It started May 17th, 55 years ago in 1956.
The year I fell in love with Rock and Roll.
The week after my brother Allan died, I
stayed with my Aunt Evy and her friend Jane. Aunt Evy used to take me
to the haunts, bars really, that she and her girlfriends frequented.
She would be telling the barkeep about Allan's death while keeping me
busy playing the jukebox with nickels she gave me.
I found such joy and freedom that
week; it never left me. I could get a 'play' for 5 cents, 3 for a
dime and 5 for a quarter. It may have been something like 12 for a
50-cent piece. Rock Island Line (by Bobby Darin, I think), Tutti
Frutti (Little Richard), Boney Marone, Hound Dog, Rock Around the
Clock and many others quickly became my favorites. For only 9 years
old, I was quite the Rock 'n' Roll fan.
Very soon, I began playing Dion songs
on the piano and two years later, when my brother Stevie gave me a
plastic ukulele for Christmas, I was off and running; playing songs
by Eddie Cochran, like Summertime Blues and C'mon Everybody.
The following year's summer, when I
went to camp, I heard a big, country style guitar around the
campfire. I can still remember the brilliance of the strings and the
richness of the tones. It must have been a quality guitar with new
strings, as I look back. But that was the beginning of my non-stop
love affair with guitars. I had spent my childhood playing the piano,
which I felt was the most beautiful instrument, until that night
around the campfire.
