unlike any other job that is out there. You may be occasionally applauded at conventions or if you receive an award for your job, but there is no other job where you receive such immediate recognition of a job well done. That is a perk of this job, don’t let anybody tell you different.
However, there is the other side of this job. The boredom, the disappointment, the betrayals, the financial hardship, the list goes on and on. It’s easy to dream that you want to be a successful musician, but to actually achieve it takes thousands of hours of practice, performance and trying to avoid the pitfalls along the way. It takes someone of hardy stock, to hang in there and make a career of what of what non musicians so casually call “playing”. I am very thankful that I know a person with this same kind of hardy stock. I am lucky that he wants to know me. Yesterday, I saw a retrospective of his professional life at the Medina Event Center and it was beautiful to witness. His name is Sherwin Linton.
As someone who has been playing in town for a long time, I had always heard of Sherwin Linton, but I never saw him play. In 2004, I contacted Sherwin about an event I was producing called LAKE HARRIET LIVE, a concert to celebrate the free refurbishing of the Lake Harriet Band shell. The lineup featured The Honeydogs, Debbie Duncan, TCC Gospel Choir, Boogie Wonderland, as well as my band. I asked Sherwin to sit in with my band and do a Johnny Cash song.
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon in September when Sherwin got on stage in front 10,000 people. As I watched from the side of the stage, I began to understand Sherwin had been performing for so long and why people loved him so much. His charisma is undeniable. His look is unmistakable. His voice and presence tell you immediately that this is a man who has a passion to perform and an authenticity that makes it work for the audience.
As my band rocked behind him, Sherwin basked in the love that the audience was giving him. As a front person myself, I always love to see someone command the stage. Sherwin did. I will never forget that.
A year or so later, I was booking a room in Shakopee. I had asked Sherwin to see if his band could perform a date. I received a phone call from Sherwin while I was in Las Vegas with my band. Sherwin sounded terrible, very sick. The gig was just a happy hour gig for very little money. Sherwin asked me if there was any way for me to find someone else to cover for him due to how sick he was. I told him it would be no problem and for him to get better. Ten minutes later, I get another call from Sherwin, telling me in no uncertain terms that in his nearly 50 years of performing, he had never missed a gig and he wasn’t going to start now. That made me love him even more. He put his man pants on and he did the job. Sorry for throwing this oft used phrase, but that was “old school” kind of thinking. As long as he could stand up and have some kind of voice, Sherwin was going to honor his commitment. Inspiring stuff.
In 2005, I had presented an idea to Sherwin about doing a documentary film about his life. Funding was found for the film and it was beginning to happen. At this point, the film is on hold, but I hope someday it will be resurrected. This man deserves to have his life documented for his thousands of fans to see.
As I sat inside the Medina Event Center and witnessed over 1000 people hang on his every word, the love for this man was palpable. As rewarding as it must have felt, as a frontman myself, I suspect there may be been a bit of melancholy inside Sherwin too.
Sherwin Linton could’ve taken the route of Johnny Cash, George Jones, Merle Haggard and the other legends of Country music. He had that talent and he had that drive. Why those legends achieved what they did are due to luck, timing and of course talent, but at what price? Are you willing to risk your financial, physical and personal health to attain a dream that is on the face of it, is so far fetched? That is the trade off that all musicians have to come to grips with. When Sherwin is playing the hundreds of dates he performs every year and hitting the road as much as he does, there has to be a piece of him that feels like he hasn’t achieved everything he wanted. Such is the struggle all musicians go through, even the ones who others deem have “made it”. In my estimation, what Sherwin has accomplished is equally important and worthy of praise and admiration.
This man has been performing for audiences for 50 years. I’m not sure non-musicians will ever understand the magnitude of that musical statement. Not only has Sherwin Linton performed for 50 years, he’s performed 50 years and provided himself and his family a quite comfortable way of life, thank you very much. With the direction of his devoted and brilliant wife Pam, Sherwin is in great hands. Together, Sherwin and Pam provide their musicians with work. They bring joy to thousands of people every year inside small clubs, outdoor festivals, conventions and more. They bring their authentic brand of Country and American music and deliver it with passion and showmanship. They respect their audience and their audience loves them.
Sherwin Linton is a rare success story in the music business. He’s a troubadour that takes care of business. I respect that. I respect the man. I respect the bond and the marriage that Sherwin and Pam so clearly live every day. All of us in the Twin Cities area and the region are lucky to have a man like Sherwin Linton in our midst.
In the end, this business is a mixture of naiveté, pride swallowing, risk, reward, rejection and praise. In order to get through those emotions and a thousand others, you have to maintain. You have to get up, learn the songs, write the songs, find the right players, get the gigs, drive the van, get to the club and hotel on time, deliver on stage and pay the bills. Sherwin Linton has done that for 50 years. Thank you Sherwin for showing the rest of us how to get the job done.
