Byron Berline is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
player.
Biography
Berline started playing the fiddle at age five and quickly developed a talent for it. In 1965, he recorded the album
Pickin' and Fiddlin' with the Dillards. The same year, he met
Bill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
at the
Newport Folk FestivalThe Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
and was offered a job with the Bluegrass Boys but he turned it down because he had to finish his education. He was graduated from the
University of OklahomaThe University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
in 1967, with a teaching degree in Physical Education, and joined the Bluegrass Boys shortly after.
Byron Berline first met Bill Monroe in 1965 and was offered a job then. It wasn't until 1967 that he actually joined the band, though, replacing Richard Greene in March and leaving to go into the Army in September. He recorded three instrumentals with the Blue Grass Boys, including "Gold Rush" which he cowrote with Monroe, and which has become a jam session standard.
In September 1967, he was drafted by the U.S. Army. After his discharge, two years later, he joined
Dillard & ClarkDillard & Clark was a country rock duo which featured ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard. The group was formed in 1968, shortly after Clark departed The Byrds, and Dillard left The Dillards. They were backed up by, among others, Bernie Leadon, Chris Hillman, Sneaky...
on the album
Through the Morning, Through the NightThrough the Morning, Through the Night is the 2nd and final album from the country rock duo Dillard & Clark. The musicians included country rock and folk rock pioneers Gene Clark, Doug Dillard, Bernie Leadon, Chris Hillman, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Byron Berline, and Michael Clarke...
. In 1969, he moved to
Southern CaliforniaSouthern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
. Berline won the National Oldtime Fiddle Contest Championship in 1965 in
Weiser, IdahoWeiser is a city in the rural western part of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Washington County. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in the vicinity. The city sits at the confluence of the Weiser River with the great Snake River, which...
. He went on to win the title twice more, in 1967 & 1970.
While in California, he joined
The Flying Burrito BrothersThe Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
in 1971, recording two albums,
Last of the Red Hot Burritos (Live), and
Six Days On the Road: Live in Amsterdam. After the Burritos' breakup, Berline briefly worked with
Stephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
' band
ManassasManassas was an American rock band, formed by Stephen Stills in 1971. The nucleus of the band had already backed Stills on his July 1971 album, Stephen Stills 2, and in May 1972, the double album, Manassas, was released. Down The Road was released in 1973, but in October of that year the band split...
(which also included several other Burritos' alumni), contributing to several songs on their
debut albumManassas is the 1972 debut double album from Stephen Stills' band of the same name."It Doesn't Matter" was released as a single and peaked at #61...
. He formed the Country Gazette early in 1972, together with
Alan MundeAlan Munde is an American five-string banjo player and bluegrass musician.-Biography:Born in Norman, Oklahoma, Munde learned banjo from a well-regarded Oklahoman banjo player, Ed Shelton. He frequently played amateur gigs around the state where he first met Byron Berline at the University of...
, Kenny Werz, and Roger Bush.
Berline joined forces with guitarist
Dan CraryDan Crary is an American bluegrass guitarist.He helped re-establish flatpicked guitar as a prominent soloing bluegrass instrument. Crary is an innovator of the flatpicking style of guitar playing. He is also a Speech communications Professor at California State University, Fullerton...
, banjo player John Hickman and a young
Vince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
on
mandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
, and others to form Byron Berline and Sundance.
Live at McCabesMcCabe's Guitar Shop is a musical instrument store and live music venue on Pico Boulevard in Santa Monica, California. Opened in 1958, McCabe's specializes in acoustic and folk instruments, including guitars, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers, fiddles, psaltries, bouzoukis, sitars, ouds, and ethnic...
released in 1978.
In 1979, he had a small role as a country musician in the 1979 film,
The RoseThe Rose is a 1979 American musical drama film which tells the story of a self-destructive 1960s rock star who struggles to cope with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager...
.
Berline collaborated with
banjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player
John HickmanJohn Hickman is an American five-string banjo player known for his clean picking and occasional ragtime influenced style.-Biography:...
and guitarist
Dan CraryDan Crary is an American bluegrass guitarist.He helped re-establish flatpicked guitar as a prominent soloing bluegrass instrument. Crary is an innovator of the flatpicking style of guitar playing. He is also a Speech communications Professor at California State University, Fullerton...
to form the band Berline, Crary, and Hickman; with the addition of Steve Spurgin and
John MooreJohn Moore is a bluegrass musician who plays mandolin with the bands Bluegrass Etc. and California.-External links:***...
, later, that band became known as California. California was named the
International Bluegrass Music AssociationThe International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music.Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International Bluegrass Music Museum as a joint venture with...
Instrumental Group of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1994.
In April 1995, Berline moved to
Guthrie, OklahomaGuthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...
to open a fiddle shop called "Double Stop". From the jam sessions on the upper floor, "The Byron Berline Band" was formed.
Two years later he founded the annual
Oklahoma International Bluegrass FestivalThe Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival is held annually in Guthrie, Oklahoma. The festival was founded as a nonprofit organization by Guthrie resident Byron Berline and Oklahoma state representative Joe Hutchinson in 1996. Each year the festival supports music education through music...
." The annual event is among the most acclaimed bluegrass festivals in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Throughout the festival's existence, Berline has brought an array of legendary bluegrass musicians to Guthrie, including
Earl ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
,
Ricky SkaggsRickie Lee "Ricky" Skaggs is a country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, and banjo.-Early career:...
,
John HartfordJohn Cowan Hartford was an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician known for his mastery of the fiddle and banjo, as well as for his witty lyrics, unique vocal style, and extensive knowledge of Mississippi River lore...
