Friday, October 16, 2009

The Missing Photo…..

   For any of you that follow my blog, you know that my dad was a musician. He died in 1993 of cancer. My mom died 5 years later in 1998. While cleaning out my parents home, each of us got a few things we wanted as keepsakes. This was before scrapbooking and digital photos entered my families lives. So…some photographs got taken here and there and basically scattered between the four of us, ending up in our prospective attics and shoeboxes…etc. Pictures that should have stayed together got separated.

   I have a nephew named Adam who looks an awful lot like my dad did when he was young. Adam plays guitar and does that very well. He married a Greek girl named Carey from North Carolina who also plays guitar and sings like a bird. The two of them moved to Nashville 12 years ago to try and make a name for themselves. They are both talented song writers as well. After a few years of being struggling musicians, they are finally getting a break it would seem. They have their own production studio and some of the songs they have written over the years are beginning to be picked up. MTV has started using some of them and the residuals of those songs are beginning to come in, albeit small. Every once in a while I go to their MySpace site to check on what’s happening in their lives musically. While there recently, I came across one of those missing photos I was talking about….of my dad. I wondered how Adam got that. I happened to be at my daughters a while back and on the desk top of her computer, was that photograph! How’d you get that?? She got it from Adam who got it from my brother and so on.

   It is a photo of my dad playing guitar during WWII at a music show put on for the boys over in Italy. I just love it and boy doesn’t my nephew Adam look like him! So…I just went to Adam’s site and copied it!!! Now I finally have it!! How simple was that….but do you think I could figure all that out back then??? Oh my God it takes me forever to get these things done. Here’s the photo….PapaWWII That’s my dad playing his 1937 Epiphone. That guitar ended up with my nephew Adam and my brother had it refurbished. Here is a photo of Adam playing it today……

l_7c3ae9b3799b44deb0519a2da0ef69e1 I saw this and it freaked me out!! What a strange feeling came over me! It was meant to be that he inherit this old guitar from my dad and keep the music alive through it. Gives me goose bumps. It makes me think of the Dan Fogelberg song, Leader Of The Band.

My brother Arthur used to play this song and one day he played it just for my dad. It was a moment I will never forget. When he sang about the music running through his veins I just lost it. I looked over at my dad and he had tears in his eyes. God I miss him and my mom every day. I feel grateful we have musicians in the family that keep that magic alive today. Music is such a universal thing isn’t it? It can transport us back to a different time in our lives….it can make us cry at the drop of a hat….or laugh and dance…it’s a wonderful thing that binds us all together.

  My nephew Adam and his wife Carey got mentioned recently on CNN by a man that reviews music. We were all very excited about this! Adam produces some up and coming musicians that folks are starting to take notice of. After reviewing two of them in this interview with CNN, he mentions A and C and showcases my absolute FAVORITE song they wrote called BACKSEAT!! Yay!! I am in LOVE with that song and can’t seem to get enough of it! I have been telling people that forever!! Here’s the link to the interview….the Backseat part is at the end…

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/showbiz/2009/10/06/dcl.grumbine.country.cnn   Hopefully this will come through……..

  

  Do any of you play music? Did your parents too? What a gift my folks gave my brothers and I that will always be with me…….

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11 comments:

Dawn said...

I love this post! I'm glad you got a copy of the photo, I heard a saying this week that sometimes describes me when I can't figure out something simple with the computer...tech-tard. I supose there are alot of us out there. The kids born within this generation, know more about it all and my son never let's me live it down.
I was getting alittle teary with your perfect sentiment about your family, what a wonderful way to have your dad live through your nephew and music.
Madame is playing ''the lion sleeps tonight'' on the piano and that brings back a flood of early childhood to me. Course she links it with the lion king. I can't help but sing it while she's playing, I probably don't help!

Kathleen said...

Oh Debbie....Adam and your Dad could have been twins. How fabulous to have musical "genes". Music does so much for us, and you are so right, can bring out emotions of every kind. I have always loved music...all kinds...I played piano when I was 8 and 9, but quit. Then I played drums for about 3 years. But my Mom! She was a teen during the 40's. While I was growing up she was a great source of entertainment. She would jitterbug all over the house.....and she sang all the time....Tangerine, Chatanooga Choo-choo, Boogie-Woogie bugle boy, The marines theme song, and on and on. She was a hoot! LIke you, my Mom and Dad are gone, and there is so much I miss. I think I'll go jitterbug for awhile in my living room.....Have a great week-end........Big hugs, Kathleen

Anonymous said...

Bravo to the Landrys! Someday, dearest friend, you're going to listen to your grandchild playing music, singing and you'll hug a silent prayer of thanks before sending it off to your parents who'll slip it into God's pocket for such musical talent, and love for it, must come from Him!
So pleased to know the Landrys ...
Love ya ... GeeGee

Smart Mouth Broad said...

Wow! Your nephew really does look just like your dad. How cool that they have the same talent and the same instrument.

I love "Leader of the Band".

Of course you haven't offended me, dear. It's just getting really hard to keep up with all the great blogs I read. My life is a bit out of control right now.

Unknown said...

How exciting that your nephew's career seems to be taking off!! Having his name bandied about on CNN--not too shabby!

Anonymous said...

OH, Debbie! This was a great post! Yes, Adam looks just like your Dad! Isn't that amazing! Your Dad was a very nice looking man and how wonderful his guitar was passed on to Adam! How nice Adam and his wife are getting some recognition with all of their talent!

Well, my nosey little one! :) you know I'm kidding. No, I don't play all of my Note Songs on my piano, but most of them I do. I've been playing since I was 12 years old and have loved playing piano. I used to play the ukulele too, but I put that down many years ago. I have been singing all my life, but mostly in church. Grew up singing solos as a little girl and when I got older my Dad and I sang duets in church and I accompanied us on the piano. He's in Heaven now singing. He also played the harmonica. I still sing solos at church and I'm the pianist and have been for as long as I can remember. As a matter of fact, I'm singing the special music tomorrow! Thanks for asking.
Now do you sing or play an instrument?
be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Elenka said...

Hi Debbie, What a moving post. Those photos of your dad and nephew are haunting. How cool to be mentioned on CNN. I was disappointed that they didn't show an actual image of A & C while their song was playing, so I had to do some sleuthing...here it is on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvHIV0Hx-E8
Also, your comment about my burning cake. If you look closely and if you have my warped sense of humor, you can see the cake is not on fire...it's the 4 million candles that are on it burning. I don't know when having so many candles on my birthday cake started giving Smokey the Bear anxiety...but they have.....time flies. (sigh, again)
Let's see a video of YOU singing next!

Anonymous said...

When my father passed away I became the keeper of all the old black and white photos in the family. I scanned most of them into my computer, copied onto DVD and mailed it off to my sister. It entails many hours to do this but wouldn't it be nice if you and your family members could share all of the old photos with one another too. I'm glad you now have this photo of your dad as it is a wonderful photo.

I also posted many of the old black and whites on my Facebook photo albums and cousins I have not seen in years are able to view them there, request the ones they want and I then e-mail them a copy. The wonderful world of technology and the internet. I love it!

Di

Anonymous said...

The background of your blog is horrific.

Unknown said...

I was in Grey yesterday! My grandson had a soccer game. (My son and his family live off Hemlock St. in Grey.)

kanishk said...

I think I'll go jitterbug for awhile in my living room.....Have a great week-end........Big Work From Home

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