Before Eric Todd left the Daytona area to pursue his country music dreams in Nashville in 2001, the singer-guitarist often teamed with Ormond Beach songwriter Donna Fant.
The duo co-wrote a honky-tonk ditty titled "Amazing Grace (and Red-Hot Lucille)," which Todd recorded for his self-released album "Shadow of a Doubt." After Todd moved, he continued to sing on "demo" (demonstration) recordings of other Fant creations, including one he did last March for her song "If You Can Hear Me in Heaven."
That demo, Fant said, was "the last one he did for me."
The duo co-wrote a honky-tonk ditty titled "Amazing Grace (and Red-Hot Lucille)," which Todd recorded for his self-released album "Shadow of a Doubt." After Todd moved, he continued to sing on "demo" (demonstration) recordings of other Fant creations, including one he did last March for her song "If You Can Hear Me in Heaven."
That demo, Fant said, was "the last one he did for me."
Todd (whose full name was Eric Todd Wilkinson) took his own life at age
40 in March in Nashville. He left behind a 14-year-old son, Coleman,
and a number of local friends and fellow musicians with heavy hearts.
Singer-guitarist Ken Randolph, who played locally with Todd in the band Lone Rider in the early 1990s, is returning here to lead a tribute concert to his late friend. Randolph and the Cooter Brown Band, with guest guitarist-fiddler Jeff Cook from the band Alabama, will perform at 2 p.m. July 12 at the First Turn Lounge in Port Orange.
Todd's mother, Loretta Wilkinson, said she and her husband, Jack, and Todd's brother, Brian, are planning to attend the event from the family's hometown, Shepherdsville, Ky.
Former Lone Rider members and other area musicians who worked with Todd are expected to attend, Randolph said.
The event also will include an auction featuring items signed and-or donated by such country stars as Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Charlie Daniels and others. Proceeds will be used to help the Wilkinsons with funeral expenses, family expenses and a headstone, Randolph said.
"Eric was a very, very, almost too-caring person," said Randolph, who now lives in Guin, Ala. "He had an unbelievably sweet personality. He was literally my best friend."
"Eric would give you the shirt off his back," Fant said. "He would do anything for you. He was a very giving, loving person. I really miss him."
"He had the biggest heart of anybody," said Jim Troxell, an Ormond Beach bass player and former band mate. As a musician, Todd "was always relaxed. He wasn't a real tense person onstage. He was open and excited to be playing."
Todd was born legally blind. He grew up in Shepherdsville and graduated from the Kentucky School for the Blind.
After moving to the Daytona area, Todd performed in the 1990s at the Rockin' Ranch in Ormond Beach and Billy Bob's in South Daytona. He also performed with the Daytona Opry and later the Downtown Opry, two local music variety shows. He released his CD "Shadow of a Doubt" in 1999.
In April 2001, Todd moved to the Nashville area with his wife and young son. His mission was twofold: He began an apprenticeship as an engineer at a music studio where he also performed on recording sessions and sang backup vocals. And he began knocking on doors in pursuit of his dream of becoming a full-fledged country star.
"Eric called me one morning around 3 o'clock -- I thought something bad had happened," Loretta Wilkinson said by phone from her Kentucky home. "He said, 'Mom, (country star) Travis Tritt came in the club tonight and he autographed my guitar and played it.' Travis told the bar owner that 'This guy has one heck of a voice and you need to give him a raise.' And right after that Eric got fired.
"But he moved on. He was very independent all his life."
Todd had severely limited vision in only one eye, Fant said. During their songwriting sessions, "If I blew up the lyrics (on paper) really big, he could hold them up to his eye and see them. He didn't want people helping him. In the studio he'd say, 'I know where the wires are. I won't trip over them.'"
In 2007, a song Todd co-wrote with his friend Buck Moore, "One Life," was recording by Alabama and released on their gospel album "Songs of Inspiration II."
"I don't like to say it but Randy (Owen, Alabama's singer) can't sing it as good as Eric," Loretta Wilkinson said with a soft laugh. "I have Eric singing it, and Randy don't do it right." Her son also recorded a collection of gospel songs just for her, she said.
