In an interview published on one of Darryl Worley’s many websites that talked about his album “Here and Now,” the country music star remarked he felt, “Unleashed...in a different place... the music I’m doing now gives me a sense of freedom to let everyone know who I am.”

Titles from his album, “Jumpin off The Wagon, Slow Dancing with a Memory, Nothing to Lose, and Love Thang” help to support Darryl’s statements. The birth of he and wife Kimberly’s baby girl, Savannah Gail last year was a big part of his feelings of “being in a different place.” Darryl told a Country Weekly interviewer, “I’ve waited a long time to have a child and I want to savor every opportunity with my daughter.”

After the early 2009 release of “Sounds Like Life,” under Darryl’s new label Stroudavarious Records a statement was released saying, “Since Darryl first broke onto the national music scene over eight years ago, one of the constants in his life has been change. The music business has changed drastically, but what has not changed is his love of creating and delivering music to fans who expect nothing less than from-the-heart, soulful vocals, American pride, and killer live shows.”

Another reason for Darryl’s good feelings occurred when he reunited with James Stroud the man who discovered him and co-produced his albums. He has been a constant in Darryl’s life of change and was there in the beginning. Darryl was proud to be the first artist signed to his new label, Stroudavarious Records.

Kelly Winters biography on Darryl, which appeared on his website, described his early years. He was born in Memphis, Tennessee, October 31, 1964 and grew up surrounded by a musical family in rural Hardin County. He played harmonica at five but his grandpa encouraged him to play the guitar as he and his brothers performed in church and did three-part harmony jams.

Darryl worked in construction and as a commercial fisherman on the Tennessee River while putting himself through collage at Martin Methodist and University of North Alabama. After earning a degree in biology he went back home to Hardin County and taught school, sold cars and formed a chemical supply company.

During all the early events in his life, he continued composing and performing music which led to a contract in the early 90’s with FAME Publishing in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He wrote songs during this time later recorded by George Jones, Archer Parks and several others.

Tennessee and Hardin County called him home again in 1994 to work with his brothers in their landscaping business but his music kept tugging at him. This time his father pushed him saying, “If you want to do music, do it now or you’ll be trapped by life’s responsibilities”

A few years later in 2000 Darryl’s debut album “Hard Rain Don’t Last,” was released under the DreamWorks label. His style was compared to George Jones and Merle Haggard. “I Miss My Friend,” his second album debuted in 2002. It was described as delivering “Honesty on every track.”

During the Christmas holidays in 2002, Darryl joined a group of entertainers who visited troops in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan. After his return, he was inspired to write, “Have you Forgotten?” He told interviewers, “I wrote the song to remind people of the attack on our nation on 9/11 and to honor our troops who take care of our country and keep it free.” The single rose to #1 on the “Billboard” charts and his powerful song earned him nominations from the Country Music Association for its Horizon Award along with single and song of the year for 2003. A portion of sales of the single goes to military families in need. Darryl helped organize the annual American Freedom Festival, which raises funds for our veterans.

In 2006, George Dickel Tennessee Whisky partnered with Darryl as the title sponsor of 80 tours during 2006/2007 named, “Darryl & Dickel Tour.” He promoted a social responsibility message by Darryl and their relationship continues today. If you see the Dickel-wrapped bus traveling down the highway, there is a good chance Darryl is on it. He and Kimberly are hoping to get a custom-made bus with a nice baby area so they can take baby Savannah on tour.

As you read the bios about Darryl and get a sense of his life unfolding, its not too surprising to learn how deeply involved in charitable efforts he is. His web sites home page describes how and why “The Darryl Worley Foundation” was launched saying, “Darryl had a vision several years ago to give back to the community he grew up in and loves. The 501c3 public benefit foundation was formed in 2002 to help serve the needs of people of Hardin and McNairy Counties and areas of Northwestern Alabama and Northeastern Mississippi. It also supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Ayers Children’s Medical Center, Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation among others.”

We asked Darryl how important his charitable efforts were to him. “I’ve always been involved in various charities and I always will be. Our Tennessee River Run started seven years ago and it benefited many individuals and organizations in the West Tennessee area where I grew up. We broke ground on a new cancer treatment center at the Hardin County Medical Center this year, so people – including members of my family, won’t have to drive to Memphis, Jackson or Nashville for their treatments.” Asked if the center would be dedicated to someone Darryl responded, “They’re going to call it the Darryl Worley Cancer Treatment Center, which I was kind of opposed to. It was very humbling to know they wanted to do that. I’ll probably dedicate it to my mom, who not only put up with my two brothers and me, but also went through a horrible circulatory situation where they ended up amputating one of her legs. She has her permanent prosthetic leg now, and she’s getting around great. I’ve had a lot of family and friends who have had cancer and even died of it in that area. I know of people in the Savannah area who died because they couldn’t get to a bigger city for the treatments they needed. This will give them a place to go right there in Hardin County. This is a big priority for me, and we hope to have it up and running by 2010.”

