Happy New Year to each and everyone of you!
Hope all your dreams and wishes come true!
One of the best things that happened to me last year was the number of people that brought cassettes, reel-to-reels, and vinyl albums to my studio to transfer to Compact Disc. Folks had recordings of family members and friends that, more often than not, had passed away and sometimes that recording was the only recording in existence of that family member or friend. 
What I wouldn’t give for an audio recording of both of my grandfathers and one of my grandmothers. I have a pretty good collection of recordings by my maternal grandmother, due to the fact that she lived well into the time that the recording bug bit me. What a joy it is to give those a listen every now and then. On the other hand, I have a very small collection of recorded material of my best friend, Billy Musgrove. He was a gifted musician and a very funny guy! We just didn’t think to record ourselves very often, even though we had the means to do so. Now he’s been gone since 1981. Take heed!
I recently purchased a very nice reel-to-reel player and have begun sifting through hundreds of my reel-to-reel tapes, finding several gems here and there. I used to carry a large reel-to-reel recorder around with me when my band was on the road in the early 70’s, so I finally ended up with a large catalogue of my performances, for better or worse, but I often set the recorder up at various venues and recorded local bands, as well as bands from hundreds of miles from here. What I will do with all of those recordings, I’m not sure, but I have them!
Some of the local artists that I recorded back in those days included some very talented folks that are still with us and many that are not. Let me throw a few names around. David Skinner, Jeff Gant, Howard Skinner, Billy Grimes, Gordon Klein, Joe McGee, Dick Stephens, Calvin Davis, Kyle Shelton, Mike Humphrey, Richard Cook (Rick and the Keens), Phillip Casillas, Clay Hammack, Davy Baker, Aunee Pierce, Karl Seigler, Kegbelly (with Chris and Dan Pierce, Mike Lee, Mike Story, and Rodney Johnson, with a few other folks sitting in at times), Jeff Cleaver, Bumpin’ Butch Halverson, Danny Harris, Anthony Kelly, Bernard King, Kenny Wright, Linda Andrews, Mike McClung, Richard Gaines, Kenny Grimes, Rock-Ola, Forrest Jones, Linda Rhyne, David Wright, Tom Cook, Robin and Terry Leary, Stevie Slusher, Jerry Bob Tuck, and Ward Yorston. Just a fraction! Do any of these names bring back memories? They sure do for me.
So, if you have any recordings that are needing to be saved and put on a current format, please give me a call and we’ll do what we can to conserve a very important piece of your history. It will cheer you up immensely and help make another New Year great again!
[email protected]
or 940-613-8436
-Johnny Divine
