Eddie Bayers (born January 28, 1949) is an American session drummer who has played on 300 gold and platinum albums. He received the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

'Drummer of the Year Award' for fourteen years, has three times won the Nashville Music Awards 'Drummer of the Year,' and was inducted into the

Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum Mission Statement The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is a 501(c)(3) charity organization. The mission of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is to honor all great musicians regardless of genre or instruments. This is done by exhibiting t ...

in 2019. He was also a member of two bands: The Players, and The Notorious Cherry Bombs. In 2022, Bayers was one of four inductees into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...

along with

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

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, and Pete Drake.

Early life

The son of a career military man, Bayers moved around as a child, originally from Maryland then spending time in Nashville, North Africa, Oakland, and Philadelphia. His early musical training was as a classical pianist studying

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

, and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. During his college years in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

he was a member of the Edwin Hawkins Singers and he also jammed with future stars

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, and Tom and John Fogerty and developed an appreciation for the creative aspects of music. After a short stint in a New Jersey show band he decided to move to

Nashville 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 ...

Session work

Arriving in Nashville in 1973, Bayers became the house keyboard player at the Carousel Club where he met drummer Larrie Londin who inspired him to take up drumming. His drumming was influenced by

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

drummers such as Al Jackson, Jr. and Clyde Stubblefield. He became the staff drummer at Audio Media Studios along with guitarist Paul Worley, keyboardist Dennis Burnside, and bassist Jack Jackson. Some of the artists Bayers has worked with include Tanya Tucker, Mindy Smith,

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American Country music, country and Folk music, folk singer, songwriter, and actor. He was one of the most popular acoustic m ...

, Ricky Skaggs and

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. He has since worked with the likes of

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Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American country musician and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour'' on CBS television from ...

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, Rebecca Lynn Howard, Lane Brody,content

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, Sting,

Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a guitarist, keyboard player, and vocalist prominent for his dis ...

, and

Trisha Yearwood Patricia Lynn Yearwood (born September 19, 1964) is an American country singer. She rose to fame with her 1991 debut single "She's in Love with the Boy", which became a number one hit on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Hot Country Songs ...

. He also co- produced

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's album ''

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,'' '' A Glen Campbell Christmas'', and the soundtrack for ''A Thing Called Love''.

Bands

The Players

In 2002, Bayers formed a band, The Players, with fellow studio musicians Brent Mason, Paul Franklin, John Hobbs, Michael Rhodes. The group released a live DVD, ''Live in Nashville'', featuring their own performances along with guest appearances by

Shawn Colvin Shawn Colvin (born Shawna Lee Colvin, January 10, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1997 Grammy Award-winning song "Sunny Came Home". Early life Colvin was born Shawna Lee Colvin in Vermillion, South Dakota, and ...

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, Vince Gill, and Jim Horn.

The Notorious Cherry Bombs

Bayers replaced his former mentor, drummer Larrie Londin, in a reunited Notorious Cherry Bombs for a 2003

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Country Awards dinner. The band decided to stay together and has released '' The Notorious Cherry Bombs'' which was nominated for Grammies in both the 'Best Country Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal' and 'Best Country Song' categories. Along with Bayers the band consists of Vince Gill,

Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950) is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music. Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs, all from his 1988 album '' Diamonds & Dirt''. ...

, Hank DeVito, Richard Bennett, and Michael Rhodes.

The Medallion Band

An all-star lineup was assembled to be the backing band at the 2010

induction ceremony dubbed the Medallion Band. Bayers served as drummer and was accompanied by keyboardist and music director John Hobbs, pedal steel player Paul Franklin, electric guitarist Steve Gibson, bassist Michael Rhodes, fiddler Deanie Richardson, tuba player Larry Paxton, background vocalists Dawn Sears and Jeff White, and acoustic guitarist Biff Watson. Later that year Bayers and a slightly revamped Medallion Band accompanied Shawn Camp in honoring Hall of Fame inductee

Jimmy Dean Jimmy Ray Dean (August 10, 1928 – June 13, 2010) was an American country music singer, television host, actor and businessman. He was the creator of the Jimmy Dean (brand), Jimmy Dean sausage brand as well as the spokesman for its TV comm ...

. Bayers played the same role for the 2011 Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony with the band now dubbed the Medallion All-Stars.

Accolades

Eddie Bayers was inducted into the

in 2019. Bayers received the 'Academy of Country Music Drummer of the Year Award' 14 times, 'Nashville Music Awards Drummer of the Year' three times, and one of the 10 greatest session drummers of all time by ''Drum!'' magazine. He has been nominated for the 'CMA Musician of the Year' ten times but has yet to bring home the prize. On May 1, 2022, he was inducted into the

Music industry

In addition to his work as a musician, Bayers has contributed to the recording industry as a 12-year member of the Board of Governors for

NARAS National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American Learned society, learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely kno ...

. He is also the part-owner of the Money Pit recording studio. The No. 1 singles " What I Really Meant to Say" by Cyndi Thomson and " Blessed" by

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...

were both recorded at his studio.

Selected discography

References

External links

* *
Eddie Bayers Interview
at NAMM Oral History Library (2019) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayers, Eddie 1949 births American country drummers American session musicians Living people Country musicians from Maryland The Notorious Cherry Bombs members 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from Maryland