Chet helped me win a buck
Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 5:48 pm
Got a little story to share. Happened last night.
Little background: I'm an actor. Act in theatrical productions. We are starting rehearsals for a new dark comedy that takes place in England, circa 1778. Our director is a typical director. Very eccentric. Gets hot under the collar quite easily. So last night we came in for rehearsals, several of us, and the director was HOT! Red in the face, that is. Sat us all down and proceeded to cuss the wall-paper off the wall, banging his fist on the table. Seems another theater has ripped him off to the tune of $700 bucks, landing us in the building we are currently in for rehearsal and performance. And we all heard it, as he went on for a good 15 minutes cussing up a storm. Burned our ears off!
Then, almost magically, he calmed down. His blood pressure settled and he started to act nice. He went on that he had a little challenge for us. He said something to the effect of he feels music has declined in quality, and today's music is not really music. (I have to agree.) He expressed that the old tunes, I mean the really, really OLD tunes were the real music. Said he had a recording of a very old tune, and if anyone in the room could "name that tune," we win a buck. Also if we could name the instrument it was being played on, we win a second buck. (Nice guy!)
So he turned on his player and the melody of a very familiar tune came through quite clearly. Every other actor around that table had not a clue. But yours truly felt my brain kick into full enlightenment as I realized I had heard Chet play that tune rather brilliantly on one of his early records. And I opened my mouth and out it came: "The Third Man Theme!"
Bingo!
So he opened up his wallet and I collected my greenback. Thanks Chet!
My point is that I know Chet once spent a lot of time in the record storage room of a radio station, spinning LP's, and learning every classic tune of great American music he could find. In short, he was diligent and EDUCATED HIMSELF. (Music wise.) he gave himself the equivalent of a college degree in music. I have ALWAYS admired him for that.
But Chet's music education has become in a very real sense, MY MUSIC EDUCATION. Thanks to Chet's wide knowledge of great melodies, I too am pretty doggone smart on tunes of the 40's, 50's. (The good stuff!) If it wasn't for Chet's influence, I probably would have never learned to distinguish great music from dirt. Those early childhood influences mean so much. They are invaluable; foundational.
I always enjoy reading about Chet's early influences as a boy, listening to Merle on the radio. I can close my eyes and see it. Nobody knew it back then, but musical history was in the making. One young boy sitting in front of an old radio, entranced and totally wrapped in the magical sounds streaming through the speaker. Trying to figure it out! Destined to pass that influence on to so very many of us. And it never gets old. Like an old, cozy episode of the Andy Griffith show, we never get tired of it. As long as there is a guitar strung up near by, we are forever wrapped in the magic of the music of the tall country gentleman from Tennessee.
So anyway, everyone, especially our director was totally stunned when I correctly "named that tune." I won a dollar, but I could not have done it without Chet. He's my secret!
As far as the instrument that the tune was played on....I didn't guess that and I didn't win that second dollar. Another guy did. It was a ZITHER!!!
Little background: I'm an actor. Act in theatrical productions. We are starting rehearsals for a new dark comedy that takes place in England, circa 1778. Our director is a typical director. Very eccentric. Gets hot under the collar quite easily. So last night we came in for rehearsals, several of us, and the director was HOT! Red in the face, that is. Sat us all down and proceeded to cuss the wall-paper off the wall, banging his fist on the table. Seems another theater has ripped him off to the tune of $700 bucks, landing us in the building we are currently in for rehearsal and performance. And we all heard it, as he went on for a good 15 minutes cussing up a storm. Burned our ears off!
Then, almost magically, he calmed down. His blood pressure settled and he started to act nice. He went on that he had a little challenge for us. He said something to the effect of he feels music has declined in quality, and today's music is not really music. (I have to agree.) He expressed that the old tunes, I mean the really, really OLD tunes were the real music. Said he had a recording of a very old tune, and if anyone in the room could "name that tune," we win a buck. Also if we could name the instrument it was being played on, we win a second buck. (Nice guy!)
So he turned on his player and the melody of a very familiar tune came through quite clearly. Every other actor around that table had not a clue. But yours truly felt my brain kick into full enlightenment as I realized I had heard Chet play that tune rather brilliantly on one of his early records. And I opened my mouth and out it came: "The Third Man Theme!"
Bingo!
So he opened up his wallet and I collected my greenback. Thanks Chet!
My point is that I know Chet once spent a lot of time in the record storage room of a radio station, spinning LP's, and learning every classic tune of great American music he could find. In short, he was diligent and EDUCATED HIMSELF. (Music wise.) he gave himself the equivalent of a college degree in music. I have ALWAYS admired him for that.
But Chet's music education has become in a very real sense, MY MUSIC EDUCATION. Thanks to Chet's wide knowledge of great melodies, I too am pretty doggone smart on tunes of the 40's, 50's. (The good stuff!) If it wasn't for Chet's influence, I probably would have never learned to distinguish great music from dirt. Those early childhood influences mean so much. They are invaluable; foundational.
I always enjoy reading about Chet's early influences as a boy, listening to Merle on the radio. I can close my eyes and see it. Nobody knew it back then, but musical history was in the making. One young boy sitting in front of an old radio, entranced and totally wrapped in the magical sounds streaming through the speaker. Trying to figure it out! Destined to pass that influence on to so very many of us. And it never gets old. Like an old, cozy episode of the Andy Griffith show, we never get tired of it. As long as there is a guitar strung up near by, we are forever wrapped in the magic of the music of the tall country gentleman from Tennessee.
So anyway, everyone, especially our director was totally stunned when I correctly "named that tune." I won a dollar, but I could not have done it without Chet. He's my secret!
As far as the instrument that the tune was played on....I didn't guess that and I didn't win that second dollar. Another guy did. It was a ZITHER!!!