American musician and song-writer
Musical artist
Monty Byrom
(born 1958) is an American
rock
,
blues
and
country
guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer.
[1]
He fronted the rock band
Billy Satellite
, co-writing several songs for the band that later became hits for
Eddie Money
. Byrom later became more involved in collaborations with Money, writing or co-writing songs on future Money albums and touring with Money on occasion.
[2]
Later while leading the "soul country" band
Big House
, Byrom made a significant contribution to the new
Bakersfield Sound
, with a nod to his Bakersfield roots.
[3]
Early life
[
edit
]
Byrom was born in
Corpus Christi
,
Texas
and raised in
Bakersfield
,
California
.
[3]
His original musical influences were
Merle Haggard
,
Billy Mize
,
Buck Owens
,
Otis Redding
, and
Bobby Womack
.
[4]
When he was seventeen, he joined the
United States Navy
.
[4]
After attending the Norfolk Navy School of Music, he played in the Navy band, performing at high schools and colleges across the United States.
[4]
Although Bakersfield had a rising country music scene, he grew to prefer the music of
Eric Clapton
,
Creedence Clearwater Revival
,
Deep Purple
,
Jim Hendrix
, and
Santana
.
[5]
After the Navy, he played in a Bay Area band, The Heaters.
[5]
In the 1980s, he played with the Dead Family.
[3]
Career
[
edit
]
Billy Satellite
[
edit
]
In the early 1980s, Byrom was a founding member of the
Alameda, California
band
Billy Satellite
.
[6]
[2]
He provided lead vocals and played guitar and keyboards for the
Album-oriented rock
band.
[6]
He also co-wrote the band's songs.
[1]
The band signed with
Capitol Records
by
John S. Carter
in 1983.
[5]
[4]
Their album,
Billy Satellite
, was produced by
Don Gehman
and recorded at
Rumbo Recorders
in
Los Angeles
.
[6]
The band toured with
Night Ranger
and
Jefferson Starship
in support of the album, which yielded two minor hits.
[5]
Although recorded, the band's second album was never released and they were dropped by Capitol. Billy Satellite broke up shortly afterward.
[6]
New Frontier
[
edit
]
After Billy Satellite, Byrom formed the band
New Frontier
which
Glenn Letsch
(
Gamma
) on bass, Marc Nelson on drums, and David Neuhauser on keyboards.
[5]
The band signed with MIKA Records, an imprint of
Polydor Records
, and released a self-titled album in 1987.
[5]
Because all of its members were involved in other bands and projects, this group was short-lived.
[7]
Eddie Money
[
edit
]
Byrom began writing songs for Eddie Money after the latter had a hit with a cover of "I Wanna Go Back" by Billy Satellite (co-written by Byrom).
[5]
Money's version of "I Wanna Go Back" received the ASCAP/BMI Song of the Year Award, based on airplay.
[3]
He also toured with Money's band for several years.
[3]
Byrom was the producer, engineer, and mixer on Money's 1991 album
Right Here
, along with providing backing vocals and playing guitar and keyboards.
[1]
He also co-wrote six of the album's ten tracks, including "Another Nice Day in L.A.," "Fall In Love Again," "Fire and Water," "Prove It Every Night," "She Takes My Breath Away," and "Things Are Much Better Today."
[8]
He also produced and played guitar on Money's 1992 release
Unplug It In
.
[1]
Big House
[
edit
]
Following a gathering of musicians in Bakersfield in the mid-1990s, Byrom founded the country music band,
Big House
, with David Neuhauser from New Frontier.
[5]
[3]
The duo shared song-writing for the band, and Byrom played guitar and sang lead vocals.
[9]
[1]
Byrom's brother, Tanner, was also a member of Big House, playing the drums.
[10]
They signed with
MCA Nashville
and released three albums between 1997 and 2000, including
Big House
,
Travelin' Kind
, and
Woodstock Nation
.
[11]
[10]
Their fourth album,
Never Ending Train
, was released in 2008.
[9]
He produced all four of the band's albums.
[1]
They were nominated for a
Academy of Country Music Award
for top new vocal duet or group in 1998.
[12]
[3]
They also had four Top 40 Country hits, including "Cold Outside" and "You Ain't Lonely Yet."
