Soundtracks Of My Life

SOUNDTRACKS OF MY LIFE The Valley Master Chorale

recording studio and record it in 4 part harmony. The

finished project was mesmerizing and found its way to

one of my Christmas albums. To this day I love hearing

it, and I am amazed that I was able to do it.

The Valley Master Chorale and I parted ways two

years after joining. Their music was going in another

direction, not to mention the rehearsal halls’ changing

location. But the Valley Master Chorale will always hold

a special place in my heart as an experience I will never

forget.

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SOUNDTRACKS OF MY LIFE Looking Ahead

Looking Ahead
1974 saw a possible career change, revolving around
my music (a dream come true), which by the way, is
really not involved as it sounds, and I’m really not as
good as you would think I am by reading this. But in the
summer of 1974, I decided to join the

K I I S BROADCASTING WORKSHOP
(Rick Dees in the morning, KIIS F-M)

in Hollywood. The workshop, which forced me to take
out a loan of $1,500 for tuition, was designed to make a
radio personality out of me. We learned to write

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commercial copy, speak eloquently over the radio, basic
radio principles, and all in all, prepare us for the radio
world outside. I recall with great fondness the months I
spent at the workshop, and the hours I spent on the air
and in production to learn the fine art of radio
broadcasting. There’s really not much to talk about with
the workshop, because I never got hired on at any
station, and probably never will. The closest I ever came
was doing my Edith Ann impression on KGIL where I
met Scott O’Neil. Scott and his girlfriend Katie
(yes…Scott and Katie)…lived in the same apartment
complex as we did so we became good friends. I knew a
celebrity. Well, not really, but when you’re a personality
on a public radio station, you’re a celebrity. Scott worked
the night shift at KGIL, and every now and then I’d go up
to the station and hang with him. He was amazed that I
could tell the name of the song he was about to play just
by the first note. (I should have been on “Name That
Tune). He commented about this one evening on-air…”I

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have a good friend in the studio with me tonight, and it
amazes me that he knows the name of the songs by the
first note of it’s intro.” He never mentioned my name but
the reference was kinda cool.

I digress. This was a nice transition to returning to
my music. I sent a resume to many studios in the Los
Angeles area, and out of the many that I sent, I received a
reply from only one: Berkens Sound Recording Labs in
Glendale. The reply sounded somewhat promising, so I
called the writer, Bill Berkuta. When he answered, his
deep rich radio voice told me, “Now HERE’s the place to
work.” We arranged to meet, and I arrived at the studio
one Saturday morning, not knowing what to expect. The
studio was nothing more than a converted office suite in
a small cluster of offices in Glendale. I walked into the
studio, alone and out comes this giant of a person....easily
seven feet tall, who introduced himself as Bill. I got a
crick in my neck just talking to him. Bill operated a
“cable” radio station from this studio, which was also
used to record anything recordable. Radio “KUTR

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Glendale” was ON THE AIR and so was I. Now, this
was a pay nothing job (I really mean NOTHING), if you
could call it a job, but boy, did Bill and I have fun those
past many years playing in the studio.

As quickly as KUTR was on the air, it was off.
Bill and I continued our friendship for many years
and it was he who brought me into my recording phase.

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SOUNDTRACKS OF MY LIFE Just For The Record

Just For The Record
I am a ham. That is no secret. I enjoy having attention
paid to me. Honestly, though, who wouldn’t? There was a
time in my life that I really enjoyed being the center of
attention. Not so much anymore, but I won’t deny that I
used to love it.
For as long as I remember, I wanted to record. I’d say
I caught this bug when I was in my teens and was given
the opportunity of recording with Jim and Marla as “The
Other Three.” Our one and only recording session was
“Hear The Drums.” It was really nothing more than a
vocal exercise with 3 part harmony but I knew this was
something that I wanted more of.

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After finding a recording studio in Glendale and
becoming friends with the owner, Bill, and told him of
my “dreams” of being a recording artist, we began to talk
about it.

“You need to get some background music without
vocals, and add your voice to it,” he said. “Where?
How?” I asked. I had never heard such a thing...but they
existed.

