PARKERSBURG - A local piano player last month did a gig in Germany with Landau Eugene Murphy Jr., the West Virginian who won America's Got Talent.
Duane E. Flesher of Williamstown played before servicemen with the Logan County singer in a tour from Nov. 8-12 over the Veterans Day holiday.
"We had a great time," Flesher said.
Murphy, a Logan County native, won America's Got Talent in September 2011. The competition started about a year earlier and involved thousands of acts before the final performers appeared before Howie Mandel, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne, the celebrity judges for the popular television show, for the finale of the show's sixth season.
Flesher was asked by Murphy's music director, Jeff Flanagan of Charleston, W.Va., if he was available for the short tour in Germany. Flesher said he has known Flanagan for years.
The performances in Germany were for Armed Forces Entertainment, Flesher said.
"It was a real honor to play for all the soldiers and their families," he said.
Venues included the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort at Garmisch, Germany, located in the Bavarian Alps, and a U.S. Army base in Stuttgart, Flesher said.
Murphy opened the shows with songs by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Flesher said. He ended the shows with "My Way," a Sinatra classic.
Murphy performed "Ain't That a Kick in the Head' and Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable" in a duet with his wife, Jennifer, who accompanied him on the tour, Flesher said.
"The houses were packed," he said.
Flesher has played the piano for more than 50 years. An Air Force veteran, Flesher also has performed with the U.S. Air Force Band from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Locally, he has frequently appeared at the Blennerhassett Hotel and played with Insured Sound, a popular local band, and The Five Men.
He also is a member of the Smoot House Band and will next perform at the downtown theater at "Hometown Christmas' at 8 p.m. today. Local singers and dancers also will perform.
