April 15, 2025 • 27 mins
Jeff Dayton shares his journey from early musical beginnings to becoming Glen Campbell's band leader for 15 years and his current projects honoring Campbell's legacy.
His remarkable career trajectory includes opening for major acts across the country, traveling internationally, and developing a deep connection with the Campbell family.
• Discovered his love for guitar at age 10 after finding his father's instrument in a closet
• Balanced formal music education with performing in bands on weekends
• Won the Wrangler Country Showdown which brought him to Nashville
• Glen Campbell personally selected him as band leader after seeing him perform
• Toured with Campbell for 15 years across all 50 states and internationally
• Currently performs tribute shows to Glen Campbell with blessing from Campbell's family
• Created "Making Music Nashville Style" program working with children including those with special needs
• Launching a new podcast called "Count it Off" featuring music industry guests
• Formed GMC group honoring Garfunkel, Manilow and Campbell with other musicians
• Values Nashville's musical community and the opportunity to work with industry greats
Find Jeff at JeffDaytonMusic.com and on social media platforms to stay updated on his upcoming projects and performances.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining us today is Jeff Dayton.
After 15 years as band leaderwith Hall of Fame legend Glen
Campbell and touring withcountry icons like Lee Greenwood
and Kenny Chesney, jeff has nowlaunched an intimate show
(01:22):
saluting Glen Campbell.
The performances featuresCampbell's timeless hits woven
with personal stories from theiryears, together With a wealth
of unforgettable moments fromhis time here in Nashville.
Jeff is here to share some ofthose cherished memories with us
.
It's a true pleasure to havehim here.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Man, what a great opportunity to be on, and thank
you for inviting me to do this.
Oh, it's my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So you started out in music.
Did you always know that musicwas going to be your career?
I mean, it was your passion, ordid it just kind of fall in
place for you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Well, it seems like it has.
I was five years old and Iwrote a book about going to the
moon and I really wanted to bean astronaut.
Then I wanted to be a probaseball player first baseman,
that was my spot.
But music was inspired by mydad, George Dayton, and he had a
guitar in the closet.
And when I opened up theircloset one time and I went, whoa
, that's a guitar.
(02:19):
He was a weekend warrior inDixieland groups playing rhythm
guitar and his man was FreddieGreen from Count Basie and we
talked about that for yearsafterwards.
But it got me into the guitar,wanting a guitar, and he was
gone by the time.
My mom bought me my firstguitar just on the cusp of being
10 years old and it's been offto the races ever since.
(02:42):
I've had a couple of what wecall straight jobs in the
business, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, yeah, I get that.
Now, once you got your guitar,did you have lessons or did you
just start picking it up by earand move forward that way?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I got that guitar in fourth grade, in the spring of
fourth grade, and first thing Idid was take it to school to
perform on it.
But if you're listening closely, you recognize that I don't
still know how to play guitar.
And I brought it to school andstarted trying to play it and my
teacher said, jeff, that'sreally nice, why don't you take
that home and work on it for awhile and then bring it back for
us?
(03:15):
Because I didn't realize untilthat point that I didn't know
how to play.
But in my heart, in my being, Iwas a guitar player.
This was going to be easy.
In my being I was a guitarplayer.
This was going to be easy.
So I signed up for lessons atthe music store and it was some
old guy who taught me out ofsome decrepit old dusty book.
Nothing against him personally,but it wasn't for me.
I wanted popular music andthese were songs like Buzzing on
(03:36):
the B-String.
He couldn't make it more boring.
And so that's what I did.
And I ran into friends who hadbig sisters that played guitar
and they showed me the chords togive me my boots and saddle,
learned my first A chord fromher and that was it.
I mean, then it was in school.
I was a drummer in the schoolband in fifth grade Drums and
(03:57):
guitar and I asked him can't youjust write charts for the
guitar?
And he said, no, we don't havea guitar.
Well, I said, well, can't youjust put them in there?
He goes no pick something else.
So I said, okay, drums.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
This story sounds so familiar.
I was a piano player and theydidn't have piano in concert
band.
Yeah yeah.
So we made a deal.
They created a stage band forme to play piano in, but
meanwhile I had to play drums,percussion, timpani, whatever.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
In retrospect it was actually pretty good.
Every piece of music you get tolearn gives you a perspective
and helps you move forward.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Mm-hmm, you remember your rudiments.
Book from Haskell W Haar.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I wish I still had it .
That was where I practiced.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
The very first Music book that I learned piano from
was Big Note for Piano for theBeginners.
Oh man, the cool story aboutthat book.
When I went to Berklee Collegeof Music I sat down with my
improv professor.
He says play me your best song.
I sat down and played him aBeethoven.
(05:01):
He said good.
Then he put a book.
He says this is what we'regoing to learn from and it was
the Big Note for Begin beginners.
And I looked at him.
I said that's what I learnedfrom His response.
Well then, you should know it.
And then he went on to show medifferent things in improv from
that book that I never thoughtwas possible.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
That's great, that is truly great.
My sister had a book called howto Play Piano.
Despite Years of Lessons, Ilove that.
Yeah, and I remember I was inmy first college band at
Southwest Minnesota StateCollege.
The sax player, chris Nolte,who I'm still dear friends with,
took a solo on a song and theband director criticized him for
(05:42):
not playing what was on thepage.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Now, where was all this happening?
Where was your?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
school I was in Minnesota fifth grade band and
then the high school bandstarted in the seventh grade
because we were such a smalltown that we had our drum
section was five people.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah, my town was very small.
We had a small band and thememories that it gives still
lingers today, so it reallyhelped my music and wanting to
do music moving forward.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh sure.
And when I wasn't playing inthe school band, I was sitting
with my friends trying to learnhow to play the who's record.
I can see for miles.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, I had a small little four-piece band other
than the school myself.
Real fun, great memories.
So after school, did you makethe big move or where did you go
from there?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
No, I actually went right from high school to
college down in Marshall,minnesota at Southwest, and I
was there for three years and Iwas telling myself I was going
to major in theater, and theonly reason being that I loved
the stage and the lights Againjust drawn towards it After a
couple of quarters it was athree-quarter-a-year program I
asked the music department if Icould go over there and my
(06:49):
teacher, true Sacrisson, was agreat cellist at the Curtis with
Leonard Rose and she looked atmy hand.
