The Song He Sang at Dinner… Changed Everything | Dennis Welch | 038

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He goes, well, why don't you
sing it to me?

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And I said here in the
restaurant, And he goes, yeah,

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he goes sing it to me acapella
right now.

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And I start singing it to him.
I got through the first verse in

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the chorus and he held his hand
up and stopped me.

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And he was emotional and he
said.

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Welcome to When You Look, where
ordinary people share their

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extraordinary experiences and
you get to decide, was it

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coincidence or God?
Dennis, welcome to When You

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Look.
So great to have you on man.

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Thank you for having me on, I
appreciate it.

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Been looking forward to this.
Our pleasure.

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Truly glad to have you here.
I too.

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Well, we are excited to hear
your story.

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It's going to be great.
I'm confident of that.

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But before we jump into the
story, tell us a little bit

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about yourself.
So Mick, you know, I've always

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been a word guy and, and even
before I started elementary

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school, I was a word guy and I,
I could read and spell and, and

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they sent me for tests and stuff
when I was 5 or something and

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out to the University of
Houston.

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And then, and then I met with
the kind of weird for a little

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kid, But, you know, my mother
took me in to meet with the

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principal of Janoski Elementary
School.

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And she handed me a book and
said, you know, OK, read this

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for me and then and then close
it and tell me what you read.

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And so I did.
And, and so she turned to my

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mother and she said he does not
need to be in a reading circle.

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He already reads at a high
level.

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So let me think about how to
handle this.

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And I think these days, you
know, the reason I'm, I'm

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telling you this is because this
was a transformational thing

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that I don't know if it could
happen today or not, you know,

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But anyway, the first day of
school, I'm sitting in school

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and trying to acclimate myself
to being in a classroom and

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everything.
And it came time for our reading

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circle and in steps Miss Macri,
ER, principal.

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And she says, Dennis, come with
me.

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And I thought I was in trouble,
you know, already.

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And I just got there, right.
And so we step out in the

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hallway and I do remember this.
She held my hand and we walked

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down to the school library.
Look cavernous.

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I'm sure it wasn't.
And I've never been in a

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library.
There's a little inner city

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school.
We sort of lived in inner city

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and you know all that.
So we didn't do a lot of library

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museum stuff, right.
So anyway, so we walked in and

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we walked over to the far wall
and there were all these kids

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books there.
And she said, you know what,

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Dennis, when these people get in
their circle, you quietly excuse

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yourself and you come down here
and you can read all these books

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for first, second and third
graders or.

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And she turned around to hold my
hand and looked at this, out at

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this big cavernous library from
a corner.

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And she said, or you can read
any of these books because you

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can read them.
And so I'm like, wow.

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So.
So by the time I got out of

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elementary school, I'd read all
the works of Mark Twain 30

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seconds over Tokyo Charlotte's
Web.

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Charlotte's Web was the first
thing that I read where I cried.

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And I was so moved by, I thought
you can do that with words.

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And so anyway, and so that just
imprinted me, you know, And so

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then of course, in my, in my,
you know, teen years,

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shockingly, you know, I loved
music, but I didn't play an

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instrument and I wrote a song
without playing, without an

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instrument.
I just sang it.

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And, and so I went in the next
day to my, my little job selling

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furniture or something, whatever
I was doing.

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And my boss had his Ovation
guitar always kept it under the,

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the his desk.
And I sang this all day because

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back then, you know, there
weren't these things where you

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could record stuff, right?
And so I thought, I don't want

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to forget this.
So anyway, it went on all day.

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And he was tired of it probably.
And so he says finally, he said,

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hey, Dennis, what is that?
What are you singing all day?

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And I said, no, this is a song I
wrote driving home from a date

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last night.
He said, took his guitar out,

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said, let's play it.
And he played this song and the

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hook was set and he put his
guitar back and he said, Dennis,

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it's a beautiful song that has a
chorus.

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It has a all the elements of a
song.

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You should go buy get a cheap
guitar.

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I'll be it.
And and you should try to figure

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out whether you're going to do
more of this or not.

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Well, that you know, what a
great piece of advice.

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And so I bought a cheap guitar
and I started learning chords

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and I couldn't learn chords,
Mick, without hearing a story,

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without hearing lyrics and
poetry.

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It's crazy.
So anyway, 700 songs later now 6

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to 700, somewhere in there, I'm,
I'm talking to you today.

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So that's, that's what, that's
what I am, you know, and I've

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been blessed with an amazing
wife I met on a blind date who

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has been a partner in all of
this for now 45 years.

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And, and she is, you know, she's
OK with us stepping off the, the

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road of safety and go and
cutting our way through the

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forest and paving our own road
and all that stuff.

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You have to do to to, to do what
you're called to do.

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I'm very blessed.
That's really, that's probably

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the bottom line.
I get to do a couple of things

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that I do best.
I get to do them every day.

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So then get better than that.
Awesome.

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So if I was to recap some of
that, you are a long time

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storyteller and long time
musician and long time husband

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to your wife, Yes.
Awesome.

