Pat Metheny Keyboardist Lyle Mays Dies at 66 John Beaudin's Tribute

Pat Metheny Keyboardist Lyle Mays Dies at 66
February 11, 2020 – Lyle Mays sure could create a mood. He was best known for those Pat Metheny album.
Metheny's website stated that Mays had a “long battle with a recurring illness,” and in a statement, the guitarist said, “Lyle was one of the greatest musicians I have ever known, Across more than 30 years, every moment we shared in music was special. From the first notes we played together, we had an immediate bond. His broad intelligence and musical wisdom informed every aspect of who he was in every way. I will miss him with all my heart.”

Growing up Mays had four passions chess, mathematics, architecture, and music. The latter was helped along via his parents. His mother played the piano and his dad the guitar. He played a wedding at 9 and by 14 he was a regular playing at his local church.

Mays was with Metheny from the very first album in 1978 which also featured Mark Egan on bass and drummer Danny Gottlieb. There was the classic duo album Metheny/Mays from 1981, “As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls.” in the mid-1980 when I left rock/pop music to program New-Age and Jazz I played every song on this album on radio and especially got hundred of requests for their version of Amazing Grace which was called 'Estupenda Graca.' These were the Metheny/Mays ECM records years and a lot of rockers indulged into the coolness of this band. Proggers enjoyed the journey that this music took them on. As mentioned these were traveling songs not just because of the world music aspects but after listening you never were in the same spot. In 1982 you could sense that future Metheny group sound on “Offramp” especially on the tune “Are You Going With Me.”

In 1985 the pair created the soundtrack for the movie “The Falcon and the snowman” and two years later came the gold album “Still Life (Talking). It was also the year that The Wave launched in L.A. And the tune Last Train Home, the ultimate instrumental traveling tune, was a mainstay on not only that station but dozens of newly launched NAC formats. The follow up “Letter from Home” from 1989 also went gold featuring another Wave hit “Slip Away.” I saw that tour in Vancouver. Still one of the best shows I've ever experienced.

Mays won Grammys for his work, also released a handful of solo albums and worked on albums by Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Earth Wind and Fire, Bobby McFerrin, Nando Lauria who would later join the Metheny group.

If you have not experienced his music yet you are certainly missing something spectacular. - by John Beaudin #RIPLyleMays. #LyleMays

VISIT OUR ALBUM AND BOOK PICKS AT THE ROCK HISTORY BOOK STOR https://www.amazon.com/shop/rockhistorymusic

HELP SUPPORT ROCK HISTORY MUSIC..CHECK OUT OUR STORE FOR T-SHIRTS, MUGS ETC
https://teespring.com/stores/rock-history-music-store?page=1

We have 4 active YouTube Channels featuring John Beaudin

Subscribe to this (RockHistoryMusic) Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChUv5CZuAuh08DfHA8klNSA?view_as=subscriber

“RockHistoryBook” -Top 10 Rock & Pop Hit Lists https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDKUUfqq_iuwk63pZEUOTIQ

“RockHistoryCanada” – Interviews & Current Music News From Top Canadian Acts. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFpz17zDi5ShOVQBiNZV8xA

“Nail Sheet” – More on the Pop Music Side plus TV & Movie News & Interviews. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCym2UeR9FWDLty6UaVbbX7w/featured

John Beaudin has been in major market radio (Edmonton, Vancouver & Calgary) for 35 years and a music journalist since 1989. He graduated from Broadcasting school as a newsman so he would have the skills to write about the artists that inspired him since he bought his first Elton John album as a teen. In the '80s Beaudin was the host of the syndicated radio show “The Cross Canada Report” which had two versions (Rock and A/C). Beaudin was also asked to be a judge at the Juno Awards (Canada's answer to the Grammys) Twice. He has anchored every position in radio including morning and afternoon drive and was a Program and Music Director for The Breeze and California 103 in Calgary. He currently hosts the popular Lovesongs at QM-FM in Vancouver and on iHeartRadio.


To Follow John Beaudin's posts on all subjects https://www.facebook.com/JohnBeaudinBroadcaster/

To Follow John's “Rock News” only posts FACEBOOK  https://www.facebook.com/rockhistorybook

John Beaudin Official Website  http://www.johnbeaudin.com

TWITTER for Rock History Music  https://twitter.com/rockhistorybook
TWITTER for John https://twitter.com/johnbeaudin
Heading West by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license ()
Artist: http://audionautix.com/