The songwriters and artists whose music I play, changed the World Of Music!
The words in Neil Young's song, Hank To Hendrix, "here I am with this old guitar, doing what I do", surmises what I feel about the freedom that music has brought to my life.
I play the songs of others, now in my age group. They continue the quest for the pleasure music brings to our lifes; Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, Willie Nelson, Keith Richards, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Bob Weir, Bob Seger, Eric Clapton, Stevie Nicks, Kris Kristofferson, & Leon Russell.
Along the way, many others who influenced my music, had to leave this world, but their music continues to live on because of their unique voices, performances, and the songs they wrote. Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Muddy Waters, Townes Van Zandt, and the list is unfortunately, very long. They kept playing until the end, but during that time, they contributed to the music that influenced and brought delight to millions of music lovers.
Retrospectively, I now realize that each of those music contributors took that road that Robert Frost wrote about, "Two roads diverged into a yellow wood, and I took the road less traveled by, and THAT has made all the difference!" They all made it work, sometimes against all odds.
Writing a biography about yourself can be a tedious exercise, with a tendency toward abundant and rhetorical times in one’s life, which might be good for exploring personal memories, but audiences are focused on a musician’s end product, the music they conjure up when playing for others. So rather that bore the reader, here’s my brief synopses:
- Born and raised in N.E. Texas listening to music which evolved from the Big Band Era into Blues, Blues Rock, Soul, Country, Rockabilly, Rock, Southern Rock, Rock and Roll, and now a blend has emerged called Americana.
- I became a "Professional Musician" in PhuBai, Vietnam in 1967, as a Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant, singing for drinks and tips at the Officer's Club (a wooden hut without frills).
- Joined Corporate America (my day job for 34 years) in 1970 and did marketing, sales, sales training, introduced Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (Interventional Cardiology) to America and trained cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, nurses, and technicians in Asia, South America, India, and Europe, in Angioplasty when it was introduced. I continued to entertain on the side.
- Retired from Corporate America in 2004, but when I wasn’t satisfied continually answering the question, “What did you do for a living?” with, "I used to be -!", I searched once again for something that would not only occupy my time, but bring me satisfaction once again.
Along the way I was allowed to become a part of the one of the greatest experiences of my life, the Elvis Presley phenomena, which placed me in the middle of some very unique opportunities and experiences, which I briefly wrote about in the book released in 2016, Elvis: Truth, Myth, and Beyond, where the reader can get a front row seat in that era, from the perspective of a small town Texas boy who just happened to be in the right place at the right time in history.
In 2011 I founded Spirit Wind Productions and Bill Sparkman Music, picked up my guitar and started picking 6-8 hours a day buiding a 600 Plus Song Repertoire to play for my audiences.
So, here I am with my old guitar, doing what I do, and enjoying it! My music train has now left the station for the next part of my journey, which I'm fairly certain will be fun.
My product is My Music!