Verne Byers

Verne Byers, aka Vern Byers, (né Vincent LeRoy Beyer, March 14, 1918, Denver, Colorado – December 19, 2008, Las Cruces, New Mexico) was an American bandleader of a territory band, a bassist, a concert promoter, and an owner-operator of several live music clubs and restaurants in Denver. Byers is most widely known and remembered as the man who, as executive producer and promoter, brought The Beatles to Denver — their only Denver appearance. The Beatles performed at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre on August 26, 1964.^[1]

Bandleader

Verne Byers & His Orchestra — The Band That Sings and Swings — played compositions of the World War II dance bands, including those of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Tommy Dorsey. The orchestra toured the Midwest and Rocky Mountain area in the 40's and 50's as one of many territory bands, playing in venues such as dance halls, ballrooms, and hotels — mostly in Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, and Minnesota. The band often played at Elitch Gardens; and once opened for Benny Goodman there. The band had twelve players. During the 1950s, bookings for the orchestra were handled by the Omaha office of National Orchestra Service.

Selected venues

† At Danceland and at the Pagosa Springs Lions Club, the band was billed as: Verne Byers and His CBS Orchestra — The Most Danceable Band in the Land. ^[2][3]

Concert promoter

Byers also was a concert promoter. He was best known for producing the Beatles concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre August 26, 1964 — a 32-minute affair that stands as the group's only Denver appearance. As head of Lookout Mountain Attractions, Byers said he had never heard of the Beatles before booking them.^[4] Byers also booked and promoted concerts by Peter, Paul & Mary, Otis Redding, Count Basie, James Brown, Glen Campbell.

Nightclub owner

Byers also was the owner and operator of several live music clubs in the Denver area during the 1960s and 1970s, including the "Baja" on Stout Street and the jazz nightclub, the "Robins Nest" atop Lookout Mountain.

Early years

Growing up

Born and raised in Denver, Byers (known growing up as Vince Beyer) started playing piano at age 9 but switched to double bass in junior high because "there was more call for it."

High school

Byers was a graduate of South High School, Denver.

College

As an undergraduate, Beyer attended the University of Denver for two years — 1937–38 and 1938-39. His transcripts, under the name Vernon LeRoy Beyer, show that he was a liberal arts major and had enrolled in several journalism classes.^[5]

Musicians Union

At the age of 19, in 1937, Byers joined the Denver Musicians Union for $50. In his naivete, he incorrectly thought that music jobs would come to him.

Post college

Merchant Marines

Before graduating from college, Byers joined the Merchant Marines (around 1939) and ended up playing with the Navy Concert Band during World War II.^[6]

Post war danceband era

Later, Byers worked with Ted Fio Rito for a year and then toured with Herb Miller, Glenn's brother. Byers likes to tell people how Herb was jealous of his more famous brother and refused to play any of his songs. He also played with Tommy Tucker, Teddy Powell, and Jan Garber.

Return to Denver in 1946

• The Rainbow Ballroom — On December 7, 1946, Byers' father, Felix Bernard Beyer, and a business partner, James Raymond Norton, purchased The Rainbow Ballroom from Orlaf K. Farr (1894–1981; Orlaf was married to Dorcas N. Farr).

The Rainbow Ballroom was located on the SWC of 5th Avenue and Lincoln, Denver. Farr had it built, owned it, and managed it the entire time he owned it since its opening on September 16, 1933. Rudolph Michael Schindler was the architect.

Norton was also the owner of the Lewiston Hotel at 731 18th Street, Denver, and Beyer was owner of the York Hotel, Denver (both hotels may have been more like boarding houses). According to a 1946 Billboard article, The Rainbow Ballroom was one of the best known dance halls west of the Mississippi. Byers took over managing the Rainbow Room January 24, 1947.

Byers continued the past policy of booking territory bands and name bands. The hall had a capacity of 3000 and was open six nights a week.^[7] During this era, Verne met his wife, Jeanne.

After years of abuse and neglect, the red brick building at 38 E. Fifth Ave. was renovated in 2002 into offices by the architectural firm of Sink Combs Dethlefs.^[8]

• Club Baja — From about 1960 to 1969, Byers owned and operated Club Baja at 1346 Stout Street (at 14th St.), downtown Denver. Before the Club Baja, the building had been used by the Denver Dancing Academy (from about 1937 to 1960). Club Baja featured national and local touring acts including Glen Campbell, Count Basie, Stan Kenton, and James Brown, among many others. Club Baja was the venue that helped launch the careers of The Astronauts.
• The Thunderbird — Before owning The Robin's Nest, Byers operated the Thunderbird, a jazz dinner club atop Lookout Mountain. Byers' business partner at The Robin's Nest, Ray Iverson (a saxophonist and piano tuner), was a longtime friend and eventually became married to the owner of The Thunderbird, Betty Lou.
• The Robins Nest — Byers, and a partner, Ray Iverson (1929–2006), owned and operated a jazz club atop Lookout Mountain called the Robins Nest (across from Buffalo Bill's grave). They owned it from 1957 to 1977. The club had a spectacular nighttime view of the Denver landscape. Many local musicians congregated there for late night jam sessions. Kenny Burrell played there in 1972, along with Stanley Turrentine in 1973. Sarah Vaughan performed there, as did Stan Getz, Hank Crawford, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Mann, Dave and Don Grusin.

Retirement

Byers retired in 2002 and moved to Columbus, New Mexico.^[9]

Family

At the time of Byers' death, he had been married to Jeanne Byers for 58 years. Jeanne was once married to one of Verne's fellow band-mates, Jimmy Bemis, a trumpet player and college student at the University of Denver.

Before playing with Verne Byers, sometime around 1941, Bemis was a featured trumpeter — known as "the mite-sized trumpet player" — with Joe Buzze and His Orchestra, a Texas territory band. Bemis died in 1947 at the age of 27 on the band bus from a sudden illness while being rushed back to Denver a traveling gig in Kansas.

Three years after the Jimmy's death, Jeanne and Verne were urged by mutual friends to date. They married in the Summer of 1950, two weeks after their first date. They honeymooned at one of Verne's gigs in at Grand Lake, Colorado.

Byers died in Las Cruces, New Mexico, December 19, 2008, at the age of 90.

Las Vegas years

Verne and his wife, Jeanne, moved to Las Vegas in 1983, a time that Byers refers to as when the music industry began to fall apart in Las Vegas.^[10] In Las Vegas, Byers was able to recruit high quality musicians willing to travel with his territory band.

The swing band era was at a low, and major casinos were switching from live bands to taped music, which resulted in a major musicians strike. And interest in swing bands seemed to be waning. When traveling for territory bands waned, his orchestra played regularly in Las Vegas until his move into retirement to Columbus, New Mexico, in 2002.

Former musicians

Verne Byers & His Bermuda Brass 1938

Verne Byers & His Bermuda Brass 1972

Verne Byers & His Orchestra

1940s

1950s

1970s

1980s

External links and suggested reading

Relating to territory bands

• Territory Bands Data Base

Relating to the Denver Beatles concert

• List of The Beatles concerts
• Peter Michael Jones (1963- ), The Beatles at Red Rocks, It was 40 years ago today, Aug 2004, 5280, Denver's Magazine
• FBI Records, File No. 9-42653, Investigation of a threatening postcard received by Vern Byers on Aug 18, 1964, warning him to cancel the Beatles concert:

If you know what's good for you cancel Denver engagement. I'll be in the audience and I'm going to throw a hand grenade instead of jelly babies. — Beatle Hater

The letter had been postmarked "GREELEY COLO. AUG 17, 1964 AM." The Denver Police Department, the FBI, an Assistant United States Attorney – James A. Clark (1931–2009)^[14] – and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, investigated the case. Clark erroneously categorized it as an extortion case. Two letters, both signed by J. Edgar Hoover, were sent to the Denver Field Office stating that (a) "no latent impressions of value" (fingerprints) were found on the threatening postcard and (b) "the results of the latent fingerprint examination will be forwarded separately." Nonetheless, there was no incident and the investigation was closed for lack of suspects.

References