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Absolutely.
Yeah, Well, we are all blessed

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to.
Have you here, you know?

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Thank you.
I'm glad to be here.

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Those are all blessings.
You know, people ask me

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sometimes in these interviews.
So how did you how did you make

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this happen?
You know, the answer is I don't

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know because I just did what was
next and then what was next

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brought me here.
Does that make any sense?

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Absolutely.
Yeah.

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Well, Speaking of what is next,
let's get into your story.

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But before we kind of jump right
into the the main event of it,

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if you will give us a little
back story and walk us through

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things as they went for you.
So so, you know, I thought I was

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going to be a professional
touring musician until I got

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children and I was home with
them a lot.

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And then one day my wife was
working for a manager who

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managed to a big band was
touring with, you know,

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everybody and, and he called me
one day and he said, hey, man,

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you, you want to go out as Doug
Pennix?

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The band was King Zach's.
He was out with a guy named

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Billy Squire.
And he said, look, you know, do

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you want to go out as his base
tech?

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Because I know you need the
money.

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And this was in maybe 91 or
something.

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And I said, I said, why don't we
think about bass guitars?

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And he said, well, that's
getting here.

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The good part, it's $500 a week
in a per diem.

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So just go OK, because you could
use it.

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So I never toured like that.
And, and I went to Minneapolis,

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MN from Houston.
It was 80 in Houston.

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It was 12 in Minneapolis.
And I, I got my credentials and

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I started out on this crazy
carnival for, you know, with two

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other bands in my band.
And, you know, it was just, you

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know, anyway, I lasted 3 weeks
and I got to Salt Lake City, UT

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and I called Susie's boss and I
said, hey man, I'm going to tell

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you something.
I said I've never been drunk,

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I've never taken drugs.
And I said, but if I stay out

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here for a year like this tour
is going to be, I'm afraid I'm

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going to be doing both.
And I think I think I need to

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rethink.
And he goes, hey, you know what,

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Dennis?
He was so sweet.

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He said, you know, Dennis,
sometimes a ladder of success is

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against the wrong wall.
And so why don't you come home

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and think about what you're
doing?

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But I'm going to ask you to do
something for me because you owe

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me, OK?
Because now I got to find some

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help and everything.
And he said, I'm going to ask

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you to never stop writing songs
because you're a great

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songwriter.
And he said, however this works

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out, please don't stop.
It was like, so I came home,

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went to work for the Gallup
Organization.

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And I, I was, and, and So what I
did is I would make a record

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every now and then and put it
out there.

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And, you know, my stuff got on
the radio.

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It was crazy.
And I always was marvel.

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And I'm driving around Houston.
I hear my stuff on, you know,

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this radio station.
And that one, it was very cool.

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It was encouraging, but then I
would do a gig maybe a couple

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times a year with a terrific
band and we'd fill up the place

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and have a good time and
everything and do what I do.

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But most of this was just me
chronicling this stuff mixed so

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that I didn't lose it, you know.
And so anyway, in 2000 I did a

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record.
I produced it with a friend of

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mine, great, great friend of
mine, Sam, Eddie and and when

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and we did a pretty good job and
it was OK.

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You know, all original stuff,
mostly no coat and I don't think

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there were even any Co writes.
It was mostly my stuff.

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So anyway, so I came home that
day and I told my wife, Susie, I

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said, you know, I don't know
what I'm doing, OK?

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I said I'm not a I'm not a
producer and I'm not an

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arranger, and I'm just going to
not record again.

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I don't know what I was saying,
by the way, but I'm not going to

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record again until I find
somebody who knows how to

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elevate this music and make it
something that I can't make it.

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And so that began.
But I'm going to write.

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I told her as if I'm going to go
in the studio next week.

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OK.
So I continue to write at a

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feverish pace.
OK.

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And for me at least.
And anyway, 18 years went by and

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around 2018 or so, 19, I came
home one day from somewhere and

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I sat down the couch with her
and I said, you know, I have a,

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I'm having some issues.
I said, you know, I'm, I'm in my

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now almost late 60s, maybe mid
60s at that time.

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And I said, you know what, I'm
afraid I'm going to die.

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And all of this music is going
to be in a drawer somewhere and

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nobody's ever going to hear it.
And the kids are going to come

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in.
Our sons will just throw this

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stuff out.
They don't know what it is.

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And I said, I, I, you know, it
really pains me.

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And she said, well, you know
what?

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You know, wives have a way of
cutting through the crap, you

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know?
And she said, and you know the

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the fog around you.
And she said, well, wait a

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minute.
You have that prayer list that

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you pray through every morning
takes you an hour.

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And every morning at 5:00, you
pray for these people, but you

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don't have anything on there for
yourself.

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And she said, so why don't you
put something on there for you?

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Well, duh, that's a novel idea,
right?

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So put some on there.
I don't even know what I said

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because I didn't know what I was
looking for, really.

