"Behind the Music" with Denny Wheatley

	Martha and Ray's oldest boy, Dennis, was born on Derby Day, May 3rd, 1947, the first of their eight children. Some of his earliest recollections of musical influence are of his families gathering around a piano or organ at his great-grandparent's, George and Leathie Alexander (“Mommo” & “Poppo”), and singing old religious songs. “The 'Old Rugged Cross', 'How great Thou Art', 'Amazing Grace', those songs always conjure up memories of those get-togethers. ' Poppo' taught me how to pick out 'Red River Valley' on Uncle Tommy's guitar. I guess some of it stuck with me, though I can't pick much more than that now!” In the '50's, Denny remembers watching old television shows that had an influence as well. “I can still see some of those shows to this day! We had an old Zenith black & white TV. Tennessee Ernie Ford ( George McClinton and I sang ”Sixteen Tons” in front of our 4th grade class at St. Paul's! I guess THAT was my first unofficial debut!), Johnny Cash and Ernest Tubb always come to mind. I'll always remember ol' E.T. flipping his guitar over at the end of a show. He had 'Thanks”, I believe it was, on the back. And anyone from Kentucky in those days remembers PeeWee King, Randy Atcher, 'Cactus' Tom Brooks and Gene and Redd Stewart.” Then came “the revolution”, as some would call it! Ricky Nelson, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and “The King”, Elvis Presley, came on the scene! “Real rock and roll!”

This, of course, was the foundation for the “Beatles”, “The Rolling Stones” and the multitude of styles that would follow. The early '60's folk era is also noteworthy. The old “hoot'n nannys” brought many people together to enjoy and participate in music, even if they weren't artists! “During this time, my high school girlfriend inspired me to delve into poetry a bit. Of course, being 'macho' and 'all-knowing' at that point of my life, I didn't pursue whatever talent I may have had in that direction. It seems that I've probably done that in several areas of life!” Shortly after graduation from Bishop David High School in 1965, Denny was drafted into the Army. “ About the only thing I really remember musically about my time in the service was an instance in Viet Nam ( Yeah, I was in Viet Nam. While I was there, I had flashbacks of Valley Station!). There was a guy in our outfit from California. I think he was a “semi-hippie” before I knew what a “hippie” was! Anyway, somebody sent him the “Sgt. Pepper” album when it first came out. He found a record player somewhere and he played that damned thing OVER and OVER again! Now, don't get me wrong I love the “Beatles”, but …! After his stint in the Army, Denny came home to a changed world. Music was taking off in many directions. The Peace movement spawned some of the most prolific song writers of our times. “ I think that's when many people actually started to listen to lyrics! People like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and the rest used music to express their political personal views and all of a sudden, young people were involved and expressing their own views on issues. Now, most of the adults of the time were little less than enthusiastic about the youth of America expressing their opinions…! I think the most ironic thing to me is, most of the ultra-liberal hippies of that generation are now Republicans!” Denny always liked to listen to the old country tunes, though. Many evenings were spent listening to and learning from Bernard Vincent Cecil. “ Mr. Cecil was our neighbor. His oldest son Kenny and I grew up together. Bernie loved the old country standards. He taught me my first basic chords. There weren't a lot of Hank, Sr. songs he didn't know. I won't forget the time I showed HIM how to play “ Folsom Prison Blues” in E,A & B7! He couldn't believe I'd learned B7! We spent many an hour at the picnic table in the back yard playing and , when I was older, nursing an occasional “Falls City”. Those were good times.

	In the early '70's Denny headed west, to the great state of Texas, with his good friend, Larry Watts. “ My summer vacation lasted 7 years!” At that time, Texas was garnering a musical reputation of its own. The great Willie Nelson and other artists, such as Waylon Jennings, Rusty Wier, Jerry Jeff Walker, to name a few, were disenchanted with the way Nashville was dictating what was being played and what wasn't, so they took their show west! What resulted was a union of styles ( rock, country, blues, jazz, etc.) that appealed to a wide variety of listeners. “ You could go to a chili cook-off or town square party where Willie was playing and there were people from 7 to 70 dancing, singing, and having a ball!” Austin was becoming a Mecca for new musicians. People like Delbert McClinton and Emmy Lou Harris played there early in their careers. During this time, Denny became familiar with Texas songwriters like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt. They, as well as Kentuckians John Prine and Dwight Yoakum, have influenced Denny's writing greatly. “ These guys can paint a picture with words as well as anyone who ever lived. They combine those words with melodies that can reach inside you and really stir up emotion. It might be love, pain, or just feelin' good! The thing is, when they sing it, you know they've lived it. If I can write just one like that, I'll feel like I've done something.” Probably the most notable of events to take place during his Texas years was Denny's marriage to Pamela Kay Truitt, in Dallas, in 1973. “ A guy I knew said he had a girl I needed to meet. Well, I wasn't much on blind dates, but then again I was fairly adventurous back then! Well, when I went to pick her up I was a little less than enthusiastic, but when she opened the door… well some of you guy's remember 'Little Annie Fannie' from Playboy ( I just read it for the articles, Mom!) ? There she was! I won't tell you what I said but I WAS impressed!" Denny and Pam were married in April of that year.

