From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Mon Dec 23, 2002  6:14 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Buddy Harman

BUDDY HARMAN (By Shaun Mather)

Born 23 December 1928, Nashville, Tennessee

By the time the Christmas turkey came, most of the Nashville A-team must
have been busting at the seams from too much birthday cake. Virtually the
whole of the session men have their birthdays in November and December.
Drummer Buddy Harman is no exception, having been born in Music City
two days before Santa delivered him some drumsticks (wooden, not turkey).
Reputed to have played on over 17,000 recording sessions over the last 40
years, he is acknowledged for his work as a country musician and for his
contributions to the early days of rock and roll.
Among the artists who have benefitted from his rock steady beat are Patsy
Cline, Dolly Parton, Brenda Lee, Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison,
Connie Francis, Chet Atkins, Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson,
Waylon Jennings, Ray Price, Slim Whitman, Eddy Arnold, Perry Como, Merle
Haggard, Charlie Rich, Roger Miller, Jimmy Dean, K.D. Lang, Simon and
Garfunkel, Ann Margret, Nancy Sinatra and many more.
He also worked with the Everly Brothers and was a mainstay on Elvis
Presley's soundtrack recordings both in Nashville and Los Angeles and on
Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis recordings.
Harman has played on some of the biggest hits of Grand Ole Opry performers
including: Charlie Walker, Billy Walker, Jeannie Seely, Connie Smith, Hank
Snow, Jim & Jesse, Roy Acuff, Roy Clark, Justin Tubb, Roy Drusky, The
Carlisles, Mac Wiseman, Skeeter Davis, Vic Willis Trio, Wilburn Brothers,
Little Jimmy Dickens, the Osbourne Brothers, Louvin Brothers, Jim Ed Brown,
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper, Jan Howard, Ray Pillow, Jimmy C. Newman,
Jack Greene, Del Reeves, Johnny Russell and Stonewall Jackson. Harman
has also played on several European tours with various artists including the
Nashville Super Picker Band and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Besides being the first regular drummer on the Grand Ole Opry, some of
Harman's accolades include: "Drummer of the Year" in 1981 from the Academy
of Country Music, "Super Picker" Award for drums on the most # 1 recordings
from the Nashville NARAS chapter in 1975 and 1976, and the Nashville Super
Picker nomination for "Best Country Instrumental Performance" in 1979 for
the Live From Austin City Limits album. As of May 1991, Harman is again the
staff drummer at the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Harman states, "One of the highlights of my career was having the privilege
of performing for four of our nation's presidents." These presidents include:
John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.

Within the last couple of years he was heartbroken when the tossers who run
the Opry decided to sack the regular band, including Buddy Harman. They never
liked drummers anyway, and besides, I bet his drumming was too country.