This article was published Wednesday, June 22 in the Gazette-Mail Kanawha Valley Neighbors and Metro Putnam.
Noted singer, songwriter Turley Richards returning to LaBelle Theater South Charleston native to perform in July 9th concert.
As 7-year-old Richard Turley stood in front of a movie screen, disrupting a showing of “Easter Parade,” a stranger called out and broke the tension: “It looks like he’s going to be in show business!”
That prediction, made more than 50 years ago in the darkness of the LaBelle Theater in South Charleston, came true.
Richard Turley, better known now as Turley Richards, went on to become a noted singer and songwriter, performing with the likes of Fleetwood Mac and The Moody Blues and appearing on “The Tonight Show.”
Richards, who is blind as a result of a childhood accident, has had highs and lows in his career, but he hasn’t let those troubles diminish his inner strength and desire to perform.
A Louisville, Ky., resident, Richards, 70, is coming home to his native South Charleston to perform in a concert at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) Saturday, July 9, at the LaBelle on D Street. This will be his second hometown performance since his last one in April.
Richards is coming back for another concert because of the warm reception he got the last time.
“It was such a neat feeling and a connection. I wanted to come back and do it again. There was a real love fest going on,” Richards said from his Louisville home.
During the course of his career, Richards signed with nine record labels, including Warner Bros., Atlantic Records and CBS/Columbia.
According to Richards’ website, he “cumulatively sold” 1,400,000 records, “but poor management of his career prevented him from achieving the stardom that everyone predicted.”
While Turley Richards didn’t become a national household name, his resume certainly reads like one.
He toured with The Moody Blues in the 1970s and with Fleetwood Mac. He has appeared with Dick Clark and was on “The Tonight Show.” He’s also performed at Royal Albert Hall in England.
“I did 17 shows with Richie Havens,” he said.
He is a veteran on the national concert circuit, having performed in hundreds of them. He’s performed in front of audiences numbering 20,000 up to 200,000.
“I had a really good career and it would have been sweeter if I had not been going blind at the same time. When I signed with Warner Brothers in 1968, the doctors had told me I’d be (totally) blind in six to eight months.”
Richards’ eyesight started to decline after a childhood accident involving a bow and arrow. The arrow pierced his left eye, which led to a total loss of vision in that eye. Eventually, the damage affected his right eye, too.
Always one to find a silver lining, Richards said he counts his blessings that he’s a blind singer and not a “blind electrician.”
Richards is a contented man, even though his journey in show business has been filled with a few valleys. He never let the low moments discourage him, though.
In the mid-1960s, he went to New York City “to make something happen,” according to his website.
He had $87, a suitcase and a guitar. With his money soon gone, he was reduced to selling his blood for money.
He managed to get jobs singing in pubs, and through that experience, he met Norman Schwartz, who managed jazz great Stan Getz and Gary McFarland. That led to his first record deal with MGM/Verve.
But as he relates on his website, bad management took its toll on his career. He doesn’t feel sorry for himself, though. He has a happy life in Louisville as a voice and songwriting coach. And he still sings, performs and writes music.
“In music, I had a bunch of bad things happen, but there are another thousand (entertainers) who had the same thing happen to them.”
Richards said he has fond feelings for the LaBelle Theater, site of his previous and upcoming concert.
“I grew up in the LaBelle. I went there every Saturday and went to the movies.”
The audience will be full of childhood friends.
Bob Anderson, executive director of the South Charleston Convention & Visitors Bureau, plans on being there.
“I grew up with him (nearby streets). He was always playing the guitar. All the kids liked him to play Elvis songs. We were fascinated by his music,” Anderson said.
Richards’ daughter, Amber, accompanied him during the April concert, and she sang, as well.
“His daughter is a great singer, too,” he said.
South Charleston resident Judy Romano also knew Richards growing up. Romano was at Richards’ April concert.
“He still sounds like he did years ago, and he loves his fans,” Romano said.
She remembered that Richards’ sister, Caroline, “taught majorette” at the local community center and that his mother “made outfits for the majorettes.”
“He’s very talented and has a keen sense of rhythm and sound,” Romano said.
Local musicians appreciate Turley Richards, as well.
Singer and guitar player Jeff Seager, who performs locally, attended Richards’ April concert and came away impressed.
Seager said Richards is adept at a wide range of musical styles, from folk to jazz to rock.
“He’s versatile beyond belief and very musically adept. You don’t see very many like him around here, and they don’t have that kind of depth — he’s very impressive,” Seager said.
Tickets to Turley Richards’ July 9 concert cost $15 each and are available at the LaBelle Theater, 311 D St., South Charleston and at The Daily Cup, 246 Seventh Ave., South Charleston. Tickets are also available on Richards’ website, www.turleyrichards.com (click on “tickets.”)
