HAMLET – Any fans of The Outlaws out there? I bet there are!
Meet Harvey Dalton Arnold….
I thoroughly enjoy writing and sharing some of my experiences being on the road, making friends and playing music with some noted and famous players, but none any more so than my good friend Harvey Dalton Arnold.
Harvey was a member of The Outlaws during their peak. He filled a spot on that roster so very well for several years, but prior to that, it all started in Rose Hill, a farming community located in Duplin County, North Carolina. He first started playing drums and piano there at thirteen years of age and later began playing guitar.
Harvey played in various local lineups and one day a particular band needed a bass player. Being left-handed, young Harvey needed one of the guys to restring a right-handed bass guitar upside down so that he could play it. Harvey’s talent later took him to Florida where he played bass with a band in Tampa called “Fresh Squeezed”- a perfect name for a Florida band, don’t you think?
Henry Paul and Monte Yoho, both members of The Outlaws based in Tampa, were in need of a bass player prior to their next tour. They were told to come check out this left-handed bass player one night, and they did. They must have really liked what they saw in Harvey and invited him to an audition. He was given some material on the following Sunday for the audition on Monday with The Outlaws and they hired him on right then. He had only a day or so for rehearsal in his new job and then on Thursday he found himself on the big stage on the same bill with Johnny Winter. He was a bit surprised when he walked out on that stage in Birmingham, AL and a wall of thousands of screaming fans hit him squarely in his face. It was a real “wow” moment but young Harvey met his newly found success head on and nailed his parts. Folks, the rest was just history.
After many years of being a “rock star” on the road while trying to simultaneously raise a family, Harvey eventually left The Outlaws. Although he never totally left music, he slowed it down quite a bit for a while. There were lots of people trying to pull him in various directions musically because of his past success with The Outlaws. However, he pretty much wanted to do his own music and play at his desired pace. Being a super-talented singer, bass guitar player, writer, and by then becoming an excellent slide guitar player as well, things once again started happening for him.
But then something happened in 2005 that placed him in a very difficult situation. After being examined and tested, he was told he had cancer in his throat. OK, being a singer this wasn’t good news at all, nor for anyone for that matter. His doctors put him immediately into what was considered “intensive treatment” to try to stop it. After 60 radiation treatments and 5 chemo treatments, things started looking better and finally he became cancer free. This period was a very difficult time regarding work and just trying to stay alive. But he pushed hard and fought it every single day and step of the way toward his recovery. So after going through all of that, the very big question he had to ask himself was if he could still sing. After many months of hard work and practicing his singing and trying to regain his tone and range, well, it must have come back because today he is still at it.
He has played with his own band since then and has a couple of other projects he is involved in but there is one organization I want to mention that he has been part of for about 15 years now and that is Music Maker Foundation. This is an amazing organization that reaches out to many deserving musicians. Music Maker has done so very much for so many and has been a true advocate for Blues Music and musicians for a long time now. Harvey works directly with them and the gigs they have placed Harvey in has far reaches all over this and other countries. As a matter of fact, Harvey is headed over to Europe later this year via Music Maker with so much more on the calendar. This organization is run by a board of directors and it is a star-studded board. Since Harvey signed on with them this has been a wonderful relationship that has rewarded him many times over. For more information on Music Maker please visit their website; www.musicmaker.org
I have to say it has been an honor to have been friends with Harvey and making music with him as I have many times over the years. He is simply one of the best of the best for a band-mate and for just being friends. You’re the best Harvey – we all appreciate you!
