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 Jerry Byrd Backing Hawaiian Entertainers
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Jeff Au Hoy Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i |
posted 19 January 2003 08:16 PM
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Hi Forum, While Jerry Byrd is famous for his solo work, he also backed up numerous Hawaiian musicians througout his career in the islands. I have enjoyed listening to his Nashville-flavored Hawaiian steel and was curious about other albums that feature him backing Hawaiian musicians. These are the ones I've got: Kekua Fernandez - "Ka Momi O Ka Pakipika" and another one whose name escapes me at the moment ...Anymore? |
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Ron Whitfield Member From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA |
posted 19 January 2003 10:17 PM
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Two first CDs by Nedward Kaapana...and then my mind goes blank, two with da tita, Melveen Leed... ------------------ |
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basilh Member From: United Kingdom |
posted 20 January 2003 02:56 AM
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Aloha aikane, I have the Hawaiian LP Charles Davis on Hana Hou BTW Ron, is the bakelite bridge you want for an 8 string, if so I have one I can send you. I replaced the bridges on my "Olde Ugly" Rick D-16, with brass ones.(E-mail me) Mahalo nui , ------------------ quote: [This message was edited by basilh on 20 January 2003 at 03:27 AM.] |
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basilh Member From: United Kingdom |
posted 20 January 2003 03:21 AM
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The album is called "Hawaii's Yesterday" By Charles K.L. Davis. On the Hana Hou label cat # H 35001 Steel guitar, Jerry Byrd Ukulele, Benny Kalama Guitar, Sonny Kamahele Bass, Norman Isaacs Can't find the year, BUT, as ever, John Marsden will find out. I believe my good friend Tau Moe lost his son Lani, around Christmas,can any of you send me more info, as we'd like to mention it in our next issue of "Aloha Dream" Mahalo, Baz [This message was edited by basilh on 20 January 2003 at 03:23 AM.] |
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Brad Bechtel Moderator From: San Francisco, CA |
posted 20 January 2003 08:33 AM
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Lani's passing was noted in this thread. ------------------ |
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Jeff Strouse Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
posted 20 January 2003 11:53 AM
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Baz,,, Jerry, Benny, Sonny, and Norman Isaacs?! Wow! I bet that is an incredible album! I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Sonny perfom several times while I was in Waikiki. He 'is' Hawaiian music! ...A super rhythm guitarist with a wonderful voice. I have one of his albums when he led the Surf Serenaders at the Surf Room of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Sonny (on steel and vocals) with Eddie Pang, Eddie Sailes, Cy Ludington, Mel Peterson, his very young son, King Kamahele. Sonny's steel playing is out of this world! Jeff, I know one of the Nedward Ka'apana albums with JB is called "Second Time Around", but can't recall the other title. He's also on Gary Aiko's "Mai Poina 'Oe Ia'u". Check out the cut Royal Hawaiian Sunset....it's Diatonic bliss! [This message was edited by Jeff Strouse on 20 January 2003 at 11:55 AM.] |
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Jack Byrd Member From: Kalamazoo, Michigan |
posted 20 January 2003 11:56 AM
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Here is the most complete list I know of. I have been working on this for some time with Jerry's help. He did so many and he does not remember all of them. I hope this comes through OK. The following albums were recorded with other groups/individuals. The Title is followed by the name of the company and the number of the recording in those cases where I had one. 30 HAWAIIAN FAVORITES (vocal by Don Ho)PRECISION 78040 |
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Ray Montee Member From: Portland, OR, USA |
posted 20 January 2003 12:04 PM
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NICE POST.....Jeff! Great contributions from all......especially Jack Byrd. NOW........where in the world can one hope to find any of these albums for the sake of a purchase? I've written/emailed a dozen or so "HAWAIIAN MUSIC/RECORD/TAPE SPEICALTY STORES" who have come back with some really dingy responses. How about it? Is there at least "ONE" (1)shoppe somewhere in this great land or any other that will pursue your order with vigor? |
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Jeff Strouse Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
posted 20 January 2003 12:32 PM
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Thank you soooo much Jack! I've been hoping for a list like that for sometime! I'm in line after Ray...where can these musical treasures be found? 
