Kenny Dawsey

posted November 20, 2000

My musical journey began in the early sixties when I was four or five years
old. Some of my earliest memories are of me standing in front of the radio
early in the morning and imitating the singers on the records being played
on our local radio station. Every morning from six to seven o'clock was the
"Musical Clock" program on WRJW 1320 AM in Picayune, MS. WRJW is
one of the first forty eight original country music stations in the U.S. It's still
on the air and still a country station. That's where I first heard many of the
classics from Jimmy Dean, Johnnie Cash and others.

I began actually playing music with my dad. He has played since he was a
teenager in the late forties. He has always had a desire for me to play.
He couldn't wait until I was big enough (he thought) for him to get me a
guitar. He got me a plastic "toy" guitar when I was about four. He gave it
to me and the first thing I did was put it on the floor and sit on it. It
didn't even last a day.

My dad had always had friends come over to the house and pick on Saturday
nights. All through the sixties he participated in weekend jams at someone
or another's house. My dad played guitar and sang. He piddled with lap
steel guitar and mandolin until finally finding HIS instrument in the
electric bass. He became quite good on bass. Amongst all of this piddling
and instrument trading he swapped something for a Rogers All Weather
marching snare drum with stand. That's where I came in.

For seven or eight years I beat that drum. I didn't have sticks, just
brushes. In the beginning I had to ask dad, "one beat or two?" One beat
was straight time and two was waltz time. I enjoyed it tremendously. I was
getting to do something with the grown ups.

When I was six I thought I wanted to play guitar. I sold nine dollars worth
of seeds for American Seed Company. I chose as my prize a genuine wooden
guitar. It too was a toy with nylon strings. I don't know who was more
excited the day it came, my dad or I. I think my dad bought eight dollars
worth of the seeds. Dad got me my first Mel Bay chord book and I set out to
learn guitar. Then disaster struck. The dreaded "F" chord. No matter how
hard I tried I couldn't make an "F" chord. I became so disgusted I never
tried to play anything other than drums for nearly twenty years.

In the early seventies my dad and I joined some folks in Pearl River,
Louisiana that were producing a "Hee Haw" show. It was just some musicians
and comedians who wanted something to do that could be used as a fundraiser
for local charities. We had the full show from Minnie Pearl to Jr. Samples.
We played this show for around three years from New Orleans to Hattiesburg
and all along the Gulf coast.

From this I graduated to a full drum set and went into southern gospel
music. I played with three major groups until the early eighties. First
with a short lived group called the Expressions. Then with a singing family
called "The Hedgepeth Family." Finally a group of us got together and
formed "The Good News Singers." This was by far the most successful of the
groups I played with. It was also one of the busiest. All through my high
school years, we practiced twice a week and played three nights a week. It
was in this time frame that I learned to develop a work ethic for my music.
I listened to the harmonies of many great quartets such as the Inspirations,
the Kingsmen and the Hinsons. I also discovered great song writers like,
Dottie Rambo, Joel Hemphill and Ronnie Hinson. At the end of the seventies
the stress of the heavy work load caused us to disband. We didn't see how
we could cut down on bookings. How can you do a benefit for this sick
person and refuse another. We felt that the only thing to do was disband.
I still wanted to play but southern gospel music went through a dry season
through the early eighties. There wasn't another band in my area to join.

It was back to the beginning. We called a few old friends that used to come
over for the Saturday night jams and even met a few new ones. The Saturday
night jams were reborn.

I used this time to begin learning electric bass. Being a drummer only, I
had to learn a lot of chord theory and structure. As I progressed on the
bass my interest in guitar became rekindled. My dad had a nice old Yamaha
flat top that I started learning to play. Lo and behold I found I could
make an "F" chord. There was hope after all.

Around eighty one I became desirous of an Ovation Deep Bowl acoustic
electric guitar. At the urging of my little sister April 9, 1982 for my
twenty fourth birthday, my parents gave me an Ovation Legend. This was the
first "real" guitar I ever owned. I had even picked it out. Every night
for a couple of years when I came home from work I could be found sitting on
the floor by my bed in my room playing this guitar. I'd buy song books of
the country music's latest hits and play along with them. I knew what they
were supposed to sound like from hearing them on the radio. I would follow
the chord progressions in the book. Every time the book would show a chord
I didn't know I'd go to my chord dictionary and learn it. I was building a
knowledge of all kinds of chords. Somewhere my dad had gotten a book that
showed forty four hundred chord diagrams. You couldnt think of a chord
that wasnt in the book.

