Jerry's Music

Down through the decades, Jerry Byrd has recorded many instrumental singles and albums under his own name.

According to an informational release by Mercury Records, 1016 Melbourne Ave., N.E., Knoxville 17, Tennessee, Jerry Byrd's initial recordings with that label are as follows:

NOTE: The records listed in the "Nani Hawaii" album are 78 rpm format and are not available singly. They are however available in the 45 rpm speed as A-83 X45.

He has several cassettes and CD�s also to his credit. Each of these musical releases is a true work of art and will be a welcome and valued addition to your music library, regardless of your preferred tastes.

Their moods vary from country style to pop and traditional Hawaiian���.just about anything that lends itself well to the steel guitar. One of his finest albums is entirely Japanese!

Back during the late 1940's, a pop tune arrived on the scene entitled "Swiss Woodpecker". It was recorded by none-other than Les Paul and to hear it along side Jerry Byrd's own "Steelin' the Chimes" is a real eye-opener but Jerry in 2001 explained it simply had to be a coincidence as he'd never heard Les' record. Jerry didn't record his until in the 1950's.

From time to time, the record companies have combined earlier singles into a new album release under a different title and displaying a different cover. These routinely appear on eBay at nominal pricing and provide great listening.

For the serious lover of steel guitar music, no one can find greater listening pleasure than to sit down and enjoy the masterful sounds of JERRY BYRD.  Just dim the lights, sit down in a comfortable chair, shut your eyes and enjoy the beautiful steel guitar music.

From Jerry�s earliest days on the Grand Ole Opry to his latest Hawaiian releases����you will find that each note, each phrase, each song will inject you with so many emotions that it�s difficult for me to attempt to describe them here. For the long time fans of Jerry Byrd, they know of which I speak. For the new listener and fan, it might take a little while to discover these magical musical moments but one thing for certain, you�ll never forget it, once you�ve heard it.

Unfortunately, much of the music Jerry Byrd has produced for our listening pleasure, is now �out of print�, and therefore, no longer available over the counter. That�s why this web site was created.

 As thrilled as I was to create this site, I was more than apprehensive that Jerry might not like the idea.......thus, I called it "the unofficial" Jerry Byrd web site.  As it turned out, Jerry's brother Jack, had already sent Jerry copies of the site before I communicated with Jerry about it.  Jerry was definitely humbled by this show of admiration and stated quite simply that I was too old now for him to be giving advice to. He said he wished I'd taken the money required to set it all up and invest it in my lovely wife Sally or at least, some other venture and not Jerry Byrd. He then ended the conversation with a comment about how Jerry Byrd was "yesterday" and that he was not sure many people would share my enthusiasm for the site.

Jerry Byrd�s music has meant so very much to me, that I simply must share it with you and each of your friends. This website was the only way I knew how to do this.  This is not intended to be a down-load site but rather, a place you can visit regularly in order to get an audio-glimpse into the musical past of one Jerry Byrd.  Each of these old 78, 45 and 33 1/3 rpm records is from my personal collection and you'll be able to hear the scratches on many of these nearly worn out records.  The beauty of the music is still there so please, try to overlook the "noise" that is evident.

The content on these pages will change at frequent intervals so come back and visit us often so that you won�t miss a single tune on which Jerry has given his all for our musical enjoyment.

Scotty�s Music, in St.Louis, MO., stocks nearly everything currently available with Jerry Byrd�s name on it. This site will attempt to provide you listening access to the rest of those fabulous songs on which Jerry Byrd can be heard, songs recorded and sung by such greats as:

This list, is never ending. Countless albums that I�ve never heard of, were recorded by Jerry Byrd after his move to Honolulu, back in the early 1970�s where he continued to record with the island greats.  The greatest minds estimate that Jerry did no fewer than 43 albums with Hawaiian artists alone; more, than any other steel guitarist.

Jerry Byrd, the undisputed �Master of Touch & Tone� is known throughout the world for his fabulous musical contributions. A detailed listing of his work has been prepared by his brother Jack Byrd and is included in Jerry�s life story �IT WAS A TRIP on Wings of Music����released during 2003.