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Gerald Ross Member From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
posted 20 January 2003 12:37 PM
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Ebay is a good source for hard to find LP's. Also Hawaiian music conventions such as the HSGA Joliet, IL (every October) or the Aloha International Steel Guitar Club in Winchester, IN (every year, weekend after the 4th of July). Many people sell vintage LP's at these. ------------------ |
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Jeff Au Hoy Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i |
posted 20 January 2003 01:51 PM
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Jack, thanks for that terrific list! I feel, given the fact that most native Hawaiian steel players did not cut heavily-arranged solo albums, recordings that feature Jerry's back-up work are those in which he truly shines and differentiates himself from other players. Hawaiian music does not really exist for its own sake. The instrumentation serves to complement the singer and dancer. When Jerry plays all of those intros, tags, fills, and vamps behind a Hawaiian singer...that is, I feel, when he "plays Hawaiian". The instrumental stuff, as has been said before, is "in a class of its own". |
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Ron Whitfield Member From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA |
posted 21 January 2003 12:38 PM
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Wow Jack, even incomplete, that is an impressive list! Jeff S., glad you mentioned Sonny Kamahele, he has a unique style and sound. How fortunate to have seen him. All his LPs are classic treasures. His 'Beautiful Hawaii' CD from a few yrs. back is great too. He lives close to Bobby Ingano, so he stops by often and sometimes gets into playing a little for us. One time in his apt. he brought out his stuff and showed how he incorporates(simultainiously!) his great rhythm approach on standard, to his 'normal' steel style, allowing him to be a one man band, what a showman. Almost completely unheard of and totally mind wobbling! The consumate talent, they don't make 'em like Sonny no more. Hopefully, he will get a long deserved shot of displaying this at the HSGA's next convention show. He would bring the house down! At his age, there may not be many chances for a 'next time', and I know he would love to do it. ------------------ |
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Jeff Au Hoy Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i |
posted 21 January 2003 12:54 PM
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Yes, Sonny Kamahele! We are all so awfully concerned about the steel guitar "dying out" in Hawai'i...I believe we should be equally concerned that the number of those playing that driving swing rhythm guitar style practiced by Sonny, Pua Almeida, Alvin Isaacs and other greats of that era, is also dwindling. Here's to the archtop and heavy-guage strings! |
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Gerald Ross Member From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
posted 21 January 2003 01:08 PM
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Hey... I drive. I swing. I play an archtop with heavy strings. I'm not dwindling (I'm going to the health club tonight after work). Jeff you really got to come the HSGA Joliet convention if you really want to hear some great swing style rhythm guitar playing. Ian Ufton, Art Lang, Vern Cornwall, Dick Honold... they all play the old four chords to a bar rhythm. These guys all learned to play guitar before the folk scare of the 1960's and the subsequent singer-songwriter assault on instrumental music. These guys don't need a capo to play in Eb. Again... If you don't believe me just ask your friend Bobby Ingano. ------------------ [This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 21 January 2003 at 01:09 PM.] |
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Jeff Au Hoy Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i |
posted 21 January 2003 02:39 PM
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Hey Gerald...indeed you are not dwindling! And I am certainly aware that swing rhythm guitar is alive and well on the "continent"...but I had posted that the style of guitar is dying out in Hawai'i. What is the average age of the swing guitarist that plays Hawaiian music? We (Kilinahe) are aiming to inject that swing back into Hawaiian music. And no...not with some second-rate version...the real deal a la the 1940's. Strum me that four-beat! And for crying out loud, WALK that bass! Don't gimme that 1-5 1-5 1-5 stuff. "It don't mean a thing if it ain't..." Yeah, blah blah blah.  [This message was edited by Jeff Au Hoy on 12 March 2007 at 09:05 PM.] |
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Rick Aiello Member From: Berryville, VA USA |
posted 21 January 2003 02:54 PM
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Nobody mentioned ... Ukulele Stylings #1 ... He backs up several artists on this compilation and the last track features him in an UNACCOMPANIED performance of Kauai Beauty ... ------------------ [This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 21 January 2003 at 03:25 PM.] |
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Jack Byrd Member From: Kalamazoo, Michigan |
posted 21 January 2003 04:22 PM
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I am sure there are others that can be added to the list. A pretty good compilation of many Hawaiian artist's who insisted that Jerry be on their recordings. Not bad for a guy who can't play Hawaiian as some insist. What a joke!! |
