I started singing in the children’s church choir when I was very young and my parents supported my musical talent by offering piano lessons. I soon came to realize that I couldn’t stand the piano, so I picked up the guitar for several years and plucked out many rock tunes in various garage bands.

In my junior year of high school, the chorus professor came to retrieve me from study hall to try out for chorus. He had heard from a friend that I could sing. So, I was then in chorus my senior year of high school. I went on that year to place 5 th in the State of Tennessee vocal contest and our high school chamber choir placed 2 nd in the nation. Late in my senior year of high school I was awarded a fully-paid music scholarship to the University of Ole Miss which I turned down to stay in Memphis with my folks and long-time girlfriend.

A couple of years later, a good friend of mine, who had played guitar along side me in some garage bands in the early years, turned me on to a band starting up with a sound like I had never heard. I started singing with these guys from Ohio and we formed a band called “Aria”, later to become ”January”. We became a silent hit in a lot of the venues around the mid-south. This adventure came to an end about 6 years later.

I then pursued my professional career and was employed with ALSAC/St. Jude where we formed the SEHT band.