James Elmore Cason was born on November 27, 1939, in Nashville, the younger of two children of James Cason and Rosa (Jordan) Cason. His father, known as Roy, was a carpenter. His mother, a church singer, taught the young Byrd to sing harmonies. (He got his nickname early on; “I think it’s because I’m so loud,” he said in a 2014 interview.) By the time he was in high school, he and his classmates were listening to R&B on Nashville radio station WLAC.
Mr. Cason's introduction to performing came when he and his friends were invited to lip-sync to a popular recording of a local TV show. That experience gave birth to the Casuals, who many claim to be Nashville's first rock and roll band.
He left the group in 1962 to work for Liberty Records in Los Angeles, where he produced recordings with Leon Russell for Buddy Holly's former band, the Crickets, including a version of “La Bamba,” which was a hit in Britain. In 1964, Mr. Cason toured Britain, including an appearance on the music TV show “Ready Steady Go!”, as a replacement for the band's lead singer, Jerry Naylor.
Returning to Nashville in 1965, Mr. Cason joined Ronnie and the Daytonas, a band specializing in hot rod songs such as “GTO,” a Top 10 pop hit in 1964. While with the group, Mr. Cason wrote the ballad “Sandy,” which was a Top 40 single for the band in 1966. He also recorded with Daytonas frontman Bucky Wilkin under the name Byrds and Bucky, and wrote new songs such as “Popsicle,” a Top 40 hit for Jan & Dean in 1966.
In the late 1960s, Mr. Cason entered music publishing with composer Bobby Russell. The pair had great success with two of Mr. Russell's songs in 1968. “Honey,” recorded by Bobby Goldsborough, reached #1 on the pop charts, and “Little Green Apples,” recorded by OC Smith, reached #2. Mr. Cason published early songs by Jimmy Buffett, and other artists such as Placido Domingo and Bobby B have also recorded his own songs.
In 1970, he founded Creative Workshop, a recording studio in Nashville's Berry Hill neighborhood, and over the next few decades dozens of recording venues emerged that rivaled those along Nashville's Music Row. Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and the Faces featuring Rod Stewart, recorded at Creative Workshop.