He is a singer-songwriter and bass player born in Leominster,
Massachusetts, who grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida from the time he was four
years old.He got his first
bass guitar after saving money from a dishwashing job and this would see
him performing in clubs and dances for the rest of his school years.The following year after his high
school graduation in 1969 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, and then in 1973 he
settled in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and went to work in a studio with his
friend Pete Carr.Soon he was
performing as a studio backing singer and musician and has since
accompanied artists such as Joan Baez, Jimmy Buffett, Mac Davis, Crystal
Gayle, Connie Francis, Amy Grant, Dobie Gray, Hosanna, Etta James, Mac
McAnally, Roy Orbison, Ricky Skaggs, The Supremes, Hank Williams Jr. and
many more. Alongside all this
work he branched out as a solo artist in 1975 and Atlantic Records released
his first album just months later.They put him together in a duo with Pete Carr and this resulted in
his greatest success, the song "Falling" which was No. 1 on the US Billboard
charts for a 27-week period in 1978 and 1979 and reached the heights of
being named a BMI Millionaire song, which meant it had over a million plays
on the radio. They
toured and recorded an album but split up after a while and he returned to
his solo career and songwriting once again.In 1980, as a born-again Christian, he turned his
songwriting and recording to this type of themed music and after having
released a couple of albums he established a recording studio in Muscle
Shoals, Alabama, in 1987.He
is also the writer of the hit songs "Father Knows Best" by Ricky Skaggs and
"Treat Her Right" by Sawyer Brown.Since that time he has released several more of his own albums, as
well as doing production for other artists, been a member of the group
Faithful Heart, received a 2003 Dove Award for his co-written "Above All" which
was named "Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year" and been inducted into
the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.Recordings he has featured on during the course of his career
include 12 of his own albums such as Breakthrough, Say A Prayer,
Faithful Heart and Above All and his work with other artists
such as Messin' With My Mind by Clarence Carter, Pure Heart
by Hosanna, My Father's Eyes by Amy Grant, Levon Helm, Midnight
Light by LeBlanc & Carr, Jealous Kind/Plain from the Heart
by Delbert McClinton, Living by the Book by Paul Overstreet, My
Father's Son by Ricky Skaggs, House Party by The Temptations, Hank
Jr & Friends and Bocephus by Hank Williams Jr. and the
soundtrack of Hoot.He
currently continues to record and perform in 30-40 concerts each year and
also designs and builds furniture and acts as Worship Leader at Faith
Church, Florence, Alabama.