She said can you play theguitar?
I said yes and then she saidwell, okay, then you can play
the cello.
So for the next two years, twoand a half years, I was a
cellist in the orchestra as well, and that was still formal
training.
But it was also weekends withbands playing around the rural
area, playing the ballroomswhere the band would come in and
(07:12):
play country music, and thenthe last hour we played 50s for
the really wild crowd, beer andsetups and they'd be dancing.
A big gig was 25 bucks, 35bucks.
The regular gigs were 25.
So we were mowing the moneydown.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
That's a great story.
I'm sure it brings back fondmemories to you, and the cello
is such a great instrument.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Well, it got me some work and I ended up doing some
things on the cello for otherpeople, including David Sandler,
who was one of Brian Wilson'sprotégés from the Beach Boys,
and he hired me for some work onit.
But the funny thing was that myopinion of the cello and the
University of Minnesota'sopinion of me on the cello were
quite different, and when Itransferred to go to the?
U they basically shamed me outof the audition with a very
(07:57):
snobby kind of thing and so Ihad the bands.
Anyway.
I was playing in the bandsfull-time and going to school
part-time, and all through theMinneapolis days.
I mean, I was doing better awayfrom school, but I was always
taking my courses because I knewI wanted to graduate.
So school ended for me in 1985when I graduated from Arizona
State with a cum laude degree inmusic.
(08:17):
So that's great.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You've made it through college, got your degree
in music.
The next question what was next?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Well, there were things already happening.
School was there to get schooldone.
But in 84, I was in Phoenix.
By then we for five years hadbeen riding high on the wave of
urban cowboy playing clubs.
And in Minneapolis, same thingwe were playing with.
One guy had just finishedplaying with Bob Dylan on Blood
on the Tracks and then ourdrummer became the guy that
joined Prince for the Revolution, and he was Bobby Z, but in
(08:46):
Arizona in 84,.
Well, in 83, our band, high Noon, won the Wrangler Country
Showdown which is today calledthe Colgate, if it still exists
to Nashville and I was all.
I just I felt the energy here,I just felt the electricity.
I was living in Phoenix and in84, I got a cut with George
Strait on his Fort Worth albumand it got me the Golden
Platinum.
(09:06):
You see behind me, the band wasdoing really well and playing
clubs and I had graduatedcollege and pretty soon Glenn
Campbell came along in 1987 andsaw us opening a huge concert at
the Coliseum with Merle Haggardand the Judds in Alabama and
came backstage.
And the next night there he wasagain and he sat in with the
band at a private event andabout two days later he called
(09:29):
me and said guess what?
You're my new band leader.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
That's definitely a great story.
So now Glenn was making hismark about that time.
So what did it feel like whenyou went from what you was doing
and now you're a band leaderfor Glenn Campbell?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
It blew my mind, Especially my mother-in-law at
the time she about dropped on onthe floor.
Yes, Glen Campbell, shecouldn't believe it, Country
lady from Virginia.
The band picked up a ton ofadditional credibility and we
were already opening concerts,as I mentioned.
But we got a ton of stuff.
I mean I opened for 20, 25different acts in Phoenix at
every major stage in town.
(10:07):
Then we went on the road withGlenn and so the press started
writing about us and there wewere, out there doing tours to
England and Australia and NewZealand and playing all 50
states and having a monstrouslygood time with the great, one of
the greats of the Hall of Fame.
I mean, he's a Hall of Famer inthe Hall of Fame, I think.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, there's no denying Glenn Campbell is one of
the all-time greats.
There will never be another onelike him.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Ever, totally, tony.
Hey Tony, the people listeningcan't see behind you.
But is that Reba holding atrophy over there that I see?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Yeah, that's a picture that she gave me, that
she signed.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Oh, okay, she just signed it, or did you write one
of her hits?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
No, I wish We've just known each other for years.
Okay, the one next to it is apersonally signed Elvis photo.
Oh, then of course Cher, andbeside that is, of course,
debbie Campbell.
I produce her, and that's thebook she wrote about her life
with Glenn.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh right, yeah, that's right.
We have that connection, don'twe?
Yeah, we do.
In 87, when Glenn came to seeme, his daughter, debbie, was
with me.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Then, right after that, she started, not right
away, but eventually that yearshe got on the road with us and
she was there at most of theshows for the rest of my time
with him, which was up until theend of 2002.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
I often describe her as the female Glenn Campbell.
Her vocals are soothing, mellowand just a pleasure to listen
to.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
We learn from our bosses, but she has what Glenn
used to call genal harmony thegenes of the family.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yes, she is very good with her harmonies.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
When we used to do and I'm sure she's done it with
you, let it Be Me that was magicand you know what's really fun.
She was part of a show at 3rdand Lindsley, which is a club
here in Nashville, and it wasthe Stars Kids show.
I forget what.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
The Next Generation.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I was there that night.
That was shortly after I hadstarted producing her.
Oh great, well then she.
You know she had me out thereto do a couple songs with her
and it was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, I really like her.
She's just a great person to bearound.
She speaks well of you.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Nice to hear.
She took care of her dad andshe picked up his dry cleaning.
She woke him up when it wastime to get ready for stuff.
Come on dad.
Come on dad.
You know, the two of them werereally the you know?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Oh yeah, you can find pictures and videos on YouTube
featuring both Glenn and her ininterviews together, performing
on stage together.
I think she was with him foraround 24 years on the road, so
it was a great relationship forsure.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
The nice thing about that relationship, too, was that
that was helping to fill in thevoid that was there in her life
when her dad was living in LAand married again not to her mom
and they were getting the BelAir treatment and all the stars
and stuff and Debbie reallydidn't have that time with her
dad.
And the other kids and Debbieare all close now but she was
(12:56):
able to rebuild or actuallymaybe just plain build that
relationship with her dad.
Yeah, it was really importantto her and I think that's great.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I think it's great she had thattime with him.
So now what's next on theagenda with you?
Oh boy, you got a minute Sure,why not?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, here, yeah, I've been on a couple of
podcasts.
One came up last spring and itwas kind of in my mind like a
teabag, you know, steeping inthere, and I was thinking about
it and people hear meoccasionally mention it.
