I worked as a Musician for 18 years from age 14 in 1957 to age 32 in 1975.
Musical talent was in the family. My Grandma had been an opera singer. Her oldest boys had a Jazz Band in the 1920s. My uncle Billy played piano by ear and he taught me how to play by ear when I was age 4. Christmas at Grandma’s included dinner at Noon, Midnight Mass, dinner at 1am and singing around the piano until 4am. I loved singing harmony.
I found a bugle at Grandma’s house when I was age 8. I learned to play all the bugle calls I heard on TV movies. I became the Scout Troop Bugler. When I was age 10, my grade school started a Band. I bought a Trumpet and joined the Band. When I was age 11, I joined the Boy Scout Marching Band to play Trumpet. I was selected as 1st chair for this 300 member band. When I was age 12 we bought a guitar and I learned to play it. When I was 13 I won a Trumpet Scholarship to CBC Military HS. I inherited the musical talent and it was my favorite recreational activity. I was too easy.
In the Summer of 1957, before I entered High School, I spent Saturdays at CBC with my Freshman Class Band Members to practice marching and play trumpet in the CBC marching band. I met my classmates and their friends and decided to form a Rock Band. We played our first band job in September 1957. I had a rehearsal at my home and cut the band in half to include the drummer, sax player and 2 guitar players. I was the singer.
We were able to charge $60 for 3-hour band jobs and each made $15 at $5per hour. I put the Sax Player and the other Guitar Player in charge of bookings and concentrated on the music. I preferred Chuck Berry songs and we became a popular Blues Group.
I led The “Continentals” Rock Band from 1957 to 1961. We averaged 3 nights per week playing at Teen Towns, Country Clubs and Parties. We wore black pants, black sox, black shoes, white shirts with black continental ties and white sport coats. My uncle Francis picked the name and the wardrobe and booked our first job at R-9 Teen Town. Our drummer was a year older and drove us to band jobs until we turned 16 and got our own cars.
I made up my own lyrics. I sang the Girl with Emphysema”, wrote a song called “Zelda” and sang Hava Nagila, Have two Nagilas, Have three Nagilas, they’re pretty small” at Bar Mitzvas.
The Continentals had a good run from 1957 to 1961, but college choices brought it to a close. Two of my Band Members had planned to go out-of-town for college and I was planning to commute to St. Louis University from home. We played our last band job in September 1961.
I remember sitting at my desk in September 1961 and I prayed: “Lord, I don’t want to start another Rock Band, I just want to join somebody else’s Dirty 2-Horn Blues Band.” At that moment the phone rang and it was a drummer from a Dirty Two-horn Blues Band who wanted me to join them as a Bass Player. I looked up and said: “Thank you Lord”.
Prayers are seldom answered immediately, but this gift would be “life changing”. The drummer’s sisters told me that I “had to meet Marlene”, who later became my wife.
The Band was called the Mojos and we played at Little Milton’s club at Artesian Park in Herculanium Mo. on Fridays and Sundays and Teen Towns on Saturdays and Wednesdays in neighboring cities north of St. Louis County. The drummer lived in Mehlville in St. Louis County and the other band members lived in Potosi Mo. He drove me to the first band practice in Potosi. Their Bass Player loaned me his Bass and Amp. I quickly bought a Gibson EBO electric Bass and amp.
In
1962, the Mojos became the “house band” at the “Livingroom” night club on
Gaslight Square in St. Louis to work 6 nights per week. The Potosi Sax players
quit because they couldn’t take the commute from Potosi. The Mojos leader was
Jimmy Hoff, the best guitar player I ever heard and he moved to St. Louis
County. The club owners brought in their own Sax player and Drummer and kept
Jimmy and I. They added Bonnie Lynn Farrell, who later became Bonnie Bramlett
as our singer.
In 1963, Chuck Berry showed up at the Livingroom and sat in with us for a few nights.
I was set to graduate from St. Louis U in January 1965 and was making $5,000 per year as a musician. I married Marlene in August 1964 and we lived with my Mom to save money to buy a house. I quit the Livingroom house band in January 1965 and there were no Personnel Jobs for newbies. We were expecting our first child in 1965 and I turned down my Airforce Commission. I was a “Kennedy Father” and was exempt from the Vietnam War draft. I accepted a job at United Way.
My career as a musician allowed me to pay 100% of my $1000 per year college expenses.
I joined United Way as Division Director of St. Charles County and continued to play music in Marty Bonin’s blues band. I also joined a Jazz Trio.
I continued to work as a musician from 1965 to 1975 to allow my wife Marlene to be a “stay-at-home Mom. I played Bass in Jazz Trios and Blues Bands from 1965 to 1971.
In 1971 I got a call from the drummer inviting me to play Bass in Gale Bell’s jazz trio called “The Three of Us”. Gale Bell was the best jazz player in St. Louis. We played jazz and I sang at various clubs around St. Louis.
In 1972, we were booked at Schneithorst Restaurant on Lindburgh on weekends for a year. We added 2 girl singers and sang 5 part jazz vocals. We changed our name to “The Three of Us plus 2” and became a “Show Group”.
In 1973, we were booked at their other location at Arthur’s on Grand Avenue for a year. Our fan club included the local TV and Radio Station staffs and the St. Louis Symphany Orchestra who would file in to Arthurs at 10pm after their concerts. Each location held 200 guests. Our third fan club was the couples who would come to dine, dance and listen.
We were routinely recorded live by the Radio guys. I got a reel to reel copy of one of these live recordings and copied it to cassettes and later to CDs. I listen to these recordings often and marvel that our 5 part vocals were perfect and effortless. We could have made a career performing and recording, but we all had day jobs and careers we liked.
I ended my 18 year music career in 1975, when we moved from St. Louis to Salina Ks. I continue to be grateful to have evolved from Rock to Blues to Jazz.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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