Bill E. Payne

Roanoke, VA USA

October 09, 2005

326 plays
19,457 views

I play solo and with WOODY, my trio. When I play solo, I do mostly original songs with some selected covers by songwriters I hold in high regard.
WOODY plays originals by the three of us also, with some covers to satisfy those in the audience who are hooked on the same 'ol stuff' they hear on the radio - except that it's not the same old stuff. We do it for the excitement and to get people dancing. It seems to work :-)

Band/artist history

I'm a songwriter - one of the many forgotten souls who create music in an effort to pull your heartstrings and make you feel you're not alone. Most people will recall the name of a song's performer, but not the songwriter. That's OK with me. I seek not the fame that goes with a hit song. But I believe that it's God's will that I live the life I love, and I truly love writing songs and performing them, too.

In order to receive that blessing, I'll continue to write the best material I can and to improve my craft to the best of my ability. That's my promise to you. I hope you enjoy my recorded material and will come out to see a live performance soon. Thanks for listening!

Have you performed in front of an audience?

I play at festivals, coffee houses and loud, obnoxious bars.

Your musical influences

Early on, I listened to Elvis and a number of rhythm and blues artists, like Dee Clark, Bo Diddley, Little Stevie Wonder, and Sam Cooke, as well as a few of the country stars of the era. I also liked the early rockers and was compared to Bobby Vee and Ricky Nelson some when I first started playing out solo.

I was listening a lot to Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond and Harry Chapin - some of the greatest songwriters ever, as far as I'm concerned - when the Beatles came along with the rest of the British Invasion. The music was great - captivating and endearing as well as energizing. The songs I wrote back then were stylistically an amalgamation of British and rhythm & blues.

Later on, I became fascinated with the ladies of music - Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Emmy Lou Harris, Joni Mitchell and others. The songwriters always got my attention - I was always reading the liner notes in albums to see who wrote what. The songs motivated me to write more songs.

The mid-'70s brought so much good music: effects-based rock, like Gino Vannelli; great rhythm and blues by Earth, Wind and Fire, Chi-Lites, Johnny Guitar Watson and others; and that kickin' country blues by The Amazing Rhythm Aces, Flying Burrito Brothers and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. I kept writing, hearing the music in my head but not playing it. Some of those songs still revisit me with their great harmonies. Alas, most will never see the stage lights unless I find myself with a very patient, and versatile, band.

Although I enjoyed country and some of the rock of the '80s, I concentrated on chasing material riches instead of following my dream. I listened to Tom Waits and a lot of the old songwriters like Gordon Lightfoot and Eric Clapton.

I'd be slacking if I didn't talk a little about a place in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia - Wit's End/Belly Of The Beast. This was the greatest place ever for live music in this area, and poetry, too. Owned by another great songwriter, Clayton Ellers, this dual club brought in fantastic regional acts from all over the Mid-Atlantic, including a lot of the performing songwriters from the Asheville, N.C. area; David LaMotte, Jimmy Landry, David Wilcox and Chuck Brodsky. Local area musicians Bob Casey, Sonny Campbell, Al Coffey, Jane Gabrielle and many others also influenced my writing, my styles and, more than anything, my desire to play on until the end. I learned from all of these folks, and I'm eternally grateful to every one of them.

What equipment do you use?

I play a 1969 Martin D-21 and a maple Cort cutaway, along with autoharp and harmonicas.

#south #backwards #work #past #pappy #loveDummy #naughtyAndNice

On playlists (5)

MOTES STATION

241 songs · 162 artists

Music for a new age of man...

By @mote

JANEKS' STATIONS-#2

10,136 songs · 1659 artists

MY FAVORITIES

By @JANEKS' STATIONS