Denton celebrates 87th birthday
Bobby Denton, a native of Cherokee, was born on Aug. 13, 1938, in the midst of the Great Depression.
He was born to sharecropper parents that lived in a home with no electricity.
As a teenager, Denton approached a man named James Joiner about recording music.
Joiner, who founded Tune Records in Florence in 1956, had Denton sing a song called “A Fallen Star.”
According to the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Denton recorded the track in one take at WLAY Radio while another song was broadcast over the air.
This record is believed to be the first recording master used to press a commercial record in the state of Alabama.
Denton would later join promoter Judd Phillips, whose brother Sam founded Sun Records in Memphis and discovered Elvis Presley.
Denton would record four songs with Judd Phillips that proved popular enough to get the singer a spot on the Sept. 6, 1958, edition of “The Dick Clark Saturday Night Beechnut Show,” where he sang a song called “Back to School.”
Denton would tour with some big-name stars before eventually leaving the music business in 1960.
Later on, Denton would get into a completely different field — politics.
He was elected to the Colbert County Commission in 1976 before winning a race to represent District 1 in the Alabama State Senate in 1978.
According to Denton’s website, he would serve eight consecutive terms spanning 32 years before retiring from the state Senate in 2010.
He was known as the “Singing Senator,” and in 2002 he was given the honorary title Dean of the Senate as its most senior member.
Senate historian Jon Morgan said Denton served longer continuously than any other senator in Alabama history.
Denton began recording music again in 1997, including a 13-song gospel album called “My God and I.”
According to his website, he has recorded 88 songs and written four books. He is a member of the Church of Christ, and a graduate of Cherokee Vocational High School and The University of Alabama.
His work can be found at bobbydentonmusic.com.
Denton was married to his wife Barbara for 60 years before she passed away in December of 2017.
They had three children — Julie, Mike and Roger. Mike passed away in 2002.
They also have three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Denton was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2010. At the time of induction, he had spent more than 15 years as Director of Development at Northwest Shoals Community College.
Earlier this year, Denton and his family and friends celebrated his 87th birthday at Momma Jean’s Restaurant in Tuscumbia.
Friends L.C. and Lousie Lenz, who run LaGrange College Site Park, said Denton is remembered for his many endeavors and projects brought to north Alabama.
Lousie Lenz said he wrote the bill to transfer ownership of the park to the LaGrange Living Historical Association in 1995.
“His good deeds are numerous,” Lenz said. “We are proud to say Bobby has been a good friend all these years to us and to others who knew him best.”
As part of a social media post about his birthday, Denton said “Thanks to all the friends who sent Happy Birthday wishes to me. BLESS YOUR HEART! I never thought I would live to be this old. GOD is GOOD!”
