a singer-songwriter and the head of a music publishing firm, he appeared on numerous radio programs.
Contents
- Jerry byrd friends anytime anywhere
- Jerry byrd friends sand
- Career
- Personal life and death
- Awards and recognition
- Studio albums
- Compilations
- As sideman
- Additional reading
- References
Jerry byrd friends sand
Career
Byrd was born in Lima, Ohio, one of five siblings, his interest in the instrument began after a "tent show" when he was 12 and by 15 he was playing in bars. Although his initial interest was Hawaiian music much of his work was country. In 1944/1945 he joined the Grand Ole Opry. He was important to the early career of Dolly Parton being one of the first to sign her. He also was an educator of the steel guitar giving lessons to Jimmie Vaughan and Jerry Garcia among others. The list of artists that Byrd played or recorded with included Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline and Red Foley and countless others. With Hank Williams he played songs like I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Lovesick Blues and Mansion on the Hill. In the early 1970s he moved to Hawaii and worked on reviving Hawaiian steel guitar music, taking a great delight in giving lap steel lessons to the young musicians who showed interest in ensuring that the lap steel remained an important instrument in Hawaiian music. While living in Hawaii, Byrd had a regular weekly gig with his trio at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel that lasted until his death. Though Byrd often joked about pedal steel guitar players, he had nothing but the highest of praise for Buddy Emmons, saying he had taken the steel guitar to new places with his playing.
Personal life and death
He published his autobiography "It Was a Trip: On The Wings of Music". Byrd died of Parkinson's disease at 85 in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he had resided for 30 years; he was survived by wife Kaleo Wood and two daughters.
Awards and recognition
He was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame in 1978 as # 1 and his Rickenbacker lap steel is housed at the Country Music Hall of Fame
Studio albums
Compilations
As sideman
With Hank Williams:
11/06/1947:
Rootie Tootie
I Can't Get You Off Of My Mind
I'm A Long Gone Daddy
Honky Tonkin'
11/07/1947:
My Sweet Love Ain't Around
The Blues Come Around
Mansion On The Hill
I'll Be A Bachelor 'Til I Die
12/22/1948:
Lost On The River
There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight
I Heard My Mother Praying For Me
Lovesick Blues
08/30/1949:
I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
A House Without Love
I Just Don't Like This Kind Of Livin'
My Bucket's Got A Hole In It (2 Takes)
Other players on Hank's recordings include Dale "Smokey" Lohman (Early recordings), also Don Davis played one or two sessions with Hank. From 1950 on it was Don Helms."
With Jack McDuff
With Don Patterson