During a trip home for the St. Albans centennial celebration, Doak Turner visited WKWS radio, home of "The Wolf," and displayed some of the backstage passes he started collecting during his early days in radio marketing here. An article about his role as a networking guru for Nashville songwriters noted that "hundreds of songwriters would find it almost unimaginable to work here without him."
Two years ago, St. Albans native Doak Turner took off for Music City and made a quick name for himself as a Pied Piper of sorts for aspiring songwriters.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- He's not a country singing star, big-time musician or recording company CEO. But everyone in Nashville knows Doak Turner.
Two years ago, the energized St. Albans native took off for Music City and made a quick name for himself as a Pied Piper of sorts for aspiring songwriters.
Every Monday, more than 10,000 people read his online newsletter, Nashville Muse, a list of upcoming songwriter gigs and other information aimed at hopeful composers. The Muse motto reflects the collaborative spirit that drives his support system: "Friends don't let friends ... play to an empty room."
Every month, he stages Third Sunday, a singer-songwriter gathering that attracts hundreds to his home for food, fellowship and networking. Every April, he hosts Guitar-B-Q, a get-together for singers and songwriters in town for a weeklong songwriting festival.
For more validation of his ever-rising reputation, Google his name or visit his Web sites, www.nashvillemuse.com and www.doakmusic.com.
Now, all that's missing from his success story is a hit song. That dream fuels him.
"In the third grade, we moved from South Charleston to St. Albans, and my mom and I lived with my grandmother. When I was 12, my mom married a great guy, Jerry Goff, who has been an incredible stepdad.
"I've always loved music. If I went to the old Turner's Record Store in St. Albans, I would always buy the album with the lyrics. But I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. When I was about 19, I was down on myself. All my friends were going away to college. They knew exactly what they were going to do the rest of their lives, and I had no idea.
"My stepdad opened his hand, and pointed at the bottom of his palm. He said, 'Start here. Try this. Then go over here and try that. Then you will go over here and try this. When you get up here, what you learned back there is going to help you.' And that has been the story of my life. I tell every young person that same story. Try this and try that, and it's all going to come back to you.
"I graduated from St. Albans High School in '77. I worked at Parkway Supermarkets, worked construction one summer and at my stepdad's architect office. That led to being a manufacturer's rep in building materials.
"Then I read a couple of books, 'The Magic of Thinking Big,' 'The Power of Positive Thinking,' 'Think and Grow Rich,' and I started thinking about goals.
"One day, I was alternating between V100 and WKLC on the radio. On 102.7, they said they were looking for radio salespeople, and I wrote that down. I went to see my stepdad, calling on his office, and he was listening to the AM station, WTIP, and he said they just ran a commercial for salespeople and I should go do it. And that started my life.
"On Sept. 20, 1982, I started selling radio advertising, and I loved it. I loved being around the music. My favorite clients were the concert promoters. Phil Lashinsky was still in business, and I started promoting his shows. I loved the entertainment business. He would always get me a backstage pass, and I met the performers.
"One of my clients said they needed a ring announcer for their NWA Wrestling shows here. I worked a deal with Masters Tuxedo for a free tux, and I got up there and introduced all these great wrestlers. It was a lot of fun. I thought that was the closest to show business I would ever get.
"I left town Feb. 1, 1987. I used to go by Lake Norman on the way to Myrtle Beach, and I'd tell myself I was going to live on that lake someday. Goal-setting. When the old Super 102 station was sold, about six of us went to Charlotte. I eventually owned a condo on Lake Norman. I sold radio ads.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- He's not a country singing star, big-time musician or recording company CEO. But everyone in Nashville knows Doak Turner.
Two years ago, the energized St. Albans native took off for Music City and made a quick name for himself as a Pied Piper of sorts for aspiring songwriters.
Every Monday, more than 10,000 people read his online newsletter, Nashville Muse, a list of upcoming songwriter gigs and other information aimed at hopeful composers. The Muse motto reflects the collaborative spirit that drives his support system: "Friends don't let friends ... play to an empty room."
Every month, he stages Third Sunday, a singer-songwriter gathering that attracts hundreds to his home for food, fellowship and networking. Every April, he hosts Guitar-B-Q, a get-together for singers and songwriters in town for a weeklong songwriting festival.
For more validation of his ever-rising reputation, Google his name or visit his Web sites, www.nashvillemuse.com and www.doakmusic.com.
Now, all that's missing from his success story is a hit song. That dream fuels him.
"In the third grade, we moved from South Charleston to St. Albans, and my mom and I lived with my grandmother. When I was 12, my mom married a great guy, Jerry Goff, who has been an incredible stepdad.
"I've always loved music. If I went to the old Turner's Record Store in St. Albans, I would always buy the album with the lyrics. But I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. When I was about 19, I was down on myself. All my friends were going away to college. They knew exactly what they were going to do the rest of their lives, and I had no idea.
"My stepdad opened his hand, and pointed at the bottom of his palm. He said, 'Start here. Try this. Then go over here and try that. Then you will go over here and try this. When you get up here, what you learned back there is going to help you.' And that has been the story of my life. I tell every young person that same story. Try this and try that, and it's all going to come back to you.
"I graduated from St. Albans High School in '77. I worked at Parkway Supermarkets, worked construction one summer and at my stepdad's architect office. That led to being a manufacturer's rep in building materials.
