Music over 3 million+ miles: Trucker Talent Search finalist Don Whatley

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Updated Aug 12, 2015

Don Whatley’s “Tears of Pride” original song, the final of the eight such tracks on his “American Trucker” self-released record and the only song on the record not directly about the trucking life, garnered Whatley a chance to walk away with the crown in the Trucker Talent Search competition this year.

Don WhatleyIn the on-site theater at GATS in Dallas August 28, 3:30 p.m., Whatley as well as fellow Trucker Talent Search finalists Nate Moran and Paul Marhoefer will perform before a panel of judges to determine the ultimate winner of the Overdrive/Red Eye Radio competition. Singer-songwriter and driver Tony Justice will emcee the event and also perform.

In the podcast below, and at the head of our “Music to truck by” SoundCloud playlist, hear an interview with Whatley about his approach to music through the years, and millions of verifiable safe miles. He’s approaching 4 million today, he says, currently driving for Mesquite, Texas-based Douglas Transportation. For even longer, five decades, he’s “always kept music in my life,” he says, since learning piano and guitar as a child. In junior high, a teacher taught him “I could play football and be in the choir” at once, and he was off to the races at music.

Hear more in the podcast below.

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