For the next few years I was hooked on Haggard, Gene Watson, Don Williams
and Janie Fricke. Until I heard Emmylou Harris. I saw her on an old PBS tv
show called Soundstage. At this time she had Ricky Skaggs in her Hot
Band. Man Id never heard anything better in my life. I went out and
bought her Roses in the Snow album. From this album I was introduced to
Tony Rice. This is still one of my all time favorite albums.

Along about the same time and old friend joined our jams. He had picked
with us back in the late sixties. His music of choice was bluegrass. His
favorite musician was Bill Monroe. Although he was and still is one of the
best bluegrass rhythm guitar players Ive ever known, he wanted to play
mandolin. I was going to be the next Tony Rice so I was learning tab and
trying to flat pick. It didnt take long to see I wasnt getting anywhere
fast but I was learning to read tab. My friend asked if he could bring some
mandolin tab over for me to help him learn. I said fine and somewhere along
the way I developed a love for mandolin. A friend loaned me an older
Alvarez F5 copy and I was on my way. By this time we were beginning to go
to bluegrass festivals. Id sit down with my Ovation and play rhythm. Id
get a few funny looks but they still let me play. I was fortunate enough to
play back up to some fiddle players. I believe this to be the best way to
develop bluegrass rhythm styles.

Meanwhile I could see improvement in my mandolin playing. I saw enough hope
to order a Kentucky KM700 from Elderly Instruments. This was in 1989.
Through much help from folks in jam sessions at festivals and from much
practice at weekly jams at home I was beginning to develop a style. At
about the same time the folks that did the singing at our jams quit. Thats
when my cousin Jarrod Harris and I started learning to sing. We either had
to learn to sing or quit the jams. We didnt want to quit.

Its been around twelve years since I went to my first bluegrass festival.
I love them as much now if not more than I did then. Not only because of
the music but because Ive met so many nice people and made so many good
friends.

About four years ago I joined my first regular gig bluegrass band: the
Cooksey Family of Independence, Louisiana. I still play mandolin with them.
In October 1999 Doug Anderson, Bill Rogers, Charlie Harrison and myself
formed the Partchwork String Band. This band was initially formed to play
the Roots Reunion show twice a year in Hattiesburg. It seems the more we
play the more bookings we get. We still do the Roots show but are now
playing other venues as well.

This past summer Jarrod Harris, Gene Stone and I have started playing with
three brothers from our home town. The group name is Shallow Creek. We
play a style of bluegrass gospel simular to Doyle Lawson and the Primitive
Quartet. These brothers have some of the tightest vocal harmony Ive ever
heard. Im looking for big things to come for them.

In the years since Ive been playing mandolin, Ive filled in with most
regional bands from Mississippi and Louisiana and jammed many thousands of
hours. If you come to a bluegrass festival in south Mississippi or
Louisiana youll more than likely find me there. Probably jamming.

Id like to name some of the folks I feel have had the most influence on my
music. These are special people to me. Theyve all helped me more than
they know.

Bobbie Kennedy
Dan and Ina Dawsey
Joy Dawsey Fleming
(late) Carl Kennedy
J. W. Walters
Ray Jones
Kenneth Breland
Harold and Edna Smith
(late) D. D. Kelly
Jarrod Harris
(late) Jim Burkhammer
(late) Wilmon Burge
Chuck White
(late) James McCaughan
Marshal Warrwick
Doug Anderson
Pop Cooksey
Butch Cooksey
Harold Andrews
Fred Lumpkin
Bill Miller

The list is by no means complete. Ive learned valuable lessons from each
person listed. God puts teachers all around us. I just dont think we see
it sometimes.

Not only do I play bluegrass music but I also enjoy playing praise and
worship music with the worship team at my church.
I also own and maintain a web site promoting bluegrass festivals in the
southeastern U. S.. http://www.bgfest.freeservers.com

The previous was a sort of autobiography of my first forty two years in
music. Im looking forward to at least fifty more.

BLUEGRASS FOREVER

Kenny Dawsey
Kennyd@fnbop.com

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