Larry Lawson - Class of 1963

Larry Lawson is the son of Charles and Etoile Lawson, who moved their family of five from Port Arthur to Bridge City in 1950.  Charles owned and operated Lawson Garage and Lawson Auto Parts on the corner of Granger Drive and Texas Avenue (Highway 87) in Bridge City until the early 1980s.  Larry recalled the front of his father’s garage was shaped like the Alamo and had a neon clock in the arch of the roof, which became a landmark in Bridge City since it was the only commercial building at the time with an exterior clock.  The Lawsons’ other children were Charles and Hazel.  Larry’s fondest memories of early Bridge City include swimming and skiing on Cow Bayou at Joe Bailey’s Fish Camp and watching ski shows.  He remembers when the community did not have a bank, only a few stores, and a post office and was rural countryside. 

Larry skipped first grade at BCISD then graduated from Bridge City High School in 1963 along with about 70 classmates.  He was active in his high school concert, marching and jazz bands, and the Drama Club.  At the age of six, Larry was diagnosed with polio but didn’t have polio but wore leg braces until he was ten years old.  Since he didn’t play outdoors much, he began piano lessons at age five, playing by ear and writing his own songs.  Larry took formal classical music lessons but didn’t appreciate it and rather rock music.  He began writing music and copyrighted his first song at age 13.  Larry began playing the clarinet in school, then trumpet.  His mother, Etoile, housed all the school’s band instruments in their home, so he would pull out every instrument and play them.  Larry played organ for First Baptist Church of Bridge City and was the lead trumpet player in the high school band known for playing “sugar blues” at games and assemblies.  On Sundays, his parents would take Larry to Beaumont to perform on the Don Mahoney-Jena Clare Show, a local TV talent show.  There, he met Edgar and Johnny Winter, who were also on the show and whom he joined to form their first band.  At age 13, he cut his first record, thus the beginning of his music career.

In 1965, Larry formed The Sandpipers and was the keyboardist and lead singer.  The band became the #1 Golden Triangle band.  They played for area high schools, at the DuPont Employees Recreational Association (DERA) for teen dances, at teen halls and clubs. The Sandpipers won first place in a Houston Battle of the Bands contest in 1966.  The band was approached by Andrus Productions in Houston to record “Splash 1”.   Since there was already a California band with the same name as The Sandpipers, the group changed their name to The Clique.  Andrus didn’t have a song for the B-side, so Larry wrote “Stay By Me” for the B-side, and when released, it sold more records in Houston and the Triangle area than any other record in history.  That launched national recognition, and the group was picked up by Scepter Records in New York.  “Splash 1” became a #1 record regionally and hit the top 100 charts nationally on Billboard.  After the release of “Splash 1” The Clique recorded its first album in 1969 titled “The Clique” which included million-selling songs “Sugar On Sunday”, “Superman,” and “I’ll Hold Out My Hand.”  The album sold over 5 million copies.  Larry sang and played the keyboard and the trumpet.  The band toured for several years.  In 2008, The Clique was inducted into the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Music Hall of Fame in Port Arthur.  Larry retired from the rock music business in 1969, pursuing a career in medical sales.

Larry attended Lamar Tech from 1963 to 1967, pursuing degrees in music and accounting.  While at college, he was a cheerleader, played trumpet with the concert and jazz band, and was a member of the Cardinal marching band.  He left college to pursue a music career and then changed to health care.   Larry began his healthcare career with Johnson & Johnson as a hospital sales rep, working in sales management and marketing.  He became their #1 salesman nationally.   In 1980, he founded Mesco Inc. (Medical Export Supply Co.) an international sales and marketing firm specializing in sales for American and European medical manufacturers, developing markets throughout Latin America, Europe, and Mid-East countries.  In 1983, Larry founded LifeMed Technologies Inc., changing his focus to cardiac arrhythmia monitoring services.  In 2000 he founded Diagnostic Monitoring Associates.  By 2004, Larry founded eCardio Diagnostics, which was the leading arrhythmia-monitoring company in America specializing in atrial fibrillation detection and analysis.  eCardio grew from a startup to $100 million in revenues in just ten years.  Larry’s company was ranked as one of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in the Houston-Gulf Coast region and ranked in the INC 500 fastest-growing companies in America for five years.  He was honored as the Ernst & Young Health Science Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009.  He sold his company to Merck in 2014 for $300 million. 

In 2012, Lamar University awarded Larry an honorary doctor of humane letters as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of eCardio Diagnostics.  In 2017, Larry received the Houston Technology Center's Lifetime Achievement Award in Health Sciences. In 2018, he was again honored and selected as a member of the prestigious Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.  The Horatio Alger Association is a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education.  He joined eleven other esteemed business, civic, and cultural leaders from across North America in receiving 2018 honors. For more than 70 years, the Horatio Alger Award has been annually bestowed upon admired leaders who have succeeded despite facing adversities and who have remained committed to higher education and charitable efforts in their local communities.

Larry is an active member of TMCx, the Texas Medical Center's Accelerator program, and serves on the Texas Medical Center Venture Fund Board and GOOSE Society of Texas, an organization that provides funding and mentorship to startup companies in life science, energy, and emerging technologies. Larry has gifted scholarships and funds to various schools and universities, including a $1 million donation to the science and engineering department of his alma mater, Lamar University. He has also donated to entrepreneur centers and facilities for the disabled in memory of his sister, who was born with spina bifida and confined to a wheelchair her entire life.   Larry counts his primary professional mentor as the legendary Dr. Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

Larry was formally inducted into the Horatio Association on April 5-7, 2018, during the Association's 71st Horatio Alger Award Induction Ceremonies in Washington, D.C. The annual three-day event honored the achievements of both members and national scholars, affording both groups the opportunity to meet and interact, exchanging stories of hardships and triumphs.  Larry was presented his award medal by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  

Additional awards and recognitions for Larry include the Lamar University Legacy Foundation in 2014, the Texas Governor’s Award for Entrepreneurship in 2014, and the Lifetime Achievement Award HTC (Houston Tech Center) in 2017.  Some of his giving back includes $1 million to build the Brenham State Supported Living Center Sports Complex in honor of his sister, Hazel;

$1 million to Lamar University for Engineering Faculty and Fellowship; support of Texas flood victims in 2015; Lamar University Engineering Faculty Fellowship and Lamar University support of CICE Entrepreneur and Intern Programs.  Larry now splits his time between his homes in Santa Barbara, California, San Diego, California, Austin, and Houston, where his company corporate headquarters are located.

Written by Charlotte Schexnider Chiasson (Class of 1970)