Jerry Byrd

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.

Jerry Byrd
Background information
Birth nameGerald Lester Byrd
Born(1920-03-09)March 9, 1920
Lima, Ohio, U.S.
OriginNashville
DiedApril 11, 2005(2005-04-11) (aged 85)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S
GenresCountry, honky tonk, Hawaiian music
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentsLap steel guitar
Years active1935–2005
Associated actsErnest Tubb, Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Red Foley, many others

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.[1] 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 A Mansion on the Hill.[2] 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.[3]

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[4]

Discography

Studio albums
  • Nani Hawaii (1953) Mercury
  • Byrd's Exhibition (1954) Mercury
  • Guitar Magic (1954) Mercury
  • Hi-Fi Guitar (1958) Decca
  • On the Shores of Waikiki (1960) Decca
  • Byrd of Paradise (1961) Monument
  • Memories of Maria (1962) Monument
  • Blue Hawaiian Steel Guitar (1963) Mercury
  • Man of Steel (1964) Mercury
  • Satin Strings of Steel (1965) Monument
  • Potpourri (1966) Monument
  • Burning Sands, Pearly Shells, & Steel Guitars (1967) Monument
  • Country Steel Guitar Greats (1966) Wing
  • Steel Guitar Hawaiian Style (1976) Lehua
  • Polynesian Suite (1995) Sony Music Distribution
  • Christmas in Hawaii (2003) Lehua

Compilations
  • Jerry Byrd: By Request (2002) Mountain Apple
  • Steel Guitar (2002) Mountain Apple
  • The Master of Touch and Tone (2005) Mountain Apple
  • Master of the Steel Guitar, Vol. 1 (2005) Hana Ola—Rsi

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

Further reading
  • Byrd, Jerry (2003). It Was a Trip, On Wings of Music. Centerstream Publications. ISBN 978-1-57424-131-0.
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References
  1. "Jerry Byrd". Hillbilly-music.com.
  2. "Kayton Roberts Interview - The Steel Guitar Forum". Steelguitarforum.com.
  3. "Jerry Byrd, Steel Guitarist, Dies at 85". Nytimes.com. April 17, 2005.
  4. "Jerry Byrd, steel guitar pioneer | The Honolulu Advertiser | Hawaii's Newspaper". The.honoluluadvertiser.com.
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