And then I met with my friend,dave Sandler, who is the guy
that worked with the Beach Boysat Pet Sounds and Smile in that
(13:37):
area.
He's one of Brian'sco-producers and understudies.
I was at his house inMinneapolis.
We were sitting at the piano inhis office and I said, david,
I'm going to just record this.
I want to ask all thesequestions about Brian.
And when I got back here toNashville I had a recording and
I thought, ok, now I've done it,I'm creating a podcast.
So I went online and Iresearched all the gear that you
(13:58):
can get and I was going to getthat.
And I changed my mind.
And, anyway, long, long storyshort, I have a podcast,
november 2024.
I've got a long guest list ofpeople and then I have a dream
list of people that are going tocome later, once I'm up and
running, because there are somany people Every time you turn
around, right, tony, you think,oh, I should get that guy on my.
I should get her on my podcast.
It's called Count it Off yourFresh New Window Into the World
(14:19):
of Music.
It'll be appearing at all theplaces in Streamland.
And then, besides that, I've gota new trio and I'm part of a
group that I call the GMC, whichis Garfunkel, manilow and
Campbell Art.
Garfunkel's guitar player, tabLavin, who you may know he's a
Nashville guy.
He's been with Art for 23 yearsI think, and he's in New York
with him right now.
So he's still Art's guitarplayer, sings great, plays great
(14:43):
guitar.
Well, he has to because he'sthe one backing up art.
And then Eddie Kilgallen, whohas a connection with Barry
Manilow and sings them likenobody's business.
All good, yeah, he's a pianoplayer.
He's the band leader and roadmanager for Eddie Montgomery and
before that, montgomery Gentry.
And then my Glenn Campbellconnection, which I have.
The Salute to Glenn Campbellshow that I've been doing for 10
(15:03):
or 12 years and the Salute toGlen Campbell show that I've
been doing for 10 or 12 years.
And we're going to be out asGMC and we've got our first date
coming up in Minneapolis at theDakota Jazz Club in February
and we're going to be fillingout the year with those dates
with our schedules permitting.
That's the other thing we'vegot to juggle.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, that's great Great group of guys.
What's the music going to be onit?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Well, the trio is going to do the hits.
There's great musical qualityin all of it.
When we get together and do theboxer and Homeward Bound and
songs like that Sounds ofSilence and the harmonies just
like oh, it's so much fun tohave a vocal group instead of an
artist, with your musicians.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now, before we came on to talk, you mentioned that
you did something with someautistic children.
Knowing that I have an autisticpodcast, so can you expand on
that some?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
True, I have a program this is another thing I
do called Making Music NashvilleStyle.
It started with a visionaryteacher who saw the way I
interacted with kids in herschool.
She retired after 25 years ofteaching and she said I should
try.
I think you'd be good at doinga residency showing the kids how
to do music.
And so she sketched out a planand went and got it funded and
(16:10):
we started out in 20, I think,2011,.
Maybe this is our 15th yearcoming up and I've just had a
gas working with fifth graderssome fourth graders some places,
but mostly fifth graders and wedo a residency of a week or two
weeks or three weeks, dependingon the school and how many kids
I got to get around to.
We write songs together and thekids are usually bunched up.
(16:32):
It used to be democratic andnow it's more just by gender the
girls and the boys but whatI've learned in those groups is
that the kids that are what theycall it now special needs,
learning, disabled, add, ld,autistic are the most creative,
wonderful kids.
I've ever worked with theautistic ones and I don't mean
to single them out becauseeverybody's brilliant.
(16:54):
I mean, all these kids are justgolden creations, have the most
fascinating ideas.
I've got a song on my couplealbums ago and the album's
called Tropical Troubadour andthere's a song on there called
Chillo and the fifth graderscaught me saying that word
because I was stumbling over mywords, trying to say chill and
mellow, and it came out chill-oand they went hey, we like that
(17:14):
word, can we write that titleand that around and did it.
The song came together in twodays in their classroom all
together and the kids were verymuch in that special needs group
and I love the song.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That's awesome.
The great thing about workingwith kids they don't hold back.
They tell you the truth.
They're just being who they are.
And to tell you the truth, thatinnocence that they project is
just everything that you hope tosee from a kid just being a kid
.
Isn't that true, I think?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
they're not caught up in being cool or getting
somebody to notice them, or ifthey're hitting that age where
you know boys want girls tonotice, boys who are noticing
girls and that whole thing.
They're just being, as you said, just being themselves.
There was one group where itwas a mixed group and the boys
were writing a song called TwoMonths of Torture and it was
(18:07):
about summer school.
And again I let them pick thetitles and I said but kids, if
you come up with a dumb title,we have to write a dumb song.
You know that.
Two months of torture, twomonths of torture.
And we didn't.
We were stuck.
One of the kids who was autisticand I can't remember his name,
(18:28):
but God bless him and he startedgetting agitated and I said
what's wrong?
He goes.
When I'm in small groups nobodyever picks my ideas.
I said, well, what's your idea?
And he said a hurricane of painthat'll last forever.
I mean there was our secondline two months of torture, a
hurricane of pain that'll lastforever.
I was like you got anythingelse?
And he goes the ultimate bummerthat lasts all summer Spiked
(18:51):
the ball in the end zone for thewin and he burst into a smile
that it was a special, specialmoment and that was a hit song
in the classroom.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And that means a lot.
Stop and think about it.
We as musicians try and writethe best songs, try and get the
best promoters, try and get thebest recordings, try and get the
biggest hits.
We try and keep it out therejust all the time.
But something like you just didin the classroom with those
kids, that kind of emotion, thatkind of feeling can mean more
(19:26):
than those gold records on thewall, because you see the smiles
on their faces.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It really is.
I released that song, chillo.
There's another one, calledI'll See you there, about a
classmate that passed away fromcancer.
Was it cancer?
No, they had an accident, Iforget what, but the kids wrote
a great memorial to their friend.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Nice.
That means a lot to a lot ofpeople.
Now, since Glenn passed, you'vedone a lot of shows around the
country paying tribute to hismusic too, correct?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
I love doing that.
I feel like a steward of thelegend.
You know, when I first got somerequests, glenn was alive and I
talked to him and I showed himthat I was dedicating an album
to him.
