A native of Alvaton, Byron showed musical talent at an early age. His father worked at Royal Music, and Byron would hang out there on Saturday mornings looking at sheet music and playing instruments. He bought his first instrument, a banjo, at 12 years old, and this remained his main instrument until he turned 18. When he heard Jaco Pastorius playing fretless bass with Weather Report and Joni Mitchell, Byron decided that bass guitar would be his main instrument.
Byron started gigging around town playing with musicians such as Ed Dansereau at Gatsby’s, which later became Rafferty’s. He studied upright bass at WKU with Ernest Suji. Winter Wheat was the main band in his early days, composed of Ed Marsh, David Raymer, and Tim Barkley. They played everywhere from Beech Bend to Three Brothers and as far away as Hopkinsville and Paducah. Byron described them as “New Grass Revival wannabees.”
Eventually, Byron had the opportunity to play with Sam Bush and Kenny Lee as part of Duck Butter. The trio ended up getting lots of gigs, playing at places like the Branding Iron with Billy Vaughn. As Bush moved on to success with New Grass Revival, Kenny and Byron hired Jane Pearl and then Jonell Mosser to form a Top 40 cover band. They played throughout Bowling Green, Louisville, and Nashville. Byron also worked with Marc Owens at High Street Studios and helped produce the first records for Government Cheese and others.
When Bill Lloyd found success with Foster and Lloyd, Byron went on tour with them until the mid-1990s. He continued working with touring acts, opening for stars like Stevie Nicks, Garth Brooks, and Lou Reed. His career blossomed as he played with EmmyLou Harris, Nickel Creek, Sam Bush, and the Dixie Chicks. Robert Plant hired him for four sessions that were to become The Band of Joy. Since then, Byron has worked with Ricky Skaggs, Solomon Burke, Dolly Parton, and Linda Ronstadt.
“And, yeah, I don't know what I can, you know, if there's anything I can point to that fosters that level of creativity and talent. But I like to think that, you know, that heritage of the area is one of encouraging parents. And, you know, when you see, clearly a gift for anything in a child, you know, it's, it's, I guess, can be tempting, you know, to say, ‘Oh, that's really good, you know, but, you know, you got to make a living or whatever.’ But the more I think, just this world would be a better place, if people's gifts are more often encouraged.”
House attributes the exceptional musical talent of the region to the encouraging parents that nurtured so many musicians who went on to great heights, his being no exception. House is an example of one musician who fully realized his musical gifts, starting out with local musicians and moving on to play with some of the all-time greats.
“Seems like this, the spirit of Bowling Green is one of encouragement, you know, and, and, you know, Kentucky, in the area that that I know, that I grew up in, you can look and see where people have been fortunate and have excelled and have had success, really out of development of their gifts. And so whether it's art or music or you know, public speaking or you know, any of that kind of stuff, you know, it's just thankful that there are parents who have taken time to encourage their children in their art.”