My Times With Merle Haggard

My friend and musical mentor, Freddy Powers ( I will be writing a lot about Freddy) was a famous songwriter. He was Merle Haggard’s best friend. Freddy wrote 41 Merle Haggard songs, including LET’S CHASE EACH OTHER AROUND THE ROOM, TONIGHT, NATURAL HIGH, FRIEND IN CALIFORNIA, SILVER EAGLE and A PLACE TO FALL APART (Willie Nelson, Freddy Powers, Merle Haggard).

I always liked Merle as an artist and always realized he was one of the “Great ones” but I had never seen him until Freddy, Django Porter and I opened a few shows for him, in Texas and Oklahoma.

That short tour really changed my life. I got to see Merle’s show and play on stage with him and his band. Seeing Merle, “Live” was a “light bulb” moment for me, even after being aware of him, for years, it changed how I saw him.

One day, when I was in the motel, after taking a shower, the phone rang. It was Freddy calling. He said “Come on out to the bus. ” When I got to Freddy’s bus, I opened the door and there sat Freddy, Django and Merle. Freddy had set up my bass rig and I sat down and played with Freddy and Merle for about 3 hours, just playing old standards, songs like, Pennies From Heaven, Out of Nowhere, Stardust….I learned the Billy Reid composition The Gypsy, from Merle, and I play that song to this day. It’s an old Ink Spots tune. That is my favorite Merle moment, to be sure.

When I was recording my solo, Cd, “In Love Again”, Freddy called and said “Merle has a new song the he isn’t going to record. He said it’s not his style. He wants to know if you want it for your Cd?”……..Oh my…..Of course, i said yes and it turned out to be one cool song. “Since I Gave Up Cigarettes” Co-written with my brilliant friend, Doug Colosio. . I am honored to be the only person who has ever recorded that song, professionally.

Freddy called a few day later and told me Merle was delighted. It had been a long time since Freddy and Merle “Got a cut”.

The 2nd time I got to play with Merle, on stage, was at The Backyard, in Austin. TX. I was sitting with Freddy, waiting to go on when Merle walked by, about 10 feet away from us, shades on, hands in his pockets, he didn’t even turn his head but yelled..”You did a good job on our song. I’m proud of ya!” Freddy elbowed me and said “Son, that’s a four page letter from Merle haggard.”

When Freddy was, clearly, losing the ability to perform (he had already lost the ability to play) I produced a Cd of 17 of his great songs. I got the last 2 vocal tracks Freddy ever sang. While making this Cd I found out that Merle wanted to sing on it. We chose Friend In California, because Merle was Freddy’s friend in California. My band mate, Moe Monsarrat, and I have already finished recording that track with us switching lead vocals on the verses. When Merle heard the track, he said, he liked our voices and the sharing of verses, so, he sang the first verse and all of the choruses. By default, with me singing the 2nd verse and Moe singing the 3rd, we got to do a song with Merle Haggard.

Catherine Allen-Powers (Freddy’s wife) took my daughter, Mina Carter, (20, at the time) on the bus to meet Merle. She was thrilled. Afterwards she said “I get tired of having to tell my friends who Merle Haggard is…they ALL know Willie, but Willie is easy to meet. I met Merle “Effing” Haggard!!!”

I owe this, and so much more to Freddy Powers. Thank you “Papa”……..

Meeting “Leading Ladies”-Movie Stars at a Young Age-14-15-ish

When I was a young teenager I worked at the Morris A. Mechanic Theater, on West Baltimore St. (Demolished 2014)

My best friend, Mike Fitchett, was an avid movie and theater freak. He wore yellow shorts, Topsiders and adored Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Barbra Streisand……

He convinced me to join him, working, as an usher at the theater.  The Mechanic would get pre-Broadway runs of plays and musicals. In hindsight, it was a really cool gig. Eventually, we got to work at the stage door. I also got to run the elevator from the dressing rooms to the stage. (Once, I really pissed off Stefan Gierasch (who was in Carrie, The Hustler and Jeremiah Johnson) by hitting the wrong floor button and (almost) making him late on stage.)

While at that post I got to meet Yvonne De Carlo (She was Lily Munster, McLintok and The Ten Commandments) and Claudette Colbert. ( It Happened One Night and Drums Along the Mohawk) Two less well known stars we met were Salome Jens (Me, Natalie) and Paula Kelly (Soylent Green and The Andromeda Strain). Paula was the first woman to ever show pubic hair in Playboy. I can’t believe she signed my copy. I can’t believe I asked her to, either, at 15 years old. It was funny, tho. She gasped and, sheepishly, hid the photo as she signed it. Theater folks….

