Jerry Byrd

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Jerry Byrd (born in Lima, Ohio on March 9, 1920; died April 11, 2005) was a musician who played Lap steel guitar in country and Hawaiian music. His interest in the instrument began after a "tent show" when he was 12 and by 15 he was playing in bars. Although his initial interest was Hawaiian music much of his work was country and in 1944/1945 he joined the Grand Ole Opry.^[1] He was important to the early career of Dolly Parton being possibly the first to sign her. He also was an educator of the steel guitar giving lessons to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jerry Garcia, and others. In the 1970s he moved to Hawaii and worked on reviving Hawaiian steel guitar music. Later he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame.^[2] He died of Parkinson's disease at 85.^[3]