The Dartts
Tracy Dartt was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1944. He moved to California in 1959, and there graduated in 1962. He attended college classes at night, having to work during the day, but it wasn’t until 1990 that he finally received his B.A. from Baptist Christian University. He is currently working on his masters degree, which he will complete (Lord willing) in the fall of 2007.
Dartt’s musical training began in high school. Thanks to his teacher, Mr. Richard Riggs, he excelled in music and drama. Dartt’s first experience in gospel music came in 1960 when he joined a teen choral, The Christianaires. In the fall of ‘63, Tracy received Christ as his personal Savior. In ‘65 he began singing bass in his first gospel quartet, The Stewards. In ‘68 he began singing with The Victors quartet in Hollywood, California.
Shortly after His joining The Victors, they were given a contract with Capitol Records, and they released an album entitled “Brand New Feeling”. The title song was Tracy’s first attempt at song writing. His song writing mentor was his quartet partner, Al Harkins. Harkins’ tutelage, along with the insights received from writers and producers in Hollywood, helped to refine Tracy’s God-given song-writing skills.
Dartt moved to Oklahoma in ’72, where he began singing with the famous Weatherford Quartet. After the Weatherfords, he worked for a time as a producer for Cam Records and laid the foundation for Sound Factory Music Company. Then it was back to California, where he took up partnership in a swimming pool construction company. While in the pool business, Dartt & wife, Sharon, helped to form a new gospel group with June and Dale Wade and Larry Brown, called The Country Congregation.
Tracy began his solo career in 1975. He wrote the songs and sang them too, as his wife, Sharon, accompanied him on the piano. In 1988, Tracy began pastoring the First Baptist Church of Auberry, California. He resigned the church after seven years, and in 1995 formed a family gospel group, The Dartts.
The Dartts, now in their 12th year, began with Tracy, Sharon, and sons, Forrest and Stone Mountain. Forrest left the group in ‘96 and The Dartts carried on as a trio. In 2006, they became a quartet once again, with the addition of BJ Speer. The Dartts travel coast to coast, border to border, and beyond. The group averages around 200 concerts per year. In 2006, The Dartts sang 208 concerts in 37 states, as well as 3 provinces of Canada, and in Mexico and Belize.
Music-wise, Tracy Dartt has written hundreds of gospel songs, many of which have been recorded by some of the finest groups and soloists in gospel music. Dartt’s songs include such notable titles as “The Last Sunday”, “A Matter Of Policy (The Deacon Song)”, “Your Blesser Ain’t Never Been Blessed”, “With Him”, “God Stopped To Pick A Rose”, and of course his biggest hit song, “God On The Mountain”, which has been recorded over 200 times, and in at least 8 different languages.
Tracy and Sharon have 4 children. Don Dartt, the oldest, is the production coordinator for the RBN Television Network in Nashville, and has a wife and 2 children. Daughter, Florence McLain, is at home, raising her 3 children as her husband, Steve, is a captain in the Army. Son, Forrest, works for the Triton Boat Company in the Nashville area, and has a wife and 3 children. The youngest son, Stone Mountain, not only sings with the family group, but is also the bus driver and sound man.
The Dartts have their own website at www.DarttMusic.com. The Dartts invite you to visit Darttmusic.com and sign their guestbook as well as join their e-mail list. You are also invited to attend The Dartts’ home church, Napa Valley Baptist Church in Napa, California.
