Genre: Pop/Rock
For fans of: Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, Brent Bourgeois, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Susan Ashton
Label: Rocketown Records

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I have the privileged distinction of being the first person ever to hear an original Wayne Kirkpatrick song. It was 1975, Wayne was 14, and he had written a tune called "Lady Wind". I still remember the lyrics to the chorus. "Lady Wind, blowing in my mind/ Telling of the places she's left behind/ She was with me where I went/ where I've gone, where I've been?/ And now she's gonna leave me/ Lady Wind." Looking at them now, they seem kinda … cheesy. Okay, very cheesy. But at the time I thought they were brilliant, insightful, thought provoking musings on the very essence of life. Of course I had to think that. I was 11. And I was Wayne's little brother.

It was the year we moved from Alexandria, Louisiana to Baton Rouge. Our father had left a successful real estate business to follow a calling to be a preacher, and we were more or less starting a new life. It hit Wayne the hardest. Being the new guy at a new high school is a tough assignment for any young teen, let alone one who doesn't say much to begin with. One week we had gone with Dad to a Bible camp in Florida, and there was a guy there who had a guitar. He taught Wayne and I how to play this old Baptist hymn, "Just A Closer Walk With Thee," and I swear we must've played it fifty times a day. After all, it was Bible camp. What else were we supposed to do? There was no way to know at the time the significance of this simple guitar lesson, but it would change Wayne's life forever. We had a guitar at home, or rather I should say I had a guitar, emphasis on had. When we returned home, Wayne soon absconded with my pathetic yet precious Sears acoustic axe and he was rarely heard from again.

And when Wayne started dating? Whoa. Talk about fertile soil. In 11th grade he met Fran, who would eventually become his wife. During the last two years of high school—when they met, broke up, and got back together—Wayne's songs could be labeled one of three ways: "I love Fran", "I don't love Fran", or "I miss Fran." They were so personal and specific to her, yet they helped me navigate the turbulent emotional waters of teen dating and puppy love. It was comforting to know that someone out there was going through the same thing I was, and especially comforting knowing that that someone was my own brother.

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