It was an ordinary day. Reading a story that I found to be extremely interesting as well as hard to believe. The story was about a fellow by the name of Ray R. Myers who was born without arms in Lancaster County Pennsylvania on January 2, 1911. The story told of Ray's musical talent and how he managed to play his trombone and Hawaiian steel guitar without any arms. I found Ray to be amazing, so much so that I have posted the story for you to read in hopes you will be inspired as was I. Only thing that scared me was the fact that he drove a car on the streets of Lancaster!! Read his story and see what you think of this unbelievable fellow. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - the story was posted to the "Remember when....in Lancaster, PA" site.
Ray R. Myers was born - without arms - in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on 2 January 1911, the fifth child in a family of nine. His career as a musician began at Allentown High School, where Myers played trombone in the school band. Later, Ray Myers purchased a Hawaiian steel guitar, which he kept under his bed until he learned to play it.
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| Ray Myers with his guitar |
After graduating from high school, Myers played local events such as church fairs and amateur talent contests. It was at one of these events that someone from Lancaster's radio station WGAL was sufficiently impressed by Myer's musicianship to offer him his own weekly radio program. It was through this show that Myers came to the attention of Cowboy Loye, a popular country music performer on WWVA's "The Original Jamboree" radio show out of Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1937, Loye heard "The Armless Wonder" play and hired him to perform with him on WWVA. That gig introduced Myers to a larger country music audience, and Myers was soon playing on radio stations across the southern United States.
In 1947, Myers was playing his steel guitar with the Brewster Brothers on WVOK's popular "Dixie Jamboree" show. In addition to the weekly radio broadcasts, the WVOK bands also played live gigs at American Legion halls and other locations across northern Alabama. People turned out in droves to watch and listen to Myers play old timey music. Immediately after the show many patrons headed directly to the parking lot to watch the spectacle of Ray Myers driving his own car, he being at that time the only licensed automobile driver in the U.S. born without arms.
By 1953, Ray Myers had a daily radio show on WPDX in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Ten years later, Myers was appearing on WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee. Apart from the novelty of his playing, Myers seems to have been highly regarded as a musician. His longevity as a radio personality, where no one could see that he didn't have arms, is one testament to his ability; but he also played and recorded with many of the country and bluegrass music's biggest names, including Charles Bailey of the legendary brother act the Bailey Brothers.
The last performance reference I have found for Myers is his appearance on a July 3, 1969 handbill for a performance at a drive-in theater in Manchester, Kentucky. Ray was appearing with a band called the Saddle Pals, who were billed as "Ray Myers, Lloyd Bell & Bobby Thompson, Recording Stars". Myers is further described as "The Armless Musician Who Leads Normal Life." Ray Myers died in Gordonville, Pennsylvania, in May 1986.
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