Best known for the 1958 crossover hit “Gotta Travel On”, Billy Grammer was born in Benton, Illinois, on this day (August 28) in 1925. A renowned country music guitarist and Grand Ole Opry regular since 1959, Grammer would eventually co-found a guitar company in Nashville, even designing and marketing his own namesake instrument. Today, we’re taking a look at the life and career of Billy Grammer on what would have been his 101st birthday.
Billy Grammer Suffered From “Guitaritis” From a Young Age
The oldest of 13 children, Billy Wayne Grammer inherited his passion for music from his father, a World War I veteran and popular old-time country fiddler who also studied violin and trumpet.
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Despite his father’s best efforts, Grammer found himself drawn to the guitar. He learned his first chords at age five, and was performing publicly with his dad by age eight.
“Dad kept putting fiddles in my hands but I had guitaritis,” he wrote. “I wasn’t a musical genius, not by any means, but I did have the natural rhythm and ear of a musician.”
After high school, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II, marrying his high-school sweetheart, Ruth Burzynski, in 1944.
A Change in Careers
Upon leaving the military, Billy Grammer worked as an apprentice toolmaker at the Washington Naval gun factory in Washington, D.C.
Unfortunately, the end of the war ushered in mass layoffs for the industry, and the family returned to Illinois.
Later, Grammer got word of a singing opportunity with popular country music DJ Connie B. Gay’s WARL radio program, Town and Country Time. He hitchhiked to Arlington, Virginia, and successfully auditioned.
When Gay fired his lead guitarist, Grammer took on dual responsibilities as singer and lead guitarist. His considerable skills also led to sideman opportunities for Hawkshaw Hawkins and Grandpa Jones, as well as country star Jimmy Dean’s TV show.
Crossover Success
Later, Billy Grammer formed his own band and signed with Monument Records in Nashville. He struck gold in 1958 with the million-selling “Gotta Travel On”, adapted by Paul Clayton and others from a century-old British folk tune.
Reaching number four on the pop chart and number five on the country chart, the massive crossover success of “Gotta Travel On” led to a regular gig at the Grand Ole Opry for Grammer.
In addition to his solo career, Grammer was a sought-after session picker for Eddy Arnold, Louis Armstrong, Patti Page, and Charley Pride. He played on Pride’s 1971 hit “Kiss an Angel Good Morning.”
“Musicians I have talked to through the years have told me that I have a little extra punch, a little extra push,” he once said.
Additionally, Grammer designed and produced flat-top acoustic guitars under his own name through a company he founded in the 1960s.
He donated his first model to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969, and in 2004 Sotheby’s sold an abalone inlay acoustic model played by Johnny Cash for $131,200.
On August 10, 2011, Billy Grammer died following a long-term illness at a hospital in his hometown of Benton, Illinois. He was 85 years old.
Featured image by Johnny Franklin/andmorebears/Getty Images
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