When I
was age 4, my uncle taught me how to play the piano by ear. At age 8, I found a
bugle in a window seat at my grandpa’s house and taught myself to play it. When
I was 10, I got a trumpet to play in the grade school band and learned to play
the guitar.
In 1957,
when I was 14, I got a Gibson electric guitar and started a 4 piece Rock Band.
We played 3 nights a week throughout high school. We played teen towns, country
clubs, weddings and parties. Our music included Chuck Berry, Ray Charles and
light Rock.
In 1961,
when I was 18, I got a Gibson EBO-1 electric bass and joined a 5 piece Dirty
Two Horn Blues Band. We played 4 nights a week at Little Milton’s club,
Artesian Park and played BB King, Little Milton, Chuck Berry style.
We played
most of the bar mitzvahs in St. Louis. I would sing: Havah nagilah, have two
nagila, have three nagila, they’re pretty small…..have a neranenah, they’re yummy too.” The boys
loved that one. Other originals included The Girl with Emphysema. I would
routinely substitute lyrics just to amuse myself.
In 1962,
we became the house group at the Livingroom on Gaslight Square and played 6
nights a week throughout college. Bonnie Bramlett was our singer.
Chuck
Berry showed up at the Livingroom in 1963 and played with us for several days.
In 1965,
I graduated from college and took my first career day job and limited playing
band jobs to 2 or 3 nights a week
Later I
joined a series of Piano, Bass and Drum Jazz Trios and played jazz on weekends.
In 1971,
I joined a Jazz Trio called “The 3 of Us”. It was one of the most popular jazz
groups in St. Louis. I had done all the singing, but I got the other guys to
sing 3 part tunes.
In 1972,
we added two girl singers and became “The 3 of Us plus 2”. We worked weekends at Schneidhorst’s
Restaurant on Lindberg Blvd and Hwy 40 in Frontinac.for a year and then moved
to Arthur’s on Grand Avenue and Hwy 40 for the next year. Both were owned by Schneidhorst’s
We sang 5
part jazz and were recorded live often by fans from local radio and TV
stations. I have CDs from these live recording sessions and still enjoy
listening to them. Other fans included the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra who
would file in to Arthur’s on Grand Avenue to listen and relax after their
concerts. We played Brazil 66, Bossa Rio, Carpenters and all the great jazz
standards and 1970s music. We all had day jobs, but we sounded like we did this
full time. We were very talented musicians who also had other interests.
I also
got to put down my bass and sing with George Johnson’s 26 piece orchestra in
1974 at some of his concerts.
In 1975,
I ended my 18 year music career when we moved to Salina Kansas.
We did
regather the 3 of Us plus 2 for a reunion performance in 1977 at Al Baker’s
Restaurant in St. Louis and all the fans showed up.
From 1957
to 1975, I was able to move from Rock to Blues to Jazz and follow this natural
progression and I was very fortunate to be able to do this. This was great fun.
This is a
case study that demonstrates the use of motivated abilities. In my own case the abilities focused on
musical talent, curiosity, self-learning, self-support, fun and
entrepreneurship. I use my own experiences because it allows me to use
first-hand knowledge of events. There are similar stories for those who won
athletic scholarships and went on to play professional sports.
My goal
was early self-support. My grandfather was home-schooled, grew up on the family
farm and took a job in a factory at age 11 to earn money to pay for a science
tutor. At age 16 he entered Barnes Medical College. He graduated at age 19 at
the top of his class and was hired as Professor of Internal Medicine. He also
completed his surgical residency and opened his practice at age 21.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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