Bobby E. Denton is a former Democratic member of the

Alabama Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

, who represented the 1st District since 1978, and was the Dean of the Senate, an honorary title. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

and is a previous Director of Development at

Northwest Shoals Community College The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...

. Denton retired from the State Senate in 2010.http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090503/ARTICLES/905035024/1011/NEWS?Title=Denton-to-retire-in-2010 He is unrelated to former Alabama

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Jeremiah Denton Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. (July 15, 1924 – March 28, 2014) was an American politician and military officer who served as a U.S. Senator representing Alabama from 1981 to 1987. He was the first Republican to be popularly elected to a Sena ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Background

Denton was born during the Great Depression to sharecroppers and had no electricity as a child. He was first elected in 1976 to the Colbert County Commission and then won the first of his nine Senate elections in 1978.

Career

He served in the Alabama Senate for 32 years, winning nine Senate elections. In 2002 he became Dean of the Senate, an honorary title given to the most senior member of the Senate. According to Senate historian Jon Morgan, Denton served longer continuously than any other senator in Alabama history.

The Singing Senator

Senator Denton is also known as "The Singing Senator". In 1956 Tune Records, a small recording company in

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the st ...

, recorded Senator Denton as a teenager singing "A Fallen Star". Later Senator Denton joined promoter Judd Phillips, brother of

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...

. Sam was the founder of

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...

and discovered

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. Senator Denton recorded four songs for Judd and later appeared on the

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...

Show. While on the Dick Clark Show on September 6, 1958, he sang "Back to School." In 1997 Senator Denton returned to his musical roots and began recording again. He has recorded several albums and performs for live audiences.

Family

Denton got married while still a teenager to his wife, Barbara. They had three children. He had a son, Mike, who died from a staph infection after knee surgery at the age of 42.

References

External links

State Senator Bobby E. Denton
''official state government site'' * Democratic Party Alabama state senators 1938 births Living people People from Colbert County, Alabama University of Alabama alumni Singers from Alabama American male singers American members of the Churches of Christ {{Alabama-politician-stub