Billy Byers

Although arthritis forced Billy Byers to give up playing piano as a teen, he still became a prolific arranger. Byers switched to trombone and later played in his Los Angeles hometown with Karl Kiffle's Hollywood Canteen Kids. Following Army service in 1944 and 1945, Byers worked as an arranger and trombonist in the bands of Georgie Auld, Buddy Rich, Benny Goodman, Charlie Ventura, and Teddy Powell in 1949 and 1950. Then he joined the staff of WMGM in New York, writing music for radio and television. He did similar duties in Paris for Ray Ventura in the mid-'50s and also record...