Biography of Joe Halterman
by Ryan Michael Lowery
Joe Halterman was born on October 24, 1950,
in Ottawa, Illinois, but he spent his childhood in Marseilles,
Illinois. He attended Marseilles Grade School; there
he first started playing the drums. At Marseilles High
School, Joe furthered his abilities by playing in the
school’s swing band, marching band, and orchestra,
making high school a hectic time for him. “I would
play football for a half; change clothes and march with
the marching band, then go back and play the second
half of the football game. That’s how small our
school was,” recalls Joe.
 At
the age of fourteen, Joe and his friend Brian Gunderson
formed their first band. They played at school dances,
some VFWs, and some Moose Clubs in the Marseilles and
Ottawa area. They later formed a new band with fellow
schoolmates Greg Lowery, and Jim Travi; they named it
The Sounds of Us, and performed around the area, mostly
at dances. They also opened for a few acts, such as
The Troqs, from Chicago. In 1966, Greg was drafted by
the US Army, and The Sounds of Us filled his spot with
the addition of Glen Rieuf (who now plays steel for
John Anderson). Brian Gunderson was later drafted as
well, and the band eventually broke up.
In 1969, Joe moved to Chicago and took a gig with Bobby
Pierce, at the Lake N Park Inn. On weekends, they would
bring in acts from Nashville, such as Waylon Jennings,
and Johnny Carven, this led to Joe and Bobby going to
Nashville, where Joe cut his first album with Bobby,
on Pete Drake’s label, First Generation. When
that band broke up, Joe returned home to Marseilles.
In 1972, Buddy Cannon (the bass player in Bobby Pierces
band) phoned Joe from Nashville and told him that Epic
recording artist Bob Luman needed a drummer that could
sing; he wounded if Joe would be interested—Joe
definitely was. Joe joined Luman’s band, The Honen
Tonk Men, and played with them for five years. During
this time, Joe appeared on Opry, Pop Goes the Country,
and many other shows; he also traveled throughout the
United States, and Europe, playing various gigs.
In 1975, Joe received another important call, this time
from country music star Cal Smith, who made Joe an offer
to join his band, The Country Bumpkins. Joe happily
accepted. Joe played with Cal’s band for about
a year, and sang background vocals for him on one of
his MCA albums. Then in 1976, Joe joined with Epic artist,
Johnny Carver, and his band; Joe first met Johnny back
at the Lake N Park Inn, in Chicago. Johnny was also
a songwriter, and it was around this time that Joe started
to get interested in songwriting as well.
In 1980, Joe landed a gig with Country Music Hall of
Fame member, Buddy Emmons—Joe’s favorite
gig to date. Joe played with Buddy for four years, and
when Joe quit, Jimmy Day replaced him. It was around
this time that Joe played on an album with Ray Price
in California, with Snuff Garrett producing on Clint
Eastwood’s label, Curb. Also at this time, Joe
and ray appeared on television shows such as Austin
City Limits, Hee Haw, and Opry.
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In
1984, Joe saw his first song, *** ****** be recorded
by The Whites. Joe co-wrote the song with Donnie
Clark, and Vickie Clark. Ricky Scaggs produced
the song, and it went to #9 on the Billboard charts;
they also received a BMI Award for most airplays. |
 By
19** Joe had left Ray Price’s group, and begun
playing various gigs with acts such as Ray Sawyer, of
Dr. Hook, and with Bobby Bare. He also returned to Europe
with Tompall Gloser, and played with Dean Dillon—when
he was on Capital Records. Joe moved to Nashville in
19** and started recording demos for a verity of artists.
Joe left Nashville in 2003, and returned to Illinois
where he lives today with his wife Trish. They have
three children, Melissa, Jennifer and Tim. In **** 2003,
Tim gave them their first grandbaby, Savannah, who is
now the love of their lives. Joe has a small studio
in his house where he spends much of his time still
writing and recording songs.
I thank the lord for all the blessings he has blessed
us with. If you care to reach me, my email address is
jwh@mtco.com.
Sincerely,
Joe Halterman
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