BIOGRAPHY

Like his great great grandfather, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German poet who wrote "Faust", Bertie Higgins is a storyteller. He was born Elbert Joseph Higgins of Portuguese, Irish and German descent and raised in the picturesque Greek community of Tarpon Springs, Florida. Bertie is an intellectual romantic who loves to paint story songs about living and loving in a tropical paradise.

His love songs explore the efforts of man trying to fathom the mystery and allure of woman. His fantasy songs deal with the beauty and sensuality of the tropics and his story songs combine past experiences and future hopes. The resounding theme throughout Bertie's work? Live it up today lest tomorrow never comes.

Bertie, who once supported himself as a sponge diver, began his career in show business at the age of twelve as a ventriloquist. He won top prizes in local talent contests and became a favorite at school assemblies and clubs around Tampa Bay. Two years later, a battered set of drums forced a career change and Bertie set off to follow the back beat heard around the world -- Rock and Roll.

His first band played proms, homecoming dances and sock hops. After graduating Tarpon Springs High School, Bertie enrolled in St. Petersburg Junior College to study journalism and fine art, but the music continued to sing in his heart. He eventually left college and became drummer for the Tommy Roe band (Sheila, Dizzy), The Roemans, During this period, the band toured the world, opening shows for the likes of the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Tom Jones, Roy Orbison, Manfred Mann, Peter and Gordon, The Dave Clark Five and many more. At the height of Beatlemania, Bertie was playing with and learning from the best.

Tiring of the rigors of the road and yearning to make his own musical statements, Bertie left The Roemans and returned home to Florida. He put down his drumsticks, picked up a guitar and began crafting music and lyrics. It was a time of great satisfaction and personal release. Producers such as Bob Crewe (The Four Seasons), Phil Gernhard (Lobo), and Felton Jarvis (Elvis) took an interest and contributed to the growth of the young songwriter. Bertie's talent flourished and he was in demand to play venues throughout the state.

Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens and Jimmy Buffet were Bertie's primary sources of inspiration and he remains friends with Gordon and Jimmy today. During this period, he also met and became a protege of the late actor/director, Richard Boone, who saw Bertie's writing potential and tutored him in screen writing.

In 1980, Bertie moved to Atlanta and met record producer, Sonny Limbo. Sonny had played a role in developing the group Alabama and had been isntrumental in the careers of several others. He arranged that fateful meeting between Bertie and music publisher, Bill Lowery, whom Bertie had known through Tommy Roe. The meeting of these three was destiny waiting to happen.

Bertie had been working on a song about a personal failed romance. He presented the rough cut to Bill and Sonny. They helped him perfect the lyrics of the song that became Key Largo. Bertie recorded the master and presented it to Kat Family records, a newly formed CBS distributing company. At first they rejected it. After persistent badgering by Bertie, Bill and Sonny, Kat Family finally agreed to release the single in 1981 and pop music history was made.

Key Largo blew a hole in the U.S. charts. When it reached number one in the nation, the world took notice and it went on to become an international hit. Other hit singles followed like Just Another Day in Paradise, Casablanca and Pirates and Poets. Casablanca became song of the year in all of the pacific rim and the album hit double platinum. Bertie Higgins became an international recording star literally overnight.

For the past several years, Bertie, with his excellent band, has toured extensively around the globe. He has received rave reviews and accolades from the music industry and his fans alike. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon. Among other things, he has owned a successful restaurant in the Florida Keys, written music for David Letterman and Burt Reynolds, and has made numerous TV talk show and music show appearances around the world.

His pet project at home in Florida is the preservation of the state's wildlife, particularily the brown pelican. Bertie is the father of three boys and one girl, and lives with two of his sons in his hometown of Tarpon Springs. To be certain, it will always be just another day in paradise for Bertie Higgins and he'll be waiting for you under the next palm tree for years to come. This pirate and poet continues to write and sing about turquoise lagoons, golden sands and islands in the sun in a style he affectionatly refers to as Trop Rock.

DISCOGRAPHY

TELEVISION

Solid Gold
American Bandstand
The Merv Griffin Show
Nashville Now
Crook & Chase
Celebrity Outdoors
The Country Sportsman
The Arthritis Telethon
The Guiding Light
Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon
B.L. Striker, ABC Mystery Movie
VH1
MTV
CMTV
Prime Time Country
PBS
The Tonight Show
Late Night with David Letterman