DARRELL KELLEY First Person Musical Journey
- Written by Darrell Kelley
I grew up in Boston surrounded by music. I give full credit for cultivating my talents to the inspiration and encouragement of my uncle, William Baskin, who was a performer, choreographer and artist manager, my aunt Donna DeRosa and my mother Sandra Kelley. I owe so much to Uncle Billy and Aunt Donna, who often sang with him onstage. Mom wasn’t a professional singer, but my seven siblings and I would tear up when she would sing Bloodstone’s “Natural High” to us. We also remember her singing Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be.” We didn’t know the artists but we sure knew the songs and the smile she always had singing them! We grew up on Motown and all the other great soul music of the era, and it was a beautiful thing. Gospel was in my blood. Growing up, I heard stories of how my grandfather, William Baskin, Sr. would invite Sam Cooke over to the family home.
I realized that I had musical gifts from the time I was seven or eight, and I always wanted to be leader of the pack. I always heard songs in my head, and sometimes they sounded a lot like the hits I was listening to. My oldest brother was always in a group and I so badly wanted to be a part of them. Another of my brothers, who was two years older, would join me and our best friends and downstairs neighbors Keith and Chuck Williams. Their mother, who was like a second mom to us, would often join us and make us clothes so we could enter talent shows. I remember us singing The Jacksons’ “Enjoy Yourself.” Another fond memory growing up is Uncle Billy making squares out of soap for me because I was out of step and couldn’t stay in the circle he taught us to move in.
There were mirrors in our living room, and as I got older, I would sing and mimic the moves of Michael Jackson and Prince. I discovered I had a high-pitched voice I never used previously. I could hit those high notes without cracking! Because of that, I also got good singing the songs of female artists like Patti Labelle and Jennifer Holliday. One of her musicians was like an uncle to us and he’d come over and play the piano. In my late teens, I entered and won numerous talent contests at Roscoe’s in Boston. I would sing songs like Lenny Williams’ “Cause I Love You,” Patti and Michael McDonald’s “On My Own, and MJ’s “Billie Jean,” complete with throwing my glove into the audience where fans would fight over it and even my mom would get involved!
For a time, I was unstoppable. I was always looking for gigs and more opportunities to perform. Then, unfortunately, real life got on the way and all that glory kind of faded away for a long time. We grew up poor, and so I ended up getting two jobs and going to an after-school project to help me get my high school diploma, then went to a trade school. Music had to take a back seat because I had to focus on supporting my family. I eventually developed a successful sales career and had my own distributorship for Kirby’s vacuum cleaners. I left that for the restaurant business and did well buying and selling houses. I moved to Atlanta in 2013 and opened my soul food restaurant Soul Delicious Grill and Buffet in Morrow, GA.
I hired the gospel/soul group Joseph Wheeler and the New Praise Band to play there regularly. I would joke with the musicians that I used to sing and was thinking about getting back into it. Each year, we hosted an employee appreciation dinner concert to showcase local artists, and I would take the stage to perform a new song I wrote. At first one of the band members, this woman named Jackie seemed supportive of my singing. She was my friend, but then when they had a meeting about it, she said she didn’t want me to sing after all. So when the first anniversary concert came up in 2014, I introduced a song directly addressed to her called “Shut Her Up.”
It was funny and kind of a crazy song, but it also had a strong gospel element. The second year, Jackie was more supportive when I did another humorous tune, “Sit Your Rump Down.” It was about the hypocrisy of certain preachers who seem to care more about money than God. The next year I sang my original “Man of God,” and in 2018 I sang “A Storm is Coming.” I realized I had a nice growing catalog and so began contacting producers I could record with and promoters to get out my first EPK. The interesting part of my gospel leanings as an artist is that I was never a church singer. When I was kid, I’d sing along but did more observing and learning. My favorite church song was my grandma’s favorite “I Won’t Complain.”
What was great about getting back into music was having people cheering for me and loving my songs and even following me on Instagram. I realized that I could make an impact through my performing and singing. As “A Storm is Coming” was being promoted to college radio and started charting, I took an interest in mentoring a local up and coming male singer. When the young man failed to show up for a paid for session, I used the studio time to record his song “Unity” (which became the title track to my debut release) and freestyled “Call His Name” (which would later appear on that album). Working from tracks created by my producer collaborator with his label Viral Records LLC, I also freestyled most of the melodies and lyrics for the Get Wild album as well.
Now I am blessed to say I have had songs charting all over the world. This includes songs on the World Indie Music Charts, the DAR Regional Charts, the Euro Indie Music chart and the NACC (North American College Charts), where at one point I had three tracks in the Top 20 at the same time.
We started all of this in May of 2018 and before I knew it, I had three albums and four singles. Considering my spiritual background, it made sense to start recording as a gospel artist, but as certain opportunities came forth, I realized it was just as important to tap into the R&B/soul inspirations I grew up with and develop that side of my creative expression as well.
For me, the big picture is to continue to write great music and grow in the industry while helping other artists who need other resources to get where they need to be. I plan to start spreading my talents to concerts and festivals both in my region and beyond, spreading the word of the good music I am creating. A lot of artists focus on negative things. I am passionate about writing songs about social justice, but I will always make my music a lot of fun.
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