Until recently, the idea of recording at Dark Horse Studios in Nashville as a mere pipe dream for David Daugherty. But the entertainer, known locally for his rendition of classic Elvis tunes, found there is more than one way to make that opportunity reality.

 

Soon, a CD featuring the artist and the latest version of the David D. Band, will be on the market. And, yes, it is being produced under the Dark Horse label.

 

The recording came about as a direct result of Daugherty’s tireless efforts to promote the music about which he is so passionate.

 

“I’m always sending stuff out and a year or so ago, I got an email from a lady at Dark Horse Recording asking me if I had a working band,” said Daugherty, a Fairmont resident who has been featured in various local venues, including Bridgeport’s Benedum Civic Center.

 

The proposition was this: If Daugherty and his band came to Nashville and worked with students of the Dark Horse Institute – the educational branch of the famed recording studio – he could record for about half the usual $50,000 price tag.

Daugherty said he was game. He gathered his musicians  – and his wife Chrissy – and made plans for the Nashville road trip.

 

“We worked with six students, each who had a song to produce, working with Dark Horse producers.”

 

The musicians spent about a week in the project after which the students spent another three weeks editing and mixing the tunes.

 

“There were three covers and three original songs,” Daugherty said. “Each of the students were responsible for one song.”

 

 The CD will feature Daugherty’s signature Elvis song, “Walk a Mile in My Shoes,” as well as remakes of “Suspicious Minds” and “It’s a Matter of Time.”

 

“Elvis messed with that one in the early ‘70s but didn’t do anything with it,” Daugherty said. “We rearranged it and made it really country.”

 

Daugherty originals include “The Princess Song” and “The Message Song,” both inspired by his wife, the latter an upbeat rock tune.

 

Although he is partial to both, he has a special soft spot for the remaining original, “Come Sit a While With Me.” It is his stepson Devin, on the autism spectrum, who inspired that one.

 

“I watched him and wrote it from his point of view,” Daugherty said. “Basic communication is a major thing. It’s hard for Devin and others with autism to tell you what they want to do or how they feel.”

 

Daugherty has already heard scratch versions of the newly recorded songs. He likes what he hears, but the music is a little different than what he’s used to.

 

“Some of the students didn’t even know Elvis’s music and they took some of the Elvis out of it,” he said. “And my voice is a little narrower – without a lot of vibrato or variations to it.”

 

The Nashville experience also included the making of a music video by Play it Again Promotions. That project was filmed by Gabriel Wren, who works as a hand on the hit TV show, “Nashville,” and produced by Nathan Watkins, who has worked with renowned artists such as Taylor Swift, Hunter Hayes and Tim McGraw.

 

“There were three or four cameras rolling while we put this together to ‘Walk a Mile in My Shoes,’” Daugherty said. 

 

Written for Presley by Joe South in 1969, that song has inspired an acronym – WAMIMS – which has been tagged the trademark for the recording project. And that trademark stands for a project which infuses Memphis soul, a country flavor and, of course, the music of The King.

 

“When I email it to radio stations, I hear that it’s almost too rock for country and too country for rock – which is good,” said Daugherty. “I like hearing that.”

 

Music continues to be the avenue through which Daugherty communicates his emotions. Documenting some of his favorite tunes with an established record label means a lot. Anything else which the CD brings is icing on the cake.

 

“I think all entertainers have a dream that the record might just explode,” he said. “That’s always the hope in the back of your mind.” 

 

Members of the David B. Band are drummer Shawn Marra, bass player Shawn Glaspell and guitarist Kevin Priest.