"Then I read a couple of books, 'The Magic of Thinking Big,' 'The Power of Positive Thinking,' 'Think and Grow Rich,' and I started thinking about goals.
"One day, I was alternating between V100 and WKLC on the radio. On 102.7, they said they were looking for radio salespeople, and I wrote that down. I went to see my stepdad, calling on his office, and he was listening to the AM station, WTIP, and he said they just ran a commercial for salespeople and I should go do it. And that started my life.
"On Sept. 20, 1982, I started selling radio advertising, and I loved it. I loved being around the music. My favorite clients were the concert promoters. Phil Lashinsky was still in business, and I started promoting his shows. I loved the entertainment business. He would always get me a backstage pass, and I met the performers.
"One of my clients said they needed a ring announcer for their NWA Wrestling shows here. I worked a deal with Masters Tuxedo for a free tux, and I got up there and introduced all these great wrestlers. It was a lot of fun. I thought that was the closest to show business I would ever get.
"I left town Feb. 1, 1987. I used to go by Lake Norman on the way to Myrtle Beach, and I'd tell myself I was going to live on that lake someday. Goal-setting. When the old Super 102 station was sold, about six of us went to Charlotte. I eventually owned a condo on Lake Norman. I sold radio ads.
"In 1991, I got into sports marketing, selling advertising for the new Arena Football League. I sold printing for a couple of years. Then I got into syndicating a radio show, 'NASCAR Country.' It's called 'Racing Country' now. In less than two years, I added 200 stations.
"Next, I worked with architects and engineers as a manufacturer's rep in the lighting business. It all goes back to what my stepdad taught me. What I learned when I worked in his architect office is how I got the job. I did that for six years.
"These jobs kept me going as I learned songwriting. I'd started writing songs in 1989. I borrowed my brother's acoustic guitar and started fooling with it, and a song came to me, and I started writing lyrics. I read a book, 'The Craft and Business of Songwriting' by John Braheny, that told me what to do.
"In '96, I saw this sign in Nashville, the Nashville Songwriters Association. That was a changing day in my life. They said they have workshops all over the country. I asked if I could start one in Charlotte. I ran it for six years, traveling back and forth to Nashville. I kept writing and learning about getting songs demo'd and having songs listened to by the pros, getting critiques and learning how Nashville operates.
"In October 2002, I moved to Nashville and got involved in the community. I wasn't working. I invested what I made from selling my condo into Doak Inc. I went to L.A. and did a workshop out there. A guy from Los Angeles said, 'Why don't you do what I do and send out a list of where your friends are playing in Nashville?'
"I didn't know much about the computer, I didn't even know how to copy and paste, and here I was going to start this thing based on the computer. But the Lord just keeps sending people in my life to help me. Every Monday, I would send a list out. I started with 30 people. Now there are several thousand people who get the Nashville Muse.
"I started selling sponsorships about a year later. Then I came up with another idea. I missed Sunday dinners with my family. I thought about having Sunday dinner with my songwriting family. I called it Third Sunday at 3, and started inviting songwriters to come over for potluck and to play songs. Hundreds of people come to this event, aspiring songwriters and hit songwriters. It's like a big family. Everybody looks out for each other. We all co-write together.
"What inspires me is knowing the stories behind other hit songs and how they all got rejected, too. 'God Bless the Broken Road' took 13 years before it became a hit. 'Friends in Low Places' was recorded by somebody else, and then Garth did it and incredible things happened.
"My dream is to get my songs on the radio and inspire people. I want to write songs that will keep people on that journey. I have probably over 700 lyrics and probably 100 demos of songs that I wrote. I have a 'hook book' filled with 20 years of song ideas.
"I've got a song called 'Talkin Part' that was on Sirius Radio two years ago. Bill Shahan at The Wolf played it against different songs for about a week on 'Howl and Growl.' We made it to the fourth day, and some girls named Reba and Kelly beat it by one point.
"I go to shows and parties, the CMA and CMT awards. Nashville Muse has opened up a lot of doors because I'm media. It's part of networking. I get a lot of my friends to be seat fillers for these shows. The lady in charge will call and say she needs people to fill some seats, and my friends get to go for free.
"On the Sunday after Tin Pan South week, a big celebration of songwriters, I have the Guitar-B-Q and as many as 600 people have come to my house. I have 100 pounds of barbecue and everybody brings a covered dish. People from all over the world come to this.
"There's something else I'm really excited about. A friend who has become a business partner said there was nothing on the Chamber of Commerce Web site about music. We're working on putting together something for songwriters who are visiting Nashville or have just moved there, the do's and don'ts, where to go, who to see. I have my article on the Web site about networking at music events.
"My parents came to Nashville for my birthday party in July. We had over 100 people and half a dozen hit songwriters singing songs I wish I'd written. After the show, people were coming up to my parents to meet them. My parents said, 'Now we get it. Now we know why Doak has to be in Nashville and why he's so happy. This town is full of love.' You have to come experience it.
"Sometimes I will be in a room with some great people, and I think, 'This kid from St. Albans, what's he doing here?' I say, 'Thank you, Lord,' about 10 times a day, minimum. At one of the seminars in radio, the guy said, 'Ask and you get. Don't and you won't.' And that helped change my life right there. I try to tell people that dreams do come true."
Reach Sandy Wells at san...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5173.
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