Bluegrass fiddle player Byron Berline was born on July 6, 1944, in Caldwell, Kansas. He began playing the fiddle when he was five years old, developing his talent and unique style over the years. His recording career began in 1965 when he appeared on The Dillards’ album Pickin 'and Fiddlin'. That same year, he met bluegrass legend Bill Monroe at the Newport Folk Festival, which led to being asked to join Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. He finished his studies at the University of Oklahoma in 1967 before joining the military. Upon his discharge in 1969, he joined bluegrass duo Dillard & Clark on their album Through the Morning, Through the Night (1969). Moving to Southern California, he became an in-demand session musician and recorded with The Rolling Stones, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Stephen Stills. During this period, he formed and recorded with several of his own group projects including Country Gazette in 1972, Sundance in 1976, and Berline, Crary, and Hickman (BCH) in 1981, who later changed their name to California. In 1995, Byron Berline moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma, where he opened a fiddle shop. Two years later, he founded the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival, an annual event at which bluegrass icons such as Earl Scruggs, Ricky Skaggs and John Hartford performed. Alongside albums with his previous groups, he recorded several solo albums including Double Trouble (1986) and Fiddle and a Song (1995), which featured performances by Earl Scruggs, Bill Monroe, Vince Gill and Mason Williams. Byron Berline has worked with many of music’s greatest artists over the years including Bob Dylan, Elton John, The Byrds, Willie Nelson, Gram Parsons, John Denver, Gene Clark, Rod Stewart, Eagles, The Band and Emmylou Harris. He's also been featured in many TV series and movie soundtracks, such as Star Trek, Basic Instinct, and Back to the Future III. Byron Berline died on July 10, 2021 at the age of 77.
