Jazz & Blues Singers

Dewey Erney grew up in Latrobe, graduated from IUP in 1960 as a Business Education major, and spent thirty three years as a tax accountant with Texaco in Southern California. Not extraordinary? Perhaps. Why, then, is he making a name for himself in national jazz circle?

"I'm not pretty, and I don't have a good body" is what he told a Los Angeles Times reporter. Maybe not, but what Erney does have is a voice. It is a voice, in the words of another Los Angeles Times writer, that "doesn't have the caramel-colored tones of an Al Jarreau nor the haunting resonance or a Johnny Hartman. His is an everyman's voice, working-class and committed to excellence."

Erney appears regularly at clubs throughout Southern California and has built a devoted following. During the eighties, he made three albums on vinyl and since 1994 has recorded and released three well-received CDs on the Resurgent Music label. (Check with the IUP Magazine office on how to obtain the CDs.)

His years at IUP were "so wonderful," Erney said. "Sometimes, I wonder how I graduated - we had such a good time. I think I was one of the very few Sig Eps involved in music. I sang with the Mellowmen and with various small jazz groups on campus and off."

According to the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram, Erney's current hometowrn newspaper, "For a guy who's not well known, jazz singer Dewey Erney sure is well known." Despite holding a full-time job until his 1997 retirement and, with his wife, Sandy, raising three children, Erney has "built a following, drawing critical acclaim for his performances and his recordings from a small, but faithful, legion of fans."

But his fame may spread, especially with the album releases. Erney himself told the Press-Telegram, "I'm not famous, but I'm not finished yet."

Among other cities, Dewey Erney may serve the following areas: Los Angeles, Pasadena, Long Beach, Inglewood, Van Nuys, Glendale, Burbank, North Hollywood, Santa Monica, Whittier, Torrance, Alhambra, Northridge, Pomona, Compton, Beverly Hills, Lakewood, Ontario, Woodland Hills, Arcadia, Buena Park, Canoga Park, Carson, Culver City, Downey, El Monte, Encino, La Puente, Norwalk, Pico Rivera