Billy Wayne Grammer (August 28, 1925 – August 10, 2011) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and accomplished guitar player. He recorded the million-selling " Gotta Travel On", which made it onto both the

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

and

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...

in 1959. Grammer would become a regular performer on the Grand Ole Opry, eventually designing, and marketing his namesake guitar after co-founding a guitar company, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

Biography

Grammer, the eldest of 13 children (nine boys and four girls), was born in

Benton, Illinois Benton is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Illinois. The population was 6,709 at the 2020 census. History Founding Benton, the county seat of Franklin County, took its name from the prominent senator from Missouri, Thomas ...

. His father was a musician; he played the violin and trumpet. He served in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and upon discharge worked as an apprentice toolmaker at the Washington Naval gun factory at Shop No. 20. Grammer married his high-school girlfriend, Ruth Burzynski, in 1944. Shortly after the war ended, 18,000 of a 24,000-strong workforce were laid off, including Grammer. The couple returned to their home in

Franklin County, Illinois Franklin County is a county in Southern Illinois. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 37,804. The largest city is West Frankfort and the county seat is Benton. This area of Southern Illinois is known locally as "Little Egypt". History ...

Music career

When Grammer and his wife were living in Washington D.C., he was hired by Connie B. Gay as a singer in support of Gay's WARL radio program: ''Town and Country Time''. When Gay was preparing to replace the session guitarist, Grammer demonstrated his own guitar prowess, and was re-contracted in a dual-role as both singer and lead guitarist.Grand Ole Opry legend Billy Grammer dead at 85
''The Southern Illinoisan'', August 10, 2011, by Brent Stewart After being signed by

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

, Grammer scored a big hit with the million-selling single: " Gotta Travel On", written by David Lazar, Larry Ehrlich, Paul Clayton and Tom Six. The song peaked at No. 4 on the U.S. Pop Singles chart and No. 5 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1959. That same year, he became a regular cast member on the Grand Ole Opry. Grammer named his band after his most notable hit as The Travel On Boys. " Gotta Travel On" was used as the opening song by Buddy Holly on his final tour in January and February 1959, which ended in tragedy. He recorded the first chart version of Bobby Bare's " Detroit City", entitled "I Wanna Go Home". It hit the '' Billboard'' country chart in early 1963. Grammer founded RG&G (Reid, Grammer & Gower) Company in 1965 with Clyde Reid and J.W. Gower. RG&G made the Grammer guitar from 1965 until 1968, when a fire consumed the factory in downtown Nashville. The company was then sold to Ampeg, and a new factory was erected down the street from the old one. The company was renamed Grammer Guitar, Inc. (GGI). GGI produced the Grammer guitar until 1970. His guitar was installed 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 amas ...

in Nashville on March 1, 1969. On May 15, 1972, Grammer and the Travel on Boys played at the rally in

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River. While the city limits are entirely in northern Prince George's County, outlying developments extend into Anne Arunde ...

where

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

George Wallace was shot. Grammer and his band played the "Under the Double Eagle" march as Wallace mounted the stage to speak. After he spoke, Wallace mingled with the crowd, and

Arthur Bremer Arthur Herman Bremer (; born August 21, 1950) is an American convicted criminal who attempted to assassinate U.S. Democratic presidential candidate George Wallace on May 15, 1972, in Laurel, Maryland, which left Wallace permanently paralyzed ...

shot a concealed handgun at the presidential candidate. The outcome was Wallace's paralysis, leaving him using a wheelchair for the rest of his life. "I've said all along, if they wanted to do something like this, they do it under these circumstances," Grammer said, weeping, after the incident. Grammer delivered the invocation for the Grand Ole Opry House opening on March 16, 1974.Trott. p. 208 In 1990, he was inducted into the Illinois Country Music Hall of Fame, along with

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...

Lulu Belle and Scotty Myrtle Eleanor Cooper (December 24, 1913 – February 8, 1999) and Scott Greene Wiseman (November 8, 1909 – January 31, 1981), known professionally as Lulu Belle and Scotty, were one of the major country music acts of the 1930s and 1940s, dubbe ...

, and

Patsy Montana Rubye Rose Blevins (October 30, 1908 – May 3, 1996), known professionally as Patsy Montana, was an American country music singer, songwriter and actress. Montana was the first female country performer to have a million-selling single with her ...

. Grammer suffered from the degenerative eye disease

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

daughter Dianne Grammer and became completely blind. On February 27, 2009, he was honored by the Grand Ole Opry for his 50-year membership.

Death

Grammer died on August 10, 2011, aged 85, at Benton Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for a long-term illness, which included suffering a heart attack seven months earlier.

Singles

References

External links

Billy Grammer Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grammer, Billy 1925 births 2011 deaths American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Illinois People from Benton, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Grand Ole Opry members American country guitarists American male guitarists Monument Records artists Decca Records artists Epic Records artists London Records artists Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians United States Army personnel of World War II American blind people