DuWayne and Rhonda Heyd off to Nashville

Posted: Aug 24 2014

 

The Cowboy Church in Nashville has invited DuWayne and Rhonda Heyd along with their promoter, Bobby G. Rice, to lead gospel music during the worship service on Sunday, August 31st. Millions of viewers watch the service via the “web” from all around the world. The Cowboy Church was started over 20 years ago by Johnny Cash’s sister, Joanne Cash, and her husband Pastor Yates, and has received worldwide acclaim. While in Nashville, they have been invited to perform at two shows on Saturday August 30th, with some renowned country music stars.

The title sound track of their album, “I Love You Because” was released worldwide to over 6400 radio stations and their promoter is expecting great results.

 

For more information on the Cowboy Church, visit http://nashvillecowboychurch.com/index.html

 

SPECIAL MUSICAL GUESTS - August 31
Bobby G. Rice
Robert Gene Rice (born in Boscobel, Wisconsin) is an American country music singer-songwriter, known professionally as Bobby G. Rice. Between 1970 and 1988, Rice released nine albums and charted thirty songs on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. His biggest hit, "You Lay So Easy On My Mind," went all the way to number one in 1973.
 
From the heartland of America, Bobby G. Rice first burst forth onto the music scene with a 1970 revival of the popular Jimmy Gilmore pop classic “Sugar Shack” and then Bruce Channel’s “Hey Baby.”
 
Born into a musical family with its own radio show, Bobby began performing publicly at an early age.  Later he decided to test his wings as a solo artist in his native Wisconsin.
 
He succeeded, however, beyond expectations: scoring nationally.  As a stylist, he proved especially adept in adding country flavor to spicy standards like “Lover Please”, “Mountain of Love” and  “Suspicion.”  
 
When “You Lay so Easy On My Mind” was introduced in late 1972, and was a hit for Bobby as well as several others.  “You Lay so Easy On My Mind” went on to be his first number one national chart record and was later recorded by such artists as Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, Roy Orbison, Pat Boone, Andy Williams, David Houston, Jerry Springer and others.  Proving he was no “one-hit wonder”, he scored the next spring with another Top 10 tune “You Give Me You.” 
 
He is that rare breed who shows us that, talent will win, by recording his initial hits on independent labels.  With his career in high gear, he followed through with more Top 10 singles, among them, “Write Me A Letter” and “Freda Comes Freda Goes”.  Country classics he has breathed new life into include: “Pick Me Up On Your Way Down,” “My Special Angel,” and “Oh Baby Mine..
 
Bobby G. Rice was the first major artist to record a song written by Teddy Gentry of “Alabama.”  The song was “I May Never Be Your Lover (But I‘ll Always Be Your Friend).” 
 
Despite such accomplishments, he has always been among the first to volunteer his talents for a benefit or worthy cause.   He remains the same, Bobby G. Rice, one step beyond ordinary entertainment.
DuWayne & Rhonda Heyd

DuWayne started out young, newly married and with his family, he moved them from North Dakota to Nebraska for opportunities and returned to North Dakota a few years later and opened his own construction company, which has been in operation for 42 years this April 2014. He and his wife, Kathy, of 49 years raised three kids, lived on a farm for many years and were involved with Arabian horses (competition, breeding, etc.).

 

DuWayne began his music career like most, playing with friends at local “gigs” and shows, he always had a lifelong dream of playing on the Opry and when he started a serious journey with his country music, he created his own stage show, called DuWayne Heyd and the Opry Style Band. He figured out that many folks, for one reason or another, did not have opportunities to see live shows/performances by their favorite artists, so DuWayne’s plan brought an Opry style of entertainment to them.


For several years, DuWayne wrote and recorded his music, became a part of the Independent Record charts and toured around the mid-west. During this time, Kathy, became ill with recurring medical issues. Around 2001, DuWayne quit his music completely to be her full time care giver and provider while still running the construction business. Sadly, Kathy passed away from cancer in 2011, leaving DuWayne completely empty.

The Lord heard DuWayne’s prayers of possibly finding true love again one day, and it was on February 23, 2013 when he met Rhonda Jones at a local volunteer guitar singing group she was facilitating with another friend. They met and fell in love. She helped restore a music fire in him that had been diminished for so many years.

Together they have been in the recording studio and got married on February 23, 2014 with a honeymoon to follow on her birthday, March 23, 2014 in Nashville, Tennessee. Together, they recorded an album entitled “I Love You Because” with Buba Hudson Productions in Nashville.DuWayne and Rhonda Heyd