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And so I put that on there and I
started praying for this person,

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faceless, nameless person.
And within three months now

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after 18 years, Mick, within
three months, we're driving

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through Nashville and we have
these great friends there.

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The, the wife has been, is like
a daughter.

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She's been in our, her mother
was in my mother's first Sunday

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school class of 9 year olds.
So we've known each other

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forever.
She married a guy who was a

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who's a genius, OK.
He's a Georgia farm boy.

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He came to Nashville.
He got world class at everything

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he does.
He is spectacular.

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And he was playing with a Little
River Band at the time.

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He was their lead guitar player,
produced it, producing records,

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had his own studio and all that.
But I would never have asked

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this guy because he's my friend.
I'd known him for years, and I

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00:12:07,280 --> 00:12:09,120
thought, you know, I know who
he's working with.

222
00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:11,920
He didn't want to work with an
old geezer from Texas that

223
00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:16,200
nobody knows.
So here's so we're this is this

224
00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:20,440
is amazing, telling the story
even it feels unbelievable.

225
00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,880
So we go to dinner with them
while we're in Nashville and we

226
00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:26,200
go to this big cavernous Mexican
restaurant.

227
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,800
By the way, the reverb was
fantastic in this room.

228
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:33,800
This is how I know because he
looks across the table at me and

229
00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:35,920
he says, hey, Dennis, what are
you working on now?

230
00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,440
I was sitting here and all of
his wife and kids, their adopted

231
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,120
children and Susie, they're all
down here.

232
00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:44,200
It was just me and him.
And he looked across at me and

233
00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:45,400
he said, hey, what are you
working on?

234
00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:46,920
Because I know you're always
working on something.

235
00:12:47,560 --> 00:12:52,480
And I said, well, I got this new
song, why not me?

236
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:55,200
That Susie thinks is the best
thing I've ever written.

237
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,520
I wrote it on the piano.
I've never done that before.

238
00:12:58,200 --> 00:12:59,760
And he goes, really?
He goes, what are you going to

239
00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:01,760
do with it?
I said, you know what, Rich?

240
00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,520
I don't know what to do with it.
OK.

241
00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:05,520
It's like everything else in
that drawer.

242
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:09,680
I have no idea.
And he goes, well, why don't you

243
00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:12,960
sing it to me?
And I said here in the

244
00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:15,680
restaurant?
And he goes, yeah, you go sing

245
00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:17,880
it to me acapella right now.
Wow.

246
00:13:18,200 --> 00:13:22,360
So I start singing, you know,
there's a mountain wide and high

247
00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:25,160
reaches halfway to the sky.
And I start singing it to him.

248
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:29,640
I got through the first verse in
the chorus, and that's all I

249
00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:31,200
got.
And he held his hand up and

250
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:32,680
stopped me.
And he was emotional.

251
00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:37,200
And he said, first of all,
Susie's right, as usual, OK.

252
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:42,280
And second of all, I'm supposed
to help you with this.

253
00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,480
Did you know this?
And I said, no, not till the

254
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:46,760
second.
He goes, I am.

255
00:13:46,960 --> 00:13:49,520
And I said, well, you want to
get some hotshot, you know,

256
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,840
Nashville singer to sing on this
stuff and maybe like a demo, it

257
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:55,440
goes, no, no, I want you to sing
on it.

258
00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,920
So we record.
Why not me?

259
00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,800
I get that.
I sat at this desk I'm sitting

260
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:05,280
at right now when I got it back
and I listened to the recording

261
00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:09,120
of it, I broke down and sobbed.
That's that's how much it moved

262
00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:12,000
me.
And so I sent it out to five

263
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,240
people.
One of the guys is a Nashville

264
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:17,160
guy who recorded this, that can
I record this song?

265
00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,080
Can I do something with it?
I'm like, well, yeah.

266
00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,520
And so he records it.
He makes it kind of a hit.

267
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:26,680
It became the number one song on
it was being played 1000 times a

268
00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:28,800
week in middle markets and
stuff.

269
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:33,400
So anyway, so I was hoping that
that Rich would do one, did one

270
00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:36,680
more song with me, right?
I was thinking too small.

271
00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:40,320
So he calls me and he goes, hey,
what else have you got?

272
00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,840
And I said, well, I've got this
song about forgiveness, kind of

273
00:14:43,840 --> 00:14:46,800
a Roy Orbison ish thing called,
I can't remember.

274
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:49,440
And he goes, well, send it over,
let me hear it.

275
00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:54,560
So we record that.
And when that was done, he's not

276
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,360
a big phone caller, OK, He's not
going to.

277
00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,960
He's not a big communicator.
He called me.

278
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,680
I thought, did somebody die?
You know?

279
00:15:02,080 --> 00:15:04,600
And he said, well, let me tell
you this.

280
00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:06,880
First of all, I didn't know you
had this kind of material.

281
00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,600
And second of all, I also know
when something amazing is

282
00:15:10,600 --> 00:15:12,720
happening and this, this is
crazy.

283
00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:15,560
And he said, so let's make an
album.

