EddyDean: Behind the Music Man

It began on a rainy afternoon at a convalescent home on Bearss Avenue.

Eddy Dean Winchester and his wife, Debbie, had completed their usual Sunday routine of singing gospel and and talking about God to a group of senior citizens. But at the end of the 2005 performance, the group wanted more. So Winchester began belting out Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra classics, delighting the crowd.

It was the end of Eddy Dean Winchester, the redhead with the rocky childhood who had kept a song in his back pocket no matter how tough things got.

Enter EddyDean, the Elvis impersonator and crowd pleaser who would perform across Tampa Bay showcasing his three-octave range.

"I bought a nice old vintage microphone, and since I know a lot of songs - but not by heart - I got a 13-inch TV with karaoke words on it," he said. "They'd say, 'Eddie, can you sing this?' And I would look it up and play it."

Before the public performances and behind the easy smile, EddyDean triumphed through setbacks that always led him back to his two mainstays: faith and music.

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He was the oldest of three boys born to his mother, who had EddyDean at 16. His parents were religious - his mother was Pentecostal, his military father a Baptist - making him no stranger to church.

Despite the presence of religion, family troubles plagued EddyDean's life. His parents didn't stay together, and he was shuffled from Kentucky, Colorado and Illinois by his father. When he could, he played his father's Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin records.

At times, he lived in foster care or with strangers.

During tough times, he remembered something his mother said she did when he was a baby: she had dedicated him to God.

So he prayed.

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

"Even though I was going through all this, I would kneel by my bed and say (my prayers," he said. "If I forgot, I would climb out and say the prayer."

In 1969, an uncle came and took 13-year-old EddyDean to Florida, where his mother and stepfather lived. He sang in the choir at Glad Tidings Assembly of God on 30th Street, started a lawn care business to make money and  graduated from Thomas Jefferson High in 1974.

He worked odd jobs at gas stations and a Winn-Dixie grocery store until he joined the Marine Corps, where he served as a cook.

He met his future wife, whose father was assistant pastor of a church, and took her for a ride in his 1975 silver Trans Am.

"I had a dream I would marry Debbie and have girls," he said. "That next morning, I started looking for rings."

In 1977, EddyDean and Debbie married in California, and had the first of their three daughters a year later.

They moved together back to Tampa, and EddyDean went back to working at Winn-Dixie. He bought a 900-square-foot house for his family, and took a second job on weekends working at a cabinet shop.

Eventually, he left Winn-Dixie. Later, he took at job working the midnight shift at the post office.

In 1987, he started a wallpaper and painting company. He liked the idea of changing the appearance of something.

But he missed singing.

The church he attended at the time didn't allow him to sing as much as he wanted to, and the economy had slowed down. People weren't as interested in wallpaper as they used to be, and EddyDean had a family to support.

One day, he found a remedy.

He bought music and approached the folks at the home for senior citizens in Carrollwood about singing for them.

His popularity led to performances at homes and about eight other senior citizen centers in the Tampa Bay area. He's done weddings, phone grams, singing telegrams and performs at the Northdale Recreation Center.

Once, he sang a trio of Frank Sinatra tunes over the phone to a 90-year-old Sun City Center woman whose niece had hired him.

His favorite song to perform? "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin.

Last year, EddyDean added something new to his act: Elvis impersonations.

"I bought it for Halloween to have fun at the convalescent center," he said. "One day, I set up, and went into the bathroom. My wife says, 'Come on in, Elvis!' I come walking in dressed as Elvis and shake hands. I love seeing the smiles on people's faces."

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His customers say EddyDean is every bit the musician he claims to be.

"He is not only a DJ, but is a very talented singer and performer," wrote Joan I. Beach, activity director at Imperial Oaks in New Port Richey, in a recommendation letter. "Eddy sings and plays a variety of music the audience can relate to. The people in our park totally enjoyed his performance."

John Erb, who owns a service center in Carrollwood, said he hired EddyDean for an event at local eatery Brunchies.

"It went off perfect," Erb said. "He was the MC, and it was a surprise birthday party. We had almost 50 people there. My fiancee was so flat out surprised, and he did Dean Martin songs."

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Now, EddyDean is a grandfather of four who sings at Faith Outreach Center on Sheldon Road in Tampa. He continues his secular singing gigs, too.

He sometimes wonders about long-time entertainers like Tony Bennett, and how they got started performing so early. He wants bigger gigs, but enjoys every opportunity to use his voice and make a name for himself despite what he's been through. He'll be performing at an event at the Carrollwood Cultural Center on March 18.

"I love bringing joy to people when I sing certain songs," he said. "It brings tears to their eyes. I ask them why afterward, and they say it was their husband's favorite song or something. I enjoy doing that kind of stuff."

For more information on EddyDean, or to book him for an event, go to his website or call 813-245-3691.