Myron Bertolero

I was born in central California. My father had a “Hillbilly” band that practiced at our home several nights a week. My dad was the songwriter, lead singer and guitar player. Ironically, I never cared for or appreciated “Hillbilly” or Country Music until a decade after discharge from my 4-year stint in the U.S.A.F.

I married, had 3 daughters and 1 son, and wrote my first song while working on a “Honey Wagon” (septic-tank truck) for a business owned by my friend’s dad. The first verse: Dig it up, pump it. Cover it up and dump it, uh-huh, uh-huh. It was silly, but…

After a brief illness I quit plumbing and entered a 2-year college and received an AA degree. I had to write 10 poems for an English class and got an A+ on each one. Later, I turned them into songs.

A year or more after receiving my AA degree, I enrolled in a 4 year University and got my teaching credential. I taught grammar school for 30 years while occasionally writing songs. I am retired, but I substitute 3 to 5 days a week, and I’m still writing songs and playing the guitar or piano to help form the chords and melodies. I have completed about 60 songs. My best songs come as inspirations usually after midnight or as I’m driving on long road trips. And good old-fashioned Country, what they used to call “Hillbilly” music, is now one of my favorite musical styles.