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LHS grad looks to hit country big-time
BY PATTI VANNOY / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Jan 20, 2005 - 06:33:13 pm CST

By Patti Vannoy

Lincoln Journal Star

As a child, LeRoy Harris was skeptical about how far he could go with country music.

Even now, as he pursues the singer-songwriter dream, Nashville record company execs often ask: "But you're black. Why country?"

Well, it's in his heart — although that heart might just as easily have fallen for a jazz beat, having spent its first 15 years in New Orleans.

Sure, Harris loves all kinds of music. He was raised on his fair share of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, the Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Commodores. But he heard his first Johnny Cash song at age 8, at his grandparents' Louisiana farm, and country "stuck to me ever since," he said.

When he came to live with an aunt and uncle in Lincoln at age 15, Harris was exposed to even more country — literally and musically. That's also when he started writing poetry and songs.

The Lincoln High graduate got his break in 2000, when he entered a country/gospel songwriting competition and qualified for the semifinals in Branson, Mo., and the finals in Nashville, where he hooked up with a scout from Southstar Creative Group.

Right now, Harris is auditioning with record labels and sorting through 85 song possibilities for his first album, 35 of his own and 50 written by others.

Saturday, he will play a mix of covers and original songs for his first big solo show, opening for Ricochet and Lincoln band Cactus Hill, a group he sometimes sings with.

"I have quite a bit going for me right now," he said.

And who knows, by the time he lands a major contract and makes his move to Nashville, being black may be an advantage, simply because it makes him different from all the others chasing cowboy dreams. That idea goes hand in hand with his motto: "Don't judge me by the color of my skin but by the color of my music."

Reach Patti Vannoy at 473-7254 or jspvannp@journalstar.com.