by Steve LeggettBlues guitarist Bill Gaither cut well over a hundred sides for Decca and OKeh between 1931 and 1941. Gaither was close to the blues pianist Leroy Carr, and following Carrs death in 1935, he recorded as Leroys Buddy for a time. A fine guitarist who possessed a warm, expressive voice, Gaither was also at times a gifted and inventive lyricist. He was often partnered with pianist George Honey Hill, and the duo patterned themselves after Carr and his guitarist, Scrapper Blackwell. Among Gaithers many sides are three tributes to Carr (Life of Leroy Carr, Leroy Carrs Blues, and the magnificent After the Suns Gone Down). Born on April 21, 1910, in Belmont, KY (some sources have the birth year as 1905), Gaither is buried in New Crown Cemetery, Indianapolis, although the exact date of his death is not known.