Glenn Erickson-Bio
Born in a small South Dakota town near the end of the great depression, Glenn Erickson grew up all over the Midwestern part of the country. By the middle of the 7th grade, the family moved to Hastings, MN where Glenn graduated from high school. Always a lover of music, Glenn discovered his voice at age 15, singing for class plays, high school dances, weddings, funerals, and just for the fun of it. At 16, he won a series of talent contests at the local movie theater, qualifying him to compete as a finalist on Stairway to Stardom, a Minneapolis radio talent search program. At 17, Glenn wrote his first song....a simple but pretty tune, still in his collection, called I Dreamed.
Along with most of his classmates, Glenn joined the Minnesota National Guard while still in high school. Six months after graduation, the National Guard unit was activated to train for the Korean War. After six months of basic training, Glenn was sent to Korea, where he served a year as a radio operator for the Forward Observer of an 81mm mortar platoon. During relief periods from front line positions, Glenn entertained his fellow comrades in arms with songs and imitations of such singing stars as Al Jolson, Frankie Laine, Vaughan Monroe and others.
When his year in Korea was finished, he was rotated back to the U.S. and discharged. Any thoughts of a musical career were disrupted by the Korean war and the need to start earning a living. After a year of college, a few hard knocks, and an array of work experiences, Glenn put his musical aspirations on hold and embarked upon a business career. For the next 40 years, the business environment consumed most of his time and attention. Ultimately, Glenn founded and operated a successful national healthcare systems company called Record Programs, Inc., based in Madison, NJ. Finally, after 28 years in his own business, Glenn sold the business and retired in the fall of 1999.
But, during his 40 year business career, Glenn had a hobby that brought him great pleasure and satisfaction....songwriting! He has written and recorded over 100 songs. Glenn refers to his music as "easy listening country", a blend of yesteryear's soft pop with a distinctive country flavor. Having relocated the corporate headquarters of his company from the east to Orange County, CA in the early '80's, Glenn worked with a close friend and music associate, Steve Waltner at Calico Productions, to record eight albums of his original songs on cassette. For the more traditional country songs, they employed the services of a popular local artist, Mick Barton, whose rich country voice and style added a new dimension to Glenn's songs.
When Steve decided to leave the music business, Glenn discovered Larry Gadler at Rattlesnake Tracks; and in July of 2001, recorded his first digital album, Living In Autumn. A year later, Glenn and Larry produced his second digital album, Life?s Been Good To Me (and Glenn swears it has). Glenn gives much of the credit for the new sound to his talented musician friends Art Holland on lead guitar; Randy Wolchek on keyboard; John Delatore on drums; and Larry Gadler on rhythm guitar, bass, vocal harmony and chief engineer. Currently, Glenn and Larry are busy converting many of his previously recorded cassette albums to digital CD. Upon completion, Glenn will add three more CDs to his collection of original songs - one featuring the voice of Mick Barton. Now, in retirement from the business world and with the time he has always wanted to devote to his music, Glenn says he will continue to write and record his songs as long as the mind and the voice hold out. "There are so many songs in there that need to come out....sometimes I feel like I have wasted an entire lifetime earning a living!"