A TRUE STORY

Nowadays, many of my newer friends aren’t aware that, in a prior life (meaning late 60s — mid-70s), I was a professional musician. (In 1975, I received my BA in music in vocal performance — AKA classical music.) In those days 45 RPMs were still the happening thing. Upon graduating from college, I went by the name of “Denny Merritt” and wrote, recorded, and released a record titled, “Where Did All the Fire Go?” with the flip-side, “Just to See You Through.” The beginning of my recording and singing career was off to a rather odd beginning; no doubt, two of the very worst songs ever recorded. Oddly enough, these songs were the only tunes that ever made me a decent amount of money. Ah, the sublime ironies of life! So, here is the true story of how it all unfolded:

After the record was released, my co-writer (who wrote the lyrics) Rose Baker, took off on a road trip down Route 66, stopping at every commercial truck stop between LA and Oklahoma City. She was a real trooper and salesperson. Somehow, she managed to talk the manager of many truck stops into putting our record on their jukeboxes. Within several weeks, truck drivers began calling into the local country radio stations throughout the heartland, requesting the songs. Before we knew it the royalty checks started coming in! The record actually made the top 40 in several regions of the country. What a hoot! Country songs coming from a not-at-all country singer; I sort of sounded like Luciano Pavarotti singing cowboy music, with a full complement of twangy, steel-guitars.

In the following fifteen years, I would go on to discover my true style and write and record another two albums, containing about twenty-two original songs. While my songwriting and recording style evolved, so did my authentic voice, into a more meaningful genre for me personally (New Thought). I shall never forget that time in my life; a time that helped shape who I am today. A page from a chapter of a life gratefully well-lived, indeed.