Music has always been a big part of my life. When I was a kid, I always loved to listen to music. I played our record library until the records wore out. My mother made me wait till after Thanksgiving to listen to Christmas music. Once my older sister and I had an “issue”. She wanted to listen to her new 45 by Elvis, “Return To Sender” and I had a new 45 too…”California Dreaming” by the Mamas and Papas. Sure, Elvis had The Jordanaires singing backup but who could resist Mama Cass and those powerful harmonies? I just love harmony!
My grandfather fed my love for music by teaching me to play guitar and the art of recording starting when I was in 5th grade. Just after he upgraded his mono wire recorder to the new stereo reel-to-reel tape recorder featuring “sound-with-sound”! Now he could record his rhythm guitar on track 1, play a lead on track 2 and then play them back in sync! How cool is that! Acoustic guitars, electric guitars, harmonicas, accordions, mandolin, banjo, bass, piano, drums and singers could all be recorded in stereo…but you still only had 2 tracks. Then for Christmas one year I received a Montgomery Wards Airline two channel reel to reel of my own. Sure had a lot of buttons along with inputs and outputs…I wondered how I could use all this. Well, after 3 trips to the repair, shop I figured out you just couldn’t plug a speaker output into a microphone input. But, I did figure out how to make my “sound-on-sound” recorder also record “sound-with-sound” so I wasn’t limited to just 2 tacks. It wasn’t long before I had a mangled recording of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sound Of Silence”. My friends were very impressed. Last time I listened to it I almost sold my studio…I still have that recording somewhere in my “tape library”. In 6th grade our “band” played our rendition of Herman’s Hermits “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got A Lovely Daughter” for a talent show. Sure am glad there is not a recording of that!
Well, the song continued, through the school years, playing music, making recordings and it continues to this day. Recording for 45's, vinyl, and cassettes. Recording for CD’s, DVD's, movie soundtracks, talking books and commercials. I have sought professional help but the prognosis is not good. On my last visit, I was given a prescription for a new set of earbuds…my wife still doesn’t believe I bought them for medical reasons.
We're Rollin’,
Harold
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