After 58 years in the music business, the South Dakota native says he has a repertoire of 5,000 songs, only a small portion of which will be on his playlist for his three appearances at the fair with his wife, vocalist Pam Linton,  and his long-time band, “The Cotton Kings”.

 

The first show at 11 a.m. will feature “Old Time Gospel Music” and a sing-along with favorite hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross,” “Rock of Ages” and “The Church in the Wildwood,” with Linton playing along on the pump organ.  Though he says he is not a keyboardist, Linton and his brother bought their first used pump organ for $.25 at a rummage sale at the Methodist Church in Hazel, SD when they were kids, even though their mother was sure it contained mice and forced them to play it in the woodshed.  The tone fits the gospel music, he said, and he has some classic antique pump organs on display in his Minnesota home today.

 

The 1:30 p.m. show will be all about classic country and rockabilly songs, including classics from Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly, some original songs and, of course, Elvis.  Linton recalls the station manager at the radio station in Watertown SD telling him not to play too much of that Elvis Presley, because he’s “just a flash in the pan, a year from now nobody will remember him.”  They laughed about that comment every time they saw each other for years afterwards, Linton said.  He had his own radio show on KWAT Radio at the age of 16, playing and singing and interviewing teenagers in addition to spinning Elvis (and other) records.

 

Linton’s 3:00 p.m. show is all about The Man in Black, a “Tribute to Johnny Cash.”  Linton knew most members of the Cash family well and toured with Tommy Cash in his Johnny Cash tribute show, as well as singing with other family members over the years.  Linton has some treasured Johnny Cash memorabilia, including a pair of boots Cash took of during a show in 1976 and called Linton up on the stage to try on.  “How do they feel,” Cash asked, to which Linton had the wit to reply, “Nobody could ever fill your shoes, Johnny.”  Cash gave him the boots on the spot and later signed them, and finished playing the rest of the show in his stocking feet.  “Never did figure out why,” Linton said.

 

Linton performed his Johnny Cash show at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in May, and is booked for a return engagement in October.  Each 75-minute set tells the Johnny Cash story, intermingled with some of his greatest hits.

 

Linton’s started with his first band, “The Rocketeers,” playing in Minnesota and the Dakotas in the 1950’s, according to his biography.  Moving to Minneapolis in 1957, he changed the name to “The Fender Benders”, and the group played ballrooms and nightclubs from the Midwest to California.

 

In Nashville in 1966, Linton recorded “Cotton King”, a country hit that went high on the charts and brought him to the attention of Grand Ole Oprey legend Roy Acuff, with whom he toured in 1968.  A 1970’s single, “When She Cries”, won multiple awards, and Linton and his band played from Canada to Texas with stops in Las Vegas and points west.

 

Other projects include a 1986 novelty song called “Santa Got A DWI” which is based on a true story.  A Holiday show he was playing in Fulda, MN found itself short of a Santa Claus, and a local replacement had to be hurriedly found, Linton said.  Apparently, the Jolly Old Elf had gotten just a bit too jolly before the show, and was not the steadiest on the stage.

 

Linton found himself wondering if the ride home had been successful for the fellow, and he was in the shower when the lyrics “just came to me.”  Bolting out and dripping wet, Linton grabbed pen and paper and wrote the song down, which they played that night.  The anti-drunk driving message song has been recorded and played on the air uncounted times, Linton said, a true best-seller.

 

Friends with the comedy team of Williams & Ree, (aka The Indian and the White Guy), Linton appeared in their comedy film “Totem Ree Call” in 2000.  “Funny movie, it was just an hour too long,” Linton said.  His recent releases include the CD “It Happened in America” and a re-release of his 1970’s tribute album called “Hello, I’m Not Johnny Cash.”

 

Linton’s long career is the subject of a documentary being created by Pioneer Public Television in Appleton, MN, which is titled: “Sherwin Linton: Forever on the Stage.”   The show will debut on October 25 on the Pioneer station in Appleton, with several early showings scheduled, including a Twin Cities preview on at the Heights Theater in Colombia Heights on October 12.