Page 168 - Been There… Done That!

Gary Graham
we went, everything was going great and then I got drafted. Off to Vietnam, I went for 2 years. Once I got out of the Army, I came back and worked with Gary for the next several years. I got offered a job with the Post Office and now I’m retired, but I’ll never forget those days. It was quite a ride.
~ Robert Allen Nigg
Until I performed with The Gary Graham Show, my only singing experience had been as soloist in my church choir. Following a divorce, I decided to sing professionally, moved to L.A. and, after taking lessons on how to handle a microphone, at my request, my instructor scheduled three auditions, warning me that new singers usually had to try out at least a dozen times until they got hired. I surprised him and was offered a solo singing position in all three groups, one already booked in Las Vegas, one who had continual bookings in the L.A. area and Gary’s group, heading for Vietnam and the Far East.
I turned down the first two and took Gary’s offer, meeting him for the first time at a coffee shop in Beverly Hills. Gary had “country” written all over him. Country music was not what I particularly liked or sang and I worried that I had made a mistake. Also, he appeared to be in his mid-twenties, while I was in my early 30s. He probably would have preferred a much younger gal. Nevertheless, we seemed to hit it off. I could see he was disappointed that I was more of a pop and blues singer, but he hired me anyway and I grew to really enjoy singing the country and rock songs that he preferred.
My voice seemed to fit in with the group’s, he and I were good on the duets and I could handle solos. We had issues at times,
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