I was born a stone's throw from the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee, a place where the funk and the pathos is so palpable, you can see it rising with the steam from the downtown streets after a warm summer rain. Birthplace of the blues, home of the king of rock and roll, and incubator of some of R&B's most legendary records
CLICK HERE TO GET A PRE-MADE MYSPACE LAYOUT
(think Al Green, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker T. and the M.G.'s, you get the picture), I naturally soaked it all up like standing out in that same summer rain. My daddy preached and mama played piano in a small rural church in Arkansas, where I got my first taste of live music. When I was about ten, my dad took us to a black Baptist church in Memphis where a friend of his was pastor and I heard my first live black gospel music. A whole 'nother thing. Later on I played guitar in rock bands, horn bands, all black bands ('cept for me, I think), funk bands, acoustic trios, duos, and solos. I dug everything from Elvis to the Beatles, Everly Bros., Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Bill Haley and the Comets, the Killer, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Dave Clark Five, the Monkeys (I know, but, come on, "I'm A Believer", "Last Train to Clarksville"?), Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, Three Dog Night, Simon and Garfunkel. Then I eventually started getting into the British guitar players who cut their teeth on black American bluesmen: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck. Then there was the Stones and the Who, Zeppelin, and of course, Jimi Hendrix, the man from another planet, every electric rock/blues guitar players idol. I came across Robert Johnson a little later on, after hearing Clapton sing his praises (I know, a real oversight, especially having grown up right up the road from his old stompin' grounds). I also developed a taste for D'jango Reinhardt, Charlie Christian, and a few later Jazz players such as Wes Montgomery and Tal Farlow. And at 15 or 16, I can't remember which, I started studying classical guitar. I soon found it took a bit more discipline than most rockers have to invest though. But I still love to meditate on some Segovia, Julian Bream, John Williams or Chris Parkening. I'm also a rather large fan of Stevie Ray Vaughn. I know for sure he enjoyed it more than anybody else I ever saw play. It was like a third appendage, connected straight to his soul. Same for Hendrix, though. Oh well, so I played in a bunch of bands, also went to G.I.T. out in Hollywood for a whole year (got the "professional guitar player" certificate to prove it), moved to Nashville, started writin' songs, and got some cuts by the likes of Ronnie Milsap, Patti LaBelle, Tanya Tucker, John Berry, Billy Dean, Charlie Daniels, Diamond Rio, Lari White, Little Texas, Deana Carter, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Reba McEntire, Clay Walker, Patty Loveless, Terri Clark, Chris LeDoux, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Trace Adkins, Peter Cetera, John Michael Montgomery, Montgomery Gentry, T. Graham Brown, Mark Chesnutt, Rascal Flatts, Jake Owen....., had a few number one and top ten songs along the way and a hell of a lot of fun... speakin' of which, I gotta go ya'll, I'll catch up with you later......
CLICK HERE TO GET A PRE-MADE MYSPACE LAYOUTI edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4
