Billy Earheart obit

Grammy winning country music star dead at 71 after cancer battle

 He was not on the list.

Billy Earheart, a piano player and organist for the Amazing Rhythm Aces, has died.

 

He was 71.

Earheart’s obituary said he died on May 13 “after an extended struggle with cancer.”

The Tennessee native won a Grammy Award with the “Amazing Rhythm Aces” for Best Country Vocal Performance By a Duo or Group for “The End is Not in Sight (The Cowboy Tune).”

He also played piano for Hank Williams Jr.’s Bama Band for more than 20 years, and also reportedly played with artists such as Al Green, Waylon Jennings, BB King and more.

Earheart reportedly played on more than 200 albums.

“Billy loved music early and had one year of piano lessons as a child,” his obituary read. “The piano teacher wasn’t teaching the music he wanted to play, so he taught himself.”

The obit said Earheart played his first gig in 1966 and founded the “Amazing Rhythm Aces” in 1973. The group won its Grammy in 1977.

“While playing with the Aces, Billy got to travel the world, opening for such acts as Jimmy Buffet, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, and appeared on TV shows such as Saturday Night Live and Don Kishner’s Rock Concert,” his obit said.

His obituary also noted that he had “the perfect demeanor to serve as the big brother to three younger sisters.”

“In his later years, Billy often spoke about how precious his grandchildren (also known as ‘skunkingtons’ or ‘polecats of love’) were to him,” it read.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Katherine, a son and a daughter and many grandchildren.