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I met Al during the last few years of his life, but he
was the kind of person that when you meet you know there is somebody
special you are saying hello to. And, within a couple of
conversations you feel like you have known them your entire life.
He was a very soft spoken person with a tremendously funny dry sense of
humor. Music, family and humor were Al's life. And, he made
sure he had plenty of each every day. I was very fortunate to have
been invited to join him in enjoying all three of those at the same time
- several times. Al took a likin' to me right away when we met -
and, I was always sure it wasn't because of my guitar playing abilities
- must have been my humor.
Connie Sarina (local bass man) loves to tell the story
of when he was driving Al to a gig that Al had called Conrad in
on. They got driving down the road and Connie thanked Al for the
gig. He said, "I do appreciate the call, Al. Must be
you liked my bass playing?"
Eighty year old Al dryly responded, "Not
really - I needed a ride."
Oh, we are going to miss that humor. And, the
twinkle in his eyes when he sang, "Old Friends."
Rest in peace our "old friend."
Palmer Moore - Organizer OFGC
Al Myers - National Celebrity
This is an excerpt taken from and article entitled The
Evolution of Country Fingerpicking in Guitar Player magazine written by Rich Kienzle:
(right after discussing the major contributions by Chet Atkins and Merle
Travis...(they misspelled his last name..)
"Much more obscure but no less talented was Al Meyers, who worked in California as a sideman with the Hollywood-based western vocal trio called the Georgia Crackers (Bob, Slim, and Hank Newman). When Bob Newman began doing solo recordings for the King label in the early '50s, Meyers was often prominently featured. He also did some Travis-styled instrumentals for King, backed by Jerry Byrd on steel guitar, which were later issued on a budget anthology album. Whether Meyers played in a purely Travis based style or used a flatpick to approximate the sound is difficult to tell."
Read the whole article at http://personal.riverusers.com/~debed/teocfp.htm
Al Myers in Columbus Senior Musicians Hall of Fame
http://seniormusicians.homestead.com/2001.html
Al's Obituary from Columbus Dispatch - November 17, 2003
MYERS Allan E. "Al" Myers, age 83, of
Ashville, died Wednesday, November 26, 2003. He was a member of Christ
Christian Fellowship Church, the Columbus Federation of Musicians and
was a WW II United States Air Force Veteran. He played with the Buckeye
Four on WHKC, the WW II Skyliners Band, the Georgia Crackers at J Bar C
Ranch, appeared on the Sally Flowers and Flippo shows, best known as Al
"Mr. Banjo" Myers. Al is survived by his loving wife of 63
years, Bea Bachman Myers; daughters, Karen (Darrell) Sanner of
Lancaster, Linda (Keith) Moore of Ashville, Kathy (Jim) Mekoleske of
Orient; 11 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; niece, nephew, friends,
musicians and former guitar students. Friends may visit 5-8 p.m. Friday
at the DWAYNE R. SPENCE FUNERAL HOME, 650 West Waterloo St., Canal
Winchester. Funeral service will be held at the convenience of the
family. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Mt.
Carmel Hospice or Christ Christian Fellowship Church. Al touched the
lives of many people with his heart and his music. "DAD - you will
be sorely missed"
Some More Pictures of Al Myers |
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