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| I love being on stage.. I suppose it all started with
my parents. They played in a country and western band. My dad, Alonzo,
played the accordion and my mother, Ruth, played an upright bass. I grew up in Paducah, Kentucky with my sister, Beckie. As a young boy I would spend hours in front of a television watching Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, and The Three Stooges. In the sixth grade I was in a small production put on for the parents. Somehow I accidentally got a big laugh which felt really good. I overheard someone tell my proud dad that I was a natural comedian. From that moment on I decided to become the funniest guy in school. When I was 14 I went on a bus trip to St. Louis to see The Beatles and my love of music took off. In high school I was involved in the community theater and every school play produced at Paducah Tilghman High. At 16 I played an 80 year old man in “Death of the Hired Man”. I had the lead roll in “Our Town” and character rolls in “Westside Story”, “The Crucible”, “Tom Jones”, “Up the Down Staircase”, and “The Mouse that Roared”. After I graduated I worked for the Kentucky Department of Parks in a Group called The Lakeside Singers. It was produced by actor Tom Ewell of “The Seven Year Itch" fame. I did five seasons with the group. While in The Lakeside Singers I met Jack Crook. Jack and I moved to Nashville and put together a duet. I worked in a hospital and as a waiter.  Jack
and I performed whenever possible but most of our shows were back in
Kentucky. It was fun but not what we wanted. I heard that The Vogues
were holding auditions in Nashville. I tried out and was hired and
life on the road began. The Vogues had six gold records. I recorded
“The Vogues Greatest Hits”. Jack went on the Nashville Network TV
show “I-40 Paradise” and joined The Van-Dells after Bill Mentz
left the group.After three years with the Vogues I had an opportunity to do demo recordings for the great country song writer Jan Crutchfield at MCA Records. I left The Vogues to do the recording sessions. It was a great experience but paid very little and I soon found myself facing a depleted bank account. One night, feeling somewhat despondent, I sat in a chair and looked up toward the ceiling. “God,” I said. “I have seven dollars in my pocket. If you want me to eat next week you’d better do something. ”An hour later the phone rang. It was Jack D. Johnson, manager of the Van-Dells offering me a temporary position while Dave Brumley recovered from a serious auto accident. I said yes. I also thanked God for being so quick. That was in 1980 and I am still here. The Van-Dells gave me the chance to do all the crazy things I wanted to do in front of an audience. It is wonderful fun and even though I have set routines many nights I run out on stage with no idea what to expect from my imagination. Here’s a few things I would like to share with you: My wife’s name is Tracy. We have two dogs. Caesar and Barney. The biggest influence on my comedy is Groucho Marx and Benny Hill. My favorite food is spaghetti. My favorite composers are Danny Elfman and Randy Newman. My favorite bands are The Beatles and Oingo Boingo. My favorite fictional character is Doc Savage. My favorite horror character is Frankenstein. My favorite basketball team is The Kentucky Wildcats. My hobbies are drawing, photography, and video. How long will The Van-Dells go on? As long as people want to see us. |
