Walter Hyatt CD Release in South Carolina

Heidi Hyatt orchestrated CD releases for Some Unfinished Business in Nashville, Spartanburg, and Austin. I picked Spartanburg—always wanted to see the hometown of the blue grass Beatles. All I can say is it's worth the trip.

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The CD release was a moving tribute to a writer who penned, collected, and shared a thick book of songs that continues to give breath to American music. Some compare Walter Hyatt to Stephen Foster. One thing's for sure—Walter studied up on Stephen's moves.

If you ever got to watch the interplay on stage between Walter and his cohorts, Champ and David, you knew that it was off the cuff and straight from the heart. Sometimes funny, sometimes enlightening, sometimes more than you bargained for—nearly everything Walter said was a story, and no matter how much fiction got inserted to serve the story, it felt real. For me, Walter’s secret isn’t how well he played and sang, but how honestly he connected with his friends and audience.

That was evident last Saturday at the Show Room in Spartanburg.

George Hyatt looks a lot like Walter, and you better not close your eyes when George is talking, or you might see ghosts. Looks can be deceiving, though, so he missed notes, words and chords with a wincing smile, and wink as if to say, “help me out here; I’m way up on a tight rope.” Which we did because after all George is human, and that, more than perfection, reminded us of the Walter we miss.

Tommy Goldsmith who played with Walter in the Contenders introduced “Baby” as a song that he wrote with Steve Runkle, only to have his son lean over and remind him to say, “Steve sang it. I wrote it with Walter.” Tommy shrugged. Kids, what would you do with out ‘em.

Searching for the right words before kicking off Rolling My Blues, Taylor Hyatt wrapped it up in a simple phrase, “I’m glad of where I come from.”

Brother, husband, dad, friend, peer, legend—which ever way you slice it, Walter was magic. The sound of his voice, the words he chose, the harmonies he fostered, and his love for us are gifts that were obviously treasured by everyone in the room.

Wherever there’s so much as one guitar, a voice, and the willingness to leap off tall buildings, the spirit lives on…for an audience of one, or thousands.

Thanks Walter. See you down the road someday…

Musicians at the show in Spartanburg included Taylor Hyatt, George Hyatt, Brandon Turner, Fayssoux McLean, Tommy Goldsmith, David Ezell, Wes Wyatt, Carroll Foster, Brian Ashley Jones, Caroline Aiken, Marshall Hood, Matt Parks, Rob Teter, Jeff Brown, Phoebe Hunt, Connor Forsyth, and Jonathan Konya.

PS

I was taking photographs not notes, so any discrepancies between this blog and the actual events of February 9, 2008 appear only for the sake of the story.