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Music community mourns death of Terry Wetton

Terry Wetton

The local music community is mourning the unexpected death on Friday of Terry Wetton, a musician who got his start as a teenager in the 1960s British rock scene and became a producer and passionate promoter of local musicians in Hendersonville. He was 68.

Wetton became ill early Friday at his home in Saluda, prompting his wife to call 911. He died on the way to the hospital from what his fiancee described as a heart probem, according to Mark Warwick, general manager of WTZQ radio, where Wetton had a weekly show interviewing musicians and playing their work.
A guitar and piano player and singer, Wetton plunged into the local music scene when he arrived in the area in 2003. He organized the popular Beatles tribute acts at the Highland Lake Inn, served as music director of the Namaste Center and produced numerous local bands and performers.
A teenager during the British music explosion of the Sixties, Wetton "bought his first guitar from Mitch Mitchell, who was Jimi Hendrix' drummer," his friend and fellow musician Andrew Robinson said Friday afternoon from the WTZQ studio, where he was broadcasting a tribute to Wetton.

Wetton performed as lead vocalist for the rock band Joker at many major London venues, once looking out from the stage to see that the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin was watching them. The Briton moved to the United States in 1982 and performed and produced music in Southern California, where he co-produced a Grammy-nominated album for jazz artist Tony Guerrero.
Since moving to North Carolina in 2003 he had performed concerts on stage and in listening rooms throughout Western North Carolina, entertaining audiences with original songs.
“He pumped out a ton of music,” Warwick said.

He released a successful original CD "This Time It's Personal" in 2011 and many of the songs have become audience favorites, including "It Is What It Is" and "Learning To Fly.” He produced records for many local artists, including Carrie Morrison, Garry Segal, The Lonesome Road Band, Rob Curtis and Lynne Goldsmith.

Robinson, a WTZQ afternoon host who played guitar in the Beatles tribute shows Wetton staged the last two years at Highland Lake Inn in Flat Rock, said he was stunned and saddened at the news of his friend's death.

"I had seen him three days ago," he said. "He was at my wedding two weeks ago. He put every bit of himself into that Beatles tribute. I was talking about it on my show this afternoon. Some of those Paul McCartney parts are pretty high but he handled it well. The Local Artist Showcase was very important just for the fact that he was showcasing local musicians. He played a lot of benefit concerts. He'd go to retirement homes. He played at the Namaste Center. He was fun, I never saw him mad. Just a great guy. I can't honestly think of any bad memories of Terry."

Robinson said he would miss having Wetton in the studio on Friday afternoons, interviewing new or established performers and playing their music.

"He did God's work as far as getting local musicians on the air, which is a very rare thing to find in today's radio marlet," he said.

Howard Molton, who produces the annual Warmth of Hope benefit at the Flat Rock Cinema, said Wetton had always joined local singer Tom Fisch at the performance. Molton said Saturday he plans to make this year's seventh annual show in two weeks a tribute to Terry Wetton.