284
00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:22,280
I was so, you know, I had to
contain myself to not just jump

285
00:15:22,280 --> 00:15:24,000
for joy in the middle of the
call.

286
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,520
I didn't want to look foolish,
right?

287
00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,440
So anyway, we make that record.
What Love Makes Us Do.

288
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,160
It comes out in 2021.
I submit it to Nerus, the Grammy

289
00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:36,320
people in five categories.
And somebody inside a Nerus

290
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,640
thought that it was good enough
to make the Grammy ballot.

291
00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,720
So it made the first Grammy
ballot in five categories.

292
00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:48,040
So Fast forward, remember, I've
been writing for 18 years.

293
00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:52,120
I have lots of material.
We put another record out in 23

294
00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,960
called If I live to be 100 and
it also made the first Grammy

295
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:58,240
ballot in five categories.
I'm probably not going to win a

296
00:15:58,240 --> 00:16:01,840
Grammy, but somebody in the in
the that organization thinks

297
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:05,280
this is pretty good, right?
So it's encouraging more than

298
00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:10,600
anything else.
So now in about a week, the

299
00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:16,640
third album, SO30 songs.
And, and here's what's happened

300
00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:20,040
is that the people hear this
stuff, they're having a hard

301
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:25,080
time believing it, as am I.
And so they're inviting.

302
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:26,560
Guess what they're doing?
They're inviting me.

303
00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:29,480
Can you come sing some of this
stuff at our do a house concert

304
00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,800
at our house?
So at the end of July, we're

305
00:16:32,800 --> 00:16:37,880
doing this Saturday here, we're
doing a gig in Georgetown, TX,

306
00:16:38,200 --> 00:16:42,400
an album release party.
And then we'll do 2 in Houston

307
00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:45,080
next week.
Then we leave and we go on tour.

308
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,880
We go to Illinois, Ohio, New
Hampshire, Maine.

309
00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:55,920
I mean, it's like, it's like you
turn a corner.

310
00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:58,160
You know, you, you think, you
know what?

311
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,360
Nobody, I don't know if anybody
really cares about what I'm

312
00:17:00,360 --> 00:17:01,720
doing.
That's kind of an artist thing.

313
00:17:01,760 --> 00:17:04,440
That amp sits on your shoulder
and says, you know what, what,

314
00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:06,839
why are you even bothering?
I mean, I work with authors in

315
00:17:06,839 --> 00:17:10,240
my day job and, you know, and I
think all of them at one point

316
00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,040
in the process go, well, I'm not
even doing this because nobody's

317
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:16,680
going to care, you know, and
that's not your decision.

318
00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:19,760
You shouldn't.
And this, this has taught me a

319
00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:21,480
lesson.
You know, you can teach an old

320
00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,680
dog new tricks because I, I'm
learning some, a bunch of stuff.

321
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,160
And one of the things is, is
that you know what?

322
00:17:27,359 --> 00:17:30,680
That is not your job.
Your job is to do what you're

323
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,280
called to do and be diligent and
relentless at it.

324
00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,120
And if you do, then such stuff
can happen that you can't

325
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:41,320
imagine, right.
And so anyway, that's the,

326
00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:44,400
that's the gist of what's
happened in the last really, I

327
00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,320
guess, five years.
And it is a transformational

328
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:50,800
change for me.
I have people riding with me now

329
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,720
that I would love to have
written with and I would never

330
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,920
because these people are
renowned and saying, Hey, you

331
00:17:58,920 --> 00:18:00,400
want to do this with me kind of
thing.

332
00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:04,680
I'm like, well, I can try.
And and I have two Co writes on

333
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:07,480
this record with Michael
Peterson, who's a platinum

334
00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,680
selling star.
And and again, I've not been for

335
00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:13,320
30 years, but I never would have
asked him.

336
00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:17,560
So anyway, it's a it's all kind
of surreal, to be honest with

337
00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:18,840
you.
Yeah.

338
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:22,600
Well, Dennis, thank you a ton
for sharing all of that.

339
00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,520
I want to rewind a little bit
because you covered so much

340
00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:29,760
ground there, but I want to
explore a little a little more

341
00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:32,800
of the the prayer because you
just.

342
00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,280
You.
Kind of described praying for a

343
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:41,600
faceless, unknown kind of
unidentified person.

344
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,920
And it sounds like that was
well, you tell us.

345
00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:48,720
Why'd you take that approach in
your prayer?

346
00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:58,000
Well, because you know, there's
nothing like being clueless to

347
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,600
make your prayer life better,
just so you know.

348
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,360
And nobody's ever written a book
about that, but it's true.

349
00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:08,240
And so I was so at sea about
what to do next.

350
00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:14,040
And there was a constant,
constant rock in my shoe, sort

351
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:19,280
of a nagging that went on all
the time because I knew I was

352
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:21,760
supposed to be doing something
with this stuff that's in that

353
00:19:21,760 --> 00:19:24,120
drawer.
I had no idea what to do with

354
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:24,880
it.
I'm like, am I?

