Jeffrey Glenn Myers (September 26, 1949 – January 16, 2025), known professionally as Toby Myers, was an American musician known as the bassist for Roadmaster and

John Cougar Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentatio ...

Life and career

Myers was born and raised in the

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, area where he attended art school at the John Herron School of Art from 1968 to 1971. He developed an interest in music and began playing bass in a music shop next to the laundromat where his mother did the family's laundry. Myers began playing in bands in high school. Myers lived next door to keyboard player Michael Read, one of the founding members of Pure Funk, a popular Indianapolis college funk band. Myers joined Pure Funk as their bass player in 1971. In 1974, Pure Funk had changed its name to Roadmaster. Roadmaster was a fairly successful pomp rock band which was discovered by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

and ultimately recorded four albums for Village/

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. When Roadmaster's fourth album (''Fortress'') failed to hit the charts in the early 80's Mercury Records dropped the band. Nine months later Myers was recruited by members of John Mellencamp's band in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

to play bass for "John Cougar," as Mellencamp was then known. After only a few weeks of rehearsal with the band, Myers' first gig with Mellencamp was their appearance on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on April 10, 1982. In 1983, Myers – along with Larry Crane and Mike Wanchic on guitars,

Kenny Aronoff Kenneth D. Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American drummer, best known for his work as a session and touring musician. He has toured and recorded with a wide range of artists throughout his career, including the Rolling Stones, the Smashing ...

on drums and percussion, and John Cascella on keyboards – recorded Mellencamp's 1983 album '' Uh-Huh''. This was the backing band Mellencamp settled on and would retain for the next several albums. In 1988, Rolling Stone magazine called this version of Mellencamp's band "one of the most powerful and versatile live bands ever assembled." Myers toured and recorded with John Mellencamp from 1982 to 1999. His final show with John was the sold out New Year's Eve show in Indianapolis. In 1992, Myers appeared as "Luke" in the John Mellencamp-directed movie, '' Falling from Grace''. Myers celebrated his 60th birthday in 2009 with a large party in

Nashville, Indiana Nashville is a town in Washington Township, Brown County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,256 at the 2020 census. The town is the county seat of Brown County and is the county's only incorporated town. The town is best known as the ...

, where he resided until his death on January 16, 2025, following a battle with cancer. He was 75.Jeffrey Glenn "Toby" Myers Obituary (2025) - Franklin, IN - Legacy.com
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References

External links

Toby Myers
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Toby 1949 births 2025 deaths Musicians from Indianapolis People from Brown County, Indiana Guitarists from Indiana 20th-century American bass guitarists Herron School of Art and Design alumni