2023 inducted owners

Chip Huffman

Life years: 1951 – Present

Bus years: 1972 – 2018

Chip Huffman was born in 1951 and raised in the Ohio Valley near Steubenville, OH. In 1966, while still in high school he started singing baritone in The Young Apostles gospel quartet. This group recorded a total of 8 albums, of which the last 5 were under contract with the Oak Ridge Boys.

In 1980 Chip moved to Nashville and started singing backup for Donna Fargo. His additional role became tour bus driver, driving the MCI star bus. In 1982 Chip joined a country quartet called the Tennessee Valley Boys, and from 1985 to 1987 he was tour manager for country entertainer Mel McDaniel.

In 1986, Chip and Don Arkon teamed together, and Nitetrain Coach Company gradually came into existence. Both Chip and Don were driving buses initially, and the first office was established in 1988. In 1989 the first new Model 15 Eagle was purchased, named Nitetrain 1. In 1990, they bought 3 new Eagle buses and 3 new Prevost buses. In 1993 Don sold his portion of the business to Chip and in 2002 Tim Connor became an investor and eventually a company partner. In 2010, when the company had amassed 50 buses, Chip sold his portion of the company to Tim and exited the business.

Chip then started the Celebrity Bus Driver’s Academy, with the first class beginning in the fall of 2010. This Prevost sponsored venture continued until the spring class of 2018 and there were approximately 100 – 120 students that attended. Many of those students have become prominent members of the entertainer coach industry.

Chip is a member of the Sons of the Union Veterans of the Civil War. From 2018 – 2023 he served as Camp Commander of the Nashville Camp, and currently is Senior Vice Commander of the Department of Tennessee. In March 2024, Chip is selected to assume the office of the Department Commander for the State of Tennessee.

Joey Hemphill (1958 – Present)

Trent Hemphill (1959 - Present)

Bus years: 1980 – 2023

Joey Hemphill was born in 1958; Trent Hemphill was born in 1959. Both brothers were raised in Bastrop, LA, but traveled the country extensively as part of the Hemphill Family gospel music group. Joey started playing drums in the group 1969 and singing in 1976. Trent started playing bass in the group in 1974, and piano in 1980. All the while, they worked for their father Joel Hemphill’s entertainer bus company, Hemphill Coach Company. Their jobs included interior conversions, cleaning and washing buses.

In January 1980, Joey and Trent’s father sold his business and Hemphill Coach Company ceased. From that, the brothers purchased two 1965 Silver Eagles. Joel gave them his rolodex and the use of a gravel lot on Dickerson Road in Nashville. Joey was only 21, Trent was 20; their parents provided much moral support and encouragement for this venture. Hemphill Brothers Coach Company was founded in September 1980, operating out of the gospel music office in their parents’ home. Their first client was a Broadway show, “Da”. 

Meanwhile, their primary roles remained to be part of the Hemphill Family gospel group. The group continued to tour until 1989, and by then they had earned 8 Dove awards and recorded 30 albums. When the gospel group retired, Joey and Trent turned their bus business into a full-time project. Also in 1989, they built a shop on Dickerson Road, then moved to the current location in Whites Creek in 1995.

Having countless hours on buses as passengers, Joey and Trent knew the needs of drivers and passengers. This was a great asset when they began building buses. Taking a huge risk, they were one of the very first companies to begin building star buses and custom interiors for artists, providing custom design by having personal meetings with the artists. In 1998, Hemphill Brothers Coach Company was the first in the industry to start paying drivers directly from their payroll, instead of drivers getting paid by the customers – assuring drivers that they would get paid every time.

In November 2023, Hemphill Brothers Coach Company was sold to Dreamliner. By that time the fleet had grown to 120 buses and 250 employees. Joey and Trent are now pursuing other interests and reside in the Nashville area.

Leon Frazier  

Life years: May 6, 1946 – May 24, 1997

Bus years: 1970’s – 1997

Leon Frazier was born May 6, 1946, and raised in Corinth, MS. He started playing piano when he was 5 years old and played accordion also. During his youth Leon played piano and organ at various church services. As a teenager he worked at the Gateway Corporation in Corinth, MS. Immediately after graduating high school in 1964 he began working at the Wurlitzer organ factory in Corinth and remained there until 1982.

In 1969, Leon joined a southern gospel music group called the Heismen Quartet, playing organ. They often traveled with the Happy Goodman Family and played on the television show Gospel Singing Jubilee many times. Leon was a songwriter; his songs were recorded by several southern gospel groups. After the Heismen Quartet retired around 1979, the Frazier Family Band formed, featuring his daughter Dujuana.

