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I was born and raised in
Jayton, Texas, a little town with a population of about 500.
Jayton is about 100 miles east of Lubbock. I was fascinated by
music as far back as I can remember.
Tex, my older brother by 12
years, had a steel guitar and was taking lessons in Lubbock
where he lived. I was about 8 years old when he went into the
Air Force. He brought his single neck and amp and left it at
home for safekeeping. I started trying to play it just by
going by the music he left and got to where I could play
fairly decent. Eventually, some other fellows in Jayton were
learning to pick and I would go over and pick with them. We’d
sit for hours and make those little plastic records. The
machine was a rec-o-cut.
When I was 13 some boys from
out of town came by and wanted me to pick with them on the
radio in Stanford, Texas. They had a 30 min. show on Saturday.
I thought I had hit the big time! We would pick at a few
school functions around the area. The group was Henley Diggs
and The Double Mountain Boys. I was also learning to play
regular guitar, rhythm and a little bit of lead.
I got to know a fellow named
Ben Hall, I would go to Breckenridge, Texas and pick with him.
He moved to Lubbock and was a DJ there. I’d go up there to
visit and got to know Buddy Holly, Sonny Curtis and Johnny
Duncan. Grand Ole Opry shows would come through and I’d get to
pick on some of those. I also worked with Bill Mack in Wichita
Falls, Texas on his television show in 1955.
My first trip to Nashville was
in the early 50’s. Waylon Jennings and I picked with a young
girl, Hope Griffith, who had a television show in Lubbock. She
came to Nashville to cut a demo and I got to do that with her.
I graduated from high school
in 1956 and moved to Big Spring, Texas. Ben Hall and his wife,
Dena lived there then and had a television show that I picked
on. Ben had a little studio and we’d cut tapes. We had started
to write some songs and got several placed with Cliffy Stone
at Central Songs. We came to Nashville in 1958 to record for
Captiol Records and Ken Nelson as the Ben Hall Trio.
I also was on the Police Force
in Big Spring, Texas. In 1963 I loaded up my wife, Kitty, two
kids, Terri and Robert, and headed to Nashville. My first job
was with Pap Wilson, a comedian. I was with him several
months. I was also going to the Opry to see if anyone would
let me pick with him (that was the days of the open door
policy at the Opry).
Bill Anderson was forming a
band and asked to hear me play and he hired me. So that led to
recording with Bill and also this girl singer that Bill had
found, Connie Smith. Bob Ferguson was the producer on “Once a
Day” and he liked steel guitar and really put the steel out
front. When that song hit, I started getting calls for other
sessions and my recording career took off. Connie hired me to
pick in her band for a while, then I left the road to
concentrate on recording.
I went to visit the Opry. Hal
Rugg was the only regular steel player at that time. He told
me the other steel players had quit coming in every weekend.
He said, “I’d love to have some help.” We talked with Ott
Devine, who was the Opry Manager at the time. He said, “We’d
love to have you.” I was at the right place at the right time.
It was a dream come true to get to pick the Opry. That gig
lasted 32 years!
I retired from the Opry in
February 1998. I still do some sessions and pick with some of
the Opry stars when they do shows in town or on the road. I
also have been traveling around the country doing steel guitar
shows. My wife Judi and I got to go to Japan and Sweden to do
concerts and seminars. Those were wonderful experiences!
I mentioned my first wife
Kitty and children Terri and Robert earlier. After moving to
Nashville we had 3 more children, Lisa, Mia and Christopher. I
have 6 grandchildren, Jesse, Melody, Faith, Rainey, Shane and
Taylor. Kitty and I were married 36 years before she passed
away several years ago.
I was very fortunate that
I got to record with all of my “heroes” over the years. I
accomplished more than I ever dreamed. I covered the whole
spectrum of picking, writing, singing and producing. It’s been
a wonderful run. I could talk a lot about golfing, but that is
a complete story in itself. Now if you’ll excuse me, I'll just
-- FORE! Hey you, Look Out!
Weldon Myrick
[I was privileged to have Weldon
Myrick as my steel player when in 1969 I recorded my album in
Nashville, “Hey There … It’s Me Again.” Also in the band was
Buddy Spicher, Tommy Jackson, Brenton Banks, fiddle; Charlie
McCoy, piano & harmonica; Hal Rugg, steel; Jimmy Covar,
electric & gut string guitars; Bobby Thompson, rhythym guitar;
Bobby Dyson, bass; and Jim Isabell, drums. Backup singers
included the Glaser Brothers. – Dusty Owens, TCM Radio News]
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