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"You're never too young (or too old) to learn"
This "story" is divided into chapters simply for the fact that it encompasses almost fifty years of performing, and so that the reader can readily choose an area of specific interest. I hope to present this in such a way that it provides some inspiration for those with musical talent and aspirations of their own, or who recognize some musical talent in their own children or family; insight for those who participate as the all important members of the audience, and enough humor and "insider" info to make it interesting reading (hopefully) for all those in between that are concerned or just mildly curious......Here goes: I have three brothers, two older and one younger. All of us learned to play the ukelele and sing together at a very early age. It just seemed to be the natural order of things. I owe a debt of gratitude to all the members of my extended family for their encouragement, instruction and support in those early years. Our Dad played the piano and saxophone and was a band leader/performer in his own right. His time was the "Big Band" era, and thanks to our Mother, we heard plenty of Harry James, Cab Calloway, the Dorseys and all the other superb bands plus all the vocalists that fronted them during the big band heyday. Our grandmother (Dad's mom) was a distinguished pianist and taught at the Boston Conservatory of Music for many years. Grandfather was an operatic "basso profundo" (the lowest pitched of all bass voices) as well as a published writer under several pseudonyms. His voice was truly a remarkable instrument. Even into his eighties an acappella (sung without musical accompaniment) rendition of "Old Man River" by him would surely bring tears to the eyes of all those who heard his haunting intonations. I carried on this family tradition of music to my own children as well as I was able, and both of them were immersed in music from infancy; from the time they were in their hand-made crib to the "jolly-jumper" days bouncing in the doorway, they constantly heard a full range of the great classical composers and vocalists, but also blues and jazz from the '30s and '40s to Elvis, the Beatles, the Eagles and Eric Clapton. Both children grew up to sing and play instruments very well. I am especially proud of my daughter, Andrea, She, like myself, has performed publicly from an early age and is still actively persuing her own singing career. She is an accomplished vocalist and pianist. I will post some of her recordings on our music page if there is enough interest shown. Let me know if you would like to hear some of her work...... Back to my story.................... I was learning to play the tenor "uke" at the age of three! I'm not talking about using it as a child's hammer or spaceship.....I wanted to make the same sounds on it that others made. By age six, my next older brother, Kenneth, aged 11, and I had moved up to the larger baritone ukelele, a four stringed instrument, but still a bit smaller than a tenor guitar (which also has four strings). My hands and fingers were finally getting big enough to cover the larger fret board. We sang and played together as a duo mostly for the family, with some occassional private parties and local group functions. Someone finally heard us somewhere along the line, and the next thing we knew both of us were invited to audition for a "minstrel show" troupe that performed in the greater Boston area. We got the OK!! In a minstrel show the featured performers, perhaps a dozen, comprised the front row of seats. Behind them were one or two rows of backup singers (the chorus). There was no band as such, with the exception of a piano player, so a lot was done accapella, with the exception of the tambourines and some kazoos. During the opening and closing of the show the entire troupe sang songs like "God Bless America" and "My Country 'tis of Thee" standing up together with hands over our hearts. We all sang patriotic songs like "Your a Grand Old Flag", "Over There" among many others. During the show the emcee would announce various solo and group performers, including the joke tellers called, "the end men" (because they were always seated at the outside chairs of the front row. Then, as a special treat, the MC, who sat front row, center, would call for Ken and me to come out from the back row...just two young kids... We somehow managed to get out there in front of those hundreds of people and we sang and played our hearts out! The audience showed their approval with great applause. It was truly an overwhelming experience. After performing in several shows we were asked if we would like to do solo spots as well. We had become, in a short while, the new "hits" of the show. Pat Boone was fairly well known and Ken sang his songs, while I chose to sing the songs of a newcomer to the music scene by the name of Elvis Presley. I even tried to do the novel hip and foot things he did. Soon, in the newspaper ads for the minstrel show, I was headlined as..... "The Elvis Presley of the South Shore"...... Needless to say, I found all the attention both overwhelming and exhilerating all at the same time!! Then we both were surprised to find out that we were going to be on a television show live!! Back then it was still just black and white TV and there was no videotaping beforehand and getting the chance to edit or redo parts of the show. We arrived at the WGBH station in Boston and were being ushered to a waiting area along a narrow labyrinth of corridors. I was scrambling to keep up with the adults and rounding a corner when I collided head on into a really tall guy. I was knocked off my feet, bounced against the wall and had my face end up right in front of this guys fancy white shoes. The guy was busy picking me up and I was busy checking out his shoes. They were huge! Pat Boone, who had just completed a radio interview, was staring into my face and asking if I was OK.........I said that I was all right and told him that he should have run into my brother.....'cause he always sings your songs! We completed the television show without a hitch, but I was still thinking how cool his shoes were......and that someday I wanted some just like 'em! One night while watching the Ed Sullivan show on our tiny B&W television set, I was amazed to see an older gentleman by the name of Eddie Peabody sitting there, in a bold, wide stripped suit, just hammering the daylights out of a banjo...(as in playing it very, very well)..I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. He was a spectacular showman and his performance remains vivid in my memory to this day. But back then, I just decided I wanted to learn how to play the banjo just like that man! One of my great aunts soon brought a tenor banjo around for me that had been unused and stored in her attic for some thirty years. It was the greatest Christmas gift I could have ever received. A tenor banjo's four strings are tuned to the same pitch as those on a violin. That meant that I had to learn thousands of new chords and then utilize them in very fast changes. There is a new chording position to switch to for every note change in the melody of the song you're playing. A banjo player has to be clever, fast and accurate to play well. And there is a big difference in the four string and five string banjos. (Later on, during the "folk music" heyday I did also learn to play the five string banjo in the Kingston Trio style.) After a few months of practicing six hours a day I was well on my way to performance quality playing on the tenor.....I was very determined and dedicated and the results pleased everyone......but mostly me. I could play my banjo a lot like Eddie Peabody, a man who could make his banjo jump through hoops! |
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