And then I went to managementand I said what do you think?
Because these people are asking?
And they said, jeff, ofeverybody that could do it,
you're the one that ought to,because you fronted the band,
you conducted the orchestra, yousang all the songs in
soundcheck.
(20:16):
We give you the two thumbs upand that's how it got started,
and Debbie and I have bothdropped the idea that maybe she
should come out and do a showwith us, and we've got one in
February in Phoenix.
The Salute to Glen Campbell andI'm hoping that maybe she'll
drop in and do one with me.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, I agree, I think she should do it.
I think it would be reallygreat.
I think she should because shesings his songs so well and
people remember her from the 24years she spent with Glenn.
She's a big part of the GlennCampbell family, of fans on
Facebook and all the otherplatforms.
So, yeah, I think it'd be greatfor her to do it definitely,
(20:54):
absolutely should.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Her younger brother, travis, who's the second in line
oldest boy.
Travis came to Bartlesville,oklahoma, when I was playing
there and came to the show andjust sobbed, lost it on my
shoulder, man, it was so great,you know, he just he loved and
he and I talk, we tell storiesand joke around about his dad,
and Travis didn't see a lot ofthat because Glenn was always
(21:16):
gone In some ways.
I was lucky enough to be withGlenn even more than he had,
maybe, except when he was home.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Yeah, that's the sad part about the business that
we're in.
If they were real successful,they're on the road all the time
.
They just don't get a chance tosee their family like everyone
else would.
That works nine to five.
That's why I'm here.
I worked with Gary Paxton andBob Millsap and Gary had so many
hit records out there and wastraveling so much he didn't even
(21:43):
know his 21-year-old son, so Idecided that I wasn't going to
have that issue.
So that's why I'm here inNashville doing production,
development and management.
This way I can see the kidsgrow up, grandkids grow up, and
it just means more than being onthe road.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
That's beautiful.
Now, was he related to KitPaxton or any of those guys?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
No, he was the lead singer of the Argyles Alley Oop
and all those hits, as well asproducing the Monster Mash.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Oh sure.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Now Bob.
He produced a few country starsbut his big claim to fame that
he loved was he published thesong you Need Me.
That Ann Murray cut.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Oh yeah, and with our friend gosh.
What was his name fromNashville here, randy Goodrum.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Yeah, that's right.
So those two were kind of mymentors that influenced me to
move to Nashville, to get offthe road.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Well, that's great.
I'm glad you're here.
You've got records on the walland signs, pictures of the stars
.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate, worked with a lot of
great people.
I'm currently working withDonnie.
Most of Happy Days.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh gosh, that's great .
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yeah, he's got this huge voice, kind of like Frank
Sinatra, bobby Darin, he doesreally well.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
That's great.
I love the fact that we getthese opportunities and, living
in Nashville, I always tellpeople on the shows that I do
this, is it?
I mean, this is the town.
Everybody loves coming here,whether they live here or not.
And if, when they come here andspend a little time, I think
half of them will really want tomove here or get a second house
, if they can do that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well, you know, I'm sure you feel the same way too,
but we do what we do because welove the music.
We don't go out there withchips on our shoulders and
proclaim to be the biggest, thebest in the world.
We just love what we do.
Because of that, we get to workwith some of the best players
and singers that you can find inthe country.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Then, when you get a chance to do interviews or
podcasts or whatever you may do,you get a chance to look at
your body of work and reflect alittle, and then you can really
appreciate all the hard workthat went into doing what you do
.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
And I love that.
I love the opportunity to workwith the greats.
I mean my last oh, I don't knowknow five or six albums.
I've had an incredible cast ofa-list session guys, and the
last two I've had lonnie wilsonand mike rojas, scotty sanders,
jimmy carter just tremendouspeople and oh, brent mason, this
other kid, he's doing prettywell yeah, I say he's done
(24:09):
fairly well.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
My go-to guy on guitar has been around a while,
tom Wild.
I use Dave Pomeroy on bass asmuch as I can.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Dave, my buddy.
He was on Williams when I firstmet him.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, he's been around for sure.
I've had him on just recently.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh great.
Did you ever thought that slidein?
No Stranger to the Rain, thatbig boom.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Such an iconic moment .
That's the one I was like.
I got to meet this Dave guy.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Oh yeah, it's great.
So when you sit back and lookat the people that we've
surrounded ourselves with, youcan kind of reflect and just
take a little pride in whatyou've done.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, you sure can.
I had just yesterday Iinterviewed Josh Diddy.
He's a first engineer, meaninghe's the head chief engineer,
and he's worked with Joey Moy onhis productions for years.
He's worked on Florida GeorgiaLine and Keith Urban and Pink
and Morgan Wallen and Hardy andall the guys, and he's right
here in the neighborhood.
I live across the street fromold Judy Rhodes and Judy's
(25:08):
husband was Leon Rhodes fromTexas Troubadours Take it away,
Leon and he was a wonderful guy.
That's just the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Yeah, that's the great thing about living in
Nashville you never know who'saround the next corner.
So, in closing, what would youlike to leave the listeners with
?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Well, be good to each other y'all.
You know the world.
No matter how you see it, theworld's gone pretty crazy and
every day there's more newsabout something tragic and
something ridiculous andsomething scary.
And who knows what we've doneto our planet and who knows what
we're doing to each other?
I hope we can, as Glenn wouldsay, try a little kindness, let
people in in traffic.
I have a little box ofcheckered flags and I give them
(25:46):
to people as they go racing byme and go, you win.
You get the checkered flagfirst place, because it doesn't
cost me anything to do that andkindness is free to give, and if
I could do that, I think I'vedone part of my gig.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I think that's great.
One last thing how do peoplefind you?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
JeffDaytonMusiccom On most of it on YouTube it's
JeffDaytonMusic.
On Instagram it'sJeffDaytonInstagram, jeff
DaytonInstagram.
Try to forget it.
I bet you can't.
Podcast is on.
Count it Off Podcast onFacebook and we will have news
about that when it kicks off.
I'll look forward to invitingyou on as a guest later on, tony
(26:24):
, once I get through my guestlist that I've already lined up.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I know how that is.
Just let me know I'll be there.
Well, this has been great,great conversation.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Appreciate it again.
