I was born in Ft. Smith, Arkansas on December 15, 1944. I always wanted to be a musician and at the age of 11 my dad bought me a Lap Steel Gutiar. I took lessons for a couple of years and by then Elvis was jumping around and the girls were screaming and I thought, "I'm not going to get any girls setting on my ass". That's when I got my Daddy's guitar out and started learning how to play.
I graduated from Ft. Smith High School in May of '62 and by September I was on the road. I stayed on the road for 20 years. I played the BIG CLUBS and the NOT SO BIG CLUBS. In 1963 our group, "The Denos" played the famed "Peppermint Lounge" in N.Y., City. Quite a big deal for some 18 and 19 year old Arkansas Hillbillys.
In 1966 I met the Ledgendary booking agent "Sam Gibbs", better known as "DART BOARD GIBBS". Sam would have you working in Billings, Montana. and the next day you would have to be in El Paso, Tx. My longest jump was from Billings, Montana. to Montgomery, Al. I did get to leave after the gig on Sunday night and had to be playing at 8:00 pm Wednesday at the NCO club at Montgomery AFB.
With Sam we worked an area of Montgomery, Al. to Las Vegas, to Missoula, Mo. to Minot, N.D. We worked a lot of Army and Air Force bases which led to our group, Now called "The Imitations", to get the chance to go over seas. In September of 1969 we went on a Far East tour that took us To Japan, Tailand, Okanawa, Korea, The Philippines, Guam and Viet Nam. We came home in March of 1970.
One of our best gigs was at the Golden Nugget in Vegas. We would play there 2 or 3 times a year. It wasn't that it was a great gig, it was a time to really party.
During the time on the road I met and was on the same bill with quite a few BIG STARS. Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley, Box Car Willy, George Morgan, Bobby Blue Bland, Bob Wills, Dottie West, Rose Maddox, Johnny Lee, Dale Hawkins, Ronnie Hawkins, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Ricky Skaggs, Buck White of the White Family, the late Johnny Duncan, Sonny Throckmorton and more.
I have had some real gigs. South Fork Ranch, Beverage Mngr., where they filmed Dallas. Dallas Alley, Bartender, El Dorado Country Club McKinney ,Tx., Kitchen Mngr and Beverage Mngr, and in 1991 I opened a Taco Mayo restaurant in Sulphur, Ok. A few years later we opened another one in Pauls Vally, Ok. I retired November 30, 2004.
I now do recording in my home studio, pick up a few gigs and go jam with my friends when ever they will have me.
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