355
00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:26,640
Am I not doing what I'm supposed
to be doing?

356
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:32,640
That haunted me.
And so, so since, since I didn't

357
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:39,920
know what I needed, I thought,
well, why not ask God what I

358
00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:41,240
need?
Because he knows everything.

359
00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:43,600
So maybe, maybe he's got an
answer.

360
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:48,400
I mean, it's silly to say maybe
I think he no and, and wants to

361
00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:50,560
answer.
You have not because you ask not

362
00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,360
right.
And so that's why and, and I and

363
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,440
I, I still have that prayer
book.

364
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:58,040
I still pray through it every
morning.

365
00:19:58,280 --> 00:20:00,200
It's, it's getting kind of
raggedy now.

366
00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:02,040
I've been doing that for 10 or
12 years.

367
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,920
And I, I need to go back and
look at exactly what I said

368
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,880
because now I'm curious.
But it wasn't, hey, send me a

369
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:15,120
producer or send me an arranger
or send me a Co writer or how

370
00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:16,600
about a record company or any of
that?

371
00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:23,520
It wasn't that finite.
It was, it was sort of whatever,

372
00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:30,080
you know, and, and you know, and
I think it's that's, that's it

373
00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,440
taught me a lot about praying
too, that you know, that I mean,

374
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:35,200
I see my prayers answered all
the time.

375
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,640
But but you know, it's one thing
if you're I pray for you and and

376
00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:40,320
you get well, let's say you're
sick.

377
00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,400
You know, that's cool.
And that, but but this was an

378
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,400
imprinting kind of thing where
where I felt like I was getting

379
00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:49,960
a lesson, like you say.
So you know, you've been in

380
00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:51,760
church your whole life.
You've been a Christian since

381
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,080
you were 13, but you don't
really know.

382
00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:57,080
You don't really know what I can
do.

383
00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,160
So let me wow you.
And that's what happened to

384
00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:05,040
answer your question.
Yeah, Yeah.

385
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:06,920
That's quite neat.
Let me wow you.

386
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:11,840
So let, let's let's, I think
kind of stay on that theme a

387
00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:13,920
little bit.
You're.

388
00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,960
At Susie's behest, you are
praying, pray for a couple of

389
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:23,920
months.
You guys living in Texas, you're

390
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,080
in Nashville.
You meet up with Rich and the

391
00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:33,400
family and then he not only asks
you what are you working on, but

392
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:39,720
then after you sing the song, he
says I'm supposed to work with

393
00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:43,000
you on this.
Tell us a bit more about that

394
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,920
because that's really distinct
for somebody to say it is.

395
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,960
And you know what, When I tell
him the story now, we talked

396
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:53,840
about it on these last sessions.
I had three more songs to cut

397
00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:54,960
and went to Nashville and cut
them.

398
00:21:55,480 --> 00:22:00,200
And he said, I, I told him, I
reminded him of how we started.

399
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,080
And he goes, you know, that
doesn't sound like me.

400
00:22:04,800 --> 00:22:07,880
And I said, I know it doesn't
sound like you.

401
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,000
I, I, but I, it's exactly what
happened.

402
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:15,160
And you know, and I know because
it was so stark.

403
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,480
It was and, and, and my heart
leapt.

404
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,280
And I thought when he said that
to me, I thought, oh, wait a

405
00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:27,200
minute, Is this it?
Is this, is this going to help

406
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:33,440
me finish well in this life as
an artist, you know, OK.

407
00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:36,600
And you know, and then another,
another voice because don't get

408
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:41,280
ahead of yourself, OK, But you
know, but in my heart, I

409
00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,720
thought, you know what this
could be, this could be an

410
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:49,440
answer.
And, and sure enough, it's it's

411
00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,560
awesome.
It's just amazing, you know,

412
00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,600
and, and, and this guy will
never know.

413
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,120
He's a very humble man and a
great father.

414
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:04,440
Just a good person.
And so he'll never know.

415
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:06,840
And I drive him crazy because I
tell him all the time.

416
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:08,600
I hug him and go, you don't
know, man.

417
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,360
So you don't know what you've
done for me, you know?

418
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:14,440
But I don't think he really
knows.

419
00:23:14,640 --> 00:23:19,600
And I think he's like, OK, well,
that's cool, you know, I mean, I

420
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:21,320
love you.
You're my friend, isn't it?

421
00:23:21,320 --> 00:23:24,760
What friends do kind of thing?
And so for him, it's just, you

422
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,440
know, but but we're having a
good time doing it too, which is

423
00:23:28,520 --> 00:23:30,880
which is cool.
It's not a lot of drama, you

424
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:33,320
know, You just go do your work,
you know, so.

425
00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:35,680
Yeah, yeah.
Wow.

426
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:42,440
Well, Dennis, the direction to
pray from Susie, the

427
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,640
conversation with Rich and
everything that has transpired

428
00:23:46,640 --> 00:23:51,120
since we asked this question of
all of our guests.

