Ok, this is Sunday and I try to stay away from political posts on Sunday. Something happened yesterday and took me back 30 years and I smiled. My car had just stopped and would not crank at the drive through at CVS. I called my husband to come down and jump the car off or see if we could move it from the drive through.
Don’t kid yourself, we have some pretty talented and famous people on this site. I can name at least 20 people on here that don’t say much about their backbone in the music industry. Please pitch in to keep this site running. I mean seriously, this site is whole lot more than news and politics. Thanks Kos.
When I married my husband, who most of you know via me was a smiling, handsome guy I met who lived next to my Dad. My car had broken down. ( Two days after I bought the clunker after being abandoned and the ex took the car with another woman and I had no clue he had left for three days. I thought he was visiting his Mom.
My soon to be husband was a Viet Nam vet and easy on my eyes , I noticed walking towards me as I parked in front of my Dad’s house with a car that kept not running and wouldn’t start and I had to be back at work or possibly lose my job.
I had taken the car to three mechanics and then picked my Dad up to come home with me as I was going through a really rough time and with tears running... I had been deserted and without any reason from my ex husband to just run off.. He decided he didn’t want to be tied down, married or be faithful so he just up and left and took the car and disappeared, leaving me with bills, no money and a shaky job that required both of us to run properties. I could have lost my job. Enough about him.
I knew this man about to enter my life was easy on the eyes but I had no idea he was into music and absolutely no clue HOW much he was into it and how super talented he was. He was a great guitarist but when he, trying to cheer me up that day and invited me in for a glass of tea, and sat at a small keyboard and played something for me as he took a break from checking on my clunker. ( Third person that day) My Dad knew him well as next door neighbors but I had never met this man. My Dad was packing a few clothes to stay with me for a few days as I was pretty distraught. He did not introduce us, my Jack decided to walk to my car as I had my head down on the steering wheel thinking, I can’t catch a break and he asked if he could help me and Daddy was inside his own house while I was pounding on the steering wheel and crying. I invited him once he got the car started if I owed him anything and he said, “ Well I understand your son and wife , which I did not know you were his Mom, just had a baby and I would like to see her and I haven’t seen him over here at your Dad’s in a good while. I need to get to the VA tomorrow and if you can let me ride with you and your Dad to visit the baby ...( They lived across the street from me now as I needed Maintenance help after that disappearing act of my ex husband from three weeks before). It was two weeks before Christmas.
I had to give the back story to make this so special to me. My husband now, the guy I met that day in December came with Daddy and me to Gainesville, Fl about 60 miles from where they lived and I lived near the VA hospital and he had a friend who lived 8 miles away and wanted to stay with him after visiting my son, new grandbaby and I was picking up that he really wanted to see me as Daddy kept saying, “ I think he is attracted to you, young lady, he is separated and you are now alone and vulnerable”.
I liked everything I was learning about this guy. The car quit on the way home and we sat in a parking lot and it was cold until I called the people who sold me the car and I knew them well and was brought another car to get home. I felt I probably had lost my job as my ex left me in a state of chaos regarding the job and I had missed a day’s work on this car and I did not know what I was gonna do. The property and town was still dealing with the Gainesville murders.
As Vet and I sat and talked most of the night about his music career and love of music and getting to know one another, my Dad went to bed around 10:00 and still acting like I was 16, he kept getting up getting water while this experience was turning into a date. My Vet told me he had toured in Nashville until Vietnam pretty much took that away from him. We were talking about vets and music and all kinds of things. He told me about enjoying that part of his life and touring all over the country. He told me of opening for Marty Robbins and belonging to a well known group in the late 70’s called the Tennessee Top Ten. He had brought his guitar to the house and was actually cheering me up and getting my mind off all the troubles I had. He told me about the Oak Ridge Boys and other folks he was professionally close to. He said he didn’t even know where his posters or anything was anymore as he had problems, so much got lost, left behind or destroyed, with dealing with Nam and I listened.
What was strange, is that I had a big music background with family and even my own band from the time I was 16 and then musical shows from the time I was 9. My first stage appearance was when I was 6. Musical people must be wired to attract.
After the computer age, I started looking for television programs, or something. I knew everything he told me was true because I met at least half of the people he was touring with over the years and some major people in Nashville that he introduced me to and I never stopped looking for that young 29 year old playing somewhere. The group went on to play with other groups as sidemen as did Vet.
I had met Mel Tillis and been many times backstage at the Opry. I also had been to the Oak Ridge Boy’s home and spent time with Chet Atkins and knew my husband had been very involved in this musical scene after Vietnam before the PTSD kicked in. Well I had no visual proof. I just heard stories from Bob Saxton, a famous sideman, one of the Oak Ridge Boys, Mark McCulley who was the lowest teenage bass singer at the time who was in the Tennessee top ten and had become friends with Wally Fowler’s ex wife who was huge in the music scene and Jack’s ex boss. Well… I was still searching as I had done for years. I knew Wally Fowler, who actually discovered Patsy Cline , and found a video on you tube. FINALLY after twenty some odd years… I found exactly what I was looking for by chance although I did not find the Commodores later on he played with or Leif Garrett.
I found my husband playing the piano although he was a guitarist and pretty much any instrument but I found this major promoter in 1980 introduce the band while on tour and introduce my husband at his young age. My vet lost many things over the years due to his Vietnam trauma. I screamed so loud last week, it scared him and he said, “ What’s wrong”? I replied, “ You gotta see this. This is you in 1980 in Tueplo Mississippi with a gospel group right before you started opening for Marty Robbins and before you left the business. I knew you were famous in your own right but I sure never knew How famous…..as a side man for the music industry. I should have known when some asked for your autograph back in 1998 at the Grand ole Opry but here is the 4 minute video I found after 30 years of marriage and music to my husband as he is introduced on a TV show and I never gave up, even though he didn’t know I looked for something that would last forever for our kids and listen to promoter before he introduces the band and then see my Vet stand and take a bow. Yeah I am excited over my tenacity of looking for this confirmation and the beginning of my help with vets because so many lost so much over useless wars.
This is Sunday and I wanted to share. I thought of all this when the car quit yesterday,
That other car in 1990 never did run again.
This promoter Wally Fowler introduces his new group he has put together and my Vet is on the piano and I smiled.
Vet is still easy on the eyes. Those blue tuxedos were beautiful. He didn’t remember playing and doing this show. It was terrific to finally find some video of those touring days and I am still searching for more.
This is now.. He played guitar and switched off with Box Saxton but was on the piano in the video of 1980.
This is him now and the first song I eve heard him do...on the piano or any instrument in 1990.
I know folks and we all talk on here but did you know not only are we the true American constitution savers but there are so many musical talented people here. More than many know.
We have Hobbs, 88 Keys, BOHICA, Danny Borgers, and many many more that I could name. We have an entire musical starship living right here on Daily Kos.
On Sunday’s I like to stay away from the political scene and I encourage all of you to start meet ups when this Pandemic is under control and folks are safe. Feel better as not only are we making life better with our political stands and activism but we have music and art and talent sitting right here.
Support the site. Pics of then and now.
We have some really fun stuff on here that most of us don’t share.
We should !