This is David Corrie’s CD which is available on the internet.
Diagnosis leads to
fulfilling life dream
What good can come from a diagnosis of early-onset Alz-heimer’s disease?
Although it was initially devastating for part-time Guntersville resident David Corrie, some of the changes have been positive.
Four years ago he was “forced into retirement“ by the prognosis of being committed to a nursing home within 18 months.
He grew up in Plainfield, Indiana, and spent 32 years as managing partner for a financial service company. During a regular physical exam he told his doctor about occasional forgetfulness and disorientation.
“One day I was employed and the next day I wasn’t,“ he said. “You can’t handle people’s money with that kind of diagnosis.“
He and his wife of almost 4 decades, Betsy, sold their farm and moved to the Lexington, Kentucky, area to be near the nursing home he had chosen. He spent the next year watching television and being “hard to live with“ before deciding he didn’t want to quietly fade into the twilight.
“I went to a vocational psychologist and rediscovered music. I sang with a folk music group when I was at the University of Indiana in 1963.
“My children encouraged me to put down some of this music that I had taught them when they were small, so I went to a couple of recording studios. I sent one of the CDs to a record producer in Nashville. He said he really liked it and invited me to come to Nashville.“
That sounds like a fairy-tale story, and Mr. Corrie was properly skeptical. Six months and a few phone calls later, though, he and the producer had a heart-to-heart and decided to go ahead with the project.
“What really intrigued me was he wanted to do a tribute to Ricky Nelson, and I really loved his music as a kid.“
Most of the songs on the CD are songs made famous by Mr. Nelson, songs like “Hello Mary Lou“ and “Never Be Anyone Else But You.“ But as far as we know, Ricky Nelson didn’t record “Peace in the Valley.“ One of the back-up singers who worked on the recording, Michael Black, used to be a substitute for the Jordanaires. That’s the group that sang backup for Elvis Presley on his gospel songs, so it was natural to include one of Elvis’ well-known gospel hits.“
“I thought the CD was going to be a joke, but the producer got the best musicians in Nashville.“
The drummer has worked with Trisha Yearwood, and one of the steel guitar players worked with Peter Frampton, he said. The piano player has played with Patty Loveless.
The CD was recorded in 2 days at Omni Studios in Nashville. The backup singers, musicians and Mr. Corrie recorded their parts separately, and then an engineer wove them together.
Mr. Corrie put up the cash for the venture, and he’s handling marketing and sales himself.
“It’s really crazy, the success of this CD,“ he said. “We get orders practically every day.
“I’ve sold about 500 copies since January. I got a letter from a lady in France who said she plays it every day because it brings back a time in her life when things were so much simpler.“
Keeping life simple was a lesson he learned from granddaughter Catie, a Down Syndrome baby who died at a year old. He realized then that the most important things in life are relationships with people. That idea was reinforced by his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“Almost every day in my morning devotions I want to make sure that I embrace today with all my heart. Life is difficult, so you’ve got to bloom where you’re planted and make the most of it right where you are with all your heart. Today could be the last day of your life.“
He and Betsy found Gunters-ville through a child’s marriage. Son David Corrie Jr. married Tegan Sachs, daughter of Milla Sachs and the late Tom Sachs of Guntersville. The Corries split their time between Buck Island and Destin, Fla. They have 3 other children and 15 grandchildren.
“My prayer and my hope is that people who read this story or hear the music would put everything in neutral for a minute and say, ’So I’ve got this cancer or whatever it is. I’m going to plant my garden like I used to and try to invest in other people’s lives.’ God can direct something that’s moving a whole lot better than something that’s standing still. I wasted a whole year of my life before I figured this out.“
The CDs are available on the Internet at www.davidcorrie-music.com for $25, which in-cludes shipping.
