Biography
Larry Dean emerged as a leading advocate for the Bakersfield sound while exerting considerable influence across the West Coast country circuit. His birth occurred in Texas before his upbringing unfolded in Oklahoma and Idaho inside a devout household that prohibited dancing together with non-religious music.
The eldest of two sons, he shouldered duties on the family farm and passed solitary stretches working the land, an experience that prompted him to compose songs mentally. Without formal instruction he performed during his teenage years alongside assorted groups throughout the Middleton, ID vicinity.
He relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 and established the ensemble Larry Dean and the Shooters one year later. Multiple citations from ASCAP and the California Country Music Association for his songwriting and performance abilities drew Nashville’s interest in 1985, after which he spent two years there sharpening his craft as a tunesmith.
Dean returned to the West Coast in 1989 following an appearance on Ralph Emery’s TNN morning broadcast; prior to the move he partnered with Wayne Carson to write material for the album Outside Chance. That 1989 project contained the title track, created with Carson, along with “Old Time Movies,” and both singles entered the charts.
The 1995 release From a Distance earned strong critical approval even though country radio overlooked it.
As an active participant in the Bakersfield movement, Dean secured the esteem and personal regard of Roy Nichols, the celebrated guitarist who backed Wynn Stewart, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard. Nichols served as Dean’s mentor and stressed the value of transmitting Bakersfield and West Coast traditions to younger players. Dean extended similar guidance to several emerging talents, among them California native and Merle Haggard disciple Michael Dart.
Remaining constantly in motion, he played throughout the West and attracted loyal followings among honky-tonk patrons as well as ranchers, rodeo performers, and cowgirls. His songwriting stayed rooted in the Bakersfield idiom while also celebrating the cowboy culture he knew firsthand. As a producer he worked in both Los Angeles and Nashville and was regularly enlisted to develop rising artists.
The eldest of two sons, he shouldered duties on the family farm and passed solitary stretches working the land, an experience that prompted him to compose songs mentally. Without formal instruction he performed during his teenage years alongside assorted groups throughout the Middleton, ID vicinity.
He relocated to Los Angeles in 1980 and established the ensemble Larry Dean and the Shooters one year later. Multiple citations from ASCAP and the California Country Music Association for his songwriting and performance abilities drew Nashville’s interest in 1985, after which he spent two years there sharpening his craft as a tunesmith.
Dean returned to the West Coast in 1989 following an appearance on Ralph Emery’s TNN morning broadcast; prior to the move he partnered with Wayne Carson to write material for the album Outside Chance. That 1989 project contained the title track, created with Carson, along with “Old Time Movies,” and both singles entered the charts.
The 1995 release From a Distance earned strong critical approval even though country radio overlooked it.
As an active participant in the Bakersfield movement, Dean secured the esteem and personal regard of Roy Nichols, the celebrated guitarist who backed Wynn Stewart, Lefty Frizzell, and Merle Haggard. Nichols served as Dean’s mentor and stressed the value of transmitting Bakersfield and West Coast traditions to younger players. Dean extended similar guidance to several emerging talents, among them California native and Merle Haggard disciple Michael Dart.
Remaining constantly in motion, he played throughout the West and attracted loyal followings among honky-tonk patrons as well as ranchers, rodeo performers, and cowgirls. His songwriting stayed rooted in the Bakersfield idiom while also celebrating the cowboy culture he knew firsthand. As a producer he worked in both Los Angeles and Nashville and was regularly enlisted to develop rising artists.
Albums
