Artimus Pyle | |
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 Pyle in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Delmer Pyle |
| Born | July 15, 1948 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern rock |
| Occupation(s) | Drummer |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels | Cleopatra [1] MCA, Atlantic |
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle (born July 15, 1948) [2] is an American musician who played drums with the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991. He and his bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. [3] [4]
Pyle was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of homemaker Mildred "Midge" Pyle (née Williams; 1925–2008) and Clarence "Del" Pyle (1921–1971), a construction superintendent who was awarded a Purple Heart after being shot in the leg while serving with the U.S. Marines in the South Pacific during World War II.
He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1968. He was named platoon and series honorman and promoted to private first class following completion of boot camp in San Diego. Eyeing a career in civil aviation, Pyle worked as an avionics mechanic at various military bases, including Millington, Tennessee, and Beaufort, South Carolina, ultimately rising to the rank of sergeant. He was honorably discharged in 1971.
After playing with Thickwood Lick in Spartanburg, South Carolina,[ citation needed ] Pyle joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1975. [5] He initially played alongside, and then replaced, original drummer Bob Burns.[ citation needed ] He made his recording debut in August of that year on "Saturday Night Special", which became the first single from the band's third album, Nuthin' Fancy . In addition to Nuthin' Fancy, Pyle also played on the albums Gimme Back My Bullets , One More from the Road , Street Survivors , Legend , Southern by the Grace of God and Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 . [6]
He survived the 1977 plane crash that killed lead vocalist and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant Road Manager Dean Kilpatrick, and the two pilots. Pyle suffered torn chest cartilage but managed to stumble several hundred yards through a creek and a field to a farmhouse to get help. The appearance of Pyle alarmed the 21-year-old farmer Johnny Mote, who mistook him for an escaped convict and fired a warning shot over Pyle's head. Pyle would later joke he was hit in the shoulder, but his other accounts differ. [7] Mote also refutes the claim of Pyle being shot, when interviewed at the crash scene for VH1's 2002 documentary Lynyrd Skynyrd's Uncivil War. [8] Mote realized the situation when Pyle shouted that there had been a plane crash, helped Pyle inside his house and was part of the initial rescue party. About the same time local rescuers, who had just completed a Civil Defense drill, converged on the scene and Pyle directed them to the crash site where the dead and the injured were located. [9] [10]
On January 13, 1979, the surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd reunited for Charlie Daniels' fifth annual Volunteer Jam concert in Nashville. They played an instrumental version of "Free Bird". Bassist Leon Wilkeson watched from the wings because he was still unable to play.
Following the crash, Pyle spent three years living in Jerusalem, studying at the Diaspora Yeshiva. The yeshiva was known for attracting spiritual seekers from the hippie and counterculture movements, whether they were Jewish or not. Many of the students were professional or semi-professional musicians. Pyle played with the house band, the Diaspora Yeshiva Band, during informal gatherings, and formed a band called Remez with fellow student Rabbi Karmi Ingber. When he departed, he donated his drum kit to the yeshiva. Pyle reflected on these years in the song "I Live in Jerusalem" on a 2007 solo album. In an interview with the Lucas H. Gordon Show posted online in 2013, Pyle is asked why he went to Israel for three years, to which he replied, "I was trying to become a better human being." [11] [12] [13] [14]
Pyle and several other bandmates also worked with a short-lived trio called Alias on their album Contraband. The group consisted of Dorman Cogburn, a childhood friend of Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington; vocalist Jimmy Dougherty, who went on to sing on the Allen Collins Band's solo album, and former Skynyrd backing vocalist JoJo Billingsley. These collaborations set in motion the formation of the Rossington Collins Band, with all the survivors plus Dale Krantz on lead vocals and Barry Lee Harwood on guitar. Pyle was forced to drop out after breaking his leg in 21 places following a collision with a drunk driver. Pyle was replaced by Derek Hess. In 1982, Pyle began recording and touring with the Artimus Pyle Band (A.P.B.), [15] including Darryl Otis Smith, John Boerstler, Steve Brewington, and Steve Lockhart. [16] A.P.B.'s albums include A.P.B. (1981), Nightcaller (1983) and Live from Planet Earth (2000). [16]
Pyle took part in the Skynyrd Tribute tour and joined the reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd in recording Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 before departing the band during a show in Toronto on August 2, 1991. [17] In a radio interview with Rick Lewis and Michael Floorwax on The FOX in Denver, Colorado, on the 20th anniversary of the crash, Pyle said, "I left the band in 1991 basically because there was a problem with drugs and alcohol and I felt as though we should have put all that stuff behind us years and years ago." Both Pyle and his predecessor, Bob Burns, performed with the current version of Lynyrd Skynyrd following the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Pyle declined to join a 2018 Lynyrd Skynyrd Farewell Tour [18] but is still a working musician and continues to tour with The Artimus Pyle Band [19] He also wrote the film Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash which premiered in 2020, after a legal dispute which included a 2017 injunction attempting to stop production. [20] [21]
Pyle learned his craft by listening to the radio and copying drummers such as Ringo Starr, Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and Joe Morello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He received his first set of drums when he was approximately the age of 12, a red sparkle Slingerland kit consisting of one bass drum, one rack tom, one floor tom, and a snare drum. He has described his style as "technical."
