THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Tapped for Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame
“Autumn
leaves were falling
Down
in
We
sat and watched the river
‘Til
it was almost dark
And
there were children playing
They
never noticed you and me
Down
in
Where
time was always free.”
-cDon Byers (used
by permission)
Perhaps you’ve heard “
Recently
“In
recognition of your contributions and achievements in the Music
Industry, the
Awards Committee and the Executive Board of the Atlanta Country Music
Hall of Fame
have selected you to be honored at the 29th Annual Awards
Celebration to be held at the Holiday Inn Select-Perimeter, 4386
Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30341 on Saturday, November 27,
2010.”
Established
in 1982 by John L. (Johnny) Carson (1933-2010) and Phyllis A. Cole, the
Atlanta
Country Music Hall of Fame seeks yearly to recognize outstanding
persons in the
field of country music composition and performance.
It is a distinct honor to be tapped for inclusion
into the Hall of Fame. Awards have
for
twenty-nine years been given to many in
Our hats are off in salute and
congratulations to Don Byers who is being recognized for his artistry,
talent
and dedication to country music. He
hails from a long line of
“One of my grandfathers was a fiddler
and the other was a banjo player. My
neighbor, Billy Burnette, taught me my first guitar chords about 1952
when I
was nine. I began writing songs when I
was about ten years of age. My country
music heroes back then were Hank Williams and Chet Atkins.”
By the time Don Byers was in high
school, he was playing for school events and teaming up with classmates
to play
and sing. He also wrote songs during
his school years, but he says the words to most of them have been lost
or
otherwise not kept for posterity. When he graduated from
Straight out of High School, Don
joined the
Army. He soon found his niche in service
as an entertainer.
In 1961 he became a member of
the
rock-and-roll instrumental group known as “The
Strangers.” Don is quick to
emphasize that his Army group was not the same as the later “Strangers”
which
featured the Merle Haggard band. At the
tender age of 17, and in his army time, he was soon conducting
interviews,
playing in stage shows, providing music for dances, and otherwise
taking his
artistry in country music to wherever he happened to be stationed. He was in
He states that the members of “The Strangers”
—(Rockin’) Ray Lambright
(Army), Tom (Monty) Montgomery (Navy), Thomas (Ski) Zawlocki (Navy) and
himself, Don Byers (Army), who played for military and civilian clubs
in the
Tokyo and Yokohama area of Japan, were reunited about five years ago by
internet. Ski from
[Next:
Stay tuned for more on the life and career of Don Byers,
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail [email protected];
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Back To Union County, Georgia GenWeb Site