You have me on there, that'sgreat.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Oh, it's my pleasure, thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
World of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantor.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Joining us today is Jeff Dayton.
After 15 years as band leaderwith Hall of Fame legend Glen
Campbell and touring withcountry icons like Lee Greenwood
and Kenny Chesney, jeff has nowlaunched an intimate show
(01:22):
saluting Glen Campbell.
The performances featuresCampbell's timeless hits woven
with personal stories from theiryears, together With a wealth
of unforgettable moments fromhis time here in Nashville.
Jeff is here to share some ofthose cherished memories with us
.
It's a true pleasure to havehim here.
Thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Man, what a great opportunity to be on, and thank
you for inviting me to do this.
Oh, it's my pleasure.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So you started out in music.
Did you always know that musicwas going to be your career?
I mean, it was your passion, ordid it just kind of fall in
place for you?
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Well, it seems like it has.
I was five years old and Iwrote a book about going to the
moon and I really wanted to bean astronaut.
Then I wanted to be a probaseball player first baseman,
that was my spot.
But music was inspired by mydad, George Dayton, and he had a
guitar in the closet.
And when I opened up theircloset one time and I went, whoa
, that's a guitar.
(02:19):
He was a weekend warrior inDixieland groups playing rhythm
guitar and his man was FreddieGreen from Count Basie and we
talked about that for yearsafterwards.
But it got me into the guitar,wanting a guitar, and he was
gone by the time.
My mom bought me my firstguitar just on the cusp of being
10 years old and it's been offto the races ever since.
(02:42):
I've had a couple of what wecall straight jobs in the
business, you know.
Speaker 1 (02:45):
Yeah, yeah, I get that.
Now, once you got your guitar,did you have lessons or did you
just start picking it up by earand move forward that way?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
I got that guitar in fourth grade, in the spring of
fourth grade, and first thing Idid was take it to school to
perform on it.
But if you're listening closely, you recognize that I don't
still know how to play guitar.
And I brought it to school andstarted trying to play it and my
teacher said, jeff, that'sreally nice, why don't you take
that home and work on it for awhile and then bring it back for
us?
(03:15):
Because I didn't realize untilthat point that I didn't know
how to play.
But in my heart, in my being, Iwas a guitar player.
This was going to be easy.
In my being I was a guitarplayer.
This was going to be easy.
So I signed up for lessons atthe music store and it was some
old guy who taught me out ofsome decrepit old dusty book.
Nothing against him personally,but it wasn't for me.
I wanted popular music andthese were songs like Buzzing on
(03:36):
the B-String.
He couldn't make it more boring.
And so that's what I did.
And I ran into friends who hadbig sisters that played guitar
and they showed me the chords togive me my boots and saddle,
learned my first A chord fromher and that was it.
I mean, then it was in school.
I was a drummer in the schoolband in fifth grade Drums and
(03:57):
guitar and I asked him can't youjust write charts for the
guitar?
And he said, no, we don't havea guitar.
Well, I said, well, can't youjust put them in there?
He goes no pick something else.
So I said, okay, drums.
Speaker 1 (04:06):
This story sounds so familiar.
I was a piano player and theydidn't have piano in concert
band.
Yeah yeah.
So we made a deal.
They created a stage band forme to play piano in, but
meanwhile I had to play drums,percussion, timpani, whatever.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
In retrospect it was actually pretty good.
Every piece of music you get tolearn gives you a perspective
and helps you move forward.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Mm-hmm, you remember your rudiments.
Book from Haskell W Haar.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
I wish I still had it .
That was where I practiced.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
The very first Music book that I learned piano from
was Big Note for Piano for theBeginners.
Oh man, the cool story aboutthat book.
When I went to Berklee Collegeof Music I sat down with my
improv professor.
He says play me your best song.
I sat down and played him aBeethoven.
(05:01):
He said good.
Then he put a book.
He says this is what we'regoing to learn from and it was
the Big Note for Begin beginners.
And I looked at him.
I said that's what I learnedfrom His response.
Well then, you should know it.
And then he went on to show medifferent things in improv from
that book that I never thoughtwas possible.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
That's great, that is truly great.
My sister had a book called howto Play Piano.
Despite Years of Lessons, Ilove that.
Yeah, and I remember I was inmy first college band at
Southwest Minnesota StateCollege.
The sax player, chris Nolte,who I'm still dear friends with,
took a solo on a song and theband director criticized him for
(05:42):
not playing what was on thepage.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Now, where was all this happening?
Where was your?
Speaker 2 (05:48):
school I was in Minnesota fifth grade band and
then the high school bandstarted in the seventh grade
because we were such a smalltown that we had our drum
section was five people.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Yeah, my town was very small.
We had a small band and thememories that it gives still
lingers today, so it reallyhelped my music and wanting to
do music moving forward.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Oh sure.
And when I wasn't playing inthe school band, I was sitting
with my friends trying to learnhow to play the who's record.
I can see for miles.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Yeah, I had a small little four-piece band other
than the school myself.
Real fun, great memories.
So after school, did you makethe big move or where did you go
from there?
Speaker 2 (06:28):
No, I actually went right from high school to
college down in Marshall,minnesota at Southwest, and I
was there for three years and Iwas telling myself I was going
to major in theater, and theonly reason being that I loved
the stage and the lights Againjust drawn towards it After a
couple of quarters it was athree-quarter-a-year program I
asked the music department if Icould go over there and my
(06:49):
teacher, true Sacrisson, was agreat cellist at the Curtis with
Leonard Rose and she looked atmy hand.
She said can you play theguitar?
I said yes and then she saidwell, okay, then you can play
the cello.
So for the next two years, twoand a half years, I was a
cellist in the orchestra as well, and that was still formal
training.
But it was also weekends withbands playing around the rural
area, playing the ballroomswhere the band would come in and
(07:12):
play country music, and thenthe last hour we played 50s for
the really wild crowd, beer andsetups and they'd be dancing.
A big gig was 25 bucks, 35bucks.
The regular gigs were 25.
So we were mowing the moneydown.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
That's a great story.
I'm sure it brings back fondmemories to you, and the cello
is such a great instrument.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Well, it got me some work and I ended up doing some
things on the cello for otherpeople, including David Sandler,
who was one of Brian Wilson'sprotégés from the Beach Boys,
and he hired me for some work onit.
