Nobody embodies the Eastern Shore of Maryland in quite the same way as Bird Dog Wheeler. Along with his band, The Road Kings (Billy West, Charlie Briddell and Roger Lewis), Bird Dog Wheeler and the Road Kings are iconic on the Eastern Shore.
Bird Dog and the Road Kings at Schooner’s in Oxford
At the age of 61, Bird Dog couldn’t be happier with his career in music, in the beer industry, and performing with his band on the Shore. “I never thought I’d still be doing this now”, he laughed, “but I’m still having the time of my life playing music. I’m living the dream.”
A talent show in 1967 started it all. He was 16 years old, and performed “As Tears Go By”, by the Rolling Stones. It was at that moment, that he felt it. He knew he would be onstage and music would be part of his life.
The son of a truckdriver who was coming of age in the late 1960s, Bird Dog was influenced early on by Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. His mother had a collection of Hank Williams Sr. records, and the mix of raw rock and roll and truckdriving culture shaped Wheeler’s sensibility and sound. It was the raw, hard rocking sound that appealed to him – the feel of the music. His band still demonstrates that sound and that feel today.
His group started out back in the 1970s, and by the early 1980s were having success on the road, traveling and playing clubs. They saw a good part of the country, and spent a lot of time in the Fl keys. By 1984, Bird Dog was in Nashville, recording demos and touring with some big players in the industry. He had some success, finished his tours and returned to the Eastern Shore in 1988 to settle down and raise his family. He got into the beer distribution business, and continued to write and play music on weekends, ever since.
Ever since then. Bird Dog and The Road Kings have covered the Shore with their local, classic rock sound. Their music is place-based – local, rural, all about the Shore. With their wildly popular songs “Americana” and “Eastern Shore Redneck”, Bird Dog and the Road Kings are a Shore favorite.
After 9-11, Bird Dog’s son Kevin joined the Marines. The “Americana” theme song developed through his experience watching Kevin go from a young kid, hanging out at the jukebox, to all of a sudden – heading off to war. Bird Dog’s appreciation and respect for everyone in uniform is powerful, and he and his band dedicate that music to the men and women in our military and the sacrifices they make for the rest of us.
- Bird Dog with his son Kevin
You can enjoy the sounds of Bird Dog and the Road Kings at noon this Sunday, August 12th at Waterman Appreciation Day on Sunday, at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels.
Here’s a taste of Bird Dog and the Road Kings performing their newest song “Somerset”, by Charlie Briddell.
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