Michael W Heath

Born and raised on a farm in central Indiana, near Tipton was an almost ideal childhood. I still tell people it was like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. I was lucky to grow up in a very close family surrounded by many different types of music. My Dad listened to New Orleans Dixieland and Jazz(Pete Fountain,Al Hirt) along with Country(Eddy Arnold and Boots Randolph). My Mom listened to Pop and Rock and was an avid viewer of American Bandstand. Both enjoyed Big Band and Dance music. My Grandmother listened to everything and was truly my inspiration. My aunt was a huge Country fan,but also loved anything from Ray Charles to Dean Martin. The whole family loved to dance, from the jitterbug,twist or polka. With so many different influences ,I listened to all of it ,but always gravitated toward Folk or Country. I learned to play the guitar when I was 12 years old,pretty much teaching myself,after my cousins showed me how to read a Mel Bay chord book. I would play to records for hours never thinking of it as practice it was just fun. I started writing poetry when I was young and then naturally sort of switched to songwriting as I learned to play guitar. A move to Texas in the late 70's rekindled my desire to write and play music again. Playing clubs and hanging out with other writers ,I learned more about how to write more commercial songs. It was then that I was encouraged to try my luck in Nashville. After bouncing around Tennessee,Indiana and Texas for a few years I finally settled in Nashville in the late 80's. Although I had some moderate success I was often told my songs were to country or needed to be more mainstream. It's hard to change who you are and for sure, what you write about. So after years of playing music,writing songs and working jobs in body shops,oil fields,driving a truck and painting being able to record this album is a dream come true. Although technology may sometimes have it's draw backs I believe it will change the whole world of music and open doors of creativity for many not just a few.

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