05/29/05 09:41 PM
| Not
too many years ago... at 2410 Wilder Street in Chattanooga,
Tennessee... the picture below was taken while I played guitar with my
friend, Kenny G, (the tuner -ha), and my Brother, Glenn... (Don't ever
remember being this ugly though...) |
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When
I was around 12 years old, I began playing the guitar. My Dad also
played the guitar and sang. Although I never perfected it, and
will be wishing I had spent more time with the guitar always, I did
manage to learn enough to write a few songs along the way. The
first song I wrote (Don't Give My Love
Away) was in the 10th grade of high school; for Denise, a girl I
went with for a brief period of time. Perhaps I will include that
among the love songs here one day soon.
Billy Allen Jr |
When I was in
elementary school, we had 'play night' every Friday at the East
Chattanooga Recreation Center. Mrs. Annie Rievley was the lady in
charge of Play Night, but Mr. Jeff Hester ran things at our rec center.
Anyway, we almost always had a singing contest on Friday nights and I
won my share of quarters... Can you imagine a kid singing today for a
quarter- ha Of course, I loved to sing, so the prize wasn't
really that important. But hey- It would buy three 7-cent
Pepsi's at the B&W Pharmacy back then!
I have had many comments
through the years about my singing... not all of them good-
While in high school, I decided to sing the song I had written, (Don't
Give My Love Away), in a talent show we had there at City. The
person judging the auditions had such a tremendous ear for music (what a
creep) that he would not allow me to continue with my singing until I
got my guitar perfectly tuned. By then, I was much too exhausted
and embarrassed to sing -ha. Needless to say, I didn't make the
talent show (and he didn't get my vote for teacher of the year).
I remember a co-worker who
told me I had the most 'unusual' voice he had ever heard- The tone
of his voice and odd look on his face led me to believe it wasn't a
compliment either... ha
But anyway, good or bad,
God gave me 'a' talent and so I have decided to use it to spread the
Good News as much as is possible. If He wants improvement from me, I am sure He knows how
to go about making those improvements !
Sister Jo at church said all I have to do is include the song Hello
Mama and I will be certain to sell some tapes & cds... I
hope she is right, 'cuz I did ! |
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I have written many
poems through the years,
but they are scattered here and there... I wrote several while in the Air
Force, and one of them, Parting
In Love (written for Donna R) is listed here under Love Poems. It has
been included in a hard-bound book of poetry sponsored by www.poetry.com;
{as was Candle
In My Heart (written for Cynthia M) (also put to music) but I don't have the name of the
volumes. I also wrote a few poems for my Air Force buddies to send back home to their
girls. One of them is still married to that same girl... (I wonder
if he ever regrets asking me to write it for him?) (maybe the other poems weren't too good- ha)
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