​There is a document that rests quietly in my MAC OS X.  The title is, RUSS REGAN INITIAL MEETING PDF.  If you open that file, you can read it:
 
Studio Pass 6/21/72
Name: Pfordresher
Is Authorized To See: Regan
 
So why would anybody save a RED Universal Studios pass for 45 years?  It must have some sort of significance.
 
It does, this is the pass that opened up the door to my career in the music business.  Fresh out of college, with a degree in Radio/Communications, all I wanted to do is to work with music.  Produce, play it, write it, sing it, review it, embrace it, criticize it, love it. Since hearing the first chord of “I Want To Hold Your Hand”, I knew what emotion beat loudest in my heart.
 
I left the University Of Illinois the day after I finished my last exam.  As I walked out of Altgeld Hall, I threw my @2 test pencil to the winds and turned west towards Los Angeles.
 
For weeks I stayed at the Rausches (the home of my Aunt Imelda & Uncle Chuck) and roamed about Hollywood and the surrounding areas, looking for work. I inquired at record stores, studios, record companies, publishing companies, film companies, sheet music stores, no one was interested in me.
 
Then one day, while setting the table for dinner at my aunt and uncle’s, a friend of theirs arrived, Joan Tighe.  She was an attorney at Universal and knew quite a few people, as she was very interesting and engaging.  After dinner she asked me how I was doing.  I explained my frustrations, but not with a sad face, more of a determined one. She smiled and said, I might know someone who could help, Russ Regan at Uni.  Uni?  I had no idea what Uni was. It was the label of Elton John, Neil Diamond and Strawberry Alarm Clock. I certainly knew who those people were.  My inexperience shown through, but that only endeared me more to Joan.  Two days later I had an appointment to see Mr. Regan.
 
A red studio pass was issued to me after I arrived at Universal the following week.  I wore my fraternity (Evans Scholars) suit jacket, tie, and slacks.  I must have looked like a lost high school kid from the mid west.  Mr. Regan’s secretary welcomed me and said that it would be a few minutes, would I like something to drink?  No thanks, too nervous.
 
Shortly, HE was standing in front of me with an extended hand, introducing himself.  Smiling eyes and energy that simply took one over.  As he escorted me into his office he looked over his shoulder and said,” I only got about ten minutes, kid.”  But my heart didn’t sink, didn’t sputter, I knew I had to rise to the occasion.  I sat in front of his desk and simply told him about myself, my passions, and how driven I was by music.  He asked me if I listened to the radio?  Of course!!!!!! WLS and WCFL in Chicago, constantly.  I had been listening to KHJ and KRLA since arriving in Los Angeles, to this he smiled.
 
Then we talked, a comfortable conversation where I felt that he allowed me to be his equal, like a friend.  It was no ten minutes.  It was close to an hour.  I had no idea that much time passed, until he finally said, “Bill, I have an idea for you.  I understand you play guitar and want to make music, but maybe you should consider just being a part of the business, like me.  Why don’t you work within the business for a while and then pick an area you want to pursue?  Radio sure would seem to be a good place to start, doing local promotion. Would that be of interest to you?”   I did not blink or hesitate...YES!!!!

Right then and there he picked up the phone and called Sid Talmadge at Record Merchandising in Los Angeles.  Within five minutes he had an appointment with Sid and Sam Ginsberg for me on Monday.
 
Russ explained, “It’s at 1525 Berendo, not far from Soul City.  You can get there by bus or maybe get a ride from someone.  But there you can learn about the record business.  You won’t start doing radio promotion, but probably something within the warehouse. It is like an apprenticeship. But what you learn there will be invaluable through out your career in the business.”
 
I got the job, worked in the warehouse doing the order desk until the local promotion job opened up. Sam Ginsberg gave me that job.  And I never looked back.  A year and a half later Russ Regan and Paul Lovelace hired me at their new company 20 Century Records to be National Promotion Director.  And from there it was Barry White, Maureen McGovern, The Defranco Family, Ambrosia, and many more.
 
In 1978 I would join Rubicon productions where I would be part of the production team for Ambrosia, when they recorded their biggest album ONE EIGHTY. I was credited as Associate Producer.
 
