By Brie Cohen, staff writer

A southern Minnesota rockin&8217; country singer has finally put out his first album. Twin Lakes&8217; Dunnell Lenort said he has been singing country tunes since he was 5 years old.

Lenort said it all started when he heard a record of Johnny Cash and thought, &8220;Wow! People can do that?&8221;

Drawn to the unique sound of Cash, Elvis Presley and Waylon Jennings, Lenort said he was in love and so his life of singing country tunes began.

His first audience was at his aunt and uncle&8217;s house when he was about 10. He threw on a Johnny Cash record and started to wail away.

In those days, karaoke machines were not around, so when Lenort saw an advertisement in a country music magazine for instrumental tracks on a record, he had to have it.

Lenort said he got to have the feeling of a band. He was able to put his voice to instruments.

After graduating high school in 1980 &8212; singing all along&8212; he received quite an offer.

The Sister Kenny Institute asked him to sing at its 1981 Minnesota State Fair booth, because it was the &8220;Year of the Disabled,&8221; Lenort said.

They asked Lenort not to sing only because of his talented voice, but also because of Lenort&8217;s health history.

Lenort said when he was 8 months old he got a high fever that nobody could seem to break. When the fever did finally break, a blood vessel burst in his head that paralyzed his right side. Basically, Lenort had a stroke. The doctors had never heard of an infant having a stroke, so they classified it as cerebral palsy.

Lenort said at first he thought, &8220;&8217;Why me?&8217;&8221;

But then decided that the best thing to do was to not let it affect him. He said he feels lucky that he is able to do things on his own. &8220;Look around and see. &8230; Look how blessed and fortunate you are,&8221; Lenort said.

He said his condition doesn&8217;t affect his performance one bit. He loves to sing for people.

Lenort said he wanted to put his voice on CD for quite some time, but first he had to gather up enough money and take time to find a few band members.

He ended up finding more than a few. In fact, he found 11 instrumentalists in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa.

&8220;I was really fortunate to come across these folks. I appreciate them a million times over,&8221; Lenort said.

So after scrapping up the cash and gathering a band, Lenort headed over to Albert Lea&8217;s own Red Star Recording to throw down some tracks.

Lenort said all of the songs are cover songs of mostly traditional country tunes. The CD, titled &8220;Dunnell Lenort: Coverin&8217; The Country,&8221; includes songs such as: &8220;I&8217;ve Been Everywhere,&8221; &8220;The Auctioneer,&8221; and &8220;It&8217;s Only Make Believe.&8221;

Lenort has been contacting area music stores to carry his CD, but for now people can purchase his album on his Web site.

Anyone can also come see Lenort perform in person. Lenort performs at 2 p.m. on the second Friday of every monthat the Good Samaritan Center in Albert Lea.

Lenort said he loves playing at Good Sam&8217;s because he grew up listening to the same country music the audience there did.

But he said the most important part of his performance at Good Sam&8217;s is making people smile. &8220;If I make one person happy, that makes my day,&8221; he said.

Age: 46

Address: Twin Lakes

Family: wife, Angie

Livelihood: works at Lund Food in Lake Mills, Iowa

Interesting fact: He owns a pair of harmonicas used by Johnny Cash.

Get the CD

www.dunnelllenort.com