The History of Michael Coleman

Michael Eugene Coleman born September 21, 1957. Began his musical career at the age of nine (9) years old. Coming from a musical family my grandfather was a guitar player. He passed it down to my father, who eventually passed it on to my oldest brother, who passed it down to me. I can remember going to see my brother playing shows in Benton Harbor. Playing guitar with different bands in the city. I found myself fascinated with the guitar. During this time I was around nine or ten years old my brother would leave and go do whatever he was doing and that was the only time I could get to practice on guitar. I had to sneak and play because I wasn’t allowed to touch his guitar while he was gone. But just like a child I my curiosity would get the best of me, and I would try to play every chance I would get. Well one day my brother left and I proceeded to get his guitar and practice. Well as it would have it he came home early that day. I had to use the restroom, I remember it like it was yesterday. I laid the guitar down while I went to the restroom, and when he came home, he saw his guitar on the floor. Busted!! I couldn’t say a thing I was caught in the act. He hit the ceiling. He yelled at me about disobeying my parents and playing his guitar while he was gone. Well later that day he came to me and told me he really didn’t mind me playing his guitar, but put it away when I’m finished. That same year (1968) my parents bought me my own beginners guitar for Christmas. I had my little instructors book and my acoustic guitar and I played and practiced every chance I got. With the guitar passed down from my father to my brother down to me. My father who loved the blues. He loved artist like BB King, Howling Wolf, Bobby Blue Bland, Lightening Hopkins, Jr. Walker and Johnnie Taylor. Although the Beatles were played on the radio, the songs were not played in our household very much. The blues was played all the time in my house. It seemed that playing the blues was all I knew about. Then the Motown sound began to come along in our household. It was then I began to learn about groups like The Temptations, The Four Tops, and James Brown. I can remember as a child in Michigan I was practicing, and I would sneak and play my brothers guitar. Whenever he would leave, that was my only time I could play guitar. we were visiting my parent’s home in Tennessee. I went to I came to know later was a pawn shop. I became very interested in this guitar at that shop. The owner saw that my interest in this guitar was strong. He told me the cost was $15.00. I only had $12.00 to my name. So my uncle who was there with me gave the guy the other $3.00 for me to purchase that guitar. I was over the top excited. That was the start of my professional career as a guitar player. 

 (2) Now I’m a teenager in Jr. high school in Benton Harbor I decided that I wanted to form my first band to play in the school’s talent show. The band was called “The Five Keys”. We won 2 place. Losing to this non-baton twirling child. I was very disappointed because as much as we rehearsed I really felt we did great. Outside of losing in the championship game in little league baseball. That was another disappointed blow in my life. Moving forward, I’m now in high school. I get a call from a classmate that a band in my high school was looking for a guitar player. So I auditioned and got the job with the band who were called “The Ace of Spades”. That lasted about a year. Then I started wrapping myself up into sports. Mainly Football and Track & Field. Well playing sports and playing music whenever I could. I began to really enjoy the music industry. All of sudden, my heart was no longer into sports. I had made up my mind that I wanted to find out everything I could about getting ahead as a musician. So another good friend of mind offered me a job as a guitarist working the country club circuit. That experience taught me so much about the music industry I was so into all the different music to be played and sang in the world. After a couple of years on that circuit I received a call from that same friend about a job on the road with a group based in Columbus, Ohio. That experience truly motivated me that much more to become a professional musician.