Charlotte, NC

Y’know, the late Dan Fogelberg once sang, “I am a living legacy to the Leader of the Band.” The song was a touching tribute to his father who, natch, led his own band.
But, for my money, the truest “bandleaders” have always been the couple you see in the pic above … my father, C. E. (Eola) Hinson, along with his life-partner/wife/lover and friend, Irene.
There were few people around the Pineville/South Charlotte area who didn’t know Daddy. He worked tirelessly as the sole proprietor/repairman of Hinson Pump Co., and deacon/prayer warrior of Stough Memorial Baptist Church. Mama was always showing her love and support for him and the family, and touched many lives as Bible School principal, Cub Scout den mother, our family’s little seamstress, and the epitome of patience. If ya read Proverbs 31, in fact, you’ll see her.
But there was more to daddy and mama than met the eye.
When I first got into music years ago, I thought they’d probably snicker at their skinny little boy tryin’ to play guitar like Bob Dylan or John Lennon. After all, it was an old off-model acoustic that one of Dad’s customers had given him. Heck … I didn’t know a “C” chord from a lamp cord.
But, as I tried to learn, he taught me that, as I grew, life itself would be like that guitar; the “sounds” I made were entirely up to me. He said that I could make it (the way I acted) pleasant and melodic (like on the guitar), and the “listeners” (people who knew me) would be “humming the songs” (remembering my life’s impact) long after the last gig was played (after I was gone from this life).
Brother, you couldn’t buy a better “manager” than that man! And Mama? Why, she’d even arranged my very first show, out there on the lawn at 602 Morrow Avenue! She would encourage me to keep trying — YOU’LL make it! In fact, in 1981, I wrote a song specifically in honor of Daddy. Three years after he died in 1990, Mama gave me a piece of paper that he’d kept in his wallet for years — up until his last stroke.
It contained the lyrics of the song I wrote for him.
Talk about your “Leader” … THAT’S why I’m proud to be the “Hinson from Pineville, NC”. I’m proud to be my parents’ son …