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Brad Bechtel Moderator From: San Francisco, CA |
posted 22 January 2003 09:03 AM
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I would love to have Cord International (or any other label for that matter) produce a compilation of such tunes. I feel that any steel guitarist sounds best when backing up a vocalist, and I'd love to hear Mr. Byrd's playing in these situations. ------------------ |
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George Keoki Lake Member From: Edmonton, AB., Canada |
posted 22 January 2003 08:15 PM
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Regarding Sonny, ("Mr. Hollywood")...he is one of the few remaining steel players who still uses the D9th tuning. Another who used D9th was (the late) Merle Kekuku. Kamaka Tom, who studied under Merle, also still uses D9 on occasion. On the mainland, (the late) Billy Reid Sr used D9th exclusively. Today his son, Billy Reid Jr has followed in his dad's footsteps. ("Jr" is an excellent steel guitarist, I might add). I really cannot name any others who still use D9. Perhaps some old time members of the Forum might know of current D9 players. Dick McIntire used it on occasion also. Further, if you look through old pictures of Hawaiian groups, invariably you will notice they always used the "f" hole arch topped guitars for rhythm. Nowadays, you seldom see those guitars being played in the Islands, the exception being Hiram Olsen, Dennis and Alex Among three of Hawai'i's top guitarists, and also "Mr. Hollywood" himself. There is something about the sound of an arch top which cannot be matched by any round hole guitar, no matter the brand...it cuts through far better. I have 2 Epiphone arch tops, (the Emperor and the Triumph Regent models)...they are both great! Dirk Vogel (has) had a real gem in a very old Epiphone Emperor which he kindly allowed me use extensively at the many steel guitar conventions I attended...I never used it as an electric, there was no need to. That guitar, (as with most good quality "f" hole models) had what it takes for strong solid acoustic rhythm sounds. Besides, I have always felt the natural acoustic sound compliments the steel guitar soloist far better than electric rhythm. |
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Gerald Ross Member From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
posted 23 January 2003 06:19 AM
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Regarding Archtops for rhythm: Many contemporary Hawaiian recordings (steel guitar recordings) use guitars with Piezo pickups as their main rhythm guitar. This is the under the saddle pickup-not magnetic. The resulting sound is very brittle and trebely. I personally find the tone grating. Frequently the tone of the guitar is mixed with a chorus effect. There's nothing organic about the tone at all. An archtop guitar either acoustic or slightly amplified with a magnetic pickup is the best rhythm box there is IMHO. Again IMHO if you have to use a flat-top guitar for Hawaiian or Swing rhythm you would be best to use a OOO or OO sized body as opposed to a dreadnought. These smaller bodied flat-tops have a more even tone across the entire sonic range. ------------------ |
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Brad Bechtel Moderator From: San Francisco, CA |
posted 23 January 2003 09:10 AM
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When you talk about D9 tuning for steel guitar, which strings are tuned to what? I've started using this variation (bass to treble): D A C D F# A B D Just wondering. ------------------ |
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Jesse Pearson Member From: San Diego , CA |
posted 23 January 2003 10:25 AM
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Brad, I was looking at the interval structure of your D9 tuning and noticed that there is no 9th? R D - high Dick McIntire's F#9 tuning that he used on his later recordings, can be transposed down a major 3rd to D9... b7 C - high Dick can be heard using this tuning on his "South Sea Moon" C.D. put out by Bruce Clark on CumQuat records. It's one of our favorites! [This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 23 January 2003 at 10:32 AM.] |
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Jeff Au Hoy Member From: Honolulu, Hawai'i |
posted 23 January 2003 11:17 AM
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Gerald: THANK YOU for bringing up that point about the under-the-saddle pickups! You have explained something that I had been pondering for a great while. All this time I had been wondering: what makes those recordings sound that way? Is modern recording technology that inferior? Did they in fact want it to sound like that? What's so hard about making it sound as good as it did in the 1960's? ...to think of the talent that the listener is deprived of if the musicians are not well recorded! I am thinking specifically of the "Hawaiian Steel" vol. 1 & 2 recordings. To my ears, the tone of the 'ukulele and guitar on those recordings is just awful...it sounds like the instruments are made of cheap plastic and strung with fishing line (well okay, I know somebody's going to tell me they've made an excellent sounding instrument made of those components)...like you said, nothing natural about it at all. The guys in my group would like to cut an album soon, but I was thinking NO WAY would I want to do one if the instruments would have to come out sounding like that. But now I know how to maybe prevent that from happening (?). Thanks Gerald! And why is it that every Hawaiian musician wants to plug in these days? What's wrong with just miking your guitar or 'ukulele? [This message was edited by Jeff Au Hoy on 23 January 2003 at 11:19 AM.] |
