Walter L Garland

Musician. Born Walter Louis Garland and a native of Cowpens, South Carolina, he was part of the select group of Nashville session musicians known simply as the original "A-team" which included such greats as guitarists Chet Atkins and Grady Martin, pianist Floyd Cramer and drummer Buddy Harman. Discovered at age 14 by Paul Mason Howard, he was so impressed at the youngster's playing skills, he let Hank play with his band at an appearance at The Grand Ole Opry and would eventually be known as one of Howard's Arkansas Cotton Pickers, the name of his band, giving him the name of "The Baby Cotton Picker". He would also play for legendary Cowboy Copas during his time with Howard. At age 19, he scored his first hit, the instrumental 'Sugarfoot Rag'. That song which would become not only his signature song but would go onto be recorded by many artists over the years. He played with jazz great Charlie Parker and pianist George Shearing. He recorded the album 'Jazz Winds From a New Direction'. In 1955, along with Billy Byrd, the two created a guitar for Gibson Guitars called the 'Byrdland'. He played on numerous recordings by Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Don Gibson, Roy Orbison, Bobby Helms, Webb Pierce, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Darin and Patsy Cline. Patti Page even mentions him by name in her recording he played on "Just Because". Several of the recordings Hank played on were smash hits in country/western swing, rock, pop, jazz and even sentimental Christmas favorites. He also played some concerts with Elvis, among them Elvis' March 25, 1961 benefit show at Bloch Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii for the USS Arizona War Memorial fund. He survived severe injuries from a automobile accident which left him in a coma for several months in 1961. The injuries he received included severe brain damage and loss of coordination which prevented him from returning to top form. On September 26, 1997 he was inducted into the Hollywood Rock Walk of Fame. His story, after several decades of wrangling, eventually made it to the big screen. The independent film 'Crazy' was finally released in 2007. Hank knew one day his story was finally going to be told on film, but he didn't live to see it. He suffered from many illnesses in his later years and died of a staph infection at age 74.