But the funny thing was that myopinion of the cello and the
University of Minnesota'sopinion of me on the cello were
quite different, and when Itransferred to go to the?
U they basically shamed me outof the audition with a very
(07:57):
snobby kind of thing and so Ihad the bands.
Anyway.
I was playing in the bandsfull-time and going to school
part-time, and all through theMinneapolis days.
I mean, I was doing better awayfrom school, but I was always
taking my courses because I knewI wanted to graduate.
So school ended for me in 1985when I graduated from Arizona
State with a cum laude degree inmusic.
(08:17):
So that's great.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
You've made it through college, got your degree
in music.
The next question what was next?
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Well, there were things already happening.
School was there to get schooldone.
But in 84, I was in Phoenix.
By then we for five years hadbeen riding high on the wave of
urban cowboy playing clubs.
And in Minneapolis, same thingwe were playing with.
One guy had just finishedplaying with Bob Dylan on Blood
on the Tracks and then ourdrummer became the guy that
joined Prince for the Revolution, and he was Bobby Z, but in
(08:46):
Arizona in 84,.
Well, in 83, our band, high Noon, won the Wrangler Country
Showdown which is today calledthe Colgate, if it still exists
to Nashville and I was all.
I just I felt the energy here,I just felt the electricity.
I was living in Phoenix and in84, I got a cut with George
Strait on his Fort Worth albumand it got me the Golden
Platinum.
(09:06):
You see behind me, the band wasdoing really well and playing
clubs and I had graduatedcollege and pretty soon Glenn
Campbell came along in 1987 andsaw us opening a huge concert at
the Coliseum with Merle Haggardand the Judds in Alabama and
came backstage.
And the next night there he wasagain and he sat in with the
band at a private event andabout two days later he called
(09:29):
me and said guess what?
You're my new band leader.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
That's definitely a great story.
So now Glenn was making hismark about that time.
So what did it feel like whenyou went from what you was doing
and now you're a band leaderfor Glenn Campbell?
Speaker 2 (09:46):
It blew my mind, Especially my mother-in-law at
the time she about dropped on onthe floor.
Yes, Glen Campbell, shecouldn't believe it, Country
lady from Virginia.
The band picked up a ton ofadditional credibility and we
were already opening concerts,as I mentioned.
But we got a ton of stuff.
I mean I opened for 20, 25different acts in Phoenix at
every major stage in town.
(10:07):
Then we went on the road withGlenn and so the press started
writing about us and there wewere, out there doing tours to
England and Australia and NewZealand and playing all 50
states and having a monstrouslygood time with the great, one of
the greats of the Hall of Fame.
I mean, he's a Hall of Famer inthe Hall of Fame, I think.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
Yeah, there's no denying Glenn Campbell is one of
the all-time greats.
There will never be another onelike him.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Ever, totally, tony.
Hey Tony, the people listeningcan't see behind you.
But is that Reba holding atrophy over there that I see?
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Yeah, that's a picture that she gave me, that
she signed.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
Oh, okay, she just signed it, or did you write one
of her hits?
Speaker 1 (10:45):
No, I wish We've just known each other for years.
Okay, the one next to it is apersonally signed Elvis photo.
Oh, then of course Cher, andbeside that is, of course,
debbie Campbell.
I produce her, and that's thebook she wrote about her life
with Glenn.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
Oh right, yeah, that's right.
We have that connection, don'twe?
Yeah, we do.
In 87, when Glenn came to seeme, his daughter, debbie, was
with me.
Speaker 1 (11:09):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Then, right after that, she started, not right
away, but eventually that yearshe got on the road with us and
she was there at most of theshows for the rest of my time
with him, which was up until theend of 2002.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
I often describe her as the female Glenn Campbell.
Her vocals are soothing, mellowand just a pleasure to listen
to.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
We learn from our bosses, but she has what Glenn
used to call genal harmony thegenes of the family.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Yes, she is very good with her harmonies.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
When we used to do and I'm sure she's done it with
you, let it Be Me that was magicand you know what's really fun.
She was part of a show at 3rdand Lindsley, which is a club
here in Nashville, and it wasthe Stars Kids show.
I forget what.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
The Next Generation.
Speaker 2 (11:56):
Yeah, I was there that night.
That was shortly after I hadstarted producing her.
Oh great, well then she.
You know she had me out thereto do a couple songs with her
and it was so much fun.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, I really like her.
She's just a great person to bearound.
She speaks well of you.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Nice to hear.
She took care of her dad andshe picked up his dry cleaning.
She woke him up when it wastime to get ready for stuff.
Come on dad.
Come on dad.
You know, the two of them werereally the you know?
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Oh yeah, you can find pictures and videos on YouTube
featuring both Glenn and her ininterviews together, performing
on stage together.
I think she was with him foraround 24 years on the road, so
it was a great relationship forsure.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
The nice thing about that relationship, too, was that
that was helping to fill in thevoid that was there in her life
when her dad was living in LAand married again not to her mom
and they were getting the BelAir treatment and all the stars
and stuff and Debbie reallydidn't have that time with her
dad.
And the other kids and Debbieare all close now but she was
(12:56):
able to rebuild or actuallymaybe just plain build that
relationship with her dad.
Yeah, it was really importantto her and I think that's great.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yeah, I totally agree .
I think it's great she had thattime with him.
So now what's next on theagenda with you?
Oh boy, you got a minute Sure,why not?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well, here, yeah, I've been on a couple of
podcasts.
One came up last spring and itwas kind of in my mind like a
teabag, you know, steeping inthere, and I was thinking about
it and people hear meoccasionally mention it.
And then I met with my friend,dave Sandler, who is the guy
that worked with the Beach Boysat Pet Sounds and Smile in that
(13:37):
area.
He's one of Brian'sco-producers and understudies.
I was at his house inMinneapolis.
We were sitting at the piano inhis office and I said, david,
I'm going to just record this.
I want to ask all thesequestions about Brian.
And when I got back here toNashville I had a recording and
I thought, ok, now I've done it,I'm creating a podcast.
So I went online and Iresearched all the gear that you
(13:58):
can get and I was going to getthat.
And I changed my mind.
And, anyway, long, long storyshort, I have a podcast,
november 2024.
