CALVERT COUNTY, Md. – Derek “Doc” Sabedra, a Calvert County native and graduate of Calvert High School (CHS), is an avid songwriter who has written roughly 26 songs throughout the years. It’s a way for him to express his emotions (good or bad). Sabedra has never had the epiphany to learn how to create music for the lyrics. He always has a certain idea of how it should go and will sing it into a recording device for storage.
However, back in August, Sabedra finally took the lyrics into the studio and released one of his most meaningful songs he’s ever written. The song, “Denise, Denise (My Brightest Angel),” honors one of Sabedra’s dearest friends back in high school, Denise Evans, who tragically passed away in a house fire in December 1985. Denise perished alongside her brother, Shawn, and another friend, Danny Doran.
“This was the most emotional period for all of us,” Sabedra told The BayNet. “She would have graduated in 1987 with us from CHS.”
In 2001, after a restless sleep, Sabedra grabbed a legal notepad and wrote the song. Sabedra noted that it only took him an hour to complete it. Sabedra never did anything with the song until something in his personal life inspired him to release it.
In November 2022, Sabedra created a bucket list due to a heart situation he was experiencing. One of the goals on the list was to finally release the song.
Sabedra, who is currently a therapist and an athletic coach, was on an athletic trip to Nashville. While visiting, he attended a music showing at the Grand Ole Opry, where he became inspired.
When Sabedra returned from the trip, he went home and found the lyrics in a box in which he had stored them. He stated that he only changed two words.
Sabedra then chatted with a childhood friend, and it turned out that his brother worked in music production in Nashville. Sabedra noted that was purely a coincidence. Sabedra then sent the song in a recording to his friend’s brother. He later responded and told Sabedra that he could get a singer and some musicians to make the song a reality.
The first take was from musician Colt Alexander, and Sabedra loved it.
Sabedra then had his son listen to the song; who also told him that he should go through with releasing it.
The song was officially released on August 18, 2023, through 1015 Management (Independent) in Nashville. The song is now available on all streaming platforms and YouTube!
“I was fearful at first to open that long-standing emotional wound, but I felt that her song should be the first ever to be released by me,” Sabedra stated. “ I got validation through childhood friends. Karen Fletcher and Linda Call who were in our social group. Finally, I got approval from Michele Evans, Denise’s older sister, this past Monday. That made my world! Keeping her memory alive means very much to me because she was such a great human being. We still miss her.”
You can check out the song on YouTube by clicking here. The song is also available on Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, etc.
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