My first Wayne Harper sighting was about 40 years ago and still etched in my memory. I was a young singer at the time and singing with the variety band Coast to Coast. We were playing at the now defunct Dirty Annie’s Saloon 
when in walks the San Antonio legend with a woman on each arm. I could not have been more in awe if it had been Elvis himself! Everyone in the crowd knew who he was and it felt such an honor that he would show up where I was performing. (For the sake of full disclosure Wayne does not remember entering with a girl on each arm but I am still sticking with my version!) His mere presence at my gig afforded me credibility as an artist and although Wayne was not a “local” by birth his brash yet friendly persona was a perfect fit for San Antonio. The Detroit native burst on to the local music scene in 1975. His band was touring the country doing the hotel circuit and was booked to play two weeks at the popular Passport Inn. Two weeks turned in to two years as he fell in love with our town and fortunately for us chose to stay here.
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Throughout the 70’s and most of the 80’s the River City was rife with live music venues. The Riverwalk entertained locals and tourists alike at Bwana Dick’s and the Mai Tai. The Swiss Chalet, Oak Hills Motor Inn, Turtle Creek Country Club, Olly Otten’s and the Horned Toad Lounge, too mention a few, offered live music six to seven nights a week. This era was the “heyday” for artists. The abundance of clubs supporting live music allowed many musicians to actually make a living off of their craft. Regular players on the local circuit included the late great Randy Garibay with Pure Magic, Los Keys and Al Sturchio and Essence, among others. Disco was alive and well at hot spots Burgundy Woods, Last National Bank and Hallelujah Hollywood, with the music scene eventually being hijacked by urban cowboys and cowgirls in their Jordache jeans. This brought in another onslaught of bars such as Stampede, Texas Dance Hall and Budros. It seemed the fun would never end but as disco died and being country wasn’t so cool any more much of the live music was replaced with deejays and “canned” music. Nightclubs became office buildings, hotel lounges became obsolete and bands were scrambling for work.
In a business where only the strong survive the inimitable Harper beat the club owners at their own game. He bought one. In 1990 he purchased the Martini Club from J.D. “Shady” Strickel for a mere $50,000. “He figured I wouldn’t make it and would be giving it back to him within a year or two” Harper laughs. ‘In less than two years I paid him off. Shady came in to the club and we burned the note up on stage!” For almost 30 years the versatile musician played to a packed house. His Vegas-style show attracted an audience of all age groups, even college kids who would sing along on with songs such as “Sweet Caroline” and “Margaritaville”. I asked Wayne what he attributed his young fan base to and he replied humbly “I used to play for their parents.” Although there may be some truth in this it completely overlooks the reality that Wayne is simply a powerhouse. The multi-talented entertainer plays the guitar, trumpet and banjo while doing believable imitations of artists such as Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Accompanied on keyboards by Ernie Kreth and Mike Morales on drums the set list encompassed all spectrums of music that would keep the fans entertained and on the dance floor.
As successful as his career has been the 70ish entertainer has had his share of personal struggles. He is twice divorced with his last wife getting the home he worked so many years for. Like everything else, Wayne appears to take it in stride. After all, he has literally died twice. At one point he suffered from grand mal seizures, he has had prostate cancer, two heart attacks, a 33 foot fall from a parking garage at North Star Mall and most recently survived throat cancer. Surviving the fall was a miracle in itself and left him with a shattered leg and hip. The myth surrounding the fall was that he was racing his girlfriend to the car and jumped over the rail to what he thought was a short drop. The truth is that there was a gate on the rail that someone had left open and he fell through it. After his last heart attack his wife and stepson were actually notified at the hospital that he had passed but Harper was clearly not ready to go yet. He had a nurse that decided to break the rules and used 24 crash carts to revive him. On the 23rd he sat straight up! Apparently leaving this earth is not in the cards for him.
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In 2016 Harper decided to close up shop and to the disappointment of his many fans he sold the Martini Club. For quite a while he had been suffering from what was diagnosed as tinnitus and acid reflux, which was affecting his vocals and he thought he was just getting too old to sing. As it turns out he was misdiagnosed and instead had throat cancer. The surgery would ensure the prolific artist would never sing again but once again he beat the odds. After endless rounds of radiation he was recently found to be cancer free and avoided any disabling surgery. He celebrated by playing a sold out show recently at the Broadway 5050 singing straight through for over 3 hours! The man is seemingly invincible. As for his next act? Harper already has his eye on a certain undisclosed location and, yes, is considering opening up another club. His show continues to go on and I, for one, look forward to watching it.