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Gerald Ross Member From: Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA |
posted 23 January 2003 01:31 PM
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What I am referring to are the contemporary Hawaiian singer-songwriter type of recordings. It sounds like they have too many guitars/strings in the mix... three 6 strings, a 12 string, 2 ukes all widely strumming away with an ocasional steel guitar thrown in. They're all amplified with what sounds like piezo pickups and too much chorus and reverb applied to the sound. I posted previously about the dangers of having more than one guitar playing rhythm
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 26 January 2003 at 09:17 AM.] |
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Andy Volk Member From: Boston, MA |
posted 23 January 2003 02:46 PM
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The sound of an acoustic archtop guitar, a doublebass and ukulele just seems to allow the electric steel guitar to shine in a way that no other combination of instruments seems to do. The frequencies are spread across the spectrum. Piezo pickup "quack" is an ongoing problem in many kinds of contemporary recordings.You hit the nail on the head with that one, Gerald. Much more "primitive" recordining technology and yet those mono Dick McIntire records sound sooo good. |
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Ron Randall Member From: Dallas, Texas, USA |
posted 25 January 2003 10:40 PM
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I am a novice at Hawaiian music and recordings. But reading the info about the rhythm guitar makes me wonder. After Listening to Cyril Pahinui play that flat top 12 string in C and C slacked to Bb, how could it be any better? I too, love the archtop sound. Maybe there is a generational thing here from traditional and more modern Hawaiian? Hey I 'm from Texas. Go easy. |
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Jeff Strouse Member From: Jacksonville, Florida, USA |
posted 26 January 2003 01:30 AM
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Sonny's D9th tuning is E-C-A-F#-E-D. |
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Rick Aiello Member From: Berryville, VA USA |
posted 26 January 2003 07:43 AM
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Hi Ron .. The guys above are talkin' about rhythm guitar ... Cyril is playin' Slack Key Guitar .... an elaborate finger pickin' style .... Beautiful ain't it .... I have all the Cat Dancing CD's plus others .... Ledward Kaapana is my personal favorite ... I have a CD of him playin' with a bunch of Nashville stars (Jerry Douglas, Kayton Roberts, etc) ... really somethin' !!!! ------------------ |
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Ron Whitfield Member From: Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA |
posted 05 February 2003 09:35 PM
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More Byrd backings- 3rd Delight, Bill & Nina, Eddie Kekaula, From Irmgard With Love,... ------------------ [This message was edited by Ron Whitfield on 05 February 2003 at 10:39 PM.] |
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Jody Carver Member From: The Knight Of Fender Tweed Dodger Blue Forever |
posted 05 February 2003 10:40 PM
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Jack You forgot one of my favorites..Blue Hawaiian Skies where Jerry plays so great as usual and although the singer was a fellow by the name of Merv Shiner,it was the most beautiful steel playing I have ever heard.Merv was not a Hawaiian but he had a beautiful voice which was complimented by Jerry's playing.. Im still trying to get a copy from the writers brother Roy Horton brother of Vaughn Horton who wrote Chu Chu Cha Boogie and Mocking Bird Hill,Jerry and Roy and Vaughn were good friends for years,,Vaughn passed away some time ago but Roy who is 82 years young is still doing fine and he sends his best to Jerry and asked me to extend that to Jerry. That recording was done in Nashville back in the mid 1950's,,Its on DECCA RECORDS,,you fellows ought to look for a copy,,I dont have mine,,it broke during moving. Regards to Jerry Jack.. Jody edited,I dont know how to spell Cho Cho or Chu Chu,,anyway this is another great example of the Byrd of Paradise.. [This message was edited by Jody Carver on 05 February 2003 at 11:15 PM.] |
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Jack Byrd Member From: Kalamazoo, Michigan |
posted 06 February 2003 07:21 PM
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Jody, My intent was to show those few on the forum who think Jerry can't play Hawaiian that the locals don't think that by posting some of the work he has done with various well known Hawaiian entertainers over the past 30 years. There are a couple of others such as the one you mentioned. They are: Snow In Hawaii with Hank Snow; Hawaii Is Calling Me with Marty Robbins; On The Beach At Waikiki with Berl Ives that I know of. Glad to see you back again posting Jody and hope your health is improving. I'll pass your regards on to Jerry next time I talk to him. |
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