About Doug LaVine

Music was always going on in every aspect of Doug's life as he was growing up in Utica, NY. From a family that involved music in all of it's gatherings it was only natural that he continued to look at music as a big part of his life. An old piano was the beginning of it all. When he was old enough to climb onto a chair, he began to explore the sounds from that old piano. Playing the notes from simple kid songs gave him a satisfaction. He would play some of those simple songs for his Aunt Alice and his Uncle Tom. They would give him a nickle to play them a song. Soon, the song list began to grow. As time went on, Doug became more and more interested in music. In the third grade he was offered free music lessons from his music teacher. She saw that Doug had a God given talent. This talent was recognized by his Grandmother and his Mother too. The school, at that time, did not consider a guitar, a musical instrument and Doug lost interest in learning...but, only for a little while. When he was a teenager, his interest began to grow again. Working summer jobs and saving his money, he bought his first guitar when he was sixteen. He taught himself how to play it and then began to sing. When he felt comfortable enough, he began to play in front of his friends. When they reacted positively, he moved up to sing in front of other people and then began to play and sing in local bands whenever he could. People were listening and other club owners began to search him out and have him entertain in their club! One day a business man, who ran a nightclub, the FOUR ACRES, asked Doug if he would be interested in doing a recording. He jumped at the chance and wrote a couple of songs and soon they were in a recording studio. That record and the song.. TICK TOCK, soon became a local favorite and was played on the radio stations and juke boxes in the surrounding areas. Alex, the club operator, began to set things up for Doug and soon he was playing all over Central NY. Then, Hank Blakely, a DJ from a Country Music radio station WADR, met Doug. They became friends almost instantly! Soon, Doug was opening Country Music Shows in places other than nightclubs. He was now appearing with his own Nashville Country Music Heroes. "Performing with my country hero's was an honor". said Doug.. and he learned, as he went on working. By this time he was doing radio and television shows, along with outdoor concerts and recording. He wrote THE LAST TIME I SAW HER and SAY IT AGAIN and was recording at one of the most famous recording studio's in the country....PARAMOUNT RECORDING STUDIOS in Los Angeles, California. Doug then moved to Ft Lauderdale, Florida, where he began to put a new Country Music Band together. Once again, things began to happen. He was flying out of Ft Lauderdale to other places around the United States to perform his music. He stayed busy, working all the time and always looking ahead to new challenges. Then on May 15, 1985, a short time after returning from Nashville engagements, Doug was involved in a serious accident, breaking his neck, back.. and suffering other injuries as well. He had to retire from performing because of these injuries. Two months later, his Son Eric, was born. Although he was going through a lot at the time, he deceided to dedicate himself fully to raising his son. It took a number of years and a lot of medical procedures to get him back to a place of reasonable comfort. Although he made remarkable progress.. he would never really make a 100% recovery. He worked hard to be the best he could be, for his Son, Eric. Twenty years, had now passed and the medical issues had all been addressed. His son, Eric, was now a twenty year old young man and was engaged to be married. Things seemed to be going quite well. Then, on October 25, 2005, Eric was killed! He was returning home from a job interview when the driver of the car he was riding in, lost control and crashed into another vehicle. Riding in the car with Eric, was his fiance'. The driver of the car was a friend of Eric's. All were killed, along with another person in the other car. Needless to say, this was a horrible and devistating time for Doug. Not to mention the other people and families involved! "Everything that had ever happened to me in my lifetime, was minor, compared to this!!" said Doug. "Now there will only be sadness and sorrow! My life will never be the same... without my Son!"
It took some time but, Doug slowly began to stand up straight again. In the two years that followed that horrible accident, Doug had written some new music. Included were some special songs, that he had written for his Son. CHRISTMAS WILL BE BLUE, was written specifically for his Son. While writing this song, Doug realized that this song could belong to any parent who had ever lost a son or daughter, simply by replacing the word SON! Remarking that this was the way he felt at the time... he also wrote HOMELESS.
Here is MY LIFE ~ MY MUSIC

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