Darryl joins many other musicians coast to coast to help other charities such as; “Rock for Tot’s,” “Country in the Rockies,” which benefits the T.J. Martell Foundation, one of the nations leading centers for cancer care; “Buds & Suds,” which supports the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of American’s Tennessee Chapter (CCFA) and more. We asked Darryl if he thought other country entertainers were as active in charity work as he and he said, “Oh yeah, I’m sure they are. Country artists especially are very giving people. I’ll definitely never compare what I do or don’t do to someone else. I just do what I feel is right for me, my family and my fellow man.”

Not all of Darryl’s appearances have such a serious motivation. He entertained 165,000 fans at Bristol Motor Speedway last August prior to the Sprint Cup Sharpie 500 race. Everyone stood and applauded his performance of “Have You Forgotten,” as the Blue Angels passed overhead. Darryl said,
“ I love racing and especially NASCAR. I don’t get to go to as many races as I’d like because of my schedule, but it’s definitely on the TV in the bus when we’re traveling down the road on a Sunday. I’ve gotten to know a lot of the drivers over the years, but I don’t really have a favorite.”

“The Tennessee River Run,” which Darryl described takes place in his home town of Savannah, Tennessee. It spans nine days and includes fishing tournaments, a boat poker run, motorcycle ride, 5K run, talent contest and 3 concerts that include rock, country and Gospel music. The highlight of the River Run is Darryl’s concerts on The Pickwick Belle an authentic paddle-wheel riverboat, graciously donated by its owner Fred Tull to promote tourism in the Tennessee River and Pickwick Lake areas. Tanya Irwin, Marketing Director for the Belle and Courtney Goolsby, co-coordinator of the Tennessee River Run event got together to find a way to increase the events funding for areas such as the new cancer treatment center in Savannah. They decided, because Darryl was so good about giving back to his community, The Pickwick Belle and Darryl would make a great team.

Tanya said, “A partnership was formed to help raise
$ 24,000 annually by having four cruises throughout the year. The tentative schedule for 2009 is April, June, September, and December.” The Belle floats along the Tennessee River after departing Pickwick Landing while fans of Darryl enjoy a three-hour cruise with great food, fun, and tales told in music of his experiences growing up on the river. Reservations are limited to 80 people to allow ample time for him to visit with all of them.

Press releases describe Darryl mixing among the passengers during the cruises. We asked him if he enjoyed that. “I wouldn’t do it if I couldn’t meet the fans. Heck, they’ve made me who I am today – I’d be nothing without them. The Pickwick Belle has been very generous to let us do these cruises and have the money go to our foundation. The cruises are usually three hours, so we play an hour or so and then walk around the boat meeting people, signing autographs and taking pictures.

Floating down the river always brings back the best memories of growing up in that area. I can just drive across the dam and start tearing up because of all the great memories. The area around the lake has really grown up over the years but it will always be the most special place in the world for me. Our little girl Savannah went on the first cruise with us last September and we will try to bring her on as many as we can in the future.”

We asked Darryl if he had a boat and participated in the Poker Run on the river. “I don’t right now but as Savannah grows a little I’d like to have one. If I’m home, I can always jump on someone’s bass boat and fish. My manager has a 26’ Chaparral deck boat, which is huge, and we rode on that in this year’s River Run. It was so relaxing to run all over that lake. Everyone who handed out cards for the poker run was a volunteer, which I really appreciated. Our bass fishing tournament was going on at the same time, and we happened to run into (not literally) Honda marine pro bass fisherman Ray Brazier who donated his time to come down and fish. We had a big party after the poker run, and it was a great way to wrap up the first weekend of the River Run.”

Darryl Worley knows his life – and every life – is ever changing and ever evolving. On stage, he will always strive to deliver high-energy, entertaining shows he believes his hard working fans deserve. He understands how he can use his celebrity to make the lives of his fellow man better whether in the boardroom of his foundation or entertaining troops on the front lines.

Darryl says, “What drives me to give my all is a loving wife and little girl at home who watches her daddy’s every move and sees him as her hero. That’s something I hope never changes.”

Visit www.darrylworley.com and www.PickwickBelle.com for information regarding future cruises.

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