During his tenure with Lynyrd Skynyrd, he initially played a chrome-plated Jazz Rock Slingerland kit that he had purchased with his Marines discharge check. It featured two rack toms (14 and 15 inches); two floor toms (16 and 18 inches); two bass drums (24 inches); and a Rogers Dynasonic snare drum (14 x 6.5 inches).[ citation needed ] Later, the Slingerland Drum Company built him a set of blonde-maple drums with red mahogany rims. This kit consisted of four tom-toms up, two toms on the floor, with a double bass drum. He specified no resonant heads on the bottom for better microphone placement, although it made drum-tuning more of a challenge. His cowbell was an actual cowbell.[ citation needed ]
Pyle plays in several bands in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. He also tours the United States with a new incarnation of the Artimus Pyle Band that plays Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes note-for-note faithful to the recorded versions. Former Lynyrd Skynyrd member Ed King has instructed Pyle's bandmates on the original chords and tunings.[ citation needed ]
In 2004, Pyle recorded four studio tracks on Southern Rock band Rambler's album First Things First with vocalist Pat Terranova, guitarist Mitch Farber, bassist Willy Lussier and acoustic guitarist and vocalist Rikki Cuccia. In 2007, he toured with the band Deep South, whose lineup also included Wet Willie vocalist Jimmy Hall and former Atlanta Rhythm Section members Robert Nix and Dean Daughtry.
In 2007, Pyle released the album Artimus Venomus on Storm Dog Records Group/Cleopatra Records. [22] Several of the tunes referenced his personal tribulations, including "Blood Sucking Weasel Attorneys" and "Dead Rock Stars, Widows, Gigolos, Pocket Money." Guests included Ed King and former Lynyrd Skynyrd backing singers Jo Jo Billingsley and Leslie Hawkins. In 2014, Pyle was a guest performer on Eli Cook's album, Primitive Son . [23]
In June 2017, Pyle was sued by Ronnie Van Zant's widow, Judy Van Zant, Gary Rossington, current Lynyrd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant, and the representatives and heirs of Allen Collins and Steve Gaines. They claimed his involvement in a low-budget feature film about the band's plane crash infringed upon a consent decree the band agreed to in 1988. In October 2017, Pyle was going to publish his memoir, Street Survivor: Keeping the Beat in Lynyrd Skynyrd, co-written with journalist Dean Goodman, through Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard. However, the lawsuit kept the book from being published indefinitely.
Pyle lives in Morganton, North Carolina. He has three sons, two daughters, two grandchildren and has been married twice. His interests include cars, motorbikes, horses and watching reruns of The Andy Griffith Show and Gomer Pyle . He is also a vegetarian. [24]
In 1993, Pyle was charged with attempted capital sexual battery and lewd assault on two girls. He denied the charges, claiming the girls had been abused by people connected to babysitters in a Jacksonville mobile home park who held a grudge against him. Moreover, he claimed the allegations were an attempt to extort money from the Lynyrd Skynyrd organization. Weeks before the trial was due to start in January 1994, Pyle pleaded no contest rather than risk a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment if found guilty in a jury trial. He was sentenced to probation and required to register as a sex offender. [25] In 2007, Pyle was charged with failure to register as a sex offender in St. Johns County, Florida. He rejected a plea bargain offer and was acquitted by a jury in 2009. [26]
Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida. The group originally formed as My Backyard in 1964 and comprised Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom, and Bob Burns (drums). The band spent five years touring small venues under various names and with several lineup changes before deciding on "Lynyrd Skynyrd" in 1969. The band released its first album, (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), in 1973. By then, they had settled on a lineup that included bassist Leon Wilkeson, keyboardist Billy Powell, and guitarist Ed King. Burns left and was replaced by Artimus Pyle in 1974. King left in 1975 and was replaced by Steve Gaines in 1976. At the height of their fame in the 1970s, the band popularized the Southern rock genre with songs such as "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird". After releasing five studio albums and one live album, the band's career was abruptly halted on October 20, 1977, when their chartered airplane crashed, killing Van Zant, Steve Gaines, and backup singer Cassie Gaines; and seriously injuring the rest of the band.
