The outlaw you’ve never heard

Image courtesy Dennis Ledbetter

Country singer Dennis Ledbetter keeps dominating indie charts abroad

With sounds steeped in traditional country and a knack for the turn of a phrase, local singer-songwriter Dennis Ledbetter’s album has connected with listeners across the globe.

His late 2013 release If You Drive Me to Drinking (I’ll Buy the Gas) continues to get radio airplay. The album has spawned hit after hit on independent radio charts such as New Music Weekly and the Country Internet Top 30.

Here in Baton Rouge, however, respect and listening ears haven’t come easy.

“I don’t know anybody in Baton Rouge who has done as well on the charts as I have done in 2014,” he says. “Yet, nobody in Baton Rouge knows who the hell I am.”

The 62-year-old is learning what many local musicians figure out early—this is one hard city to have a breakthrough in. It takes time, hard work and hustle for even the smallest successes, such as getting a page like on Facebook. Ledbetter’s played shows here and there, at places like Chelsea’s and Cadillac Café, and he’s sold more than 1,500 copies of his 2013 album. But like others in the area, he’s frustrated yet willing to do what he can.

“I can’t complain,” he says. “Looking back, there are probably a few things I could have done differently.”

His story starts in the late ’70s. As a mechanical engineer, he traveled across the country for work. Wherever work took him, he sought out opportunities to sing.

“People might say, ‘You haven’t paid your dues,’” he says. “I’ve probably paid more dues than most of them because I had to go into a place, meet these people and convince them to let me get on stage.”

“I don’t know anybody in Baton Rouge who has done as well on the charts as I have done in 2014. Yet, nobody in Baton Rouge knows who the hell I am.”

After years of playing, Ledbetter almost called it quits. Concentrating on work and family, he put music on the backburner for five years. Then in 2010, he met up with Nashville producer Tim Calhoun, who would hook Ledbetter up with prime studio time and musicians.

“If you could bottle the high that you get in the studio, you could make a fortune just off of that,” Ledbetter says. “You play these guys a demo, and from the first take, it’s like, ‘Bam, they got it.’”

Ledbetter’s songwriting and delivery are the main attractions of his music. If You Drive Me to Drinking takes a cue from country singers like George Jones, Conway Twitty and Hank Williams Jr. Songs like “She Ain’t Blind and You Ain’t Braille” and the title track tap into a humor and personality you won’t find in modern country.

“Most of the songs that come out right now are all the same,” Ledbetter says. “[There is] no soul in it.”

The album continues to propel Ledbetter into the spotlight. His latest track, “What Am I Gonna Do,” is a semi-autobiographical song about divorce that has stayed active on the indie charts since its release in October 2014.

The Capital City hasn’t caught on quite yet, but Ledbetter is thankful. He remains hungry, learning more about the business every day. Even if the city isn’t paying attention, he’s looking forward to the next release, when the time comes.

One song he might put on his next album is called “Louisiana Dead.” Today, sitting in a crowded coffee shop, he starts singing its chorus: “I was Louisiana born, Louisiana bred, and when I die, I’ll be Louisiana dead.”

The shop gets quiet for a few seconds, and there’s a sense that some people sitting around us might just want to know who the hell this guy is. dennisledbetter.com