Music

Some of you are probably wondering "what in the world is a Wurlitzer?" Others probably think "he's finally lost it!"

Not so. I love organ music, and have been hooked on theater organs for a long time. Wurlitzers were the pipe organ of pipe organs for theaters. Yes, there are the Robert Mortons and the Mollers, but a Wurlitzer was.. Well it was actually "The Wurlitzer-Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra." It put an orchestra at the finger tips of an organist, and this was before digital synthesizers or keyboards!

While looking for a Virgil Fox CD on the web (iTunes Store), ran across some other names, and got to remembering one of my lost albums. It was by George Wright, famous theater organist, who originated in Stockton, then came to the Fox Theater in San Francisco and went on to New York.

What I remember about George was that midnight concert – his next to last one there, in 1963. I was there seeing and hearing two legends – George and the Mighty Wurlitzer. Granted, it was not the largest organ in the world, but it was huge as a theater organ. And "the sound" was like no other.

Spent some time listening to clips from the ATOS (American Theatre Organ Society) and was really impressed by a teenager who won the "Young Organist" competition in Sacramento. The kids name was Donnie Rankin, and you can see and hear him play in this You Tube video.

If you are interested in more information, check out the ATOS website or the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter's website. The NorCal Chapter (San Francisco) has an organ installed at the Berkeley Community Theater and have concerts about four times a year. Who knows, maybe we'll meet there while enjoying the music.

If not, there are several pizza parlors in California that are home to "rescued" theater organs – Wurlitzer, Morton, Moller, etc. Good way to spend your evening – good food and outstanding music. Check out the locator…you might even find one in your city or state.

Going through my CDs and putting them in my iTunes library for transfer to my i-thingie. Ran across two from Louie Bellson, famous drummer from the past. If you are into jazz, then the names Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson should ring some bells (beat your drums).

Both CDs had been autographed by Louie several years ago when he was in his 70's (Ok, I know the feeling since that's where I am now). First saw him, playing with college kids at Cal State Hayward and also at some high school concerts. The real "kicker" was when he announced that he was playing at a church (at that time) in San Jose and talked about his faith. Wow!

Running across the CDs prompted me to check on the status and whereabouts of the man.

Amazing that at age 84, he is still playing, mentoring and composing. Seems that in November, he fell and broke his hip. He is presently in rehab, but looking to getting back to "his sticks". At the age of 15, he invented the double bass drum set-up (yes, two bass drums on stage), and at age 17 had beat out 40,000 competitors to win the Gene Krupa Drum Contest.

Truly amazing man with amazing skills. Check him out – especially some of his video clips, like the Louie Bellson-Buddy Rich thing on the Johnny Carson Show.

No, not that way. Not hearing voices in my head, just hearing voices – like old radio voices. This is getting strange, but I have not lost it psychologically. On the other hand, some people might think I have. It's just that last night, for some reason a name from the past crossed my mind, and I had to look him up. The name was of one of my cohorts at radio station KMPX in San Francisco in 1963. This was the period in my life just before employment at Pacific Bell began.

Found Tom Collins in an internet search, and according to Broadcast Legends, he is alive and well. If memory serves me well, he had the time slot just before mine. KMPX was located in a motel (the Villa Roma) at Columbus and Bay Streets. It was a unique motel, in that it was built in the round. Can you imagine someone who got a little tipsy trying to find their room. The Villa Roma is long gone, but that was a great time in my life.

My two shows were "Encounter With Christ" and "Encounter In Stereo" and filled two hours on Sunday afternoons. This was like my entry to radio, but I was no salesman, and did not sell any commercial time. So, after my bought time was up, I engineered for someone who wanted to be on the radio (like paid broadcast), and for that one hour of engineering, I got to keep one hour for myself.

What the search did last night was point me to some other links, and that's what got me listening to voices – like Don Sherwood and Jack Carney, and some of the very special music/station promos for KSFO. You can check it out on the KSFO page of the Bay Area Radio Museum. Take a listen to "The Sound Of The City" as well as some of the other recordings.

You will laugh your head off at the bloopers too. Back then, Don Sherwood and Carter B. Smith were the funniest thing on the radio. And, to top it off, KSFO was the home to the San Francisco Giants (remember them?). Even checked out the history of some other radio and television stations and personalities that have kinda disappeared. I won't bore you with names, just let you too "hear voices". Enjoy.