Dusty Drake
Dusty Drake | |
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Birth name | Dean Buffalini Warner Nashville Big Machine |
Dean Buffalini (born February 23, 1964), known professionally as Dusty Drake, is an American
In 2007, he signed to the independent Big Machine Records label, charting with the single "Say Yes", co-written by Brett James, Don Schlitz and Josh Turner. An album for Big Machine was originally slated to be released in 2007 but was never issued, and after showing the same level of commitment his former label showed, Drake exited the label's roster in 2008. Overall, Drake has charted six times on the Billboard country charts. Two of his singles have reached Top 40: "One Last Time" (inspired by the September 11 attacks) at No. 26, and "Say Yes" at No. 36.
Biography
Dean Buffalini was born in Monaca, Pennsylvania, United States,[1] on February 23, 1964[2] as the middle child of seven children.[3] He gained an early interest in music from his father and grandfather, both of whom enjoyed listening to country and bluegrass music.[4]
While in high school, he sang lead and played drums in local bands. After graduating high school, Buffalini studied to be an air traffic controller. He held that position for four years at a regional airport. At the same time, he pursued his career in country music, eventually fronting a band called Silverado in addition to performing solo.[1] Signed as an opening act for Garth Brooks at a venue in Salem, Ohio, Buffalini was mistakenly identified as "Dusty" by a concert promoter, and as a result, he began to use Dusty as his stage name.[1][3]
Musical career
He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1993 in search of a record deal. Shortly afterward, he changed his stage name to Dusty Drake, because he was told by a manager that "there were Deans coming out the wazoo" (such as Billy Dean, Dean Miller, Stacy Dean Campbell, and Dean Dillon).[1] Drake then found work as a demo singer and songwriter. His first cut as a songwriter was "C-O-U-N-T-R-Y", a single for Joe Diffie in 1996 from the album Life's So Funny.[5] Other artists who recorded Drake's songs included Janie Fricke, Ricochet (the single "Can't Stop Thinkin' About That"[6]), The Oak Ridge Boys and Mark Chesnutt.[7]
In 2002, Drake was signed to
After the release of his album, Drake went on to become an opening act for Kenny Chesney and Brooks & Dunn, as well as performing on the Grand Ole Opry. His album's third single, "Smaller Pieces", reached a peak of 50. By 2004, a fourth single entitled "I Am the Working Man" was released, which went on to peak at 43. This song was not included on an album, and Drake was dropped from Warner Bros.' roster after its release.
Drake signed to
Discography
Studio albums
Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
---|---|---|---|
US Country [9] |
|||
Dusty Drake |
|
30 | 22 |
Singles
Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
US Country | |||
2002 | "And Then" | 57 | Dusty Drake |
2003 | "One Last Time" | 26 | |
"Smaller Pieces" | 50 | ||
2004 | "I Am the Working Man" | 43 | single only |
2007 | "Say Yes" | 36 | Dusty Drake at a Honky-Tonk Near You (unreleased) |
2009 | "The 12th Man" | 58 | single only |
References
- ^ a b c d e "CMT.com : Dusty Drake : 10 Years Later, Dusty Drake Bows His First Album". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.
- ^ "Minnesota's Country Station". K102.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Dusty Drake". Archived from the original on November 23, 2006. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ "Country". Countrymusic.about.com. May 2, 2019. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ a b [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records: 60. November 13, 1998.
- ^ Microsoft Word – Dusty FINAL BIO 1-25-07 Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Monaca man pens Steelers fight song". The Times. Archived from the original on May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ "Dusty Drake Album & Song Chart History – Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ^ "Billboard Heatseekers". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. June 21, 2003. p. 6. Retrieved August 18, 2011.