Benefit Concert

April 18 At NPAC

For Barry Burton

By LISA WARREN

Staff Writer

Billy Greer, the bass player for the rock band Kansas, made a stop in Greeneville earlier this week to promote a memorial benefit concert planned here for his late friend and fellow musician Barry "Byrd" Burton.

A Rogersville native, Burton was a Grammy Award-winning guitarist with the Amazing Rhythm Aces as well as a highly-respected and sought-after studio musician in Nashville.

Burton, 61, died March 10 after a lengthy battle with leukemia. The benefit concert will aid Burton's family with remaining medical bills.

The concert, featuring Kansas, will be held Friday, April 18, at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center. Also taking the stage will be opening act Dixie Highway, along with an assortment of Burton's friends, including the B-Team Blues Band; Jeff "Stick" Davis, founding member of the Amazing Rhythm Aces; and Benny Wilson.

Good seats still remain for the concert, which will also feature an auction of several donated items from various well-known musicians and friends of Burton, including: Charlie Daniels, Dolly Parton, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Greg Allman, and Brooks & Dunn.

Tickets are $30 for the show and are on sale at the NPAC box office by calling 638-1679. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Greer's stop in Greeneville came as part of a Tri-Cities media blitz to promote the concert and remember his long-time friend.

His 'Musical Mentor'

In an interview with The Greeneville Sun, Greer called Burton his "musical mentor."

A native of Hawkins County, Greer said he had known Burton since he was a teenager growing up in Surgoinsville.

"Barry lived just up the road from me in Rogersville, and I would hang out at his house," Greer said.

Greer recalled his friend as someone who always seemed to have a guitar in his hand and music on his mind.

"He would turn us on to albums that we had never heard of - and then help us learn the songs," Greer said.

"He was my mentor. I am who I am today because of the inspiration that he provided to me," he continued.

"You need to model yourself after someone else who is successful, and that's what I did with Barry Burton. I modeled myself after what he did musically. And it paid off for me," he added.

After leaving Hawkins County, both Burton and Greer went on to highly successful musical careers.

Burton was discovered by the legendary producer Sam Phillips of Sun Records in Memphis, who hired him as a studio musician. Burton later joined the Amazing Rhythm Aces, and eventually won a Grammy Award with the band, as well as numerous other alcolades for his musical work.

"He was an accomplished musician and one of the most respected pickers in Nashville," Greer said. "He played with so many people on so many albums."

During his career, Burton toured with the likes of Dan Fogelburg, Dolly Parton, and Brooks & Dunn. His guitar playing can also be heard on Don Williams' "Tulsa Time," as well as on recordings by The Oak Ridge Boys, Nanci Griffith, Emmylou Harris, Mickey Gilley, and many more.

Greer chuckled when he was asked how a boy from Surgoinsville managed to become a rock star.

"I began by paying a lot of dues playing in dives here to Florida to Georgia to South Carolina to North Carolina," he said with a laugh.

Greer eventually met Kansas frontman Steve Walsh, who had formed a band called Streets and asked Greer to join as bass guitarist.

The Streets band recorded two albums, but was eventually dropped from Atlantic records. In 1985, Walsh returned to Kansas as lead singer of the band, and Greer followed to become the band's new bass player.

"This is my 23rd year with Kansas," Greer said.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the band's biggest hits, "Dust In the Wind," he added.

"Many people think Kansas went away, but we still do about 75 shows a year," Greer said.

The band has been touring this year since January. After the Greeneville show, the band will travel to Pikeville, Ky., for a concert at the Expo Center, a newly opened amphitheater, and then on to Mexico for an eight-city tour.

The Greeneville concert was originally scheduled prior to Burton's death to aid with expenses related to an impending stem cell transplant at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.

Greer explained that while Burton had health insurance, he did not have coverage for his medication, which was ranging into the tens of thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, Burton died in early March due to complications related to chemotherapy before the stell cell transplant could take place.

Instead of canceling the show, however, Greer said that the decision was made to go ahead with the concert in order to celebrate Burton's life and to donate proceeds to his family to help them pay any remaining medical bills.

"Barry was a true inspiration to me, and to so many other artists," Greer said. "He inspired all of us to do better. That's what Barry meant to me. And that is why this is so personal for me to do for him and his family."

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Here is a list of some of the celebrity items to be auctioned Friday, April 18 during the Barry "Byrd" Burton Memorial Concert at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center:

• Sheryl Crow and band autographed electric guitar;

• Styx and band autographed electric guitar;

• Charlie Daniels fiddle with case and photo;

• Brooks & Dunn acoustic guitar;

• Dolly Parton autographed, custom made dulcimer with photo;

• Edwin McCain autographed acoustic guitar;

• Tim McGraw/Faith Hill autographed Epiphone Les Paul with case;

• .38 Special and band autographed electric guitar;

• Billy Greer's "Dust In The Wind" Kansas autographed acoustic guitar; and

• Gregg Allman autographed electric guitar.

For photos of the items being auctioned at the Barry "Burton" Byrd Memorial Concert, go to www.byrdburton.com and follow the auction link.