By Vic Tatum (Lanny’s younger brother)

Lanny Farrell Tatum was born December 5th, 1950, in Manila, Arkansas. Lanny spent his early childhood years in Flint, Michigan.

The seventh of nine children, Lanny started singing melodies before he could talk. By Jr High, Lanny started singing in bands with friends in Flint.

The family moved to Oran, Missouri, in 1967 where his father Virgil took over as pastor of the United Pentecostal Church. While in Oran, he met Larry Seyer (Class of 1970) and picked up where he left off in Michigan. Larry and Lanny became great friends and proceeded to make a lot of musical noise around the area.

Upon graduation in May of 1969, Lanny sang The National Anthem at a Memorial Day morning service in Oran, got in his car, and moved back to Flint.

Upon arriving in Flint, Lanny put together a band called C.O.D. and released his first record, a song he wrote called "Reflections of You". This was backed with another original, "Thoughts".

In 1971, Lanny was asked to join a group made up of some of the Flint area's top musicians called "Krystal Steel". They took the local music scene by storm performing before standing room only crowds.

By 1973 Lanny had the urge to form his own band and put together another extremely popular band called "Appaloosa".

When 1975 rolled around, Lanny was in a new band called "Colt Revolver". This move would prove to be his most successful. Colt Revolver toured all over Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and Florida. In 1976, they charted a regional hit called "Living in a Bottle". The success of the record almost landed the band a record deal with Epic Records, and they fell within an eyelash of signing.

Lanny continued to perform throughout the Midwest in various bands until the early 80's when he moved to the town of Fairfield in southern Illinois. In Fairfield, Lanny's musical tastes turned toward southern rock and country. In the mid-80's he appeared on the Television show "You Can Be a Star" on the Nashville Network.

While living in Fairfield, Lanny met the love of his life Brenda. They were married and had two beautiful children -- a son "Beau" and a daughter "Jessie".

Lanny passed away from a sudden heart attack on December 26th, 1993. He is survived by his wife Brenda, two step-sons Justin & Josh and Beau & Jessie. Lanny made an impact as a friend and musician in many people’s lives. He is greatly missed by all.

Lanny's brother, Vic, is putting together a long overdue collection of Lanny's music, and it should be available in the first quarter of 2009. Anyone interested can contact Vic at thegrooveparty@aol.com.