Lamar Harris

LAMAR HARRIS is out to make his song, “The Lottery Truck,” THE NEXT #1 COUNTRY MUSIC HIT! This mission stems from a promise he made to his wife, Michelle, over a decade ago. Thirteen years ago, Lamar began thinking about pursuing a career in music. It was his wife who encouraged him to go for it. In 1999, Michelle became terminally ill with cancer. “She asked me to go to Nashville and make a record with ‘The Lottery Truck,’ before she died. That’s when I got serious about it.” He continues, “My wife’s dream was for ‘The Lottery Truck’ song to become a #1 country music hit,” His beloved wife passed away two short years later. Since, Lamar says, “her dream has become my dream.” From that year forward, he has proceeded with a vengeance in hopes of fulfilling their dream.

Lamar and his brothers began singing gospel music at very young ages growing up in Blackshear, Georgia. “We were all required by mama to sing in the church choir as soon as we were old enough. Mama had the four oldest brothers singing as a quartet. I think the youngest of us was maybe five or six years old.” Their music teacher, Mrs. Aaron Thomas, taught the brothers how to harmonize and played piano for them at their performances. They quickly became known as The Harris Brothers Quartet and sang in many churches throughout southeast Georgia and Florida. Occasionally, the quartet would also compete. “I think I was ten years old when we sang at the annual ‘All Night Sing’ in Waycross, Georgia, and we won first place. We sang with the original Blackwood Brothers that night.” As first place winners, the group was also featured on “The Jimmy Strickland Show,” a television program based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Harris Brothers Quartet remained a group until they started to graduate from high school and went their own separate ways.

Country music was also a mainstay in the Harris household, where the sweet sounds of Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, Charlie Pride and Hank Sr. and many more touched Lamar’s heart. When he was twelve years old, his father issued him a challenge. Lamar remembers, “It was around Christmas time. My oldest brother, Bob, played guitar and I was learning from him. My dad told me one night that when I learned to play Merle Haggard’s song, ‘Hungry Eyes,’ he would buy me my own guitar.” He diligently went to work and taught himself “Hungry Eyes” and other songs. As promised, Lamar received a guitar from his father on his thirteenth birthday. That defining moment in his life inspired him to continue playing and singing; since, Lamar has scarcely been without a guitar in hand. In addition to mastering the guitar, he also played trumpet in his school band from the sixth grade all the way through high school. After high school, Lamar joined the United States Marine Corps at seventeen years of age and his musical talents continued to flourish.

Though he has held many jobs through the years (truck driver, journeyman lineman, construction manager, emergency medical technician, chemical technician and a certified police officer), Lamar always found his way back to music – and his front porch. To this day, when he isn’t performing, you’ll likely find Lamar there, strumming a guitar, and writing a song or two. “My front porch is my special place; it’s very peaceful and quiet. Before Michelle died, we would sit out there almost every night. She really enjoyed listening to me sing and I enjoyed singing to her. Sometimes she would write down the words while I made up a song.”

The front porch has also been the favorite gathering place to entertain family and friends. “When I have company and somebody says, ‘Let’s go out on the front porch,’ we all know that means it’s time to hear some singing! Everybody loves my front porch.” Several songs on The Lottery Truck album were written on that porch as requested by family members. “I love to make people laugh with my comedy songs. With the more serious songs, I want people to relate to the stories and feel the sadness and the pain.”

When he’s alone, “the front porch is where I revisit memories, happy and sad. I sit there with my guitar until the urge to write a song hits me.” He laments, “Michelle is gone now, the kids are grown and gone, and all I have left is my guitar and my front porch.”

Lamar has a special talent for transforming stories into songs – something he learned from his musical heroes. “Through my young adulthood, when I listened to songs of Merle or George, I could feel and relate to the stories of the song. When a song has meaning, it makes it worth listening to.”

Lamar employs that same philosophy to his own songs. In addition, he intricately incorporates comedy into some of his songs, offering a carefree and cheerful take on real life experiences. His debut album, The Lottery Truck, includes light-hearted tunes like “I Found Her on the Internet” and “True Love Specialist,” that will have you chuckling all the way through. On the other side of the emotional spectrum are “I Gave Her a Rose” and “Me Too,” both of which were inspired by and are dedicated to Lamar’s beloved wife. Each lyric and emotion from these songs is enriched by the traditional style of country music, led by plenty of steel pedal and fiddles. Lamar promises “real country and gospel music based on real life happenings and stories,” and that’s exactly what he presents on The Lottery Truck album. Included in the packaging is also a DVD video for “The Lottery Truck.” Look for Stella Parton (Dolly Parton’s sister), who gives a cameo appearance in the video.

Lamar has performed in several of Nashville’s celebrated locales, including Douglas Corner and The Nashville Palace. He’s also participated in Fan Fair 2002, 2003, and 2004 and was asked back the following two years but had prior scheduled commitments. In 2006, Lamar was invited to open for George Jones at a show in Macon, Georgia.

His music ambitions are simple. “I want to be able to do what I love the most for a living: writing and singing my songs to people who enjoy them. My goal is to share my life’s stories through the songs that I sing.” He says, “There are so many friends and family that have believed in me for so long. They’ve witnessed the sacrifice and felt my pain. For them, I want to make this happen. It will be a bigger victory for them than it could ever be for me.”

Website: http://www.lamarharris.com/

Email: lamar@lamarharris.com

DJ's, be sure to get your copy of Lamar Harris' "The Lottery Truck" now! Visit his website at www.lamarharris.com/ to order!