Jerry told me how he used a complete set of his old Fan Club's Journals, provided by Lorene Rymore, of British Columbia, Canada, as a year by year diary of his activities for preparation of his book. He was amazed that each and every volume was in pristine condition. Wally Pfeifer of Joliet, IL, also had a set covering about 15 years.  Jerry laughingly commented that there were even some photo's of Ray Montee in those old fan club journals.

Like much of Jerry Byrds' music, available through Scotty�s Music in St.Louis, MO., this fine book can also be purchased there.

Tableture of interest to beginning steel guitar players and professionals alike, can also be found at Scotty�s, the HOST of the International Steel Guitar Convention and the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. If  you like the sounds of the steel guitar, you should definitely plan on attending one of these great shows.

  While most of us Jerry Byrd fans have devoted much of our lifetime to seeking out any/all records on which Jerry recorded...the really big hits and even the not-so famous recordings, Jerry told me in a conversation on December 17, 2003, that during his last years in Nashville he was generally disinterested in the music he was putting forth and spent very little time listening to any that he had recorded. 

In fact, as startling as it might seem, Jerry revealed to me that he "Can't stand his latest CD 'By Request'.............."  He admitted that he occasionally listens to a copy of it, once and awhile, but he still doesn't like it. In his opinion, the sound was not what it should've been. Although he had been there during the final mix, he had failed to do anything about it at that time and felt badly about it at the time of his passing.

  In fact, Jerry's two daughters had no idea what he did for a living, musically, until they attended Antioch High School. One day in about 1965-66, one of their teachers, a Mr. George G. Harris, was making conversation during a study hall when he realized the girl he was talking to had the same last name as Jerry so asked her if she was possibly related to that fabulous steel guitar player named Jerry Byrd. It was only then that the girls discovered that their father was a world famous, professional musician. (see Guestbook)

  I managed to get Jerry into a "memory mood" on one occasion at which time he disclosed to me that his first recording session was on Majestic label and recorded in the WSM Radio studios.  He did this session using his newly created C6th tuning and the artist was blind singer Pete Cassels. Jerry admired Pete and considered him to be one of the finest singers of that day.  He spoke fondly of their musical relationship...............

Songs from that early recording session include:

Too Many Parties

A Message to the One I Love

Letter Edged in Black

The Last Letter

Oh How I Miss You

Waiting For Ships

Where the Old Red River Flows

Neath the West Virginia Sky

Memories that Live

It's Too Late to Say I'm sorry

Occasionally these tunes will appear on old record or collector sites.

  Jerry at one time did acknowledge he had played in a five piece group while Nashville, just for fun. He wanted to experience the freedom of getting to play off the cuff without the stress so often a part of studio session work, live radio and/or television.

  Jerry went on to recall that he was once asked if he ever did any recording with Fred Lowery, a famous "whistling" recording artist of the day. Jerry was quite adamant in denying any such musical collaboration.  The next thing he knew, the persistent fan presented him with a copy of the record and he was stunned to discover that it was indeed himself, playing steel on that record. Jerry has always insisted that he had had the good fortune of being very busy and doing lots of session work and as a result, simply was unable to recall each and every session, artist or song on which he appeared.

  Jerry did mention that he was not a drummer enthusiast. He always felt that they were working against you, not with you. He admitted that light brushes were okay but repetitive rim-shots "were terrible". In his own words he stated that they were about as subtle as a canon. 

  He recalled an incident from the Grand Ole Opry when Harold Weekly, who used to standup and play the snare drum with brushes, asked Grandpa Jones, if Jones wanted the drums on his next number. Grandpa responded with: "Very little, ...............if any". Jerry said the whole stage erupted in convulsive laughter.

  One of the reasons he enjoyed his move to Hawaii so much, was the simple fact he was able to play what he wanted, the way he wanted and with truly great musicians that loved what they were doing as much as did he.

  One of Jerry's greatest treasures was destroyed by Jerry in a house-cleaning move; this being a folder full of receipts for his session work, etc.  He explained that once he got his money for each session, that job was complete and over with.

  Quite possibly one of the greatest historical treasures that remains, is in the display at the Renfro Valley Barn Dance where they have a book full of Jerry's pay receipts, programs and the like.

