Murrey Mizell "Buddy" Harman, Jr. (December 23, 1928 – August 21, 2008) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

Career

Born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, Harman studied music at Roy C. Knapp School of Percussion. He returned to Nashville in 1952. Harman played

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

on over 18,000 sessions for artists such as

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

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, Songwrite
Larry Petree
Martha Carson,

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

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, Tammy Wynette,

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, Roy Orbison,

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, Marty Robbins, Ray Price, Roger Miller,

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, Barbara Mandrell, Eddy Arnold,

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, Merle Haggard, Reba McEntire, Gillian Welch and many more.

With Patsy Cline

Harman appeared on almost all of Cline's Decca sessions from her first in November 1960 to her last in February 1962, during which time he backed her on songs such as: * Crazy * She's Got You * Foolin' Around * Seven Lonely Days * You Belong to Me * Heartaches * True Love * Faded Love * Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You) * Sweet Dreams * Crazy Arms * San Antonio Rose * The Wayward Wind * A Poor Man's Roses (Or a Rich Man's Gold) * Have You Ever Been Lonely (Have You Ever Been Blue)? * South of the Border (Down Mexico Way) * Walkin' After Midnight (1961 recording) * You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want To Do It) * Your Cheatin' Heart * That's My Desire * Half As Much * I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You) * Leavin' On Your Mind * Someday (You'll Want Me To Want You) * Love Letters In The Sand * Blue Moon of Kentucky *and more.

Awards

Harman was the first regular drummer on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

.Friskics-Warren, Bill (August 22, 2008)
Buddy Harman, 79, Busy Nashville Drummer, Is Dead .
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Some of Harman's awards include "Drummer of the Year" in 1981 from the Academy of Country Music and "Super Picker" Award for drums on the most No. 1 recordings from the Nashville NARAS chapter in 1975 and 1976.Buddy Harman profile
via Drummer World

Death

Harman died at the Hospice Center in Nashville from

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

at the age of 79.

Selected discography

Singles

Albums

With Kai Winding *'' Modern Country'' (Verve, 1964)

References

External links

Bob Moore’s Nashville A-Team websiteBuddy Harman Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2003)
Buddy Harman Jr. Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2009)
Murray Harman Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2009)
Buddy Harman recordings
at the Discography of American Historical Recordings 1928 births 2008 deaths Musicians from Nashville, Tennessee American session musicians American country drummers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Country musicians from Tennessee 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from Tennessee {{US-drummer-stub