Moderators dtel Posted August 20, 2014 Moderators Share Posted August 20, 2014 I heard a song today which reminded me of where I first heard it. It was Bill Withers, Stand By Me, it was the first time I heard a great singer live in person and it really stuck with me. I was in HS about 1972 or 73, they had one of those drug awareness things and it was mandatory everyone was to show up in the gym. We got the normal drugs speech by some guy, about half way through we were told who he was, Bill Withers which didn't help we were all teens and didn't know who that was, it was not who we liked. He talked about music and the business and was going to sing for us which didn't impress anyone. Until he sang, it was amazing and it was just him singing no other sound, just his voice. Our school (all boys) had thousands of students and it was dead quiet, everyone sat amazed at this mans voice. It was the first time I had a chance to hear live someone with this kind of talent, it was unbelievable and I will never for get it. I had no idea at the time but these songs are classics now and every time I hear one it makes me wish I had a chance to meet the man to thank him, he is probably one of the reasons I loved music all my life. Thanks Bill W, it really was amazing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) dtel. thanks for posting. very cool. interesting enough, i was just thinking about Bill Withers this week and downloaded his "Use Me" Live at Carnegie Hall "Lean on Me" has a great message. We've even used it as a theme for Vacation Bible School. Edited August 20, 2014 by Daddy Dee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muel Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Wow! Thanks for sharing that story! For me it wasn't a singer but growing up with my Grandmother playing blues piano. A lot of W. C. Handy was heard around our house! It seemed normal but I knew there was something special about it. Funny how I still associate piano blues with holidays (when she would visit). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckAb3 Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Great story. I wasn't overly interested in great singers as a kid as much as I was into what was "cool." In that regard I got to see (and hear) guys like Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Who in or close to their prime. Good stuff. Now I wish I could have heard Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Pavarotti and a few others back in the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 my childhood did not allow for going to concerts etc...... I do recall a couple of the school gym concerts growing up, although no one famous. I never heard music at home that I liked. (mother was an old school country music fan) Radio was my introduction to music mid to late 70's. Hate to admit it but Disco was hot at the time, then I heard the boss Bruce Springsteen, The Stones, The Who, Zepp, Sabbath, etc... and I have loved music since........................It was an escape for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted August 20, 2014 Author Moderators Share Posted August 20, 2014 For me it wasn't a singer but growing up with my Grandmother playing blues piano. Cool Grandmother. Hearing Bill Withers was a complete accident, just one of those things that happens and at the time you don't know how important it really is in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris A Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) Not a singer but a performer...watching my mother playing this piece of music at Ed Landreth Hall (TCU) when I was ~age 6 (i.e., a long time ago). (You'll have to turn this one up about 20 dB from average to begin to understand what it was like being there--and be sure to turn on your subs.) "Get'em while they're young" Edited August 20, 2014 by Chris A 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Cool Grandmother One time, one of my great grandmothers cut short a family vacation by getting tossed in jail. the rest of the family had to chip in and bail her out. My other great grandmother could still double pick a banjo WELL into old age. The two sides of my family tree are VERY different. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 I'm my own grandpa. i just felt like saying that...funny song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 When I was about 19 (legal drinking age in 1980 or so) I got a job working at a country club as the evening bartender. I went to a nearby jr college during the day and tended bar at night. Pretty good gig it was too. Mostly I made simple mixed drinks and poured up draft beer for club members. This country club would have a big party or two each summer and I worked there for 3 years or so and learned to look forward to these events. Anyway, one summer we had a big throwdown for a big group of new French club members that had bought a cement plant not too far down the road. This was an expensive 7 course meal and a major production for the staff to pull off. We had a live band that night and it was a group that I had never paid attention to. Or at least I didn't know if I had hear of them. It was the DRIFTERS. Super nice guys and they played all those great hits they had from back in the day. Boardwalk, Up on the roof, etc. What a great time and a great night. The members of the band were getting older but they still had it. Club members got crazy that night too. Jumping in the pool fully dressed in their evening gowns. Anytime I hear one of their songs it puts a smile on my face and go back to that great night. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 (edited) I'd met Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) a few times before he passed away ... we lived in the same town and i was a friend of a guy that once played in his band. Can't say he was a great singer; but, he was quite entertaining and had the admiration of a great many musicians. Last time I saw him was at a 7-11 Convenience Store -- he was buying ice cream--he said he loved ice cream (coincidently he named one of his albums Ice Cream for Crow). Trout Mask Replica was ranked #58 on Rolling Stone's 2012 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time. Edited August 20, 2014 by BigStewMan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscarsear Posted August 20, 2014 Share Posted August 20, 2014 Um............. The 1st voice was one of the Lennon sisters. Dunno which one. Guessing it was one of the older sisters. They baby sat me when I was youngish and one would actually sing (go figure). She was not singing to me, per se - she just always had a song in her heart, she said. The Lennon family lived on the street behind my Grandparents home in Venice, Ca. and before the girls were 'discovered' they shopped out their services for baby sitting. Yay 4 me! In a similar vein, however.......... I'd heard any number of singers but upon attending The Phantom of The Opera featuring Michael Crawford I found a powerful voice so ideally adapted to a very dramatic role. You may recall that when Crawford left that production that they tried many replacement artists w/o much success. His voice, in that opera....... really takes top billing for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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