All posts by garyboyd1976

Floyd Cramer

Floyd Cramer (October 27, 1933 – December 31, 1997) was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the “Nashville Sound.” He popularized the ‘slip note’ piano style where one note slides effortlessly into the next. This was a major departure from the percussive piano style which was popular in the late 1950s. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, Cramer grew up in the small town of Huttig, Arkansas, teaching himself to play the piano. After finishing high school, he returned to Shreveport, where he worked as a pianist for the Louisiana Hayride radio show. After Cramer relocated permanently to Nashville, Allen “Puddler” Harris, a native of Franklin Parish in northeastern Louisiana, replaced him as the pianist for the Hayride.

Roy Clark

Roy Linwood Clark (born April 15, 1933) is an American country music musician and performer. He is best known for hosting Hee- Haw, a nationally televised country variety show, from 1969–1992. Roy Clark has been an important and influential figure in country music, both as a performer and helping to popularize the genre. Most of all, he is an entertainer, with an amiable personality and a telegenic presence. During the 1970s, Clark frequently guest hosted for Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show and enjoyed
a 30-Million viewership Clark is highly regarded and renowned as a guitarist and banjo player, and is also skilled in classical guitar and several other instruments. Although he has had hit songs as a pop vocalist (e.g., “Yesterday, When I Was Young” and “Thank God And Greyhound”), his instrumental skill has had an enormous effect on generations of bluegrass and country musicians. He is a member of the Grand Ole Opry, since 1987[1][2] and The Country Music Hall of Fame.

Pete Drake

Joe Julian

Joe Julian was born in 1928. He was a fine upright bass player. He won many awards for his skill in accompanying fiddler players at contests all over the state of Texas, including the one at East Texas University when Boyd won his first banjo trophy. There wasn’t a song he couldn’t play. Joe was always at Bill Grant’s Bluegrass festival and several of the Bois d’arc Bottom Boys were there during these years. They watched Joe take award after award in the contests. Joe lived in Paris, Texas, served as a police officer, and eventually died there.

Lloyd Green

Lloyd Green was born on October 4, 1937 in Leaf, Mississippi. He moved with his family to Mobile, Alabama at the age of four, where he began to take music lessons. At the age of seven he learned to play a Hawaiian string guitar and eventually learned how to play the steel guitar. By the time he was ten, he was playing professionally in clubs a couple of nights a week with a rhythm guitarist. Green graduated from high school in 1955 and went on to study psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. He left college at the age of nineteen and went to Nashville, Tennessee to seek fame as a steel guitarist. Over the years, Lloyd Green has become one of the most popular and respected pedal steel guitarist of all time, and arguably the best player of the E9th tuning on the pedal steel guitar.

Music History-Boyd Hudgens

Boyd’s first banjo was a 4-String tenor banjo. Boyd’s grandfather knew a man at Allen’s Chapel that played the  tenor banjo. It was considered a plectrum banjo, similar to those played claw hammer style.  Boyd did not care for that style of playing but eventually played one during his days with Joe Julian & J.T.  Bryan at the Fairgrounds in Paris, TX. There Boyd met another musician, Roy Free, that encouraged him to play the five-string banjo. Boyd eventually got his hands on a five-string banjo during a centennial celebration in Honey Grove.  At the end of the celebration, Boyd drove his 69 Mustang to Petty, TX and sat on Roy Free’s front porch until it was time for him to go back home to 908 North 14th Street, Honey Grove Texas. Boyd went on to win contests at East Texas State University and at Bill Grant’s Bluegrass Festival, where he  won the Champion Trophy. Boyd has the trophy in his music studio at Stringbender Music.

Music History-Kenneth Edelhauser

Kenneth Edelhauser lived in Dallas and would frequently come to Selfs Texas to visit his dad, John Edelhauser and mother Frances.
While Kenneth was there he started showing Boyd guitar chords on his electric guitar. Kenneth loved the Ventures and Boyd took a liking to them also. Because of Kenneth’s love of the Ventures, Boyd also started playing Ventures music and began playing Ventures music. Most of the records were 33rpm records. Songs included Pipeline, Tequila,Walk Don’t Run, Wipe Out, Honky Tonk, Last Date, And Many others. Thanks Uncle Kenneth!  Boyd.

By the way, today is Kenneth’s birthday. He is now 77years old!

Music History-Russell Davis

John Edelhauser had a dear friend who lived near Winston Wagner’s antenna field. His name was Russell Davis. In those years Boyd would spend a lot of time at Russell’s home learning about the various instruments Russell could play. One day Russell put a ukulele in Boyd’s hand and showed him three simple chords on the ukulele.
Russell would play the violin and try to tell Boyd what chords to make. Eventually Boyd traveled to Paris with John Edelhauser and would perform on his ukulele for folks at the C.B coffee breaks held in Paris.  Russell could play many instruments including the wash tub bass and the banjo. Boyd learned about music in those days than he ever did in Nashville.