![]() My mom’s favorite Arkansas story that she told many times occurred at the only grocery store we had in Fort Smith in 1970: a Piggly Wiggly that still had wooden floors. It was hard being the only “New Yorker” in my high school (they thought I talked funny, I thought they talked funny!) I spent a lot of time by myself in the school library my junior year, but eventually made friends, joined the Pep Squad, had my first boyfriend and settled in. ![]() I can’t believe it’s been 50 years since this rising high school junior made the move from the big city of New York to country life in Arkansas. The Big Move from Brooklyn To Booneville.īecause I was young, I never visited the Gretsch Brooklyn factory where my dad was the plant manager, but I remember visiting the Arkansas factory in Booneville. He told me he would send me a photo of him holding his custom Gretsch guitar and he actually did! I was surprised that Davy remembered. He shared with me that Gretsch had developed a special guitar for him to accommodate his short stature (Davy was only 5’2” and had been a horse jockey prior to joining The Monkees). When I told him about my dad and the Gretsch connection, he flipped out. Thirty years later, I had the chance to meet Davy at the TV station I was working at in Virginia. I was a teenager then and totally in love with Davy Jones! ![]() ![]() I have fond memories of Dad sitting me down as a child and saying, “Now listen very close and you will hear the drums, or you can hear the trumpet, or you can hear the guitar.” He was very good at pointing out what instruments were playing on the stereo to my young ears.Īnother Gretsch memory I have from the New York days was watching The Monkees on TV and being thrilled to see that they played Gretsch guitars and drums. He always had records of the day playing on it, usually Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Ray Conniff, Al Hirt, and sometimes even the Beatles (because George Harrison played Gretsch guitars). (I also remember my mom making a really nice planter out of one of the drum shells!) Unfortunately, I never learned how to play anything, although I took drum lessons for a short while. I remember drums, bongos, guitars, banjos, and maracas laying around. I was lucky to grow up as a kid in the 60s with lots of musical instruments in our home in East Meadow, Long Island, NY. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |