Nashville, Tenn., — Acclaimed drummer Eddie Bayers will take a seat on Saturday, February 13, as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s popular series Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Musicians. The program, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Museum’s Ford Theater, is included with Museum admission and is free to Museum members. The program will also be streamed live on the Country Music Hall of Fame® Web site.
Hosted by Bill Lloyd, the tribute to Bayers will include a brief performance and an in-depth, one-on-one interview illustrated with vintage recordings, photos and film clips from the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive. Immediately following the program, Bayers will sign autographs in the Museum Store.
About Eddie Bayers
Serving as a first-call session drummer for over thirty years, Eddie Bayers has contributed to modern country classics such as Vince Gill’s “Liza Jane,” Alan Jackson’s “Here in the Real World” and George Strait’s “Blue Clear Sky.” His credits also include work with pop stars John Fogerty, Elton John, Mark Knopfler and Bob Seger, among others. One of the most talented and respected drummers in country music, Bayers remains in the ranks of Nashville’s elite session musicians, contributing to contemporary recordings by Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Crowell, Willie Nelson and Brad Paisley, among many others.
Eddie Bayers was born in Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1949, but spent most of his childhood on the move. The Bayers family lived in Nashville, Oakland, Philadelphia and even North Africa. His father, a decorated naval fighter pilot who served in both World War II and the Korean War, nurtured his son’s musical talent after Eddie began decoding melodies on the piano at age five. As Bayers grew older, he received training as a classical pianist and studied Bach, Beethoven and Mozart. He further pursued his classical training while in college in Oakland but eventually gravitated to the creativity of his eclectic West Coast musical circle, which included Jerry Garcia, John Fogerty and Tom Fogerty. Bayers combined the technical knowledge gleaned from his professors with his own individualized interpretation of music.
After short stints playing in a New Jersey show band and working for Fantasy Records in San Francisco, he relocated to Nashville in 1973. Bayers began working alongside legendary drummer Larrie Londin as house keyboardist at Jimmy Hyde’s Carousel Club. The two became fast friends, and Bayers, inspired by Londin’s playing, took up drumming. After gaining notoriety from live gigs and his work on songwriter demos, Bayers eventually got his foot in the door at Audio Media Studios, where he backed John Denver, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait, Tanya Tucker and others. By the 1980s, Bayers had established himself as a top studio musician, contributing to country hits by Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, as well as to pop recordings by Peter Frampton, Sting and Steve Winwood.
The Players jamming to George Benson’s “Hipping The Hop” Paul Franklin (steel) Brent Mason (Guitar) Eddie Bayers (drums) Michael Rhodes (bass) and John Hobbs (keys)
Bayers has earned the Academy of Country Music’s Drummer of the Year Award a record 11 straight times (13 total) and has been nominated for CMA’s Musician of the Year 10 times. In 2002, Bayers united with fellow acclaimed session musicians John Hobbs, Brent Mason, Paul Franklin and Michael Rhodes to form the Players. The group released a live DVD and continues to perform. Bayers also joined the Notorious Cherry Bombs for the band’s reunion appearances and subsequent album, replacing his mentor and original band member Larrie Londin. Along with Bayers, the band included Richard Bennett, Tony Brown, Rodney Crowell, Hank DeVito, Vince Gill and Michael Rhodes.
These programs are made possible, in part, by grants from the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and by an agreement between the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print®.
More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at CountryMusicHallOfFame.org