Reaching for the ring - Michael Workman lifetime of music defined by passion and perseverance

Michael Workman performs on keyboard during his time with Dickey Betts and Great Southern in the late 1970s. The experience marked a high point in his musical career, as he recorded and toured with the band, gaining firsthand exposure to the fast-paced world of professional rock and roll, shaping decades of continued performance and musicianship. Courtesy of Michael Workman

Michael Workman’s path to a lifetime in music began not on a stage, but in a quiet neighborhood and across the street from a piano.

Born in Abilene, Texas, in 1950, Workman’s earliest memories are of El Paso, where his father was serving in the U.S. Army. A year later, the family relocated to North Texas so his father could attend college, setting the stage for a childhood shaped by transition and discovery.

Then, music entered his life almost by accident.

“When I was 5 years old, I lived across the street from a girl who was around 11,” he recalled. “I would go over to her house and bang on the keys to her piano. She then decided to teach me a couple of beginner songs.”

Smiling, he added, “That Christmas of 1955, I was at a shopping mall with my parents and there was a piano there. I went up to it and started playing one of those songs I learned, and my parents looked at me with shock because they had no idea I could play. They bought me a piano and I started taking lessons."

He immersed himself in piano lessons and regularly participated in recitals, building both skill and confidence. His musical interests soon broadened and later expanded into other instruments. By the age of 8, he performed as a member of the Texas Boys Choir and started playing the violin a year later. When he was 11, he began playing the trumpet and, at 13, added the baritone horn to his repertoire.

When he was 10, his family moved to Arizona, placing him in a new environment just as his musical interests were beginning to expand. By the time he reached his early teenage years, the musical landscape around him was changing dramatically.

The arrival of the Beatles reshaped popular music. Around the age of 13, Workman picked up the guitar and began leading a band of his own. His first group, the Sonics, performed at a local teen center, covering the hits of the day and introducing him to the energy of live performance.

At the same time, he excelled in athletics, particularly baseball, demonstrating a competitive drive that carried over into his musical pursuits. However, another move followed. His family relocated to Massachusetts, where Workman encountered a new level of musical competition. His father took the family to see the Beatles perform in Boston, an experience that left a lasting impression.

“I thought they were amazing even though all you could hear was screaming,” he recalled. Then I joined a band in Massachusetts and realized the guitar players there were of much higher caliber than me,” he said.

Rather than step back, he adapted. With the rise of bands incorporating keyboards into their sound, particularly groups like Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, he returned to his roots as a keyboard player. His father supported the transition, purchasing an organ that would soon become central to his role in local bands.

He joined a group known as the Music Bachs, where his keyboard skills helped set him apart and solidified his place as a versatile musician.

Graduating high school in 1969, he went on to continue to refine his abilities by attending the Berklee College of Music for two years. There, he immersed himself in formal study of piano, arranging and composition.  

“After Berklee College of Music, I went to Staten Island with a band I was touring with,” he said. “Eventually, I left them and joined another band that played a hot spot on Miami Beach called The Forge.” During his performances in Miami, Workman met Dickey Betts, a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band.

“He hired me for his band,” Workman recalled. “After I was hired, he told me, ‘Oh yeah, we gotta go into the studio and record next month.’”
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It was a moment that signaled his arrival on a larger stage. The group recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, contributing to Betts’ band Great Southern and the 1978 album Atlanta’s Burning Down. From there, Workman toured extensively, experiencing the fast-paced world of professional touring firsthand and remained with Betts for about a year.

“It was a great gig and was like riding with an outlaw gang for one year while touring and promoting an album,” he said.

After his time with Great Southern, Workman returned to Texas, where he continued performing and recording with a variety of regional bands, including Messenger, Snapshot, Blackrose and The Reach. His versatility allowed him to move between genres, from rock and country to rhythm and blues. 

In addition to performing, he served as a choir director in San Antonio for several years, further expanding his musical experience. By the early 1990s, he had become a member of the Cleartones, a group known for its wide-ranging repertoire and steady performance schedule.

Even as music remained a constant, Workman pursued higher education, eventually earning a master’s degree in computer science. He built a long and successful career in the field, working for many years while continuing to perform with an assortment of bands.

By day, he worked in a technical profession but during nights and on weekends, he returned to music and remained connected to the craft he had loved since childhood. In 2013, after decades in the computer science field, Workman retired and turned his focus fully back to music. And through the changing musical trends and an evolving industry, he has remained committed to authenticity.

“I guess what keeps me going in music and performing is that I’m still reaching for that golden ring,” he chuckled. “These days, it’s a little harder because we are not as young and attractive as we used to be, but I’ve learned that the most successful bands are those that develop their own identity and don’t just bow to whatever music is popular at that moment.”

For Workman, success has never been about chasing fame; it has been about fulfillment. The same curiosity that led a young boy to discover music by chance continues to drive him today, guiding a lifetime of creativity and performance.

And though there is much more to his story, that pursuit of the “golden ring” remains just within reach.
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Jeremy P. Ämick is author of the biographies of the rock bands Head East, Shooting Star and Missouri.