Artimus Pyle
| Artimus Pyle | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Thomas Delmer Pyle |
| Born |
15 July 1948 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Genres | Southern rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Associated acts | Lynyrd Skynyrd, Artimus Pyle Band |
Thomas Delmer "Artimus" Pyle (born July 15, 1948) is an American musician best known for playing drums with Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1974 to 1977 and from 1987 to 1991, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.
Pyle was born in Louisville, Kentucky and was raised and went to school in Jamestown, Tennessee. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1967 to 1971 as a sergeant in aviation. He joined Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1974. He survived the 1977 plane crash that killed Ronnie Van Zant, Cassie Gaines and Steve Gaines. Pyle suffered several broken ribs, but he and other survivors walked several hundred yards to a farmhouse to try to get help. The appearance of Pyle and his companions alarmed the residents of the farmhouse, who greeted them with guns and demanded they leave the premises. Eventually the Gillsburg Volunteer Fire Department arrived and assured the occupants that the men were survivors of a plane crash.
In 1982, Pyle began touring with the Artimus Pyle Band (A.P.B.), including Darryl Otis Smith, John Boerstler, Steve Brewington, and Steve Lockhart. A.P.B.'s albums include A.P.B. (1981), Nightcaller (1983) and Live from Planet Earth (2000).
Pyle took part in the Skynyrd Tribute tour and joined the reformed Lynyrd Skynyrd in recording Lynyrd Skynyrd 1991 before departing the band during a show in Toronto on August 2, 1991. In a radio interview with Rick Lewis and Michael Floorwax on The FOX in Denver, Colorado on the 20th anniversary of the crash, Pyle said, "I left the band in 1991 basically because there was a problem with drugs and alcohol and I felt as though we should have put all that stuff behind us years and years ago."
Artimus toured with the band Those Guys during the 1990s. Often playing venues from St. Augustine to Gainesville, Florida.
Pyle called in to The Howard Stern Show on October 16, 1997 and discussed the plane crash and the story of Lynyrd Skynyrd.
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