Mrs. Wilkinson said her son had divorced about a year before his death, and that recent eye surgery to save his remaining sight had been unsuccessful.
"He loved everybody," Mrs. Wilkinson said. "And they loved him in Daytona."
If You Go
WHAT/WHO: Tribute to Eric Todd with Ken Randolph and the Cooter Brown Band
WHEN: 2 p.m. July 12
WHERE: First Turn Lounge, 5236 S. Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange
ADMISSION: $5
INFORMATION: 386-788-5434 (venue) or 205-495-6371 (Randolph)
Singer-guitarist Ken Randolph, who played locally with Todd in the band Lone Rider in the early 1990s, is returning here to lead a tribute concert to his late friend. Randolph and the Cooter Brown Band, with guest guitarist-fiddler Jeff Cook from the band Alabama, will perform at 2 p.m. July 12 at the First Turn Lounge in Port Orange.
Todd's mother, Loretta Wilkinson, said she and her husband, Jack, and Todd's brother, Brian, are planning to attend the event from the family's hometown, Shepherdsville, Ky.
Former Lone Rider members and other area musicians who worked with Todd are expected to attend, Randolph said.
The event also will include an auction featuring items signed and-or donated by such country stars as Hank Williams Jr., Alabama, Charlie Daniels and others. Proceeds will be used to help the Wilkinsons with funeral expenses, family expenses and a headstone, Randolph said.
"Eric was a very, very, almost too-caring person," said Randolph, who now lives in Guin, Ala. "He had an unbelievably sweet personality. He was literally my best friend."
"Eric would give you the shirt off his back," Fant said. "He would do anything for you. He was a very giving, loving person. I really miss him."
"He had the biggest heart of anybody," said Jim Troxell, an Ormond Beach bass player and former band mate. As a musician, Todd "was always relaxed. He wasn't a real tense person onstage. He was open and excited to be playing."
Todd was born legally blind. He grew up in Shepherdsville and graduated from the Kentucky School for the Blind.
After moving to the Daytona area, Todd performed in the 1990s at the Rockin' Ranch in Ormond Beach and Billy Bob's in South Daytona. He also performed with the Daytona Opry and later the Downtown Opry, two local music variety shows. He released his CD "Shadow of a Doubt" in 1999.
In April 2001, Todd moved to the Nashville area with his wife and young son. His mission was twofold: He began an apprenticeship as an engineer at a music studio where he also performed on recording sessions and sang backup vocals. And he began knocking on doors in pursuit of his dream of becoming a full-fledged country star.
"Eric called me one morning around 3 o'clock -- I thought something bad had happened," Loretta Wilkinson said by phone from her Kentucky home. "He said, 'Mom, (country star) Travis Tritt came in the club tonight and he autographed my guitar and played it.' Travis told the bar owner that 'This guy has one heck of a voice and you need to give him a raise.' And right after that Eric got fired.
"But he moved on. He was very independent all his life."
Todd had severely limited vision in only one eye, Fant said. During their songwriting sessions, "If I blew up the lyrics (on paper) really big, he could hold them up to his eye and see them. He didn't want people helping him. In the studio he'd say, 'I know where the wires are. I won't trip over them.'"
In 2007, a song Todd co-wrote with his friend Buck Moore, "One Life," was recording by Alabama and released on their gospel album "Songs of Inspiration II."
"I don't like to say it but Randy (Owen, Alabama's singer) can't sing it as good as Eric," Loretta Wilkinson said with a soft laugh. "I have Eric singing it, and Randy don't do it right." Her son also recorded a collection of gospel songs just for her, she said.
Mrs. Wilkinson said her son had divorced about a year before his death, and that recent eye surgery to save his remaining sight had been unsuccessful.
"He loved everybody," Mrs. Wilkinson said. "And they loved him in Daytona."
If You Go
WHAT/WHO: Tribute to Eric Todd with Ken Randolph and the Cooter Brown Band
WHEN: 2 p.m. July 12
WHERE: First Turn Lounge, 5236 S. Ridgewood Ave., Port Orange
ADMISSION: $5
INFORMATION: 386-788-5434 (venue) or 205-495-6371 (Randolph)
Leave a comment