  For those of you that have followed Jerry Byrd during his lengthy musical career, you are likely well aware of the lead guitarist that was featured so prominently with Jerry.  His name was "Zeke" Turner and he did lots of twin-guitar work with Jerry on those early Mercury releases with the String Dusters. He was also quite prominent on those early Hank Williams tunes, pickin' out those great 'boogie' riffs.

  Jerry and I got to talking about Zeke one day as I'd always been curious about their musical relationship; how it was that they went their separate ways after all those great years together.

  Jerry laughed and described Zeke as a funny sort of guy. Jerry said Zeke played a huge Epiphone guitar and had, at some earlier date, cut a huge, square hole out of the back of it, presumably to get inside to the electronics/wiring or whatever and never bothered to patch it back up.

  Perhaps even more strange......Zeke Turner wasn't really Zeke Turner at all, but rather James Cecil Grishaw, brother to Zeb Turner, who was actually William Edward Grishaw. The boys used to do a "brothers" act so that's why Zeb also changed his name to "Turner".

  The last Jerry had heard, Zeke had been living in Florida and was driving a truck up until his passing a few years back.  In all of those intervening years, they never managed to get together.

  Jerry then sorta drifted off.......and mentioned how in those days, he used to go into the studio and sit his "Volu-Tone" amp on a chair, lean it back and stick a microphone in front of it. "That's how we used to do it"........he recalled. Jerry was a staunch "union man" and always abided by their rules.

  He explained that "a recording session" usually consisted of four songs to be completed in three hours. There was no rehearsal. The vocalist would go through it once or twice, so the musicians could formulate in their minds any loose arrangements that they might want to perform. The purpose for this was to keep the song "new" and "fresh". If the songs couldn't be recorded satisfactorily in the allotted time, it would be apparent that someone had the wrong musicians on hand. If over-time was necessary, it was done in half-hour blocks, as each session had to complete not less than four songs for a two disc package. 

  To highlight that remark, Jerry pointed out that his recording of "Steelin' the Blues" had been made-up during one of his sessions. His contract called for recording sessions each six months although it was a common practice for the big labels to hold-back release of his recorded material for as much as several years.

  The record companies, back then, paid for the actual recording sessions, plus the writers and publishers fees. These costs were deducted from the royalties from actual record sales.  A distributor forecast of one million copies was a necessity.

  In today's' music environment, an artist is expected to sell a minimum of 100,000 copies in the first week or no deal.

  Jerry also pointed out that with today's "kitchen table artists"....., and with the easy production of CD's, most of which are being sold at the artists' own appearances, there has become a market glut. He added, that today, too many of the wanna-be steel guitarists "only hear sound" and have no concept of what they're are trying to say with the instrument......thus, it's just so much picking. He forewarns that it does absolutely no good to try and tell some of these new folks anything worthwhile as you can't argue with a neophyte musician who already knows it all.

  Jerry laughingly admitted that he is just now realizing profits from some of his recorded material that has taken years to pay-out the over-head. He ads that he never had the good fortune of being "a million seller" but is happy that his records continue to sell, all over the world, year after year.

  He also pointed out that his "mood" was extremely important and had tremendous impact on what he "would or would not play" during a session. It was not uncommon for him to arrive at the studio with a particular song in mind only to find he was out of sorts with that tune, and he'd drop it completely for that session.

  Yet, Jerry was very quick to say that although he was busy in the recording studios both day and night, he played every session from his inner-most feelings and his heart, regardless of who the artist was, whether a big name or a new comer. He did agree with my comments that some of his best back-up and/or solo work had been performed on the records of virtual "unknowns".

  As a side note, Jerry mentioned that Marty Robbins, whom he admired very highly, often arrived at the studio without any idea whatsoever  of what he was going to be recording that day. After two or three attempts, if it didn't sound right, Marty would simply forget it.  He'd then busy himself at the piano, plunking out first one tune after another until he managed to settle his mind on a particular tune. I have an audio copy of one such session that is quite humorous and an excellent in-sight into what Jerry was verbally eliciting to.

  Jerry then laughingly referred to Marty's recording of "El Paso", the only six minute song ever recorded and even longer than Hank William's "Love Sick Blues".