So you see, that little RED Studio Pass was a door, which gave me my career.  It still rests quietly in my Mac computer.  I’ve attached it here.
 
Thanks Russ.
 
 
 

​KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD The Beginnings
 
 
In 1992 I was the VP of radio promotion at CURB RECORDS. That year one of the most highly anticipated releases was by blues artist, Delbert McClinton. It was titled “Never Been Rocked Enough” and had Bonnie Raitt, Tom Petty, and Melissa Etheridge as support artists on the album. The single was a rock tune, “Every Time I Roll The Dice.” We did fairly well with the song at radio, well enough to fund a few live concerts for radio stations.  One such show was in Shreveport, LA for KTUX and the then program director Ken Shepherd.  Ken had been airing the song for me, so I went down to Shreveport to support the show. It was there that I met his son, 13 year-old, Kenny Wayne. 
 
His father introduced me to him, backstage, and said that Kenny was quite a guitar player for his age, and that he wanted me to hear him play. Kenny had a Stevie Ray Vaughan Fender Strat, and played for me without an amp.  He was good, real good.  He asked if I could get Delbert McClinton to let him jam with him on stage that evening.  Delbert wasn’t very enthusiastic about the idea without any rehearsal…not even in Shreveport, Louisiana.  Kenny understood, but I told him we would make it up to him.
 
Several months later I attended a Radio and Records convention in Dallas, as did Ken Sr. and his son.  A jam session was arranged and young Kenny played quite a few three-chord progression songs with the assembled musicians, but was a stand out when soloing.
 
It was then I decided to join Ken and Kenny Wayne for a trip to New Orleans, where we met blues guitarist, Bryan Lee. A legend in the New Orleans music circuit, Bryan was kind enough to invite us to THE OLD ABSINTHE BAR (closed in 1997) to jam. Kenny was quite excited at the opportunity until the manager of the club explained at the doorstep, that Kenny was under age and it was a problem having him on stage. After some financial negotiations and other assurances
we worked it out, and Kenny jammed with Bryan and his band.  He killed it and from that moment on, Kenny forged a life long friendship with Bryan Lee.
 
When I got back to LA, I called Ken Sr. and said, it’s time to do something with Kenny Wayne, let’s record a few songs.  We started in Shreveport in a local studio, but ended up doing a good portion of the tracks in a studio in New Orleans. We wanted to name the act, the Kenny Wayne Band, but after doing a title search had to change it to the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band because of a conflict.  I produced four songs, which were presented to record labels, along with a video, in order to secure a record deal.  The songs were:
 
What You Do To Me, 3:02 (Nadeau, Shepherd)
She Belongs To Me (Magic Sam), 3:00
Suits Me To A “T” (Buddy Guy), 5:12
Say Yeah 2:40  
 
A 3 Way Productions      8/20/93
Mastered at Future Disc Systems West Hollywood, CA
 
Irving Azoff signed Kenny to GIANT RECORDS, and hired David Z to produce and engineer the album at The House of Blues Studio in Memphis.  I had moved over from CURB to ZOO ENTERTAINMENT as Vice President of radio promotion.  I took a few vacation days to fly to Memphis to hear the record and try to help. When I heard the rough mixes I felt it lacked a solid radio hit.  Kenny, Mark Selby, and Tia Sillers, were working on a new song “Deja Voodoo”.  At my urging they cut the record after I did an arrangement rehearsal with the band.  “Deja Voodoo” went on to be a big rock radio hit, being heard by 64.47 million people to date, and Kenny never had to look back. The album it came from, “Ledbetter Heights”, spent 20 weeks topping the Billboard blues chart and Guitar World voted Shepherd #3 after B.B. King and Eric Clapton.
 
Kenny, Mark Selby, and Tia Sillers became a great song writing team eventually writing “Blue On Black” which skyrocketed the Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band to a whole other level.  Before long Kenny was touring with BB King, who had Delbert McClinton on his bill as the opening act. Many was the night that BB had Kenny Wayne play the guitar solo to his biggest hit, “The Thrill Is Gone.”  I always wondered if Delbert realized that Kenny Wayne Shepherd was the kid with all the blonde hair and a Strat backstage in Shreveport that wanted to jam with him.  I honestly think that he did.