I stumbled into doing this by myself and still play solo over half of the time.
I play a wide mix of mostly upbeat country/blues/rock-ish things; I walk that fine line between playing them loud enough to hear for those who want to listen and soft enough to ignore by the non-musical folks. With very few exceptions, I stick with songs I'd play if mama was in the place; I suppose you'd have to know her to know exactly what that means, but you probably have some idea....
People usually want "real" songs by other people; If it's their place and they're paying me, that's probably what I'm gonna do.
This is my page, so I'll only have my songs here; That is, except for a handful to show that I can do other people's songs, in case someone wants that...
I play a wide mix of mostly upbeat country/blues/rock-ish things; I walk that fine line between playing them loud enough to hear for those who want to listen and soft enough to ignore by the non-musical folks. With very few exceptions, I stick with songs I'd play if mama was in the place; I suppose you'd have to know her to know exactly what that means, but you probably have some idea....
People usually want "real" songs by other people; If it's their place and they're paying me, that's probably what I'm gonna do.
This is my page, so I'll only have my songs here; That is, except for a handful to show that I can do other people's songs, in case someone wants that...
The Andy Griffith Show is over 65 years old and it's still on TV every day.... somewhere...
I wrote these songs one weekend when I was planning on painting my house. It rained the whole weekend, so I needed something to do. This was it...
This section is in black & white for a reason; If you're a true fan of The Andy Griffith Show, you know why....
I wrote these songs one weekend when I was planning on painting my house. It rained the whole weekend, so I needed something to do. This was it...
This section is in black & white for a reason; If you're a true fan of The Andy Griffith Show, you know why....
FROM MY HOUSE TO MAYBERRY
COVER SONGS
Here are a few from a few decades ago; For a few months, I recorded a jingle every few days for Jack Smith, who owned Jack's Music in Conway, Arkansas. I set out to make the most obnoxious commercials possible for a local radio station. I "performed" most of the jingles as Slim Whitman's third cousin, Lardbucket. They did their job; People came in to see that Lardbucket guy.....
OBNOXIOUS RADIO COMMERCIALS FROM LONG AGO
(just a taste)
In my quest to prove that I'm not a real musician and that I have no idea of what a "professional" is supposed to do, I'll be making some anti-albums of some of my songs. If I'm not going to make any money from these songs, then neither are any studio owners or other professional music people. It's zero dollars and twenty steps to the Upper Room at my house...
I'm just hoping a few people will listen and maybe tap a toe or grin for a minute; If something sounds a little familiar, it's probably not a coincidence...
I'm just hoping a few people will listen and maybe tap a toe or grin for a minute; If something sounds a little familiar, it's probably not a coincidence...
OK here are a few covers of real songs to prove I can do that if somebody wants me to.
Who am I kidding? That's almost always what people want; Nobody seems to want to hear anything original...
Who am I kidding? That's almost always what people want; Nobody seems to want to hear anything original...
All songs and music copyright 2026, Eugene Dale Stokes
All songs written, sung, played, recorded and produced by Dale Stokes in The Upper Room. He also stomped on a drum pedal now and then. No one else was around, so there's no one else to blame for everything here. "Pay Attention" was made possible by my wife, Sarah, when she spent the day with a friend, leaving me alone in an empty house long enough to do this. She went to see family in KC a few days later, so the house was empty again - and now there's "Plain Ol' Songs."
All songs written, sung, played, recorded and produced by Dale Stokes in The Upper Room. He also stomped on a drum pedal now and then. No one else was around, so there's no one else to blame for everything here. "Pay Attention" was made possible by my wife, Sarah, when she spent the day with a friend, leaving me alone in an empty house long enough to do this. She went to see family in KC a few days later, so the house was empty again - and now there's "Plain Ol' Songs."
A collection of stories that I've calculated to be about 92% true. It's probably 100% if you count people that I don't know.
A collection of songs with a slightly lower percentage of truth. Like the first collection, there's something here for everyone, and something for everyone to hate....
The first 16 songs
The next 15 songs