[4]
[13]
The Buckaroos
[
edit
]
After the death of his friend
Buck Owens
, Byrom was invited to join Owens' band
The Buckaroos
at The Crystal Palace in
Bakersfield, California
, fronting the band one weekend a month.
[11]
Byrom played with The Buckaroos for thirteen years, from 2007 to 2019.
[14]
Upon leaving the group, he said, 'Thirteen years and time to move on. I'm going to miss those boys and Jennifer [Keel, backing singer], that's for sure. Finally, in the end, it just came down to...time to move on."
[14]
One of the reasons he quit was because of the increasing success of The Byrom Brothers.
[14]
Zen Road Pilots
[
edit
]
In 2012, Byrom formed the Zen Road Pilots with Tom "Fee" Falletti and Ira Walker, former bandmates from Billy Satellite.
[2]
The band recorded one self-titled album.
[2]
Changing its name to Monty Byrom and The Road Pilots, this five-piece band played Americana-infused rock and soul in the old-school tradition.
[3]
They released
100 Miles South of Eden
in 2016.
[3]
The Byrom Brothers
[
edit
]
The Road Pilots became The Byrom Brothers, which includes his brother and
Big House
drummer Tanner Byrom.
[14]
[3]
Byrom plays guitar and sings lead vocals.
[13]
The band also includes studio musician Wil Anderson on bass and keyboardist Chris Neufeld, who was a member of The Road Pilots and also played with Eddie Money.
[3]
[13]
Their current release, an album of covers titled
The Age Of Music
, was released in 2016.
[15]
Other
[
edit
]
In 1984, he provided backing vocals for
Barbra Streisand
on her album,
Emotion
.
[1]
The producer of that track was
Don Felder
(
Eagles
), who mentored Byrom, leading to other projects with major acts.
[3]
As a result, Byrom wrote songs that were recorded by
Rita Coolidge
,
Ace Frehley
,
Beth Hart
,
The Knack
,
Gregg Rolie
,
David Lee Roth
,
Stray Cats
,
George Thorogood
,
Van Halen
,
Walela
, and
Waylon
.
[1]
[3]
In 1992, he played guitar and provided backing vocals for
Danny Tate
's self-named album.
[1]
He also played guitar on recordings by
J'Son
, New Frontier, and
Kathy Troccoli
.
[1]
In addition, he produced and played instruments on albums for
Jay Boy Adams
,
Jared Tyler
, and
Ted Z & the Wranglers
.
[1]
He also worked on numerous movie and film soundtracks, including
Blackdog
,
The Kids Are Alright
,
Made in America
,
The Slugger’s Wife
,
Secret Admirer
, and
Sunset Beat
.
[3]
[1]
Awards and honors
[
edit
]
- Byrom won The Guitar Wars in northern California.
[3]
- "I Wanna Go Back," a song he co-wrote, won the ASCAP/BMI Song of the Year Award.
[3]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
"Monty Byron Credits"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Munoz, Matt (September 5, 2012).
"Band reunion is magical for Zen Road Pilots | Bakotopia"
. Archived from
the original
on September 5, 2012
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
Timmons, Joseph (February 21, 2019).
"Artists Spotlight: Monty Byrom, American Music Legend and his group The Byrom Brothers"
.
IndiePulse Music Magazine
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
"Monty Byrom"
.
WTF Records
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"
Billy Satellite - II
".
Heavy Harmonies Forums
. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Billy Satellite Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
"New Frontier - New Frontier (1988)"
.
Hard Rock / AOR Heaven
. December 8, 2019
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
Eddie Money - Right Here Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic
, retrieved
June 25,
2022
- ^
a
b
"Big House Albums and Discography"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Ankeny, Jason.
"Big House Biography"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Gile, Pete (June 20, 2021).
"Bakersfield Legend: Monty Byrom"
.
The Troubadour Podcast episode #126
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
Morden, Darryl (February 25, 1998).
"Mcgraw Leads With 7 ACM Nominations"
.
The Spokesman Review
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Byrom Brothers"
.
Big, Big SLO!
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Price, Robert (January 16, 2019).
"After 13 years, Monty Byrom, Buck Owens' Crystal Palace part ways"
.
The Bakersfield Californian
. Retrieved
June 25,
2022
.
- ^
"CD Baby Music Store"
.