Gary Talley will be offering classes at the 4th Annual Performance Talent Boot Camp June 18th - 25th.

In 1967, while still an infant, Gary Talley began his career as lead guitarist for the Grammy-nominated group, The Box Tops. Their "blue-eyed soul" hits like "The Letter," and "Cry Like a Baby" hit the charts like a tornado, selling millions of copies, and they continue to sweep across the country on radio stations today. The Box Tops disbanded in 1970, but their reunion nearly 30 years later in 1997 was kicked off with a national tour at the House of Blues in Hollywood. Gary still tours and records with the group, contributing original songs and background vocals.

After his initial stint with The Box Tops, Gary’s soulful (and highly acclaimed) guitar sounds were in demand. He found himself playing with music carbuncles like Jerry Butler, Billy Lee Riley, Hank Ballard, and Ace Cannon at the legendary Sounds of Memphis Studio and later at Universal Studios also in Memphis.

Gary's reputation led him to the larger market of Atlanta in 1972, where he added jingle sessions and touring to his growing number of master sessions for major label artists. While playing guitar with such legends as Pat Boone, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Dobie Gray, Freda Payne, Billy Joe Royal, and many others, Gary still (barely) found the time to write songs and teach guitar.

At the encouragement of friend and producer, Chips Moman (Elvis, Willie Nelson), Gary headed north to Nashville in 1981. Chips hadn’t steered Gary wrong, because he soon found himself recording with Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Sam Moore (of the duo Sam and Dave), and others. As a songwriter, he has penned cuts for Keith Whitley, The Box Tops, James Cotton, T.G. Shepard, Fish Heads & Rice and others. He has continued writing and teaching, while at the same time playing television appearances, live events or touring with artists like Billy Preston, Sam Moore, Pam Tillis, Brenda Lee, Tammy Wynette, Rufus Thomas, Tim McGraw, Sam "the Sham" Samudio, David Lee Murphy, Bobby Whitlock, Tracy Nelson, Dr. John, Mac Gayden, Bobby Bare, Ray Vega, Deirdre Reilly, the Hombres, Jason D. Williams, James Carr, Lloyd Price, and Little Eva among others.

It is Gary’s wonderful and diverse background which inspired him to develop a unique, effective and streamlined approach to teaching guitar which is especially designed for songwriters. Internationally renown publications like Acoustic Guitar and American Songwriter have published cover stories, articles and lessons about his techniques. He includes stars like Pam Tillis, and Sherrié Austin, along with hit songwriters likeAmanda Hunt-Taylor, Rory Bourke, Monty Powell, Holly Lamar and Tom Douglas among the many satisfied students on his roster. In fact Sherrié Austin claims she could not have written some of the songs on her first album without Gary’s lessons. As word spread throughout the trades and among the song writing community, Gary was being encouraged to share his sensational teaching approach to a broader market. That’s what led to his fun and innovative three-lesson 55-minute instructional video, Guitar Playing for Songwriters. Gary will be doing workshops and special appearances at festivals and conferences throughout 2010 to give more people access to his proven methods.

For more information, please call 325-372-8600 or email performancetalent@yahoo.com.