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This piece is a tribute to my father, Ron Gardner, who died in 2008 at the age of 92. The spoken word in the tune was recorded when he was in his 80s. At that time I was teaching English, and wanted to talk to my father about some family stories – I intended to use them as part of a writing program.
My father particularly liked Irish and Scottish music so for the music I tried to play something with a Celtic feel. It is an improvised piece that sort of developed a tune after playing a simple chord sequence a few times. There are 4 guitar tracks - basic rhythm, a lead line played mainly on the top 3 strings , another played mainly on the bottom 3 strings and a few more chords to add richness to the last section.
I realise it’s an unusual post, but if it encourages anyone who is lucky enough to still have their parents with them to record some talk about family stories with them, it’s been a success. Enjoy – I hope the Australian accents aren’t too difficult.
Some explanations might help:
“Philip your brother” My father had come to Melbourne from the country when he was 14 and worked in a grocery store. Everyone called him Ron, his first name. In time he took over the business, but everyone continued to call him Ron. This was confusing for some of the children, who thought only kids were called by their first name (rather than Mr of Mrs). Some, therefore, assumed he was my brother rather than my father.
“He’s just been skittled”. Skittles is a game like 10 pin bowling. To be skittled is to be forcefully knocked over – usually implying, at the least, serious injury.
Chief Little Wolf – an American wrestler who spent a lot of time in Australia. For a time he lived a few houses away from us and we knew him well enough to say hello – as kids, we thought he was amazing! His larger-than-life personality and flamboyance made him very different from the company my regular church-going and quite proper mother was used to! You can read about him here: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/12/09/1102182426527.html
“From here to the flats”. At the time Dad lived in a small unit next door to a block of flats (small apartments). He is suggesting the car was as long as a house frontage. In Australia at the time, we didn’t see many Chevrolet convertibles.
The photos are of my mother and father taken in 1962, then of my father in his late 80s.
Thanks to Peter Thorneycroft for cleaning the tape hiss out of the original spoken word.
My father particularly liked Irish and Scottish music so for the music I tried to play something with a Celtic feel. It is an improvised piece that sort of developed a tune after playing a simple chord sequence a few times. There are 4 guitar tracks - basic rhythm, a lead line played mainly on the top 3 strings , another played mainly on the bottom 3 strings and a few more chords to add richness to the last section.
I realise it’s an unusual post, but if it encourages anyone who is lucky enough to still have their parents with them to record some talk about family stories with them, it’s been a success. Enjoy – I hope the Australian accents aren’t too difficult.
Some explanations might help:
“Philip your brother” My father had come to Melbourne from the country when he was 14 and worked in a grocery store. Everyone called him Ron, his first name. In time he took over the business, but everyone continued to call him Ron. This was confusing for some of the children, who thought only kids were called by their first name (rather than Mr of Mrs). Some, therefore, assumed he was my brother rather than my father.
“He’s just been skittled”. Skittles is a game like 10 pin bowling. To be skittled is to be forcefully knocked over – usually implying, at the least, serious injury.
Chief Little Wolf – an American wrestler who spent a lot of time in Australia. For a time he lived a few houses away from us and we knew him well enough to say hello – as kids, we thought he was amazing! His larger-than-life personality and flamboyance made him very different from the company my regular church-going and quite proper mother was used to! You can read about him here: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/12/09/1102182426527.html
“From here to the flats”. At the time Dad lived in a small unit next door to a block of flats (small apartments). He is suggesting the car was as long as a house frontage. In Australia at the time, we didn’t see many Chevrolet convertibles.
The photos are of my mother and father taken in 1962, then of my father in his late 80s.
Thanks to Peter Thorneycroft for cleaning the tape hiss out of the original spoken word.
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Soundhound
Some of the conversations I had with my Father, he sang with the
original Drifters for years he did " Under The Boardwalk "- " Up on
The Roof "- " Spanish Harlem " just to name a few, ooh the stories
he told me about life at the top of the game, being the best of the best
at the time.......
I think your Father would really like this.....Memories that you'll never
want to forget....Well done.....