I needed to find something called Music Minus One
where the background tracks without vocals were on
record. Vinyl. Cassettes and CD’s were not invented yet.
One thing that HAD been invented was Quadraphonic
Sound, where an 8 track tape was split into 4 separate
speakers, and on the two back speakers, the orchestra
played, while the 2 front speakers were the artist’s vocal
and the balance of the orchestra. It was a strange sound,
as though you were in the center of the entire
performance. Blended together, you had 4 channels of
music that was easily separated so the music could be

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extracted minus the vocal. This took some engineering
but Bill was able to do it.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, I
found myself buying records of “Music Minus One” and
recording at the studio. Years later, and 14 albums under
my belt, Bill and I shared a great friendship. He was a
master at what he did,

My kids have heard every album and every song I
have ever recorded, and I know they felt they had a moral
obligation to enjoy them. I hope they did enjoy some of
the music I did because I always gave it my best. This
seems like a good time to state that I never recorded for
an audition. I recorded for myself, because my heart told
me to. I recorded for the enjoyment of making music. I
did the best I could and was very proud of much of my
work.

My family recorded a Christmas album in 1985. My
kids were featured on “Away In A Manger”. Scott was
flat as a board, and Katie couldn’t pronounce her “Rs”
correctly. At only 5 years old, she spoke somewhat like

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Elmer Fudd and it showed as she sang that song. But
that’s one of the things that makes that song so special to
me every time I hear it. I hope as they listen to it over the
years, they get the same special tingle (after the initial
embarrassment wears off) that I get every time I play it
either for myself or for others. I’m very proud of it.

I have kept up, one way or another, with music as
long as I can remember, even if now it’s only in my head.

Back in 1984, I went to see the Living Christmas
Tree, which is a very elaborate production that is put on
by the choir at the First Baptist Church of Van Nuys.
That year, Steve Amerson, the director, sang a song
called “No Other Name But Jesus” that moved me so
greatly, what with the dynamics, the tune, just
everything, that I had to record it. I was fortunate enough
to find the musical arrangement without the vocal, so I
took it down to Engineer Bill’s (you remember him). I
recorded “No Other Name” and was so overwhelmingly
pleased with the results, I went out and hunted down 11
more Christian songs to make an album. Now, I’m not a

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“Christian” fan, but I know good music. Religious music
to me has always been so beautiful and powerful in its
messages and you don’t have to practice religion to enjoy
it’s music.

And so was born the album, “No Other Name.” It
took several weeks to get everything together, but I had a
plan: The church we attended at the time was in
desperate need of a new air conditioner, so I thought I
would dedicate a fund especially for that. I made it
known throughout the church that the album was soon to
be released, and really promoted it. When I finally
released the album, I was flabbergasted to see how many
people wanted one. It went over so big at church, that I
felt almost compelled to record another one just several
months later. The second one, “Let There Be Peace On
Earth” was released around Christmas time, and was a
1984 Christmas release. Between the two albums, I
scraped up over $500 that I was very pleased to give to
the church. Of course, $500 wasn’t much considering
how much a new air conditioner cost, but I was very glad

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I was able to contribute in some small way and very very
grateful to the members of the congregation who had
such warm faith in me to want my albums. You know
how some people do things just to be nice? These people
did things from the heart, with all sincerity and love.

I never intended my music to win anybody over. I
record for the sheer relaxation of it and the sense of
accomplishment. As I stated before, I never recorded as
though it were an audition.

Bill was always so very kind not to charge me for
studio time, which made recording very enjoyable not
having to watch the clock and worry about money.

It was in 1986, and the song, “There is Love” was
very popular, so I recorded the album "There Is Love", It
is a song that has been sung at more weddings than any
song ever recorded. Our friend, Howard Sexton. helped
produce the album, and took the videotaping of the
production…The first and only album I ever recorded
that was “videoed”. It was one of the finest efforts I
have done.

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The first album I ever recorded, and I’m thinking
early 80s, was what I titled “Sow’s Ear” fashioned after a
treasured album by Linda Ronstadt called “Silk Purse.”
The music on “Sow’s Ear” was nothing like the country
sounds on “Silk Purse” but then, I wasn’t Linda Ronstadt,
either.

“Sow’s Ear” had a mixture of renditions of Olivia
Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Linda Ronstadt, and a
few others. None was original. I wish I could hear that
album again but the tapes and masters are long gone. The
only thing that remains of that recording is in my
memory.

Bill and I recorded a number of songs and albums
during the course of our friendship that lasted many
years. There were times I came into the studio at 8 in the
morning, ran the entire day, and by day’s end, an album
was completed.

When my hearing became impaired in 2001, I truly
thought my music days were over. For the most part, they
were. I stopped singing, stopped recording. I stopped

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listening. Music had become nothing more than noise to
me. Then in, oh I'd say, 2011 or so, I decided I wanted to
record again, despite my ear situation. It was kind of put
on the back burner for a while…it was scary to think that
I could do it.

