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E-mail StoryMonty Byrom picks 50 songs for 50 years — and invites you to the party
| Tuesday, Jul 1 2008 5:27 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jul 2 2008 8:03 AM
Monty Byrom turns 50 Thursday and is astonished he’s survived this long.
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When: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Buck Owens' Crystal Palace, 2800 Buck Owens Blvd.
Cost: $5 cover
Details: 328-7560.
Photos:
Monty Byrom
“You know, when you’re a rock star in your 30s and you’re on the road, you think, ‘God, I hope I make it to 40,’” he says, laughing. “At 40, I said, ‘God, I hope I make it to 50.’”
The blues-country singer and guitarist thinks the half-century mark is bigger and better than those heady years of 21 and 30. A Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace regular, the Bakersfield native has had a whirlwind life, jumping from rock band Billy Satellite to a creative partnership with Eddie Money in the ’80s, then hitting the country charts in the ’90s with Big House.
The Palace will celebrate Byrom with a birthday bash Friday and Saturday. As always, he’ll have to compete with America’s birthday.
“When I was growing up, all I ever got was fireworks,” he says. “‘Here’s 20 bucks, go light the fireworks.’”
And there’s big news from the Big House. They’re back with their first album since 2000 and the first with the original Bakersfield lineup since 1998. “Losing My Angels” is due in August or September along with a companion DVD on the making of the album. Big House will perform some of the new material this weekend.
We asked the birthday boy to play us a song for each year of his life.
“My earliest memory of listening to music and wanting to sing and play was jammin' with my father, who used to strum on his ol' Kay acoustic guitar as I would accompany him on my fiddle.”
1. “I've Got a Tiger By the Tail,” Buck Owens
2. “Act Naturally,” Buck Owens — “This is the music that my dad sang me to sleep with every night.”
3. “Swinging Doors,” Merle Haggard
4. “Detour,” Ernest Tubb — “Are these appropriate songs for a toddler? Absolutely!”
5. “Sing Me Back Home,” Merle Haggard
6. “Long Gone Lonesome Blues,” Hank Williams
7. “There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight,” Hank Williams — “Hank Williams Sr. became a staple in our house. I played the fiddle and sang these songs with my dad.”
8. “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry,” Hank Williams
9. “Cold, Cold Heart,” Hank Williams
10. “I Can't Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You),” Hank Williams — “My sixth grade teacher Mr. McCutcheon played Beatles records in the classroom and that changed my life. By the time I was 11 years old my friends Kerry Pierce and Derek Benham turned me on to heavier stuff.”
11. “Here Comes The Sun,” The Beatles
12. “Something,” The Beatles
13. “Eleanor Rigby,” The Beatles
14. “Hey Jude,” The Beatles — “High school in the early ’70s was let your hair down, hippie chicks and ZZ Top — what a great combo. Songs 14 to 34 were all cruisin' Chester songs. Back in the day, Chester Avenue was the drag to cruise when you were a teenager.”
15. “Across The Universe,” The Beatles
16. “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” Sly and The Family Stone
17. “Hot Fun In The Summertime,” Sly and The Family Stone
18. “I Want To Take You Higher,” Sly and The Family Stone
19. “Me and Bobby McGee,” Janis Joplin
20. “Mercedes Benz,” Janis Joplin
21. “Joy To The World,” Three Dog Night
22. “Have You Ever Seen The Rain?” Creedence Clearwater Revival
23. “Fire,” Jimi Hendrix
24. “Red House,” Jimi Hendrix
25. “Foxey Lady,” Jimi Hendrix — “This is when I knew that I would be a guitar player, listening to Jimi Hendrix. My best friends in high school, Paul Gerdes, Kenny Minton, Kerry Pierce, Tim Phillips, Ed Fields and Dennis Hall, took me to the next level.”
26. “Highway Star,” Deep Purple
27. “Lazy,” Deep Purple — “26 and 27 are air guitar practice!”
28. “In The Ghetto,” Elvis
29. “School's Out,” Alice Cooper
30. “Tush,” ZZ Top
31. “Blue Jean Blues,” ZZ Top
32. “Heard It On The X,” ZZ Top
33. “La Grange,” ZZ Top — “All of my friends and I went to the Civic Auditorium and saw this new band called ZZ Top. I knew every song — still do!”
34. “American Woman,” The Guess Who
35. “These Arms Of Mine,” Otis Redding
36. “Try A Little Tenderness,” Otis Redding — “I grew up wanting to be Otis Redding.”
37. “Funk No. 49,” The James Gang — “This is one of the first songs I learned in my first band.”
38. “Take It Easy,” Eagles
39. “The Best Of My Love,” Eagles — “I never thought that I would actually write and record with these guys. Be careful what you wish for!”
40. “Rivers Of Babylon,” Linda Ronstadt
41. “When Will I Be Loved,” Linda Ronstadt — “Linda was my first love. Before there were supermodels, she was it for me!”
42. “Into The Mystic,” Van Morrison
43. “White Room,” Cream — “I still don't know the words to this song.”
44. “Over The Hills and Far Away,” Led Zeppelin
45. “Roundabout,” Yes
46. “Your Cash Ain't Nothin' But Trash,” Steve Miller Band — “At 46 years old this was still my favorite bass solo.”
47. “The Chain,” Fleetwood Mac — “In my late 40s this still rocked.”
48. “Giving It Up For Your Love,” Delbert McClinton — “I stopped buying records when Jimi Hendrix died, except for a few (like Delbert McClinton's), and that is why everything here is dated. I got to do a show with Bonnie Bramlett and her daughter Bekka Bramlett. Bonnie sang with Delbert and later on Bekka wrote for Delbert. I was just glad to know them.”
49. “Baby Hold On,” Eddie Money — “Eddie and I had a great run together. Yet I still remember where I was when I first heard this song, and every time I hear it, it takes me back. Thanks, Eddie!”
50. “Arrested For Driving While Blind,” ZZ Top — “If you're having a bad day, just pop this in the player and I guarantee you'll feel better.”