 Biography
Many called him the "Wild
Man" of the rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd, but Artimus Pyle
started out more as a "Country Man." Thomas Delmar
Pyle was born on (July 15, 1948) in Louisville, KY. He spent
many of his childhood hours either on the back of a horse or
behind the controls of a bulldozer.
When Pyle was nine years old, his mother bought his first
musical instruments, some bongos. Three years later his father
got him a used set of drums. It wasn't long before young Pyle
had put together his first band, the Thom Thumbs.
In the late '60s, fresh out of high school, Pyle joined the
Marine Corps. He was in training to be sent overseas when the
Vietnam War ended. As soon as his enlistment was up, Pyle
returned his attention to music and education, taking up the
drums again and enrolling in the Tennessee Technical College.
This was the place where he went from being Thomas Pyle, to
Artimus Pyle, teasingly giving the nickname after the virgin
Artimus.
In the early '70s, Pyle landed gigs in bands like Charlie
Daniel's and Marshall Tucker's. With a little help from Daniel,
Pyle got to show off his talents to Ronnie VanZant, performing
with the Lynyrd Skynyrd band in Jacksonville at the Sergeant
Pepper's Club. At the end of 1974, when founding member Bob
Burns parted from Skynyrd, it was Pyle who was called in to fill
his shoes. He toured with the band, recording a number of
albums, up till 1977, when a plane crash instantly snuffed out
the lives of three members, Ronnie VanZant, Steve Gaines, and
his sister Cassie. Road manager Dean Kilpatrick was also killed.
Pyle, and other members, survived the terrible crash, but the
band didn't. Pyle, never one to call it quits, went on with his
music the best he could. In 1981 he put together the A.P.B. with
members like Darryl Otis Smith, John Boerstler, and Steve
Lockhart. A.P.B. is sometimes called the Artimus Pyle Band,
sometimes All Points Bulletin. A year later, the group released
a debut album, A.P.B., under the MCA Records label. Some of the
tracks fans will find on this offering are "It Ain't the
Whiskey," "Rock and Roll Each Other," and
"She's My Baby." In 1983, the band released a second
album, Nightcaller. Four years later, Pyle joined the Skynyrd
Tribute Tour, and even recorded another Skynyrd album in 1991
before leaving the group.
There is a second generation of Pyles making progress in the
world of music. Artimus Pyle's two oldest sons: drummer, singer,
guitarist, and songwriter Marshall Daniel Pyle and older brother
Christopher Chapel Pyle, who can play the trumpet, flute,
guitar, and of course the drums. ~ Charlotte Dillon, All Music
Guide
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