In the fall of 1982, Leon went to work with Ray Shelton in Collierville, TN, and together they started Senators Coaches. Leon had bought the old Heismen Quartet bus when they quit traveling and Ray had leased it out for him. Around 1987 Ray retired, and Leon took control of Senators Coaches. The business was moved from Collierville to Corinth. By 1997, Senators was voted Bus Company of the Year for the 4th time. 

On May 24, 1997, Leon tragically died in an accident. After his passing, he was awarded the Performance Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. John Aikin represented Senators and Leon’s family to accept the award.

Mike Slarve

Life years: 1948 - Present

Bus years: 1982 – Present

Mike Slarve was born in 1948 in North Hollywood, California. In high school, Mike became very interested in the music business. He put on several shows with local talent. After High School Mike joined the US Army from 1968-1970.  Mike went into his family business of construction. He kept his interest in the music business alive at night. 

In 1982 he joined with three other friends and started promoting Rock and Roll shows across the country. Some of the artists he promoted included Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, and Fleetwood Mac. This led to band management. In the early 1980's, one of the bands he managed needed a tour coach. After conversations with several coach owners, an agreement was made for the tour but also included Mike becoming a coach broker on the West Coast. Phone calls to tour managers, and agents he had worked with in the past, resulted in an overwhelming positive response.

A few years after the start of Four Seasons Coach Leasing, the accumulation of coaches became a necessity. It became obvious that more modern equipment was needed for the fast-growing high demand of the touring industry. Mike, like many others, started custom building and updating older coaches to meet the demands for newer equipment with the latest amenities. This was a time of great experimentation and innovation, which resulted in the 102" wide 45 foot long and 12'6' + tall coaches of today.

Some of Mike’s contributions to the development of the modern tour coach industry include; The forming of a one stop leasing operation that represented the majority of coach owners. The first 45' coaches with series 60 Detroit Diesel engines, the first custom 45' entertainer with slide-outs. Interior modifications / amenities that are still utilized to this day. One of the first companies to allow biofuels. A founder of the Entertainer Motor Coach Council, an organization and forum for Coach owners to coordinate the changing needs of the industry.

In 2018, after almost forty years and thousands of tours, Mike sold Four Seasons Coach Leasing to Village Coach. He is now semi-retired and grateful for the lifetime of adventures and friendships the coach industry provided. 

Ronald E. “Ron” Follis

Life years: Jan 13, 1939 – Dec 19, 2004 (age 65)

Bus years: 1985 – 2004

Patricia A. “Patti” Taylor

Life years: 1948 – Present

Bus years: 1987 – 2017

Ronald “Ron” Follis was born Jan 13, 1939 and raised in Chillicothe, IL. After high school he became an electrician and moved to Phoenix. Later he began driving a tour bus for a rodeo performer. During this period, Ron met Jack & Jerry Calhoun at a truck stop. The Calhoun brothers were on their own music tour and saw that Ron had been remodeling the rodeo performer’s tour bus. The Calhouns invited him to work at Florida Coach and Florida Custom Coach, which Ron accepted. During this period Ron also worked for other bus companies as an electrician; Tommy Kaylor’s Bus Service in Butler, PA, Roadhouse Coach, and various others. When he wasn’t working on buses, Ron would drive buses on tours. 

Patricia A. “Patti” Taylor was born in 1948 and raised in Monroe, MI. After high school she moved to Lake Havasu, AZ working as a bartender and eventually moving to Phoenix, AZ. In 1987 Patti met Ron while he was driving a 10-month tour for Bruce Springsteen. Patti moved to Florida and began working for the Calhoun brothers and learned interior construction from their brother, Bud Calhoun and his wife Martha. Jack Calhoun insisted that every car on the property be washed every day, so Patti and (then) 6-year-old Caleb Calhoun would wash all the cars.

Eventually Ron rented a shop in Nashville and started building a couple of buses, one was for the Charlie Daniels Band. But Ron wanted a shop in Phoenix, so he relocated there. In 1988 Ron bought a Silver Eagle and built it in his own garage. It was named Classic 1, and his first driver was Rick Foote, who remained for 20+ years. In 1989 Ron bought a 40 foot Prevost, which was built and named Classic 2. In all, there were only 4 or 5 buses built as Classic Coach.

In 1995, an investor joined Ron & Patti, and the company name was changed to Taylor Tours. They rented a bigger shop and started building. Eventually a total of 23 buses were built and leased to bands or for long-term leases to clients. Some of their regular clients were Whoopi Goldberg, Neal McCoy, Gladys Knight, Waylon Jennings, and Chris LeDoux. 

On Dec 19, 2004, Ron passed away while residing in Phoenix, AZ. Patti continued to operate Taylor Tours with her daughters until she sold the company to Nitetrain Coach in 2017 and retired. Patti is currently working with animal shelters in the Phoenix area and has 7 rescues of her own.