By Edward Husar
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
LaGrange, MO.

Jack Childress of LaGrange says music has been part of his life ever since he was a kid. His father, a truck driver for 45 years, bought Childress a guitar when he was young. Childress quickly learned to plunk out some tunes. "And I always liked to sing," he said. Music stayed with Childress throughout his life - even when he, like his father, went on to become a truck driver for many years. Childress wrote dozens of songs while spending hours on the road. He performed them mainly for members of his family. In 1980, he paid to have an album of his songs produced. The album contained a dozen of his country music creations, including the album's title song, "Momma Rode a Honda," a tune he often sang to his four children. "That was my kids' favorite song when they were growing up," he said. Childress' songs seldom got any recognition, except when a friend sang one of his favorite tunes, "A Sweetheart Rose," and placed second in a music contest in Nashville. The song caught the attention of country singer Ray Price, who offered to buy it for $500. Childress, however, didn't want to relinquish all future rights to the song as the offer stipulated. "I should have done it," he said. "I would have been famous by now." Instead, only a few people ever got to hear the song. But Childress hopes that's about to change. The song, performed by Carly Lyons, has been included in a newly released cassette tape of country music, "America," produced by Hilltop Records of Hollywood. The cassette features 16 songs by little known artists and songwriters, but Childress hopes it will give him a foothold to further his songwritmg career.

Since he retired from full-time truck driving, Childress has been venturing more into music making. This past weekend he was scheduled to begin taping some songs for another album of his own musical creations. Childress said he's even thinking about releasing some of his songs on one of the Internet sites that offer free distribution of music to computer users. Childress doesn't fancy himself as a great singer or a great musician. But he thinks his songs have some merit. "I don't want to be a singer. I don't want to be a star. I'm too old and ugly," he said. But he wouldn't mind having others catch on to the songs he's written over the years. That's why he's hoping his record-making ventures will ignite some interest. "God gave me a talent. He gave me something that he didn't give a lot of other people. It's a sin for me not to do something with it," he said. "That's why I pushed so hard over the years to get my music out." In mid-July, Childress did something he'd never done before. He performed one of his songs on stage before a large group of people. He decided to compete in a country music "showdown" at the Pike County Fair in Pleasant Hill, Illinois. Unfortunately, nervousness and unfamiliarity with the backup band led to disaster. Childress at one point forgot the words to his own song, and his performance went up flames. I'd never been on stage before. I just lost it," he said. "I've done a lot of scary things but nothing as scary as that was." Childress says the showdown nonetheless "was quite a thrill," and he plans to try it again next year.

Meanwhile, he plans to continue writing music - something that seems to come naturally to him. "Music is in my blood. I can't get it out," he said. Childress says he begins the song-writing process by developing the melody. Then he writes the lyrics to fit. "I've got to have that tune in my head before I can write the words for it," he said. Inspiration will strike suddenly, and Childress has been able to bat out a song in 20 minutes. "When a song comes to me, I'll write it just like that," he said, snapping his fingers. When he's not writing music, Childress can often be found relaxing at his home near the confluence of the Mississippi and Wyaconda rivers in northeast LaGrange. The house was inundated in the 1993 flood, but Childress quickly cleaned the place up and had it looking better than ever. Childress, who was born in Hunnewell and went to high school in Canton, has lived in LaGrange since 1990. He returned to this area after operating a country music nightclub in St. Louis for several years. He subsequently got back into driving a truck. But now that he's retired, Childress plans to devote more time to music. "I love it," he says.