I started searching for some songs to put on a new
album that would be titled "When Sings The Heart". Out
of all the songs I have, I only had to come up with 12. I
think that was the hardest part but after much
deliberation, I did.

I had a friend who had a recording studio in his home
who agreed to help me put this together…for a fee…but I
paid him and we got started. The first song I recorded for
this album was "You'll Never Know" that I wanted to do
for my mother. It was kind of emotional for me and my
emotions came through on the song; so much so that I
had to keep doing it over and over until I could do it
without the tears or emotions. As it turns out, it was
re-recorded in my own “studio”, and the emotions got to

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me again, but this time I decided to leave them in
because it added to the realism of the song.

I only recorded a few songs at his studio before I
thought, "hey…what has he got there that I can't get?"
So I decided to look into my own software, my own
microphone, my own "studio" and within a couple
weeks, and about $800 later, I equipped myself with what
I needed to continue this album at home.

I decided to set up shop in the kitchen and learn the
software and the mic placement and the way to do it. I
finally started recording around 11:00 at night, with "Cry
Me A River". It actually came out pretty good considering
it was my first attempt. I played it for Carlos, and he said,
"what are those cricket sounds in the background? It
sounds pretty real: Crickets near a 'river' ". I said there
were no crickets that I heard and they certainly were not
on the music portion of the track.

It turns out they in fact were cricket sounds from the
backyard as I recorded that late at night, and I couldn’t
hear them because of my poor hearing.

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One song led to another, and my location to record
changed to the bathroom where the acoustics were a little
better. (Sing in the shower sometime and hear how good
you are…) When everything was set up in the bathroom,
I started getting into it. I re-recorded "You'll Never
Know" which I felt was much better than the one I did
with the pro and his house studio.

Some songs were one take, some songs require more,
but I set a date for this album's release: June 21, 2014, in
honor of my mother’s 93rd birthday.

I felt at times like I was up all night working on this
project; sometimes I was, but after 12 songs recorded,
artwork done for the cover, inside and back cover, it was
ready to go to press. I found someone online who would
duplicate 250 of the CDs for $250 (a dollar a piece)
which was his minimum. When I was totally satisfied
with this album, I had them duplicated. I got them back
on June 19, 2014 with 2 days left before it's official
"release".

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This was a major undertaking for me. I've recorded
before but this time, it was all me. Start to finish and
everything in between. I was responsible for the music,
the choosing the songs, the recording, the mixing down,
the production, the artwork for the cover and back cover,
the total design of the album. If ever I was the “star” it
was this album. I began planning for the next one, called
"Live From The Bathroom" which would actually be
volume 2 of "Old Time Rock n' Roll" that I recorded in
the 1980's. Then I started planning "Till The Season
Comes Round Again"; a Christmas album for 2016. So
far those 2 albums have not come to fruition yet because
now, not only do I have a left ear problem I came down
with a problem in my RIGHT ear. So far, the albums are
in my head but I need to see what I can do to start
recording again. As much as I love my music, this seems
like a very daunting task.

Eight of my fifteen albums have made it to my
website, www.michaeldardenelle.com/music.

Here are their covers and liner notes:

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“Tis The Season” was my first and only Christmas
album. It was recorded in July, 1984, for a December
release. On this album, the family joins me in “Away In A
Manger” which, as mentioned before, holds a very
special place in my heart. Also included is Georgia with
“Some Children See Him” and “Do You Hear What I
Hear?”

Also is an a cappella round of “Dor Ye Hudi” that I
learned from earlier days in the Valley Master Chorale.
It’s a very stirring piece. It’s a Hebrew song and I have
no idea what the words mean but I love the majesty of it.

The song, “I Wonder As I Wander” was originally
recorded as an a cappella, but at the end I thought of
adding a one note background that could sound like a

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clarinet...which I did not play. But Bill had a keyboard in
the studio and when I was able to match the voice with
the keyboard in the right key, I added that after the song
was recorded. Generally it’s the other way around, so I
count myself lucky that it worked. I think you’ll like it.

Next up, switching gears, in my country
mode...which I love…”I’m A Little Bit Country “

I loved doing this album. The cover was a
photograph I took while on a business trip with Carlos to
Wyoming. The setting was Fort Bridger in Lyman,
Wyoming.

I love every song on the album, and you can even
hear a slight country twang when I sing. I have to say

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though, as much as I love each song, yeah, I have my
favorite. “Ridin’ The Rodeo”

I had to do something for my dad. He was very
instrumental in my art. My music was inherited from his
mother, filtered through him, down to me.

