Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 29, 1993 TAG: 9306290083
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL RUEHLMANN LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long
"Yes, sir," Troy Hedspeth drawled, "I love to entertain."
In the gathering dusk, he gazed through the glass at ice cream stands and fireworks stalls whizzing by along U.S. 17. Thunder rumbles up like a rehearsing bass.
"It makes me feel good when I see the people smilin' and stuff," the 11-year-old said.
He pushed back the brim of his hat and makes a final intimate admission: "I enjoy it even more than playing ball."
Which separates him distinctly from his peers.
Troy Hedspeth the singer is also Troy Hedspeth, crack Orioles catcher for the Lynnhaven Boys Baseball League and rising sixth-grader at Kingston Elementary School in Virginia Beach.
At 4-feet-4 and 70 pounds, Troy is fast becoming the area's own little big man of country music.
"My mom handles all the calls," he said. "My dad's my travelin' man - he takes me around. And my family - my brother and sisters and Grandma - they all come to everything."
His idol is country chartbuster Garth Brooks, but Grandma - Nancy Albertson of Kings Grant - has heard Garth Brooks, and she remains unimpressed.
"He don't sing as good as Troy," she said.
Millie Voliva, editor of The Country Star, Hampton Roads' country music monthly, said:
"Offstage, Troy's kind of shy and reserved; onstage, he acts like he belongs there. Some people learn it, and some people are born with it. That child is born with it."
At a recent gig at Mill Point Park's outdoor arena in Hampton, Troy ambled up early, dutifully hauling the large brown briefcase that contained his Samson Stage 22 wireless microphone headset. Sometimes he needs it, sometimes he doesn't, depending on the amenities of the venue. The point is to be prepared; Garth Brooks uses one like it.
Troy checked out the sound system and prepared for his first set by consuming two slices of pepperoni pizza and a Diet Sprite.
He shouldered his Washburn acoustic electric guitar, marched out before the crowd and lit into Alan Jackson's "Midnight in Montgomery."
With his back to the boats on the water, Troy stood tall, cutting a compact figure in black jeans and boots.
The voice was halfway between pure bird song and animal growl, at once sweet and savvy. Troy segued into "If Tomorrow Never Comes," and by "Two of a Kind (Workin' on a Full House)," and the crowd was clapping along. At the end, applause rolled over the Point like surf.
As Troy strode back to the car, a little girl came forward, too shy to ask for his autograph. Troy wrote it out on one of the photos he always carries for such encounters; but the singer, in turn, was too shy to hand it to her. Tactfully, Troy's mother served as intermediary.
"All of this came as a complete surprise to us," Nancy Hedspeth said.
"I'm still in total shock," Dennis Hedspeth said.
Troy's parents were absolutely unprepared for this passion, which first appeared full-blown in September last year when the youngster suddenly announced his desire to audition for television's "Star Search."
Baffled but accustomed to encouraging their kids, the Hedspeths arranged for him to be included among the 500 who took their turns before the "Star Search" cameras and a live audience of 2,000.
"His face kept getting a little whiter as he got closer in line," Hedspeth said. "But once Troy hit that stage, he was over the hump. The crowd went nuts.
"From then on, he was fine. But we were nervous. And that's the way it's been ever since."
Troy sang "Two of a Kind" like one in a million. The youngster has also joined the chorus at Kingston, where music teacher Meg Wolfred routinely features him in school shows and pronounces him "excellent." Not only that but Troy has been taking guitar lessons with A&E Music Center's Lynn Watson, who marvels at his ability.
"I see this little kid," said the Virginia Beach teacher, "but he acts and performs like an adult."
"He blew me away," said Doc Holiday, head of Holiday Music Group in Hampton.
The producer heard Troy and immediately recommended he try out for Donk's, a family stage in Mathews that could provide solid exposure without the grown-up hassle of bar-and-grill engagements.
"There's nothing to distract 'em at Donk's," Troy said, "no beer or anything."
He is supported by parents, who won't push him but who are used to driving their children all over the landscape to games.
Now it's to gigs.
After a big night at Donk's, Troy approached his mother and informed her: "I've decided what I want to do with my life. I want to sing and make people happy."
He practices on the guitar daily. He's saving every cent of his earnings to cut a demo.
At the Tides Inn in Irvington on a recent night, the audience warms to the black-hatted stranger who has to come around in front of the bandstand to be seen. By the third number, nimbly backed up by Shades of Country, Troy owns the room.
At 11 p.m. the party was still rolling, but Troy headed home again in the back of the family car. Mom and Dad stopped for a Hardee's hamburger. Suddenly, between bites, the country singer is a little boy once more.
"Did I sound all right?" he asked.
They assured him that he did.
Satisfied, Troy Hedspeth took off his Stetson and rested his head on his mother's shoulder.
In seconds, he was asleep.
by CNB