Biography Don Varner

Don Varner was born in Birmingham (Alabama) on June 25th, 1943.

He started to write and perform as a student in High School. Don and his group were noticed by a Manager during their senior year and they started going on the road right after graduating.

By the time the group broke up, Don had acquired a solid stage experience and went on with a solo career. He was very active as a songwriter and a performer, and always where things were happening.

He left Alabama for Chicago, where he spent six years. During this time, he was very visible on the clubs scene and never stopped performing.

He came back to Alabama at the time when many major entertainers, like the Temptations, had been discovered there, and also at a time when the Muscle Shoals Sound was it. Don already had contacts there, which allowed him to meet many entertainers and executives from major record companies. Among others, he met Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records. He liked one of the songs that Don had co-written with William Crump titled "Holdin'On". The song was recorded at Muscle Shoals by Sam and Dave and released on Atlantic Records.

Don also collaborated with Quinn Ivy, publisher of "When A Man Loves A Woman" by Percy Sledge, and did many recordings on his labels. They were all recorded at Muscle Shoals Sounds Studio. Don worked with the studio musicians, Jimmy Johnson, Spooner, Roger Hawkins, as well as Eddie Hinton. He co-wrote a song with Eddie titled "Love Is Sacred", and recorded it but it was never released.

Don had a recording contract with ATCO, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. His recordings were also released on Diamond Records in New York and, through it all, he never stopped performing on stage.

In 1981, Don moved to Los Angeles, in California. He started a record label, Varcam, on which he released new titles. In 1985, he went on a European tour as a singer of the Johnny Otis Show. The tour took him on the stages of all the major European festivals, like Nice, Vienne, Pori, Montreux, La Hague, working the same venues as Ray Charles, Fats Domino, BB King and many more.

In 1987, Don started to write Gospel Music. He defined his own style in that genre too, blending his powerful voice with years of R & B, along with the intensity of the message of the lyrics, making the final result a very unique musical experience.

As a performer, Don's explosive style allowed him to fill a stage all by himself., always giving 200% to the audience.

Don was also a publisher with Ceevee Music Publishing, affiliated with BMI. Francine Varner, ASCAP's publisher with GTM Music Publishing, publishes all of Don's material. Several CDs were released on their label, Retour Records.

Don Varner passed away on October 7th , 2002.

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