429
00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,360
Would you define that as
coincidence or?

430
00:23:55,360 --> 00:24:01,720
God, well, let me just say that
if that was the first time it

431
00:24:01,720 --> 00:24:07,760
happened in my life, Mick, I
would say let me get back to you

432
00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:15,760
on that, OK?
But but this has happened my

433
00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,800
whole life and people just show
up at the right time and not,

434
00:24:19,800 --> 00:24:22,920
you know, like we talked about
in our little pre conversation.

435
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:25,720
You know, I have two, I have two
business degrees.

436
00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:29,200
I've taken several statistics
courses and we learn about

437
00:24:29,200 --> 00:24:33,440
probabilities and stuff and the
probability that these people

438
00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:38,520
show up exactly when they're
supposed to over and over and

439
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:41,720
over again to bring you to the
place that you're supposed to

440
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,360
be.
That if that's if that's not

441
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:49,280
evidence of the living God, who
cares, then I don't know.

442
00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,280
I don't know what else people
need to be convinced.

443
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:57,000
The first guy that that produced
my first record was was in

444
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:59,080
Houston.
He's the name is Kemper Crab.

445
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,960
He's a he's a renowned
songwriter and producer.

446
00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:05,920
And again, I'd written 10/12/15,
maybe 20 songs.

447
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,960
And all of a sudden somebody in
my church, my pastor goes, hey,

448
00:25:10,960 --> 00:25:13,800
you ought to be, you ought to be
recording some of this stuff.

449
00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,200
I'm like, I don't have any money
to record.

450
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,280
And, and he goes, wait, I know a
guy.

451
00:25:19,360 --> 00:25:21,600
OK, I know, I know a guy can
help you in our church.

452
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,840
I was in First Baptist, Houston,
big church, lots of funds,

453
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:27,840
right?
So we go see this guy and we

454
00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:31,680
walk into his office and he's a
big old man in Houston.

455
00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,800
And he goes, I walk in, he
stands up from behind his table,

456
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:40,200
his desk, and he goes, Dennis
Welch, I'm so happy to see you.

457
00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:45,760
And I was like, what?
And he said, I said, how do you

458
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,600
know me?
He goes, you didn't know.

459
00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:53,040
Now, keep in mind, First Baptist
Houston has a million hundreds

460
00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:55,320
at least by Sunday school
classes.

461
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:59,720
I had sung in his Sunday school
class the Sunday before I met

462
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:02,560
it.
And he's when I walked in, he

463
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:05,120
was already saying, you know
what, I love what you're doing.

464
00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:10,320
How can I help you?
And then that guy paid for my

465
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:12,480
first album.
We had Andre Crouch's touring

466
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:14,160
band on it.
We had all this great stuff that

467
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:15,680
happened.
All of those songs got on the

468
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:17,760
radio.
Every bit of that happened from

469
00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:22,120
one Sunday morning that I didn't
get paid for.

470
00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:24,080
And it wasn't, There wasn't a
big crowd.

471
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:26,760
It was just a Sunday school
class and boom, next thing you

472
00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:28,400
know.
So the guy who produces my

473
00:26:28,400 --> 00:26:31,920
stuff, the first record, he
called me Danny.

474
00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:33,560
And I've only had half a dozen
people.

475
00:26:33,560 --> 00:26:36,840
My grandmother called me Danny
and I got 102 year old author

476
00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,640
now that calls me Danny, but
nobody else calls me Danny.

477
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:43,120
And so he called me Danny.
And so I was taking voice

478
00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:46,960
lessons from his wife and I just
had to drive out to Pasadena,

479
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:50,080
which was an hour, an hour back,
right.

480
00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:54,840
So I get out there and when I'm
leaving, it's late and I'm kind

481
00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:57,000
of tired a little, maybe a
little cranky.

482
00:26:57,600 --> 00:27:00,960
And I'm walking out to the car
and Kemper walks out with me.

483
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:05,240
And I notice he's carrying three
LP's under his arm.

484
00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,280
And we get to the car and he
goes, well, Denny, he goes, let

485
00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:10,280
me ask you a question.
He goes, are you doing your best

486
00:27:10,280 --> 00:27:12,800
work?
Do you think that what we're

487
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,680
getting ready to do is your best
writing?

488
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,760
And I said, Kemper, why are you
asking me this?

489
00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,680
And now we go in the studio
Tuesday and I said, why are you

490
00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:24,360
why?
Why bring it up today?

491
00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,360
And he goes, well, because he
said, you're doing this for God.

492
00:27:28,120 --> 00:27:31,600
And he goes, and it doesn't
matter what you're doing, what

493
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,600
you're writing about, anything.
This should be your very best

494
00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:36,240
work.
And if it's not, we shouldn't do

495
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,880
it, we should wait.
And I said, well, he said, so

496
00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,520
listen, I'm going to give you
these three records and enhanced

497
00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:46,440
ME3 albums, OK, LP's.
And it's to go home and listen

498
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:49,760
to these and then call me
tomorrow and I'm going to trust

499
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:51,600
you.
And if you think you're doing

500
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:54,480
your best work and you can't do
better than this, then we're

501
00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,480
going in the studio and we're
going to cut this music and

502
00:27:56,480 --> 00:27:57,600
we're going to put it out in the
world.

