Imhotep Gary Byrd facts for kids
Imhotep Gary Byrd, born on March 14, 1949, is a famous American radio host from New York City. He is also a DJ, poet, songwriter, and musician. Gary Byrd started his radio career at just 15 years old in Buffalo. In 2015, he celebrated 50 years of being on the radio! For more than 30 years, he has hosted shows on WBLS and WLIB radio in New York City.
He was part of a music group called Gary Byrd and the GB Experience. Their song "The Crown" became very popular in the UK in 1983. It reached number 6 on the music charts and stayed there for 9 weeks.
Radio Career
Gary Byrd began his radio journey in the 1960s in Buffalo, New York. He was only 15 when Hank Cameron, a radio expert, discovered him. As a teenager, he became a radio personality on station WYSL. By age 19, he was a DJ on the soul music station WWRL. There, he created his own show called "The GBE: The Gary Byrd Experience." This show mixed music with interesting information.
Since the 1980s, Gary Byrd has hosted talk shows on WLIB, WBLS, and WBAI. In the 1990s, he created a live radio show called "Global Black Experience" from the Apollo Theater.
During the 1980s, Gary Byrd also worked in England. He hosted shows on the BBC and other British TV networks. In 1984, his BBC television special with Gil Scott Heron and James Brown won national awards.
Today, you can hear Gary Byrd's voice on Sirius XM’s "Soul Town" Channel. He is known as "The Voice" of this channel, which plays classic soul and Motown music. His weekly talk and music show, "Radio GBE," is also heard live on WBAI in New York City.
Music and Poetry
Gary Byrd is also a talented poet, writer, and performer. He is known for his spoken word art and for writing song lyrics. He worked with the famous musician Stevie Wonder. Gary Byrd wrote lyrics for Wonder's songs "Village Ghetto Land" and "Black Man" on the album Songs in the Key of Life.
He also co-wrote three other songs with Stevie Wonder:
- "Dark N Lovely": This song honored the movement against unfair rules in South Africa.
- "Front Line": This song was from the 1982 album Stevie Wonder's Original Musiquarium I.
- "Misrepresented People": This song was for the movie Bamboozled by Spike Lee. Gary Byrd even appeared in the movie as a radio talk show host.
Over the years, parts of Gary Byrd's music have been used by other famous artists. George Michael sang "Village Ghetto Land" at a special event for Nelson Mandela. Stevie Wonder sang "Dark-N-Lovely" at the same event. Gary Byrd has also written songs for other artists, like "Feelin Good" for Kurtis Blow and "I Cry" for Millie Jackson. Many hip hop artists, including 50 Cent and Nas, have used parts of his songs.
Gary Byrd wrote and released his first song, "Every Brother Ain't a Brother," after his radio listeners kept asking for the original poem. He recorded his first album, Presenting The Gary Byrd Experience, with RCA Records in the 1970s. He also released the song "Soul Traveling" with Jimmy Castor & The Bunch. James Brown, known as "The Godfather of Soul," even dedicated his song "Mind Power" to Gary Byrd.
The song "The Crown" by Gary Byrd and the GB Experience was very long, lasting over 10 minutes! Gary Byrd and Stevie Wonder wrote it together. The song tells a long story about human progress, starting with ancient Egyptians and continuing to today. It especially highlights African heritage. Gary Byrd spoke or rapped verses, while Stevie Wonder and Crystal Blake sang one verse. Gary Byrd explained that "wearing the crown" means reaching your highest potential, no matter what you do.
Current Activities
Gary Byrd writes a weekly column called "Imhotep’s Guide To Black Events." It appears in the New York Amsterdam News, which is one of the oldest African American newspapers in the United States.
His "Express Yourself" radio shows are now available in many ways. You can listen to the WBLS and WLIB talk show online at WBLS.com, WLIB.com, WBLS-HD2, and iHeart radio. You can also interact with his "iGBE: Imhotep Gary Byrd’s Express Yourself" program on his Facebook page.
See also
- African American firsts
- Frankie Crocker
- Hal Jackson
- Kool DJ Red Alert
- Bob Perkins (radio)
- Vaughn Harper
