Renowned Oklahoma fiddler Byron Berline dies at 77

Byron Berline, a renowned fiddler and owner of a popular Oklahoma instrument shop, has died in a hospital. He was 77.

Bette Berline, Byron’s wife, confirmed his death to The Associated Press. She said he was hospitalized after suffering a stroke and that over the weekend his “lungs gave up and so did his heart.” He died Saturday.

Bette recalled her husband as a fun and loving father and husband, who until soon before his death looked and acted like a man twenty years younger.

“He was more than a musician, an incredibly gifted musician,” she said. “He was a good, good man.”

A three-time National Fiddle Champion, Berline grew up in Grant County along the Oklahoma-Kansas state line and worked with music greats like Vince Gill, Bob Dylan, Elton John and the Rolling Stones.

Berline moved to Guthrie in 1995 and opened the Double Stop Fiddle Shop & Music Hall, which was destroyed by a fire in 2019. He later opened a new shop across the street.

Berline was also survived by his daughter and four grandchildren, Bette Berline said.