There was a lot of different kinds of music around when I was growing up. Mom and Dad shared some common music interests, including the rock and pop they grew up with, like the Beatles, etc. They had some eclectic tastes, as well. Mom seemed to be more into some of the more progressive sounds, being a big fan of the Moody Blues and Procol Harum, and one of her favorite albums was by a Brazilian group called Donato/Deodato that played Latin-Jazz Fusion. Dad had grown up with a lot of country music around, so he was a big country fan.
I think one of the biggest reasons Dad was a country fan is that he grew up with it. My grandfather and his family had grown up with it as well, especially since there was a lot of musical talent in the family. My grandfather, Lloyd, could strum a guitar, but his biggest talent was being able to harmonize with anyone. He sang with some of his brothers now and then, including Lester, Alfred, and Orville. Lester played guitar as well, and Alfred played fiddle. Orville played guitar and steel guitar, and was perhaps one of the most talented of the bunch. When I was younger I learned that he had done some touring, under the stage name Eddie Rivers, and had even met and played with Hank Williams, Sr. at one time, and had had a guitar autographed by him.
Unfortunately, country music wasn't mainstream back then the way it is now, and nobody made it real big. Even if the music had been more popular, I think it still would have been tough, as there was a lot of heavy drinking involved. My grandfather finally joined A.A. and gave it up, and his sponsors became close family friends, spending their weekends playing sheephead until they couldn't see straight to keep their minds off the booze. My great uncle Orville eventually gave up drinking as well, but not before he pawned that Hank Williams autographed guitar.
We had a few reel-to-reel tape recordings of Orville's band, and they'd sometimes play at our family reunions. I didn't appreciate the talent until I heard some less gifted players.
Now-a-days, of course, hearing some of the songs I heard back then reminds me of those days, the long lazy summers of youth when I didn't have many cares. Nostalgia seems to play a big part in the music we enjoy.
That nostalgia has been leading me to think about about a couple of songs by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Old Upright Piano, and Leon McDuff. I had been unable to find any information about either song from Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and finally did a Google search. It turns out they appeared on an album called Partners, Brothers and Friends, released by Warner Bros. in 1985, and is no longer in print. This is sad, really. I remember many of the songs from the album, including the two mentioned, as well as Redneck Riviera and Queen of the Road. Those songs were good foot-stompers. Old Upright Piano is a real tear-jerker; Leon McDuff is a good bluegrass song with a dark edginess to it. I couldn't appreciate their merits when I first heard them over fifteen years ago. Now that I can, the songs are sadly unavailable.
