|
The Life and Times of a Traveling
Man… Eddie
Campbell was "Born and Raised" on Country
Music. At the young age of 6 he would sit in front of the old family Fairbanks-Morse radio and listen to all of the popular Hank
Williams, Roy Acuff, Earnest Tubb, Red
Foley, Kitty Wells, and Jimmie Rodgers songs. This
early interest soon hereafter prompted his father to buy him an old second-hand guitar, of which Eddie
immediately took to like a "duck takes to water", always improving
with each and every new song that he learned. For hours at a time he would pick and strum along trying to emulate the voice of the artist
while memorizing the lyrics to their songs. By
the time he was seventeen years of age, Eddie had his own band in the small hometown of
Waycross, Georgia. He was so young that he could not legally enter the places
he and his band played. So, it became necessary to "forge" an I.D.
card so that he could sing in the many nightclubs and cocktail lounges on the outskirts of this South Georgia town.
Upon entering the United States Army National Guard, he was recognized
as a unique "Southern Boy" with a distinct sound. In addition, he had an uncanny
ability—probably because of his younger years in front of the radio— to
emulate the sound and style of virtually popular country
recording artist of that time. To
most listeners, he was so convincingly that it was impossible to distinguish between the two when one was not
actually watching him sing. During his military tour of duty, while stationed with his company during the Vietnam
conflict, Eddie entertained and sang at the barracks, military
Enlisted Men’s and Officer’s Clubs whenever the
opportunity availed itself. Which was often after the word got around the base that there was a
country singer in the company.
After completing his military duty, Eddie soon thereafter felt a
yearning to travel and get a feel for the vastness of the United States. The influence that Woodie Gunthrie had on
him as a singer and the fact that his father John was a railroad man for
forty-four years was undoubtedly the impetus for Eddie deciding to lead a
rather unorthodox life that most would never think about much less ever
attempt. The 4-plus years that
Eddie spent traveling the "highways and byways" of this great
nation was a time where creative song writing abilities emerged in earnest. In that relative short period in his young life his travels led him to venture into the greater portion of the
50 states. Mostly hopping
freight trains, sleeping in boxcars or wayside hobo camps became his way of life. |
|
Birthplace: Montgomery, Alabama Ancestry: Scot, Cherokee Indian Favorite
Mode of Travel: Trucks and Trains Hobbies: Karate and
Weightlifting Favorite
Instrument: Guitar Favorite
Guitar: Martin D28 Years
Playing a Guitar: 45+ years Favorite
Recording Artists: Jimmie Rodgers, Hank
Williams, Bob Wills, Roy Acuff, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Johnny Cash,
Hank Snow, Lefty Frizzell and most original country singers. Favorite
Pastime: Songwriting, picking
guitar Sporting
Activity: Fishing Number
of States Visited: 49 Number
of Siblings: 2 (Sister Janice)
(Brother Sid) Favorite
Food(s): Mostly Vegetarian Favorite
Beverage: Iced tea, coffee Last
Book Read: Warrior Arts and
Weapons of Ancient Hawai’i Favorite
Movie Genre: Western Number
of Songs Written: 1200+ Military
Service: U.S. Army Married: No |
