Edgel Groves
Encyclopedia
Edgel Groves is a recording artist/singer/songwriter
who recorded the Hit single "Footprints in the Sand" in 1981. The song sold millions of copies and the record was #1 in "country music" and was a cross over hit and became #1 in Christian and country gospel. It was also voted the number one requested song of 1981 by American radio DJs
. Edgel Groves was the original singer to record "Footprints in the Sand" and the only singer to have "Footprints in the Sand" as a hit in the music charts. His number one hit is credited with making the poem famous.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
who recorded the Hit single "Footprints in the Sand" in 1981. The song sold millions of copies and the record was #1 in "country music" and was a cross over hit and became #1 in Christian and country gospel. It was also voted the number one requested song of 1981 by American radio DJs
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
. Edgel Groves was the original singer to record "Footprints in the Sand" and the only singer to have "Footprints in the Sand" as a hit in the music charts. His number one hit is credited with making the poem famous.
Music career
- Started playing the mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
and singing at the age of 4 in his Father's church and country and bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
with his brother Kenny (Kenny was one of Ohio's bluegrass mandolin champions). - Started writing his own songs at the age of 8 and won many local/regional talent contests.
- Started recording at age 13.
- Did demo/dub work for RCA A&R Director, Darol Rice, in Hollywood at 17.
- Won talent contest at Travis AF Base (Fairfield, CaliforniaFairfield, CaliforniaFairfield is a city located in Solano County in Northern California, USA. It is generally considered the midpoint between the cities of San Francisco and Sacramento, approximately from the city center of both cities, approximately from the city center of Oakland, less than from Napa Valley, 18...
) to appear on Ed SullivanEd SullivanEdward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
. - Producer/Artist/Songwriter at Coast Recorders in San Francisco. Had some regional hits. Shared the studio with Sylvester Stewart, Sly and the Family Stone, Joe SimonJoe SimonJoseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
and Cornelius Bumpus (Corny and the Corvettes)later with the Doobie Brothers. - A & R for Tiretown Records in Akron, OhioAkron, OhioAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. Had a regional hit with "Five More Miles To Christmas" (BMI Songs of American Int'l Music)Also written by Edgel Groves. - Producer/Artist/Songwriter for Lowery Music/Southern Tracks Records in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Had some Top 40 Regional Hits. Had 8 piece show band and toured extensively. Lowery's stable of artists included, Billy Joe RoyalBilly Joe RoyalBilly Joe Royal is an American singer.-Biography:Born in Valdosta and raised in Marietta in 1942, Royal became a local star at Savannah, Georgia's Bamboo Ranch in the 1950s and 1960s...
, Tommy RoeTommy RoeTommy Roe is an American pop music singer-songwriter.Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" and "Dizzy" , critic Bill Dahl wrote that Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late 1960s, but Roe cut some pretty decent rockers along the way, especially early in his...
, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
, Dennis Yost & the Classics IV, Ray StevensRay StevensRay Stevens is an American country music, pop singer-songwriter who has become known for his novelty songs.-Early career:...
, Jerry ReedJerry ReedJerry Reed Hubbard , known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country music singer, innovative guitarist, songwriter, and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films...
, Bertie HigginsBertie HigginsElbert Joseph "Bertie" Higgins is an American singer-songwriter. In 1982, he had his only Top 40 album with Just Another Day in Paradise. It spawned the Top 10 romantic ballad "Key Largo", which referenced the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name and reached #8 in the U.S...
, Ray WhitleyRay WhitleyRaymond Otis Whitley , also known as Ray Whitley, was a Country and Western singer, radio and Hollywood movie star.-Singing and live performance:...
and Edgel Groves. - Had two National TV Music Specials on TBSTBS (TV channel)TBS , stylized in the logo as tbs, is an American cable television channel owned by Time Warner that shows a variety of programming, with a focus on comedy. TBS was originally known as WTCG, a UHF terrestrial television station that broadcast from Atlanta, Georgia, during the late 1970s...
produced by R.T. Wiliams/Head of Turner productions for 16 years and also did on camera, commercial work for them. - Original Artist of the #1 Country Mega Hit, "Footprints in the Sand". Also crossed over to become #1 in Christian and Gospel on a world wide basis. Was the most requested song on radio in 1981.
- Inducted into the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame.
- Still writes and produces at Real 2 Reel Studios in Jonesboro, GeorgiaJonesboro, GeorgiaJonesboro is a city in Clayton County, Georgia, United States. The population was 4,724 as of the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clayton County....
for independent artist and himself. Real2 Reel Studios is the home of Collective SoulCollective SoulCollective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with their first hit single, "Shine", which came from their debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, released in 1993...
, KansasKansas (band)Kansas is an American rock band that became popular in the 1970s initially on Album-Oriented Rock charts, and later with hit singles such as "Carry On Wayward Son" and "Dust in the Wind"...
and other major artists. - Also appearing on TV, Channel 57 in Atlanta and producing some TV pilots to promote artist in, around and coming through Atlanta.