Gerald grew up on a farm near the small Eastern NC town of Fremont where he began his musical career singing in church with his brother at age 5. By age 7 he learned to play guitar and joined his first band when he was 15 years old.
While attending college at NCSU, he played bass guitar and sang in bands in Raleigh Area nightclubs such as the Scrambled Dog and Jim Thornton’s Dance Club. Joining the US Air Force in 1966 landed Gerald in Riverside, California. A house gig with no travel involved was the only way to stay in the music business while fulfilling a military obligation. A little luck and a lot of determination secured the most coveted house gig in Riverside County! Monday night jam sessions at the club provided the opportunity for Gerald to jam with lots of talented musicians, one of which was singer/guitarist, Sammy Hagar, who later became lead singer with the Legendary Rock group, Van Halen. The house gig was great exposure, landing Gerald a singing contract with Liberty Records in Hollywood Ca, where he recorded two singles accompanied by one of the industry’s finest horn sections, the world renowned Jazz Crusaders. In the early 1970’s he contacted an old friend from his college days back at NC State, Donnie Weaver, original singer on the hit song, “I’m a Girl Watcher”. Weaver agreed to come to California to join the group. It was then that they met Motown legend, Marvin Gaye, who took them to A&M Recording Studios in Hollywood and produced an entire album of songs written by Weaver. In 1976 Gerald moved back to NC and joined the Raleigh based beach music band, the Embers. From 1979 through 2002 he produced and/or co-produced 12 albums with the Embers, receiving Beach Music’s Producer of the Year Award in 1996. During Gerald’s tenure, the Embers won a total of 12 awards in the Beach Music Industry, and recorded 5 national commercials for Budweiser plus several radio spots for Pepsi and Coca Cola. After 30 years with the Embers Gerald left in March of 2007 and formed a new band called Legends of Beach, along with other former Embers, Jackie Gore, Johnny Barker, Mark Black, and Jeff Grimes. Completing the lineup are Tony Davis, Rusty Smith (leading a full horn section), and Steve Davis, former sound technician with the Embers for 20 years. Gerald has 2 sons, Greg and Jim, and 3 grandchildren, Blake, Brandon, and Ashlyn. He and his wife, Jane currently reside in Wilson North Carolina. |
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