The Miracle on Music Row

My Story continued.....

I really bottomed out after that desparate night at Vera's. There was a kind of calm that followed the storm. I started to accept my surroundings. I enjoyed coming home every night after work. I would often stare out at the big oak trees in Vera's back yard. It was peaceful. I stopped the drinking and began started writing all kinds of new songs. The creative juices really started to flow. There was something different going on inside of me and I really didn't know why. My songs trended toward deeper things. I wrote a song called "Living' and Dying". It adressed the turbulent time that I was living in better than any song that I had written before. I became engrossed in my lyrical content. I was always very good at creating melody but the lyrics were often shallow. I was very busy writing and planning. I loved the folks I worked with at the Bonanza. They were all rooting for me. They became my friends.

One very hot Thursday I set out to make my rounds on Music Row once again. Music Row is the hub of Nashville's Music center. All the major recording companies and publishing houses were located in this area. My experience so far was not that good. Walking in cold turkey into some of these places was very intimidating. Most of the time nobody would offer to even listen to the tapes that I carried with me. A few companies did. They would listen to the first 20 seconds or so of the song. If it didn't grab their attention, they would turn it off and send you packin'.

It was about 100 degrees on this particular Thursday when I found myself at the RCA building. The door was slightly ajar and I took a peak in and what I saw was beautiful in more ways than one. I saw a water cooler and a beautiful blonde receptionist sitting side by side. It was so hot outside and I just wanted to go in just to get cooled off. I always carried my guitar and tapes with me because I wanted to be prepared for anything, then I heard a voice. It was the receptionist. She said, "Come on in and cool off". I thanked her and walked into her office. She worked for a very famous pianist named Floyd Kramer. Her name was Donna and she asked me what I was doing in town and I proceeded to tell her that I was chasing a dream much like everybody else. She ask me if she could to listen to my tapes. I immediately handed them over and while she was listening I hit the water cooler pretty hard. She listened to about three songs all the way through, turned the tape recorder off and said these words. "These are very good songs but you are talking to the wrong people down here. Most of this town is country. You are Rock'n Roll. I'm sending you to Bob Tubert."

I was astonished. I didn't know who Bob Tubert was and I was literally overwhelmed by her interest. She made a phone call right there and arranged an appointment for me that afternoon. She proceeded to tell me that Bob Tubert was a producer for a lot of the country stars but also produced rock groups like Sam The Sham and The Pharoahs. I knew that band and I knew that they had several hit singles including a song called "Wooly Boolly". Donna gave me a big hug and wished me luck and I was on my way to the biggest interview of my life.

I walked into Mr Tubert's office and he was expecting me. That was so very cool. He knew my name and acted like he had known me all of my life. We talked a bit and then he listened to my songs. He played one after another. He would only listen to parts of them but he just kept on fast forwarding and probably listened to a dozen of them. He looked me in the eyes and asked, "Are you pickin the guitar on all these songs?" I said, "Yes Sir". He asked again, "Did you write these songs yourself or was their a co-writer?" I said, "They are all mine."

He then said, "If you give me a couple of weeks, I think that I can get you a recording deal". I literally did not know how to respond. I was shaking inside and I started to weep. Tubert said," Davey, I can't promise you anything but I will try. I like your music and it seems like you have a story to tell. That is a powerful combination". Mr Tubert gave me his card, duplicated my tapes, which was kind of scary but I had to trust him a this point.

It took Mr Tubert about a week and I signed a recording contract with Mega Records. They just released a song by Sammy Smith that was a big hit. She recorded Kris Kristofferson's song, "Help me make it through the Night". Mega records wanted to use me to bring back the 50's sound to Rock'n Roll. It was a whirlwind experience and I was literally the talk of the town. I had people that I never met before coming up to me and congratulating me. I didn't really expect all of this. It was so very difficult for anyone to get any kind of recording deal in Nashville. Some folks had been down there for years and never came close. It was a miracle of sorts.

I went home that night and fell on my knees again. Only this time, I expressed my gratitude to the Lord even though I didn't know who He was, I felt that He was behind this somehow.

Next up.....

The Recording Session