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More steel players probably
cite Jerry Byrd as the single most influential player in their
early musical development than any other musician. He almost
single handedly defined the steel sound of early Nashville and
created an extremely personal style whose trademark vibrato
and lush tunings became the most-imitated way to play Hawaiian
music.
Jerry Byrd was born March 9,
1920 in Lima, Ohio. His country and western steel guitar
playing can be heard in his work with such artists as Chet
Atkins, Jethro Burns, Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Roy Clark,
Ernest Tubb, Red Foley, Burl Ives and numerous others. His
work with Hank Williams was done on a Rickenbacker BD-6 lap
steel tuned to
C6 tuning. This guitar is now in the
Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
Byrd was a
lifelong exponent of traditional Hawaiian music. In the
1960’s, he grew weary of the super-hyped, pressure cooker
world of commercial country music. Byrd moved to Honolulu in
the early 1970’s and became a revered and much honored
presence for his efforts at teaching native Hawaiian youths
about steel guitar - ironically, their own instrument! He
composed several tunes that have become steel guitar standards
including “Steelin’ the Blues” and “Steelin’ the Chimes.”
On Monday,
April 11, 2005, at 5:40 Am Honolulu time, Jerry Byrd passed
away. Jerry first entered the hospital on Friday, March 4,
2005, and celebrated his 85th birthday there on
March 9th.
Andy Volk
avolk@ziplink.net
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