I've got a long guest list ofpeople and then I have a dream
list of people that are going tocome later, once I'm up and
running, because there are somany people Every time you turn
around, right, tony, you think,oh, I should get that guy on my.
I should get her on my podcast.
It's called Count it Off yourFresh New Window Into the World
(14:19):
of Music.
It'll be appearing at all theplaces in Streamland.
And then, besides that, I've gota new trio and I'm part of a
group that I call the GMC, whichis Garfunkel, manilow and
Campbell Art.
Garfunkel's guitar player, tabLavin, who you may know he's a
Nashville guy.
He's been with Art for 23 yearsI think, and he's in New York
with him right now.
So he's still Art's guitarplayer, sings great, plays great
(14:43):
guitar.
Well, he has to because he'sthe one backing up art.
And then Eddie Kilgallen, whohas a connection with Barry
Manilow and sings them likenobody's business.
All good, yeah, he's a pianoplayer.
He's the band leader and roadmanager for Eddie Montgomery and
before that, montgomery Gentry.
And then my Glenn Campbellconnection, which I have.
The Salute to Glenn Campbellshow that I've been doing for 10
(15:03):
or 12 years and the Salute toGlen Campbell show that I've
been doing for 10 or 12 years.
And we're going to be out asGMC and we've got our first date
coming up in Minneapolis at theDakota Jazz Club in February
and we're going to be fillingout the year with those dates
with our schedules permitting.
That's the other thing we'vegot to juggle.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
Yeah, that's great Great group of guys.
What's the music going to be onit?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Well, the trio is going to do the hits.
There's great musical qualityin all of it.
When we get together and do theboxer and Homeward Bound and
songs like that Sounds ofSilence and the harmonies just
like oh, it's so much fun tohave a vocal group instead of an
artist, with your musicians.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Now, before we came on to talk, you mentioned that
you did something with someautistic children.
Knowing that I have an autisticpodcast, so can you expand on
that some?
Speaker 2 (15:49):
True, I have a program this is another thing I
do called Making Music NashvilleStyle.
It started with a visionaryteacher who saw the way I
interacted with kids in herschool.
She retired after 25 years ofteaching and she said I should
try.
I think you'd be good at doinga residency showing the kids how
to do music.
And so she sketched out a planand went and got it funded and
(16:10):
we started out in 20, I think,2011,.
Maybe this is our 15th yearcoming up and I've just had a
gas working with fifth graderssome fourth graders some places,
but mostly fifth graders and wedo a residency of a week or two
weeks or three weeks, dependingon the school and how many kids
I got to get around to.
We write songs together and thekids are usually bunched up.
(16:32):
It used to be democratic andnow it's more just by gender the
girls and the boys but whatI've learned in those groups is
that the kids that are what theycall it now special needs,
learning, disabled, add, ld,autistic are the most creative,
wonderful kids.
I've ever worked with theautistic ones and I don't mean
to single them out becauseeverybody's brilliant.
(16:54):
I mean, all these kids are justgolden creations, have the most
fascinating ideas.
I've got a song on my couplealbums ago and the album's
called Tropical Troubadour andthere's a song on there called
Chillo and the fifth graderscaught me saying that word
because I was stumbling over mywords, trying to say chill and
mellow, and it came out chill-oand they went hey, we like that
(17:14):
word, can we write that titleand that around and did it.
The song came together in twodays in their classroom all
together and the kids were verymuch in that special needs group
and I love the song.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That's awesome.
The great thing about workingwith kids they don't hold back.
They tell you the truth.
They're just being who they are.
And to tell you the truth, thatinnocence that they project is
just everything that you hope tosee from a kid just being a kid
.
Isn't that true, I think?
Speaker 2 (17:46):
they're not caught up in being cool or getting
somebody to notice them, or ifthey're hitting that age where
you know boys want girls tonotice, boys who are noticing
girls and that whole thing.
They're just being, as you said, just being themselves.
There was one group where itwas a mixed group and the boys
were writing a song called TwoMonths of Torture and it was
(18:07):
about summer school.
And again I let them pick thetitles and I said but kids, if
you come up with a dumb title,we have to write a dumb song.
You know that.
Two months of torture, twomonths of torture.
And we didn't.
We were stuck.
One of the kids who was autisticand I can't remember his name,
(18:28):
but God bless him and he startedgetting agitated and I said
what's wrong?
He goes.
When I'm in small groups nobodyever picks my ideas.
I said, well, what's your idea?
And he said a hurricane of painthat'll last forever.
I mean there was our secondline two months of torture, a
hurricane of pain that'll lastforever.
I was like you got anythingelse?
And he goes the ultimate bummerthat lasts all summer Spiked
(18:51):
the ball in the end zone for thewin and he burst into a smile
that it was a special, specialmoment and that was a hit song
in the classroom.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
And that means a lot.
Stop and think about it.
We as musicians try and writethe best songs, try and get the
best promoters, try and get thebest recordings, try and get the
biggest hits.
We try and keep it out therejust all the time.
But something like you just didin the classroom with those
kids, that kind of emotion, thatkind of feeling can mean more
(19:26):
than those gold records on thewall, because you see the smiles
on their faces.
Speaker 2 (19:31):
It really is.
I released that song, chillo.
There's another one, calledI'll See you there, about a
classmate that passed away fromcancer.
Was it cancer?
No, they had an accident, Iforget what, but the kids wrote
a great memorial to their friend.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
Nice.
That means a lot to a lot ofpeople.
Now, since Glenn passed, you'vedone a lot of shows around the
country paying tribute to hismusic too, correct?
Speaker 2 (19:55):
I love doing that.
I feel like a steward of thelegend.
You know, when I first got somerequests, glenn was alive and I
talked to him and I showed himthat I was dedicating an album
to him.
And then I went to managementand I said what do you think?
Because these people are asking?
And they said, jeff, ofeverybody that could do it,
you're the one that ought to,because you fronted the band,
you conducted the orchestra, yousang all the songs in
soundcheck.
(20:16):
We give you the two thumbs upand that's how it got started,
and Debbie and I have bothdropped the idea that maybe she
should come out and do a showwith us, and we've got one in
February in Phoenix.
The Salute to Glen Campbell andI'm hoping that maybe she'll
drop in and do one with me.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, I agree, I think she should do it.
