Faces of Southeast Missouri: Wayne Givens

Wayne Givens wasn’t a fan of school. On his first day of kindergarten, he says he came home and told his dad, “I’m glad that’s over,” and was disappointed to learn he had to return the next day.

It’s not that he wasn’t smart; he loved to learn and had been reading since age 4. With a mom and later two sisters working in education, one might have thought Givens would follow that same path. But he spent most of his youth uncertain about what he wanted to be when he grew up. It wasn’t until age 20, when he ran into a guy at a party who was looking for a guitar player, that his love and talent for music came bubbling to the surface.

Givens, who lived in St. Louis at the time, had always loved music and grew up listening to Elvis and the Beatles. After being shown a few chords on the bass guitar, he was hooked. Most of his instruction was on-the-job training. He’d listen to records and was able to feel the music and play along. But much of what he learned was self-taught, the day-in and day-out practice of picking up the guitar and going for it.

As his skills improved, Givens started playing bass on the weekends and saying yes to any band or gig he could find. He made the decision to leave college and set out on a mission to make money playing music. After mastering the bass guitar, he discovered a love for the piano, harmonica, acoustic guitar and anything else someone placed in front of him. He began writing and recording his own songs, traveling to California, Phoenix and Houston, or wherever the next opportunity took him. His family thought he was crazy.

Along the way, people told Givens he sounded like Paul McCartney.

One of his bandmates had a similar sound to John Lennon. Together, they formed a tribute band called Ticket to the Beatles. Givens was 40 years old at the time. At the height of the band’s success, they were playing up to 70 shows a year in and around the St. Louis area. In 2014, they were listed as the Best Local Cover Band by Go! Magazine, a publication printed by the St. Louis Post Dispatch. They opened for Chuck Berry twice.

Today, Givens lives in Jackson with his wife Paula on her family’s Century Farm. The Beatles tribute band continues to play at least 10 shows a year, but after 25 years of playing together, Givens says, “We don’t rehearse.” The music has become part of who they are.

On his own, Givens continues to play music at local venues, wineries and events throughout Southeast Missouri.

“Each job is different. Each crowd is different,” Givens says. “You don’t know if you’ll be playing to a packed room or crickets. But it’s fun to meet people who really appreciate music.”

An appreciation for music has kept Givens fine-tuning and honing his skills all these years. Through band changes and solo gigs, raising kids, and day jobs, music has been with him. To paraphrase the great Ray Charles, Givens can’t retire, because playing music is not a job. It’s simply what he loves to do.

“When the phone never rings and no one hires me anymore,” Givens says, “I’ll know.”