  When a big orchestra was incorporated into a session, arrangements became a necessity. In the case of "Admirable Byrd", done in the E9th tuning, he devoted 7 or 8 hours "at home time" toward its preparation in order to minimize studio time and production costs. The rest of the time, the musicians would just wing it.

  While discussing the recording sessions, Jerry did say that drums were not used back then. He personally had no use for "busy drums" and did not use them with his steel guitar work. Jerry always felt the drummers of the day, were working against him.  Their solid rhythm sound was reliant on a strong guitar player like Homer Haynes (of Homer & Jethro fame). Louis Innis also played lots of rhythm but nothing like Homer did.

  Jerry next mentioned that he had willed to "Scotty", his musical instruments and other misc. musical stuff.  He had also gifted a life long friend and young school friend, with a number of his guitars and the like.

  Jerry hated to travel with his guitar and amp as the airlines always managed to destroy some part of them.  As some of you know, Jerry's Fender amp was totally destroyed in shipping to Scotty in St. Louis, following Jerry's passing.  Such a musical and historic tragedy.

  While discussing Tom Morrell's instrumental CD "No Pedals".......Jerry freely commented that in his opinion, Tom Morrell was without doubt, one of the greatest steel men in the business.

Jerry's Publications

	Ten modern arrangements written in both note and diagram in the C 6th tuning, for the Hawaiian Steel Guitar. This book was copyrighted in 1955 and contains 8 songs that were recorded on Mercury Records by Jerry Byrd. Although long out of print, copies of this book frequently appear on eBay and run in the mid-$20.00 to $30.00 price range. A must have for any avid fan of Jerry Byrd. C 6th Tuning: Three String Swing Gold Coast Blues Honolulu March La Paloma Paradise Waltz Kohala March Blues in "E" Steelin' Is His Business D-9th Tuning: Byrd's Expedition Byrd's Nest
	This 1960's JERRY BYRD instructional manual was originally produced by Rickenbacker Steel Guitar Company and has been long out of print. This 80 page, 20 lesson, instructional course was written by The Master of Touch & Tone........Jerry Byrd. Topics covered in this publication include harmonics, vibrato and bar slant technique. A number of different tunings are likewise revealed. This is clearly a collectors' item and occasionally a copy can be found on eBay. Although the bidding cannot be predicted, this publication frequently will sell for a low to mid-$30.00 figure.
	This instructional manual is the 'must have' of all of Jerry Byrd's publications. It is a comprehensive 300+ page book, the original with a red cover and plastic binder but later produced with a blue cover and in a 3-4 ring binder. It comes with two CD's; the first with instruction/demonstrations and the second with rhythm track accompaniment. The book covers everything from basic techniques, harmonics and bar slants, and more than 9 different steel guitar tunings. The diagrams on proper fretting are unmatched. New copies of this fabulous book can be acquired from Scotty's Music in St. Louis, Mo. Occasionally, a used copy can be discovered on eBay in about the $75.00 range.
	"JERRY BYRD's Complete Catalog of Professional Instruction Material". It includes everything you want to know about Jerry's book, video's, Cassettes, CD's, and single solo's. A complete listing of Jerry's favorite songs in tableture form for both C 6th and C-Diatonic Tunings is included. Over the years, prices have fluxuated on these one-of-a-kind treasures. Scotty, of Scotty's Music, states that as of this writing (Dec. '09), ALL such C 6th tab's will be $4.00 per copy while the Diatonic tabs wil be $6.00 each. This instructional material was originally done in a VHS format but used copies might still be found on eBay modified to DVD. You might also want to check with Scotty's Music in St.Louis, Mo. This 30 page instructional booklet is one you won't want to miss. It's entitled: "Exercises & Playing Techniques relating to the JERRY BYRD Steel Guitar Video Seminar". JERRY BYRD described this as a "Study Course for the Serious Student". It contains instruction and demonstrations of correct, basic playing techniques and includes slant bar, picking and muting and single string examples.

Jerry's Recordings

Should you have any questions, I�ll do my best to respond in a prompt manner. You can write me here at the JBFC web site.

THANK YOU so much for dropping by. Come back again, soon!

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"Forever and a Day"

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Steel Guitar: Jerry Byrd