503
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:03,080
And so he sent me home with the
1st 2 Dan Fogelberg Records,

504
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,640
Netherlands and souvenirs.
Are you kidding me?

505
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:10,080
And he sent me home with a, a
Leonard Cohen record.

506
00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:12,400
You know what?
It killed me.

507
00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:15,360
I was mad at him.
I, I, I called him the next day

508
00:28:15,360 --> 00:28:17,680
after I listen.
I said, this is a dirty trick,

509
00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:20,320
man.
I said, you know, you knew what

510
00:28:20,320 --> 00:28:23,520
was going to happen when a guy
sings a song called Souvenirs

511
00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,600
and he says down in the Canyon
the smoke starts to rise and

512
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,800
rides on the wind till it
reaches his eyes.

513
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,720
When faced with the past, the
strongest man cries.

514
00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:34,040
I said, you know what?
You knew what that was going to

515
00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,920
do to me.
I said, so cancel this session

516
00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:41,120
and I'm going to try to get over
this and I'm going to write some

517
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,600
more songs and fix these.
So that's what I did and that's

518
00:28:44,600 --> 00:28:48,040
why that stuff got on the radio.
So you know what, to this day,

519
00:28:48,040 --> 00:28:53,320
Mick, I send Camper Crab
everything I do and I tell him

520
00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:56,320
every time I sit down to write a
song, every time I go in the

521
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,920
studio, I said, you know what I
hear, hey Danny, are you doing

522
00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:04,160
your best work?
I said, what a gift that was.

523
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,520
That's iron sharpening iron.
So one man sharpens another.

524
00:29:07,520 --> 00:29:09,920
You know what you, you did
something for me that was

525
00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:12,320
permanent.
And there because you had the

526
00:29:12,320 --> 00:29:16,320
guts to say, hey, I'm not even
going to get paid as a producer

527
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:19,600
now because I'm, I'm halting the
project for a while.

528
00:29:19,800 --> 00:29:23,920
That's, that's selfless is what
that is.

529
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:28,240
And so, you know, so that kind
of thing, those kind of stories,

530
00:29:28,480 --> 00:29:32,360
we could sit here all day and
those divine appointments is

531
00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,920
what I call them.
Those happen have happened so

532
00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,280
often that, you know, I
shouldn't have been surprised by

533
00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:38,920
this one.
But I think because it had been

534
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:42,800
so long and I'd kind of not
given up, but I was like, wow,

535
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:45,480
what am I?
What am I supposed to do now?

536
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:50,160
I know pack the car and go play
some music.

537
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,200
So the answer, long answer your
question is the short answer is

538
00:29:53,200 --> 00:29:55,280
it's absolutely God in my
opinion.

539
00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:58,560
So.
Yeah, right on, Dennis.

540
00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,880
So good man.
Thanks for sharing all that.

541
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:02,520
You're welcome.
Thank you.

542
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,000
Well, we've round things out
with the final question, which

543
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,440
is how has your life changed as
a result of all of this?

544
00:30:09,440 --> 00:30:12,400
And you've shared quite a bit,
but tell us a little more.

545
00:30:13,160 --> 00:30:20,160
Well, you know, it's, look,
anybody who, who writes a book

546
00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:22,080
that's, you know, I do book
publicity.

547
00:30:22,080 --> 00:30:25,080
So I, I, I bring people to you
that have written a book and

548
00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:26,440
they, they want to talk about
their book.

549
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,400
And I've written two books and,
and written all these songs and

550
00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:32,480
everything.
And, and the whole point is not,

551
00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,200
I don't really care if people
know me.

552
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:36,600
Quite honestly.
I, I, I don't need that.

553
00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,560
You know, what I need is I need
this stuff to have some impact

554
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:43,640
out in the world.
And I see that happening now

555
00:30:44,280 --> 00:30:48,360
and, you know, it's, it's, it's
starting conversations.

556
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,720
I mean, music is the greatest
converse and books are the

557
00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:54,520
greatest conversation starters
ever, you know, 'cause people

558
00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:59,640
still, you know, appreciate
authors and songwriters and

559
00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:02,840
stuff and creators.
So, you know, and so if they

560
00:31:02,840 --> 00:31:04,880
hear something that moves them,
you know what they do, they

561
00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:08,240
reach out to you and they say,
hey, listen that talk to me

562
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:11,320
about that.
Happy to delighted.

