grandmother actually has a couple of paper
Grammys, I guess for choirs that big they don’t
make trophies for everybody. But she was on
a couple of their big projects singing in the
choir and so, I was always around that kind of
music, which I think really influenced the way
that I sing. When I was at church when I was
about fifteen or sixteen years old, near the end
of a service the pastor needed to run into his
office to grab something for an announcement
or something like that, and he was like, “Hey,
just grab the mic and start singing.” So, I sang
some songs, and he just looked at me and was
like, “You’re going to lead worship”.
So, it was kind of a family thing. I grew up in
Turlock of all places, and this phenomenal
Hammond B3 player named David Leonard
and his whole family was close to our family.
I just was around some pretty good musicians
for a small town like that.
[WM] During the Dust Bowl era, many north
Texans and Okies, incl
(Buck) and Haggard (M
from their respective
and the great Central V
agricultural center of th
participated in a “rever
Californians have, by m
direction. How did y
California to North Texa
For the Nations Institut
Church?
[Phil] So, my Mom in t
was part of an early d
Brentwood Benson. It
and another singer, and
those tapes, and they
worked with guys from
that. Anyway, nothing
and I was born, and my
some of her friendshi
some of those people
writing in my late teen
June 2020