Ronald Wayne Van Zant was an American singer, best known as the original lead vocalist, primary lyricist and a founding member of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was the older brother of Johnny Van Zant, the current Lynyrd Skynyrd lead vocalist, and Donnie Van Zant, the founder and vocalist of the rock band .38 Special.
Edward Calhoun King was an American musician. He was a guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Strawberry Alarm Clock and guitarist and bassist for the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 to 1975 and again from 1987 to 1996.
Larkin Allen Collins Jr. was an American guitarist, and one of the founding members of the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. He co-wrote many of the band's songs with frontman and original lead singer Ronnie Van Zant.
Nuthin' Fancy is the third studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released in March 1975. It was their first to reach the top 10, peaking at number 9 on the U.S. album chart. It was certified gold on June 27, 1975, and platinum on July 21, 1987, by the RIAA. This was the band's first record with new drummer Artimus Pyle. In late May 1975, guitarist Ed King left the band in the middle of their "Torture Tour." The album is best known for its only single, "Saturday Night Special," an anti-gun song that peaked at #27 on the U.S. Billboard chart.
Street Survivors is the fifth studio album by the Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, released on October 17, 1977. The LP is the last Skynyrd album recorded by original members Ronnie Van Zant and Allen Collins, and is the sole Skynyrd studio recording by guitarist Steve Gaines. Three days after the album's release, the band's chartered airplane crashed en route to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killing the pilot, co-pilot, the group's assistant road-manager and three band members, and severely injuring most who survived the crash.
One More from the Road is a live album by Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, capturing three shows recorded in July 1976 at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Since 1974 Lynyrd Skynyrd had supported rock promoter Alex Cooley so that the theatre could be saved from demolition. This record was the band's first live album, and the only live album from the band's classic era of 1970 to 1977, prior to the plane crash that killed lead singer and songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, and backing singer Cassie Gaines. The album was released in September 1976. It was certified gold by the RIAA on October 26, 1976, platinum on December 30, 1976 and 3× platinum on July 21, 1987.
Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 is the sixth studio album by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was the band's first new studio album since 1977's Street Survivors and the first following a 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of three members of the band.
The Rossington Collins Band was an American Southern rock band founded in 1979 by guitarists Gary Rossington and Allen Collins following the 1977 plane crash which killed three members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, of which both had been members. The band included two other surviving members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson. The band wished to develop their own sound rather than being regarded as a reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd, and toward that objective they hired a female lead vocalist, Dale Krantz, who later married Rossington. The Jacksonville-based band released two albums before disbanding in 1982. Their biggest hit, "Don't Misunderstand Me," charted in late 1980.
Lynyrd Skynyrd is the first box set by American rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. It features outtakes, demos and live versions of songs from their first six albums. It was certified gold by the RIAA in November 1997.
Robert Lewis Burns Jr. was an American drummer in the original lineup of the southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Legend is a posthumous compilation album by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd that was released in 1987. It contains previously unreleased demos from the albums before the 1977 plane crash as well as non-LP B-sides. Since Legend was released, most of the tracks have also been included on other albums. The album was certified Gold on July 27, 2001 by the RIAA.
Southern by the Grace of God is a live album by southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, recorded during the Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour in 1987. These live concerts were a 10-year anniversary tribute by Lynyrd Skynyrd to the members of the band who had died in a 1977 plane crash. The plane crash killed frontman Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backing vocalist Cassie Gaines and road manager Dean Kilpatrick.
On October 20, 1977, a Convair CV-240 passenger aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed in a wooded area near Gillsburg, Mississippi, United States. Chartered by the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from L & J Company of Addison, Texas, it was flying from Greenville, South Carolina, to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, crashing near its destination.
Live at the Cardiff Capitol Theater is a live concert recording of Lynyrd Skynyrd during a European tour in support of their third album, Nuthin' Fancy. It was released by Geffen Records alongside Authorized Bootleg: Live In Winterland, San Francisco, CA, 3/07/76 which captures a concert four months later. This concert took place at the Capitol Theatre in Cardiff, Wales on November 4, 1975.
The Street Survivors Tour was the sixth major concert tour by American Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. The tour took place in North America, Europe and for the first time Asia.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Tour was a tour that was undertaken to pay tribute to the original band members who died in a plane crash in 1977. The tour began in the fall of 1987, in honor of the 10-year anniversary of the plane crash. A number of surviving members reunited for the tour. Original members Gary Rossington, Billy Powell and Leon Wilkeson were joined by Ed King, Artimus Pyle, Randall Hall and Johnny Van Zant.
The Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 Tour was a tour in support of the band's first post-plane crash album Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991. The tour took place in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash is a 2020 American musical survival drama film directed by Jared Cohn and written by Cohn and Brian Perera. The film stars Ian Shultis, Taylor Clift, Samuel Kay Forrest, Rich Dally III, Neill Byrnes, Anthony Rocco Bovo and Mark Dippolito.
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