I think it would be reallygreat.
I think she should because shesings his songs so well and
people remember her from the 24years she spent with Glenn.
She's a big part of the GlennCampbell family, of fans on
Facebook and all the otherplatforms.
So, yeah, I think it'd be greatfor her to do it definitely,
(20:54):
absolutely should.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
Her younger brother, travis, who's the second in line
oldest boy.
Travis came to Bartlesville,oklahoma, when I was playing
there and came to the show andjust sobbed, lost it on my
shoulder, man, it was so great,you know, he just he loved and
he and I talk, we tell storiesand joke around about his dad,
and Travis didn't see a lot ofthat because Glenn was always
(21:16):
gone In some ways.
I was lucky enough to be withGlenn even more than he had,
maybe, except when he was home.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Yeah, that's the sad part about the business that
we're in.
If they were real successful,they're on the road all the time
.
They just don't get a chance tosee their family like everyone
else would.
That works nine to five.
That's why I'm here.
I worked with Gary Paxton andBob Millsap and Gary had so many
hit records out there and wastraveling so much he didn't even
(21:43):
know his 21-year-old son, so Idecided that I wasn't going to
have that issue.
So that's why I'm here inNashville doing production,
development and management.
This way I can see the kidsgrow up, grandkids grow up, and
it just means more than being onthe road.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
That's beautiful.
Now, was he related to KitPaxton or any of those guys?
Speaker 1 (22:06):
No, he was the lead singer of the Argyles Alley Oop
and all those hits, as well asproducing the Monster Mash.
Speaker 2 (22:12):
Oh sure.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
Now Bob.
He produced a few country starsbut his big claim to fame that
he loved was he published thesong you Need Me.
That Ann Murray cut.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
Oh yeah, and with our friend gosh.
What was his name fromNashville here, randy Goodrum.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
Yeah, that's right.
So those two were kind of mymentors that influenced me to
move to Nashville, to get offthe road.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Well, that's great.
I'm glad you're here.
You've got records on the walland signs, pictures of the stars
.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
Yeah, I've been very fortunate, worked with a lot of
great people.
I'm currently working withDonnie.
Most of Happy Days.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Oh gosh, that's great .
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Yeah, he's got this huge voice, kind of like Frank
Sinatra, bobby Darin, he doesreally well.
Speaker 2 (22:55):
That's great.
I love the fact that we getthese opportunities and, living
in Nashville, I always tellpeople on the shows that I do
this, is it?
I mean, this is the town.
Everybody loves coming here,whether they live here or not.
And if, when they come here andspend a little time, I think
half of them will really want tomove here or get a second house
, if they can do that.
Speaker 1 (23:14):
Well, you know, I'm sure you feel the same way too,
but we do what we do because welove the music.
We don't go out there withchips on our shoulders and
proclaim to be the biggest, thebest in the world.
We just love what we do.
Because of that, we get to workwith some of the best players
and singers that you can find inthe country.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:33):
Then, when you get a chance to do interviews or
podcasts or whatever you may do,you get a chance to look at
your body of work and reflect alittle, and then you can really
appreciate all the hard workthat went into doing what you do
.
Speaker 2 (23:49):
And I love that.
I love the opportunity to workwith the greats.
I mean my last oh, I don't knowknow five or six albums.
I've had an incredible cast ofa-list session guys, and the
last two I've had lonnie wilsonand mike rojas, scotty sanders,
jimmy carter just tremendouspeople and oh, brent mason, this
other kid, he's doing prettywell yeah, I say he's done
(24:09):
fairly well.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
My go-to guy on guitar has been around a while,
tom Wild.
I use Dave Pomeroy on bass asmuch as I can.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
Dave, my buddy.
He was on Williams when I firstmet him.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, he's been around for sure.
I've had him on just recently.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Oh great.
Did you ever thought that slidein?
No Stranger to the Rain, thatbig boom.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Such an iconic moment .
That's the one I was like.
I got to meet this Dave guy.
Speaker 1 (24:36):
Oh yeah, it's great.
So when you sit back and lookat the people that we've
surrounded ourselves with, youcan kind of reflect and just
take a little pride in whatyou've done.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, you sure can.
I had just yesterday Iinterviewed Josh Diddy.
He's a first engineer, meaninghe's the head chief engineer,
and he's worked with Joey Moy onhis productions for years.
He's worked on Florida GeorgiaLine and Keith Urban and Pink
and Morgan Wallen and Hardy andall the guys, and he's right
here in the neighborhood.
I live across the street fromold Judy Rhodes and Judy's
(25:08):
husband was Leon Rhodes fromTexas Troubadours Take it away,
Leon and he was a wonderful guy.
That's just the neighborhood.
Speaker 1 (25:18):
Yeah, that's the great thing about living in
Nashville you never know who'saround the next corner.
So, in closing, what would youlike to leave the listeners with
?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
Well, be good to each other y'all.
You know the world.
No matter how you see it, theworld's gone pretty crazy and
every day there's more newsabout something tragic and
something ridiculous andsomething scary.
And who knows what we've doneto our planet and who knows what
we're doing to each other?
I hope we can, as Glenn wouldsay, try a little kindness, let
people in in traffic.
I have a little box ofcheckered flags and I give them
(25:46):
to people as they go racing byme and go, you win.
You get the checkered flagfirst place, because it doesn't
cost me anything to do that andkindness is free to give, and if
I could do that, I think I'vedone part of my gig.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
I think that's great.
One last thing how do peoplefind you?
Speaker 2 (26:03):
JeffDaytonMusiccom On most of it on YouTube it's
JeffDaytonMusic.
On Instagram it'sJeffDaytonInstagram, jeff
DaytonInstagram.
Try to forget it.
I bet you can't.
Podcast is on.
Count it Off Podcast onFacebook and we will have news
about that when it kicks off.
I'll look forward to invitingyou on as a guest later on, tony
(26:24):
, once I get through my guestlist that I've already lined up.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
I know how that is.
Just let me know I'll be there.
Well, this has been great,great conversation.
I really appreciate you takingthe time to come on.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
Appreciate it again.
You have me on there, that'sgreat.
Speaker 1 (26:38):
Oh, it's my pleasure, thanks again.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
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