Byron Berline

Byron Berline  was a musician specialized in playing the fiddle who appeared as a command division crewmember playing the violin in the  first season episode . He received no credit for this appearance.

Music 
Born in Caldwell, Kansas, Berline graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1967 with a degree in physical education. He has started to play the fiddle at the age of five and joined The Dillards for their 1965 album "Pickin' & Fiddlin'" and then Bill Monroe's legendary band the Bluegrass Boys in 1967. Further musical collaborations include Dillard & Clark in the late 1960s, the Flying Burrito Brothers in the early 1970s, and Manassas in the 1970s. Berline also won the National Oldtime Fiddle Contest Championship in 1965, 1967 and 1970 and formed the Country Gazette with Alan Munde, Kenny Werz, and Roger Bush in 1972.

Berline later formed the band Byron Berlin and Sundance with a debut album release in 1976 and Berline, Crary, and Hickman which was later renamed to California. California was awarded as Instrumental Group of the Year in 1992, 1993, and 1994 by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

In 1995, Berline moved to Guthrie, Oklahoma where he opened the fiddle shop Double Stop and formed The Byron Berline Band. In 1997 he founded the annual Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival.

Beside his band work and collaborations with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Rod Stewart, and The Eagles, Berline recorded several solo albums including the Grammy Award nominated "Fiddle and a Song". 

He was making progress recovering from a stroke earlier in 2021, but died of complications 10 July in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Film 
Berline first appeared as a fiddler in the 1976 drama Stay Hungry which featured Joanna Cassidy and Ed Begley, Jr. He also received credit as composer on this film.

Berline worked as composer on the 1978 action comedy Stingray (with Sherry Jackson), performed the song "The World I'm Livin' In" in the crime drama Blue Collar (1978, with Ed Begley, Jr. and Tracey Walter) and in the thriller Hardcore (1979, with Gary Graham, Marc Alaimo, Leslie Ackerman, Bibi Besch, Tracey Walter, and Ed Begley, Jr.), and appeared as a band member in the music drama The Rose (1979, with Jonathan Banks, Seamon Glass, and Phil Rubenstein).

Another on screen appearance of Berline was in the 1992 thriller Basic Instinct (with Stephen Rowe, Freda Foh Shen, and music by Jerry Goldsmith). Further credits as musician include the thriller Slipping Into Darkness (1988, with Vyto Ruginis and Adam Roarke), the drama Blaze (1989, with Jerry Hardin), the science fiction sequel Back to the Future Part III (1990, with Christopher Lloyd and musician James Thatcher), the comedy Ski School 2 (1994), and the television series Northern Exposure (1990-1995).

External links 
 
 

Performers
TNG performers