Dillon Massengale
Appearances
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And we've been so blessed. Yeah.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Thank you so much for having me.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Well, about four and a half years old, I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. How bad? And doctors told my parents and my family and my friends, tell me that I would never be able to get to perform, never be able to carry a conversation, never be able to carry a job. Never. Not to be able to do anything. Wow. With the right treatments and the right detox...
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And with my mom helping me out so much, I would not be doing this if it wasn't for her and thanking my good Lord and Savior for everything that they've done for me.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
I'm originally from Missouri, out of the southwest Missouri area.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Well, I actually, I mean, I come to visit Nashville. Okay. I actually am currently living in Branson, Missouri. Okay. Sure. But I actually come to Nashville about once or twice a year.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And I've been a part of this great cause of this show. I was a part of it the first one last year. Oh, nice. At the Troubadour Nashville. And I was nominated last year for the Josie Music Awards. It's held in Tennessee. That's held at the Grand Ole Opry. Yeah. Yeah. But, yeah, I make a lot of trips to Nashville, and it's good to see a lot of great friends out here.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Well, musically, I'm a bass player. I get to play bass. And the rest of my family, I mean, I could play guitar, but it's not really, really good. Okay. I mean, my brother, he's a drummer himself. Nice. And my dad, he is a fiddle player. Okay. And my mom is a singer and a fiddle player and acoustic guitar player as well. Okay.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
I grew up in a musical family. My dad actually has been in this business now going on for 45 years. And that was our mountain country there in Branson. He actually started a show, what was the third founding show in Branson called the Plummer Family Country Visit Show. That was found.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And then after that, he made the move and he got to tour five years and even got to spend his time here in Nashville with the late, great Mr. Roy Clark from out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. and played the Grand Ole Opry and played the last three seasons of Hee Haw.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And after that, he made the move to Branson's. He's been there ever since. And my mom, she actually – both of my parents were born and raised in the state of Arkansas. Okay. They were born out of Arkansas. My mom was originally born from out of Des Arc, Arkansas, on the east part, closer towards Memphis to the state.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And she actually – Made the move to Branson about, I would say, about early 1990, I think, at the time. And she made the move, and she worked with a group called the Texas Gold Miners. Okay. We're Texas, and they made the move to Prince, and they did a show. Then after that, she worked with different names. She worked with names like Barbara Fairchild, Mickey Gilley.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
She worked with the late great Mr. Joe Diffie as well. And she's been a part of so many different shows, including... A guy that's actually written some songs for the late great Mr. George Jones by the name of Mr. Billy Yates that she's worked with. But my brother, on the other hand, he has actually worked with a bunch of different artists.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
He has worked with the names like Mark Wills, Ronna Vincent, Jeannie Seeley, Mo Bandy, just to name a few. And he's been playing drums professionally at the age of 14 years old, and now he's 24 years old. Okay. And he has – he recently was just awarded from the Terry Music Awards there in Missouri for 2020 Forge Rover of the Year last year.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
And I couldn't ask a more talented – I mean, I'm so blessed to be with my family to be where I'm at. That's great.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
I am doing two songs tonight. Okay. All right. Your own songs? I'm actually doing some covers tonight. Oh, okay. I'm actually pulling out a Buck Owens song, but my favorite artists who ever did it, but they actually did a CD release party here years ago, and he played here many times, was the late great. Daryl Singletary. Oh, yeah.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Daryl Singletary, he did Love Is Gonna Live Here, and then I'm on to another cunt. What he did, but it was a cover, but it was called I Never Go Around Mirrors Tonight.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Absolutely. I would love to be on there. And I'm so grateful for the opportunities, what my Lord and Savior has given to me, my family. And a special thank you to the artists who have supported me all through these years. A special thank you to Rhonda Vincent. She was the one that actually made my debut at the Grand Ole Opry a couple of years ago. Nice, nice. Special thank you to her.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
your Brown, uh, uh, let's see, uh, Leona Williams, uh, Jimmy fortune from the Statler brothers and, uh, and other names like, uh, T green Brown and even, um, I've known for the longest, but, uh, miss Alison Krauss. Yeah.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
But, uh, it's been a, it's been a fun ride and I'm just, I'm enjoying every minute of it that I love.
Tony Mantor: Why Not Me the World
Country Music Meets Compassion: How Artists Are Making a Difference for Autism
Thank you so much for having me. All right. Thanks. Thank you.