PARKER, Colo. — A Parker man is enjoying the worldwide debut of his album 35 years after he created it.

Kenny Knight, 62, is the opposite of an overnight success; he has been working as a musician since he was 11 years old.

The notes from Knight’s guitar echo a passion for music he has had since he was a kid.

“We were so young we had to get work permits,” Knight said about the band he and two friends formed in junior high.

As 14-year-olds, they played in bars across Colorado — even for presidential nominees.

“We played for George Romney when he ran for president,” he said. “We played for Rockefeller at the Brown Palace.”

Knight spent his life making music in between serving as a Marine, painting cars and raising a family. He created an album called Crossroads in 1980 that he self-released.

But only now, 35 years later is Crossroads getting worldwide recognition and play.

“They’d said it was all over the world. And I didn’t believe them,” he said.

The album is available on Amazon in China. Paradise of Bachelors Records reissued the album on May 15.

“It’s just amazing that would happen to me,” Knight said.

“I’m thrilled for him, so proud of him,” said his wife Pam.

The sweet sounds of success started at Denver’s Twist and Shout when a local music collector found Knight’s album amid the half-million records and CDs at the store. He sent it to a music publisher who found the record company that wanted to share his sound with the world.

But this high note came after many sour ones.

“At this time, it does not fit into our plans. Thank you from RCA,” Kenny reads from a notebook of worn, time-weathered rejection letters for his music.

“It just wasn’t top 40 stuff,” he said RCA told him.

Others said his music was all over the place: rock, country, folk. They said he needed to find a genre and stick to it. Those signatures are now faded away. But his dream is brighter than ever.

It’s this rejection throughout his life that tested his confidence.

“At that time I had quit. I’d get so far and then I get frustrated and let it go for a couple years, then I’d go back to it,” he said.

And now, as a complete surprise — with a few more wrinkles and gray hair — Knight has made it.

“Picasso did not get recognized until he was dead. It’s very exciting for me. I am happy for him to be happy,” Pam said.

“A lot of musicians have made it late in life. Willie Nelson. But I never thought it would be me,” chuckles a shy Knight.

The album can be found at Twist and Shout, Urban Outfitters and online through Paradise of Bachelors Records.