Pam surprised Denny at Christmas of '73 with her gift. “ I had been looking at a guitar at a friends music shop for some time. It was a gut stringed Yamaha. Willie was playing a gut string so I figured if it was good enough for him… I'd never owned a decent guitar before and that was really something! I still have it, too!” Soon after, Denny and Pam moved to San Antonio. This move put them even closer to the epicenter of Texas Music. Denny also took up Bass fishing during this time. He and his good friend Craig “Dobie” Bassford spent hours honing their skills (lying and consuming “Lone Stars”) together. Oddly enough, fishing produced Denny's first original song. “ Dobie and I really got involved with fishing back then. That's another of my vices I've yet to shake! Well, if we weren't fishing on a week-end, we were watching fishing shows. All of these shows had catchy little lead-in songs so I decided to write one, just in case we ever got our own show! I've still got it somewhere!” Denny and Pam moved to Oklahoma in 1977, where their oldest son, Jack, was born. Shortly thereafter, Denny returned to Kentucky with his new family. In the early 80's son Joe and daughter Denise came along. “ Pam and I weren't used to the cold winters and we had a lot of free time on our hands so…” It was in the 80's that Denny started taking song writing more seriously and he penned his first “decent” song, “Everybody's Baby”. “ I was watching Lonesome Dove and there was a character in there, Lorinna, I think. Anyway, she reminded me of some of the women you see out at a bar occasionally. She had a good heart and she just made out the best she could. That song wasn't too bad so I decided to keep at it a while.” This was the beginning of a new adventure for ol' Buck (“ 'Buckwheat' was a character in the old 'Our Gang' movies when we were kids. The nickname was a natural!” )

	In the late '90's, Denny started to play a few of his songs for friends. “Most of our friends like music but they are more comfortable listening to established artists. The only times I would play my stuff is when we were all sitting around crocked and I'd get up enough guts to try one! Needless to say, these weren't my best efforts. Well, a few years ago a couple of my good friends and pickin' buddies, Tommy Miller and Larry Beard, Sr., heard one when I was semi-sober. They kind of liked it so I drug out a few more and started trying to perfect them a little. They didn't sound too bad so I started writing a little more". Since then Denny has continued to write new songs and polish old ones. In the last few years He has started to perform live with several new friends he has met through the Louisville music scene. “ A couple of years ago I wrote this song, 'If it Weren't For You'. Well, friends who heard it really liked it! We were at the “World Famous West Point Beach Party” (how's that Hugo?) and Larry Beard's sister, Judy, introduced me to Millerz and Lenz (That would be Vicki, Marty, and Jimmy, who have become some of my most dear friends in the world!), who were performing there. They coerced me into playing that song. Well, I was floored! Everyone really seemed to like it! A lot! Thanks to them, I got the nerve to do My songs in front of some new people". That adventure led Denny to seek out venues for new artists to perform original material in the Louisville area.

During his research, Denny met several others who have been instrumental to his artistic growth. “I met Rhonda Rainwater, who introduced me to Greg Smith, who introduced me to Bob McLendon, who… well you get the picture! Each one of these people have been so helpful to me! Their encouragement and insight( and critiques!) have been so much more than one would have expected! All of the musicians I've met in the last several years are so talented that it's unbelievable! Just to be associated with them is living a dream for me. Every day Pam and I meet new people and every one of them are first-class individuals. Words cannot describe my feelings for these people.” Denny now performs at open mic.'s around the Louisville area and occasionally does a guest spot, when invited by his friends who perform at area clubs. He has played a few of his songs in Nashville and Dallas, with favorable response. He is currently working on his first C.D. of all original songs at Bob McLendon's *B-MAC's Studio*. All of the musicians performing on his C.D. are friends from the Louisville area. “ A few years ago I would not have even dreamed of playing an original song for anyone! Now I'm doing a C.D.! None of this would be possible if not for the love and support of my family and friends. I'm truly blessed!” Look for Denny's C.D., “Blame it on the Whiskey”, coming soon. Let's hope we see a few more in the coming years.

NEW!!