They were all, very very nice!

 

Musical beginnings

As a pre-schooler, I remember learning Alouette, a French children’s song and singing it for my mother when I got home, She used to laugh, that I only sang the short verse and stopped there. It’s all I knew! My mother also laughed because I would move away from her, in church when she sang. She said, as a 3 year old, when she was singing me a lullaby, I tapped her on the leg and said “Mommy, that’s alright. You don’t have to sing to me”. I have always been a bit of a musical perfectionist. I guess I started young.

I was raised by my single mom. My dad left before I have any memory of him. She worked hard and struggled but would find away to take me and my sister (Margaret, 14 months older than me) to the symphony or to an occasional musical. Man, I loved the musicals!

I clearly remember The Beatles showing up in our lives. My whole family, my Mom and sister. my Grandparents, too, crowding in front of the black and white TV, to see The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. What a phenomenon. I loved their songs.

My first Rock and Roll memory is singing along with Alvin and The Chipmunks Sing The Beatles Hits (1964) in a ball cap, with the bill pushed up, like Alvin, playing air guitar on my grandfather’s cane. I kid you not, THAT is when I knew I wanted to be a musician. It was all downhill from there….just kidding.

THE GLEE CLUB-Harmony: In Elementary school I was in the Glee Club> The teacher told me I was an Alto but when I was in that section I would sing a harmony. She then said I was a Tenor and I sang a harmony to what THEY were singing. Finally she just said “Stand in the middle and sing loud.”

It wasn’t until Cat Stevens and CSNY that got my first guitar and bass and started teaching myself to play. I took a few bass lessons at Govans Music Store in Baltimore but it didn’t click so I went on my own.

My first gig! I did a talent show at Roland Park Jr. High with Michael Sciuto(a stellar bassist who formed the band and played guitar) , Bucky Davis-Drums (RIP) and Chris Crixer-bass. We played Zepplin’s Whole Lotta Love!!  I blew a fuse in Charlie Gatewood Kalamazoo amp before I ever met Charlie. Charlie is my best friend to this day. The guitarist in the other talent show band, who was using the Kalamazoo, was Courtney Sappington. Courtney has had a great and long career in music.

After that I played in a band, down the street, with Bucky. Bucky and I later started a little band with Hammond Brown and Charlie Gatewood. It wasn’t until I joined the Tony Blake Band that I was in areal BAND, with gigs and whatnot. After that…the Reggae phase of 40 years started.

As a seasoned “elder” musician, I really wish I had had the attantion span to do lessons, and learn to read music, when I was young.

C’Est la Vie

 

My Entertaining Life

As a child, I daydreamed, a lot. I always hoped to have a, broad and entertaining life and at 65 years old, it seems that I have. Many of the places or wishful events that went through my young mind have manifested in my adult life. I hope you find my posts interesting and entertaining. I’m gonna tell you how it went, along the way.

Born Lucky….sort of….

Burnham Market

I was born in Burnham Market near Fakenham and King’s Lynn, England. My father (who I never met, left when I was 6 months old) and mother lived in Burnham Market. He was stationed there, in the army.

As crazy as this story is, it is true. My mother would cry when she talked about it.

At 2 weeks old, my intestines fell out of my butt, due to a massive hernia. I had to be hand held, over a tray, with my intestines in a solution, 24-7. I was a mess inside. One of my testicles was found up next to my heart. I had to be tested, when I was about 12, to see if I would be able to reproduce.

Apparently, the only doctor in that area, qualified to operate on me, was a Nazi war criminal, in jail for life, who had experimented on baby Jews. My mother had to sign burial papers for me, before the surgery, because the prognosis was really not good.

She said the doctor was very cold, when she met him. “He just wanted to work”.

I have never had any problem, growing up, but I had a double hernia in my late 40’s. The surgeon who put Kevlar mesh in me, then, said “You are put together a little differently in there.” He was aware of my original surgery and I’ve heard the German surgeon, kind of, created an abdominal wall and tacked me up, in there.

It amazes me that I’ve had so many wonderful things happen in my life and that I have 2 beautiful children. (Well children 24 and 33 years old) So, born lucky…I guess.

In 2018 I took my grown kids to spread my mother’s ashes in the church where I was baptized. Now I know what Burnham Market is like….I left there at 6 months old.