Leroy Maxey Drumm (September 26, 1936 – November 26, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bluegrass/

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

songwriter who served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, in the 3rd Division as a sonar man aboard the (DD-707), an ''Allen M. Sumner''-class

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

and deployed to the Mediterranean from July 1956 to February 1957. Upon leaving the Navy he worked as a general laborer and welder in and around

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Leroy and Pete Goble co-wrote the song "Colleen Malone" recorded by

Hot Rize Hot Rize is a bluegrass band that rose to prominence in the early 1980s. Established in 1978, Hot Rize has appeared on national radio and TV shows, and has toured most of the United States, as well as Japan, Europe and Australia. History Hot ...

on their '' Take It Home'', that won the IBMA's Song of the Year award in 1991.

Career

The

Algonac, Michigan Algonac is a city in St. Clair County, Michigan, St. Clair County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,110 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Algonac is located at the southern end of the St. Clair River, just before it ...

-born Drumm was a

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

that some in the bluegrass world only knew by name in the shadows of others.

List of recorded songs

Larry Sparks Larry Sparks (born September 25, 1947) is an American Bluegrass singer and guitarist. He was the winner of the 2004 and 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year Award. 2005, won IBMA for Album of the Year and Re ...

: *Blue Virginia Blues *Natural Thing To Do *Halfway To Tulsa *Getting Over You *Slow Train *Tennessee 1949 *Gunfighter's Revenge *I'd Like To Be A Train *Little Ways Down The Road

Doyle Lawson Doyle Lawson (born April 20, 1944) is an American traditional bluegrass and Southern gospel musician. He is best known as a mandolin player, vocalist, producer, and leader of the 6-man group Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. Lawson was inducted into ...

& Quicksilver: *God Sent An Angel *Georgia Girl *Julianne *Poet With Wings *She's Walking Through My Memory

Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out (formerly known as IIIrd Tyme Out) is a bluegrass band formed in 1991 in Cumming, Georgia. Consisting of Russell Moore (lead vocals and guitar), Keith McKinnon (vocals and banjo), Nathan Aldridge (vocals and fid ...

: *Candle In The Wind *Count Every Teardrop I Cry *Silence And Pain *Woman Dressed In Scarlet *Moundsville Pen *Phone Call Away Charlie Waller and

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller (American musician), C ...

: *Delta Queen *Willow Creek Dam *Billy McGee The Drummer Boy *Back To Being Me *This Land Must Die *Free As The Wind *Circuit Rider *Joe's Last Train Bluegrass Cardinals: Apple Trees And Honey Bees Jubilee Road Morristown Bill Emerson: Last Night I Was There Days When You Were Mine My Heart Barely Keeps Me Alive AKA (This Heart You Have Broken) Today I Turned Your Picture To The Wall The Spinney Brothers The Whole World Must Be Knowin' (How Much I'm Missing You) Thank God For the Highways Various Other Artists: Leaving You And Mobile Too You Can Keep Your Nine Pound Hammer Colleen Malone Fiddler's Green I Can Make Him Whisper (I Love You) Lovin' Aint Been Easy On My Mind Born To Be A Drifter Back To Hancock County Dixie In My Eye Another Boy That Sings Like Hank Day We Learn To Fly Sweet Mary Of The Mountains Blue Mandolin I'm Ready To Go Walking The Blues Sally And The Gambler Bad Day In Akron How Strong Do My Walls Have To Be Restless Blue Eyed Lover Many Hills of Time Back To Dixie Walking In The Early Morning Dew Back To Sugarhill Old Man And The Kid Drumm began writing in 1952. In 1961 he was introduced to Pete Goble in a bar one night. Leroy showed Pete the lyrics he had been writing and Pete said they didn't make any sense. In Leroy's own words, Pete said "They was garbage, and a waste of his time to even look at them". Leroy was disgusted with these sort of comments, and he gave all the lyrics he had in a folder (about 200–250) "to a guy in the bar that night". He said "By doing this, I guess it was to assure myself that I'd no longer try to do something that I'd had no success at." In 1971, Pete reached out to Leroy to come co-write with him on songs. He had a successful run at writing some top songs in the 10 years since 1961 to include "Big Spike Hammer" with Bobby Osborne. Once Leroy and Pete started writing it all became a reality for Leroy, and since then his songs have been recorded by various notable artists. In 1974, Drumm had four songs recorded on the Country Gentlemen's album ''Remembrances & Forecasts'', "Willow Creek Dam", "Delta Queen" about the actual river boat the

Delta Queen The ''Delta Queen'' is an American sternwheel steamboat. She is known for cruising the major rivers that constitute the tributaries of the Mississippi River, particularly in the American South, although she began service in California on the ...

, "Billy McGee The Drummer Boy", and "Circuit Rider". In 1976 he was honored to have the Country Gentlemen use his song "Joe's Last Train" as the title track of their next album and the song "This Land Must Die" was on that same album. In 2006 ''The Complete Vanguard Recordings'' was released and the four tracks of Leroy's were used from ''Remembrances & Forecasts''. One of his last projects with Stacy Richardson was a favor for a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran named Private James W. Bozeman who went to church with Stacy. Leroy was asked to write a song about the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

and the account from a

combat medics A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...

point of view in the

94th Infantry Division In military terms, 94th Division or 94th Infantry Division may refer to: * 94th Division (People's Republic of China) * 94th Infantry Division (German Empire) * 94th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) * 94th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 94th Gu ...

. His lyrics composed with Stacy's melody was posted on the

's website as a tribute to American heroes who fought and died in World War II.

Death

Leroy Drumm died due to complications of respiratory and heart failure at his home in

Waynesboro, Tennessee Waynesboro is a city in and the county seat of Wayne County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,449 at the 2010 census, up from 2,228 in 2000. History Waynesboro was founded in 1821 as a county seat for the newly created Wayne Count ...

, on 26 November 2010,

Legacy

Bob Mitchell of Radio Bluegrass International and WKWC-FM

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

did a one-hour

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...

to songwriters Leroy Drumm and Pete Goble. The international segment features bands from

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, the

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, and

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. It was recorded on January 15, 2011, at WFPK-FM 91.9, Louisville KY. In 2014,the title track of the album "The Day We Learn to Fly" that was written by Leroy and Stacy Richardson and recorded by the band Volume Five was nominated at the 25th Annual IBMA Awards for "Gospel Recorded Performance Of The Year. Leroy and his son Roger started a publishing company called "Sound of Drumm's Music" in late 2008, 2 years before Leroy's death, in which Leroy wanted Roger to carry his legacy on and publish many of his 700 other works of lyrics yet to be recorded. Roger has since teamed up with a select few of the best in the business of Bluegrass Music to finish these works to create music for the fans of Leroy's music to enjoy for years to come. Once his entire repertoire is completed, he will have over 1000 songs in his song catalog.

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drumm, Leroy 1936 births 2010 deaths Songwriters from Michigan American bluegrass musicians People from Algonac, Michigan People from Waynesboro, Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee Country musicians from Michigan