RIP Walter Hyatt (1949-1996) A victim onboard ValuJet Flight 592 which crashed into the Florida Everglades in Miami-Dade County, Florida due to an in-flight fire caused by improperly packaged cargo leading to loss of control and/or pilot incapacitation.
...and this sad day has come around again. It always sneaks up on me and I'm never ready for it. But I also rejoice in my good fortune to have played in the only band Walter ever had, playing his music exclusively, that featured electric guitar. And I was that player. One day, just after he asked me to be his guitarist, he came over for a rehearsal and I had forgotten to take off my Strat, which I had been playing for another project. Walt and I had been playing for a few hours before I realized I was playing electric guitar to music I had considered to be kind of "acoustic guitar sacrosanct" for more than half my life. When I became aware of this I immediately apologized, saying I'd get my acoustic on. And Walter responded by saying something like, "No you won't. Don't you dare put down that Strat. We sound great together this way! And I was so happy there are no words to describe it. We wrote "Houston Town" together while the band was becoming, and played it literally every night or day we worked. Fast forward a year from the birth of Houston Town and we were in Key West, which felt like paradise. We were treated like gods there as the club owner had been a huge Walter fan for a long time and had tried unsuccessfully to get Walter in his restaurant/club for a long time. Our dates there had been changed several times in the same week and finally were decided to be May 8th through the 10th. If only... It was one of my favorite gigs EVER, and I had played quite a few wonderful gigs by that time in my life. One of our friends in Nashville and a big fan of the group drove all the way to Key West and took Walter and the band (we were just a duo backing Walter on this trip) on a sunset sailing cruise. It was truly paradise, until I had my usual but until then, forgotten reaction reaction to boats on the water, and got very sick off the stern of the boat. I wrapped myself with a piece of an old sail and lay there trying to be invisible but the tourists all lined up to take their picture with the lead guitarist who couldn't handle the benign water. I didn't see any of this, I just bore it as best I could while very drunk tourists grabbed my arm and hand while shutters clicked. When the cruise was over we had to go straight up to play our first set, which for me was a slightly rough one, but the music always got me through any physical maladies. Playing with Walter was as great an honor as I'll likely have in this life, and Walter always made us feel like he absolutely loved what we were doing. I was then and still am grateful as a man can be for having had the wonderful opportunity of playing with Walter Hyatt and being his friend and neighbor. I hadn't seen this retrospective before and I enjoyed it very much. I first met him on his first or second trip to Dallas and became an instant UWB fan. And some things never change.
Uncle Walt’s Band was my favorite band when I lived in Austin in the 70's and still is today. I was a regular at the Waterloo Ice House down on Congress, and I still listen to their music several times a week. I had the privilege of speaking with Walter a few times, and he was such a gentleman. Thanks for this video.
Hey unclewaltsband, do you have the full Uncle Walt's Band Austin City Limits performance from 1980? It has the closing credits with Gary P. Nunn's "London Homesick Blues", funding credits, and the 1971-1984 PBS logo at the end.
I can't imagine Heidi. Thanks for telling how you handled the loss. I'm so sorry.
One of the greatest bands ever. Big positive impact on my life! Beautiful music.
such amazing musician and the band was truly great
I will never let go of the influence Walt's band(and Lyle) will have on me. Bless.
RIP
Walter Hyatt
(1949-1996)
A victim onboard ValuJet Flight 592 which crashed into the Florida Everglades in Miami-Dade County, Florida due to an in-flight fire caused by improperly packaged cargo leading to loss of control and/or pilot incapacitation.
Caught his appearance with Champ Hood on The Texas Connection. I loved their music. We lost two great artists from that era
...and this sad day has come around again. It always sneaks up on me and I'm never ready for it. But I also rejoice in my good fortune to have played in the only band Walter ever had, playing his music exclusively, that featured electric guitar. And I was that player. One day, just after he asked me to be his guitarist, he came over for a rehearsal and I had forgotten to take off my Strat, which I had been playing for another project. Walt and I had been playing for a few hours before I realized I was playing electric guitar to music I had considered to be kind of "acoustic guitar sacrosanct" for more than half my life. When I became aware of this I immediately apologized, saying I'd get my acoustic on. And Walter responded by saying something like, "No you won't. Don't you dare put down that Strat. We sound great together this way! And I was so happy there are no words to describe it. We wrote "Houston Town" together while the band was becoming, and played it literally every night or day we worked.
Fast forward a year from the birth of Houston Town and we were in Key West, which felt like paradise. We were treated like gods there as the club owner had been a huge Walter fan for a long time and had tried unsuccessfully to get Walter in his restaurant/club for a long time. Our dates there had been changed several times in the same week and finally were decided to be May 8th through the 10th. If only... It was one of my favorite gigs EVER, and I had played quite a few wonderful gigs by that time in my life. One of our friends in Nashville and a big fan of the group drove all the way to Key West and took Walter and the band (we were just a duo backing Walter on this trip) on a sunset sailing cruise. It was truly paradise, until I had my usual but until then, forgotten reaction reaction to boats on the water, and got very sick off the stern of the boat. I wrapped myself with a piece of an old sail and lay there trying to be invisible but the tourists all lined up to take their picture with the lead guitarist who couldn't handle the benign water. I didn't see any of this, I just bore it as best I could while very drunk tourists grabbed my arm and hand while shutters clicked. When the cruise was over we had to go straight up to play our first set, which for me was a slightly rough one, but the music always got me through any physical maladies.
Playing with Walter was as great an honor as I'll likely have in this life, and Walter always made us feel like he absolutely loved what we were doing. I was then and still am grateful as a man can be for having had the wonderful opportunity of playing with Walter Hyatt and being his friend and neighbor. I hadn't seen this retrospective before and I enjoyed it very much. I first met him on his first or second trip to Dallas and became an instant UWB fan. And some things never change.
Uncle Walt’s Band was my favorite band when I lived in Austin in the 70's and still is today. I was a regular at the Waterloo Ice House down on Congress, and I still listen to their music several times a week. I had the privilege of speaking with Walter a few times, and he was such a gentleman. Thanks for this video.
Just saw Lyle Lovett and heard him talking about Uncle Walt.
I hope Simpson and Buzz and Jess are doing fantastic.
Hey unclewaltsband, do you have the full Uncle Walt's Band Austin City Limits performance from 1980? It has the closing credits with Gary P. Nunn's "London Homesick Blues", funding credits, and the 1971-1984 PBS logo at the end.
I was eleven when Walter perished in a plane crash.
I definitely hear Walter through Dwight yokam.
Dwight took most of his act from Buck Owen's Bakersfield sound. They were contemporaries, neither influenced the other. Hyatt was not Bakersfield.
@HfnfNrnd absolutely.