Interview with Byron Bowie on January 31, 2012

Interview with Byron Bowie 1/31/2012 Belva King interviewed Byron Bowie on January 31, 2012. Byron was one of three musical brothers with deep Frederick County roots: Lester, Joseph, and Byron. They discuss music as a Bowie family legacy including their grandfather (born 1905) who began playing in the Bartonsville Band at the age of six in 1911. Byron was born in Little Rock, Arkansas and grew up in St. Louis. When asked how he got started in music, Byron said he didn't have a choice because his father was a high school music teacher! He played many instruments – flute, saxophone, trumpet, piano, etc. Byron went to the University of Missouri at Columbia on a scholarship and began playing gigs at parties and dances because he needed money – in his words he played “green” music, whatever he was paid to play! He became a professional musician. Byron played with many artists such as Lou Rawls, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, and Gladys Knight and the Pips. He moved to Chicago and put together bands for artists that came to town to play. Toward the end of his career, he served as the musical director for a dinner theatre outside Chicago. Byron's recording career in Chicago changed when the industry moved west. With his brother Joseph and musicians who previously backed James Chance, Byron was a founding member of Defunkt, a New York City band. Byron played on the Bill Cosby show and at the inauguration of two US presidents - Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Byron fainted on stage at Obama's inauguration. His advice for young folk is to play what you want to play. “Express yourself however you want to play”. Byron and Belva show and discuss family photos on the piano including Byron’s mother’s family. Byron always wanted to be a studio musician. It came from years of playing with so many different people. When asked who was most instrumental in his career, Byron said Kirk Stewart, the conductor for The Dells (Kirk died 1982). Later, Byron became The Dells musical director. As Byron’s reputation grew, he wrote music for bands, as a kind of translator...professionally reproducing music for the artists who hired him to put together a band for their performance. Dr. Clarence Knight, Jr. was his contact for the inaugurations.... Byron came to the DC and Baltimore areas often and knew Dr. Knight. Byron’s first gig was going out on the road with rhythm and blues singer Little Milton in 1963. His last gig was at President Barack Obama's first inauguration in 2009. Interview with Byron Bowie on January 31, 2012 Raw unedited footage King Video Productions This video was uploaded with the permission of Belva King, the producer. Belva is a native resident of Frederick County, Maryland. She is also a dedicated local historian. One of Belva's greatest achievements is the publication of a seven-volume set of her newsletters, totaling over 2,000 pages, that showcase African American history in Frederick County, Maryland.