[Dixielandjazz] When to pack it in

[Harry Callaghan]

I might have mentioned it here earlier, but I remember seeing Frank Sinatra
Jr. being interviewed by the late night talk show host, Tom Snyder

It was during the period that we were hearing about his father beginning to
forget the lyrics while performing.

Tom asked Frank "Why does your father continue?  It's obvious he doesn't
need the money"

Jr. replied, "Because it's his whole life. If he retires, he dies"

And as we know, not that long after Frank Sr. retired, he  died

Tides,
HC
On Mon, Jan 24, 2011 at 11:04 AM, Stephen G Barbone <
barbonestreet at earthlink.net> wrote:

> I guess I'm in the minority here along with Ginny.  IMO, musos should keep
> performing as long as they enjoy it.
>
> There is an article that Louis Armstrong contributed to in the December
> 1969 issue of Esquire Magazine about aging and advice to the young. Pops
> responded to aging and music thusly:
>
> "My belief and satisfaction is that, as long as a person breathes, they
> still have a chance to exercise their talents they were born with. I speak
> of something which I know about and have been doing all my life, and that's
> music. And now that I am an elderly man I still feel the me about music and
> its creations. And at the age of 'sixty nine' I really don't feel that I am
> on my way lout at all. Of course a person may do a little less - but the
> foundation will always be there."
>
> He then went on to a short description what he had done musically and ended
> with his 69th birthday party at his house in Corona saying:
>
> "All of the kids in Corona came in front of my home and wished me a happy
> birthday . . . saying carry on until you're a hundred years old. . . . I
> have seen 3 generations come up in the block where I live. Many kids grew
> up, married, and brought their children to visit Lucille and I. And these
> kids grew up - Satchmo fans. I just want to say that music has no age. . . .
> There's no such thing as on the way out. As long as you are still doing
> something interesting and good. You are in business as long as you are
> breathing. Yeah."
>
> Assuredly, Louis in 1969 was nowhere near the player he had been in 1929.
> Those of us who concentrate on his early genius know that. However, he had
> legions of young fans in 1969 who appreciated him from what he was doing at
> that moment, not specifically for what he had done before they were born.
> Chances are most would never hear the Hot 5 / Hot 7 sides, but would love
> 'Hello Dolly', "Blueberry Hill' and 'Kiss To Build a Dream On.'  So what?
>
> As a muso, I have fears about playing when I can no longer play. When I was
> 65 I wondered if I would still play at 75. And now, at 77 wonder if I will
> play at 80. But every time I get up on the stand, those fears disappear.
>
> Why should a muso pack it in because he can no longer do musically what he
> did as a youth, or before a stroke, or???
>
> Think of what we would have missed if Oscar Peterson decided to quit after
> his stroke. Or if Louis had quit in 1965? Neither played with the dexterity
> and creativity that they had in their respective 'golden years' but both
> (and many others) still made enormous contributions to music.
>
> No sir, don't feel sorry for Pops or others in their later years. He was
> having a ball with legions of new, young fans. As was, I expect, Earl Hines,
> Oscar Peterson, Clark Terry, Sidney Bechet, Bunk Johnson, George Lewis, Dave
> Brubeck and a whole bunch of 'old' musicians who had lost some of the fire
> and technique of their youth. And though I am not in their league, that
> includes me.
>
> Nor should weever feel sorry for the musos of Preservation Hall. I remember
> some 30 odd years ago discussing them with a 'talking head'. He dissed them
> because they made a lot of mistakes in their old age, Sweet Emma couldn't
> sing, etc., etc., etc. I simply smiled and said, don't feel sorry for them,
> they are the best known Dixieland Band in the world. And they have the
> largest audience in the world. You may not appreciate them, but millions do.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve Barbone
> www.myspace.com/barbonestreetjazzband
>
>
>
>
>
>
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