, and many others. The OIBF has featured performances by famous international bluegrass artists including the Czech band
Druhá TrávaDruhá Tráva is a bluegrass band from the Czech Republic, formed in 1991 by Robert Křesťan. As of August 2005, they have released eighteen studio albums either as a group or as side projects....
, the Swiss band the
Kruger BrothersThe Kruger Brothers is a trio of musicians who play new American folk music, or music within the folk genre inclusive of new compositional and thematic elements. The trio consists of Jens Kruger , Uwe Kruger and Joel Landsberg...
, and The Japanese Bluegrass Band.
Berline recorded several solo albums, most notably
"Fiddle and a Song", which featured guest performances from
Earl ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
,
Bill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
,
Vince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
, and
Mason WilliamsMason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live...
. In 1995, the album was nominated for a
Grammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
in the Best Bluegrass Album category, and "Sally Goodin" from the album was nominated in the category Best Country & Western Instrumental Performance.
Berline currently owns and operates the Double Stop Fiddle Shop in Guthrie, where Hickman works as
luthierA luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
. They, along with Jim Fish, Richard Sharp, Greg Burgess and Steve Short, make up The Byron Berline Band. The band travels around the country and to Europe regularly, but continues to perform two concerts a month in Guthrie, entertaining residents of their home town.
In his career, Berline has recorded with several of the best known musicians of modern time, including
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
,
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
,
The ByrdsThe Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
,
Earl ScruggsEarl Eugene Scruggs is an American musician noted for perfecting and popularizing a 3-finger banjo-picking style that is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music...
,
Dillard & ClarkDillard & Clark was a country rock duo which featured ex-Byrds member Gene Clark and bluegrass banjo player Doug Dillard. The group was formed in 1968, shortly after Clark departed The Byrds, and Dillard left The Dillards. They were backed up by, among others, Bernie Leadon, Chris Hillman, Sneaky...
,
Willie NelsonWillie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
,
Bill MonroeWilliam Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
,
The Flying Burrito BrothersThe Flying Burrito Brothers was an early country rock band, best known for its influential debut album,The Gilded Palace of Sin . Although the group is most often mentioned in connection with country rock legends Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman, the group underwent many personnel changes.-Original...
,
Doc WatsonArthel Lane "Doc" Watson is an American guitar player, songwriter and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music. He has won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Watson's flatpicking skills and knowledge of traditional American music are highly regarded...
,
John DenverHenry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
,
Gene ClarkGene Clark, born Harold Eugene Clark was an American singer-songwriter, and one of the founding members of the folk-rock group The Byrds....
,
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, The Eagles,
The BandThe Band was an acclaimed and influential roots rock group. The original group consisted of Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , and Robbie Robertson , and Levon Helm...
,
Vince GillVincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a...
,
Gram ParsonsGram Parsons was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and pianist. Parsons is best known for his work within the country genre; he also mixed blues, folk, and rock to create what he called "Cosmic American Music"...
,
Emmylou HarrisEmmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
,
Tammy WynetteVirginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
,
AlabamaAlabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
,
Mary Chapin CarpenterMary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
,
The DillardsThe Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of Douglas Flint "Doug" Dillard The Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of Douglas Flint "Doug" Dillard The Dillards are an American bluegrass band from Salem, Missouri, consisting of...
,
Mason WilliamsMason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live...
,
Stephen StillsStephen Arthur Stills is an American guitarist and singer/songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash . He has performed on a professional level in several other bands as well as maintaining a solo career at the same time...
,
Bill WymanBill Wyman is an English musician best known as the bass guitarist for the English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from 1962 until 1992. Since 1997, he has recorded and toured with his own band, Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings...
,
Manhattan TransferThe Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...
,
Joe DiffieJoe Logan Diffie is an American country music singer known for his ballads and novelty songs. Between 1990 and 2004, Diffie charted 35 cuts on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, including five number one singles: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun",...
,
The Doobie BrothersThe Doobie Brothers are an American rock band. The group has sold over 40 million units worldwide throughout their career. The Doobie Brothers were inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004.-Original incarnation:...
,
Lucinda WilliamsLucinda Williams is an American rock, folk, blues and country music singer and songwriter. She recorded her first albums in 1978 and 1980 in a traditional country and blues style and received very little attention from radio, the media, or the public. In 1988, she released her self-titled album,...
,
Mickey GilleyMickey Leroy Gilley is an American country music singer and musician. Although he started out singing straight-up country and western material in the 1970s, he moved towards a more pop-friendly sound in the 1980s, bringing him further success on not just the country charts, but the pop charts as...
,
Andy StatmanAndy Statman is a noted Klezmer clarinetist and bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist.Andy Statman was born in Brooklyn, New York City. He first gained acclaim as a mandolinist in pioneering bluegrass bands Country Cookin' and Breakfast Special. Statman, who grew up in a traditional but secular Jewish...
, and many others.
His music has also appeared in many television and film soundtracks, including
Star TrekStar Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
,
Blue CollarBlue Collar is a 1978 film; the directorial debut of screenwriter Paul Schrader. This drama stars Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel and Yaphet Kotto.-Plot:...
,
Basic InstinctBasic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
,
BlazeBlaze is a 1989 film written and directed by Ron Shelton. Based on the 1974 memoir Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry by Blaze Starr and Huey Perry, the film stars Paul Newman as Earl Long and Lolita Davidovich as Blaze Starr, with Starr herself appearing in a cameo.-Plot:The movie tells...
,
Back to the Future III,
Stay HungryStay Hungry is the third album by American heavy metal band Twisted Sister. Released on May 10, 1984, the album features the band's two biggest hits, "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" and the power ballad "The Price." According to RIAA certification, Stay Hungry gained Multi-Platinum...
, and
Run Simon Run.