There’s a long-term care home that outnumbers all others when it comes to bringing me in to perform music for their residents. They are likely to be the first home where I’ll perform 100 concerts, a remarkable statistic. Many of the interesting folks I’ve encountered there stand out in my memory, like the elegant concert […]
(and a smooch from Harold Ballard’s missus) “Hello out there, we’re on the air, it’s hockey night tonight…” Despite never charting, The Hockey Song is among Stompin’ Tom Connors’ most recognizable songs. It was released on the 1973 album Stompin’ Tom and the Hockey Song. Tom had a difficult childhood, born essentially fatherless into a […]
Some autumns ago, I learned September Song from Willie Nelson’s highly acclaimed ‘Stardust’ record, possibly his finest work. My crackling thrift shop discovery has been spun many times on my old turntable. The imperfections on the record are somehow befitting. Willie gave one of the best concerts I ever saw back in 2014. Prolific then […]
Introducing Ruth —a sure-footed, independent 94-year-old lady with a bounce in her walk, who liked to attend programs in seniors’ homes across Chatham, Ontario. She was at my show in one facility one day, and again the next day at another. I guess that makes her a groupie! Seeing her a second time in as […]
Dick Van Dyke has provided my audiences—and me—a message of positive thinking ever since I began singing Put On A Happy Face, a song he made famous long ago. Born December 13, 1925, Dick is a legend, vastly famous on screen and stage for many years. One of his crowning performances was his role in […]
At another new seniors’ home concert venue in Aurora, Ontario, I was loading my gear in extra-early—typical of me when visiting for the first time, to build trust with management and rapport with the residents. A stern man named Walter cast austere advice before I even took the stage: “Don’t blow the roof off!” I […]