563
00:31:11,560 --> 00:31:16,600
So I, you know, it's, it's
changed our life, Susie and I,

564
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,360
you know, because really when we
started out, we didn't know what

565
00:31:19,360 --> 00:31:22,240
this, we're going to, you know,
I sat with her one night in a,

566
00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,280
in a hot dog stand, you know,
because I was high, highfalutin,

567
00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,480
you know, I mean, I, I thought,
I thought a hot dog stand was,

568
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:33,120
was what's going out?
And I remember sitting with her

569
00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:37,080
and saying, you know, I, I know,
I want us to get married and,

570
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:41,640
but I, I need help.
I need some help doing whatever

571
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,280
is ahead of us and I need, I
need somebody to roll up their

572
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:48,160
shirt sleeves and help me.
And while I'm talking to her, I

573
00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:51,280
saw her unbutton her shirt, her
shirt and start rolling her

574
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,720
shirt sleeves up.
So she was already saying, hey,

575
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,520
I'm with you 150%.
Just tell me what you need.

576
00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,280
And for all these years we've
we've done that.

577
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,880
And what a blessing to have
somebody that could step into

578
00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,440
the gap and the places you can't
do, you know, and all the things

579
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,960
you can't do.
And so she and I talk about it

580
00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:15,000
often, look at the impact this
stuff is happening is having

581
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:18,000
now.
And so that's how it's changed.

582
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:20,600
You know, I don't feel
different.

583
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:27,120
You know, I, I, I'm, I feel
maybe a bit more energy than a

584
00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:30,600
lot of people my age have, I
would think because I have

585
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:32,800
somewhere to go and something to
do that I think is really

586
00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:38,000
important.
And so if you want to have, if

587
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:41,040
you want your 60s to be your
best decade, that's what I tell

588
00:32:41,040 --> 00:32:43,480
people when I'm sometimes people
say, what's your best decade?

589
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:45,520
I'm the one I'm in.
OK.

590
00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:47,760
But that didn't happen by
accident.

591
00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:51,600
That happened because back
there, because look, if you

592
00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:56,480
don't proactively plan to be
doing something that matters

593
00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,480
later on, the momentum, momentum
of the culture is going to sweep

594
00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,480
you out to pasture.
They're going to say, you know

595
00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:05,880
what, come on, Mick, you know,
your 60s five, you settle down,

596
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,320
go sit on the porch and you know
what?

597
00:33:09,320 --> 00:33:13,200
And you don't have to and that's
that I tell my guys my age this

598
00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:16,040
all the time.
You don't have you don't have to

599
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:18,640
do that.
Don't be fooled by that.

600
00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:23,000
And so all of this is the answer
your question.

601
00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:28,320
It's it's I almost don't want to
sleep at night because I'm

602
00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:30,200
anxious to see what tomorrow
brings.

603
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,920
And that's, that's, I don't
know, I don't know if that's

604
00:33:32,920 --> 00:33:35,920
normal or not, but.
Well, it certainly sounds

605
00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,120
energized.
Absolutely.

606
00:33:38,760 --> 00:33:40,840
Amen.
Yeah, I'm awesome.

607
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,840
Well, Dennis, how can people
learn more and find out more

608
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,320
about your.
Music so they can come to

609
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:58,840
denniswelchmusic.com and there's
AI think there's a pop up ad

610
00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:02,960
that lets you give me your
e-mail address and such so I can

611
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:04,960
stay in touch.
We do a newsletter every month

612
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:09,159
and all that.
And that's probably best if they

613
00:34:09,159 --> 00:34:15,360
want to hear this music really
all now let's see seven albums

614
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,080
in a in a week.
They can go to iTunes or any of

615
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:21,520
the streaming services and, and
listen there.

616
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:27,719
And, and I think on our website
you can also, there's also a, a

617
00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,560
way to e-mail me.
And if they want to do that,

618
00:34:30,560 --> 00:34:33,360
they're happy.
I'm happy to get those emails.

619
00:34:33,360 --> 00:34:35,199
So yeah.
Got it.

620
00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:39,760
So Dennis Welch with ACH Dennis
Welch, music.com.

621
00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:42,560
Yep, that's where, yeah.
Awesome.

622
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:48,159
OK Dennis, it's been a pleasure.
Thank you so much for walking us

623
00:34:48,159 --> 00:34:52,360
through a a lifetime and giving
us 2 specific stories in there

624
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:56,679
that show how God was in action
in your life, genuinely.

625
00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:58,040
Well, thank you for.
Being on the show.

626
00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:02,440
Well, I appreciate you and you
know, you see, I love talking

627
00:35:02,440 --> 00:35:05,760
about it because it's just I
still marvel.

628
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,600
And so thanks for giving me a
chance to marvel.

629
00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:17,240
Was it coincidence or God?
You decide for yourself, but I

630
00:35:17,240 --> 00:35:21,040
believe you just heard a story
for His glory.

631
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:26,480
When You Look is powered by
stories just like this and yours

632
00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:30,560
could be next.
Go to whenyoulook.com/be a Guest

633
00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:33,000
or use the link in the
description below.

634
00:35:33,560 --> 00:35:37,880
Drop us a comment and share this
episode with somebody that needs

635
00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:40,840
it.
Until next time, thanks a bunch

636
00:35:40,840 --> 00:35:43,640
for listening and watching, and
God bless.