While in Clear Lake, she visited Branson and found herself thinking, “I need to move here.” And, she recalled concluding, “All my heroes are here. Andy Williams and the Osmonds were in Branson — that clinched it.” (Quick question for trivia lovers: How many Osmonds are there? Answer at end.)
So Debbie moved to Branson and found a job waiting tables at the Showboat Branson Belle, a place where Kenny Rogers often performed, but also a place where the restaurant’s servers are part of the show and where Debbie earned a solo on stage. Later, she landed a role in the musical “Pump Boys & Dinettes,” which meant, as she put it with a laugh, “I was still a waitress.”
From there it was on to be a singing server at the Hard Luck Diner. Her time there was memorable for many reasons, including falling in love.
And with that, let’s back up and bring in GORDY…
Gordon “Gordy” Wensel, who grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It was his mom who had the love of music and she, as Gordy recalled, “was the one who pushed me to get up and sing and to get up and sing at church.” But while he may have daydreamed of singing professionally, it remained a hobby as he went into the Army National Guard and into construction, building houses and becoming a general contractor.
Even so, his love of music kept calling to him and he wound up in a job as a radio disc jockey and he kept up his singing. He found success with a group called Third Generation, whose “Singing With the Saints” made it onto the gospel bestseller charts.
Then Branson came calling. It called to him in the form of a show called “Branson Idol,” where a Branson regular, Doug Gabriel, would go to other towns and put on competitions. Gordy remembers that, “You paid $50 and you sang two songs and that was your audition for the show. There were 560-some contestants and I took second place. First place got five grand and a recording contract. Second place got a fruit basket.” But it meant a lot more to Gordy than a fruit basket. He remembers the show’s founder, Gabriel, telling him, “Out of all the contestants, you are my biggest success story.”
And a big part of that success was Debbie having heard Gordy perform and urging him to move to Branson and come to work at the Hard Luck Diner, where, you’ll remember, she was a singing server. Gordy says of meeting Debbie, “The minute I saw her I was struck by her beauty. I fell madly in love with her. I always wanted a singing partner and I found my partner.” At age 41 he moved to Branson and started a new career: “My whole life I’d suppressed my music. At one point I weighed 270 pounds and had two back surgeries and I couldn’t do construction anymore.” But there in Branson he found what he was meant to do.
The singing duet of Gordy and Debbie became regulars around town and eventually they both gave up the Hard Luck Diner to be on stage at the Branson Mall and at the Uptown Café. It was during their time in Branson that Gordy also developed his popular George Strait tribute show.
(More at georgestraittributeshow.com)