“My Father And Me” was recorded in 1990, shortly
after his passing away. He was always in awe of how I
knew the words to all the songs I sang. I don’t know,
Dad, it’s just something we learn to do.

The cover design came from inside my head. The
picture of me was from a portrait when I was 11 years
old. The picture of Dad was a cropped photo and I
thought it depicted him looking “down” on me with
pride. The rainbow represents my connection to him.

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Once I had everything in my head, putting it together was
easy, and it turned out just like the picture I imagined.

Have you ever heard the word, contracfacts? It
means to re-write the lyrics without disturbing the
melody of a song. I have “contrafacted” many songs, and
“In The Living Years” is one of them are on this album. I
am not a big fan of this song but I included it because the
lyrics had some meaning to me to include on the album,
but not as written. So I contrafacted it. Great word, huh?

My favorite on the album is a beautiful rendition
of “Vaya Con Dios” . I loved this version from a Connie
Francis album from the 60s, and I could not find the
“karaoke” version that suited me, so I sang over Connie
and changed the key more to my vocal range. The song is
sung entirely in Spanish, and the version pretty closely
matches the theme of the song you are familiar with from
Les Paul and Mary Ford.

“My Buddy” is also a favorite because my dad
was indeed my buddy. It was written in 1923 and

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recorded by many artists. Now I am among those covers,
and the meaning is special to me.

I miss you, Dad.
“Music With A Message”. I think most songs have
a message of one kind or another. I recorded this album,
really to thank everyone for amazing support and
unending love for me in 1996 when I experienced some
very critical and life threatening health problems. I had
suffered a heart attack in April, heart bypass surgery, and
in August my wife and I separated. That may only sound
like 3 issues, but the biggest I had ever experienced in
my life. I had to choose songs that represented how I felt
to put an album together thanking everyone.

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The album opens with “I Made It Through The
Rain”. I chose that as the opener because when times got
tough and I thought this was the end, I looked back and
realized that I did in fact make it.

The closing song, “Thanks Again” was another
contrafaction. This was one of those songs that as I
wrote, I couldn’t stop. The words just seemed to flow,
and I am very pleased with the results. It’s one of my
favorites.

My only religious album, “No Other Name” was
really recorded and produced as a gift to a woman I
worked with, Catherine Hipple, who was a church
follower. She specifically asked for “In The Garden”
which is one I knew. The rest just followed.

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The album opens with “Chronicles / No Other
Name” and I think the best on the album. How I kept
this a secret from her is beyond me because everyone
knows I have a big mouth. But I was able to, and I just
loved the delight in her face when I gave it to her.

“I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked” was a song I
knew from church, and the arrangement I chose was
identical to the one we sang in church choir. I had always
loved singing that song, and it just naturally fell into
place in the album. The others are pretty much standard
religious songs, a couple of which I had never heard
before and had to learn from scratch (I hate doing that)
but they seemed to work.

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Ah yes, “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll”. I am a child of
the 60s, and rock ‘n roll music found its way to my heart
as it did to millions of teenagers. Do I have favorites?
Yeah, I do. All of them.

Some of them took more work than others because
of voice-over soundtracks, like “Wake Up Little Susie”
and “Bye Bye Love” because they were sung in the style
of The Everly Brothers.

This was a fun album to do and was completed in
one day.

Oh the cover.
My friend, Howard, who was as musically
involved as I was, suggested a black and white cover
with a ‘57 Chevy. What could be more “rock ‘n roll” ?’
After a day of scouting the neighborhoods, we
found a white 1957 Chevy sitting on the street, and I was
dressed prepared for this with the jeans and the t-shirt
with the rolled up sleeves. I looked tough doncha think??
Last but never least, “When Sings The Heart”. A
challenging album to say the least. It was produced in

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two different locations with many obstacles. Cricket
sounds that I didn’t put in, choosing the right songs,
mixing and remixing, harmonizing with myself (“A
Grandfather’s Song”) and speaking a song (“A Song For
Moms”), and singing with emotions (“You’ll Never
Know”) that took many takes.

I usually don’t want pictures of myself on my
albums unless really necessary, so for this album, I chose
the rose. The album was dedicated to my mom, and as
much as she loved the roses that grew in her backyard
and were frequently harvested, I thought it appropriate to
use one for the cover.

Many roses were choses and this was the one that
we thought was perfect for the cover. After carefully

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selecting the right one, we cleaned it up a bit, put the
petals in the right place, and as I held the stem from the
bottom against a background of our kitchen table, Carlos
did the photography. I think it turned out great.

Favorites on the album? A couple. “A
Grandfather’s Song” , “You’ll Never Know”, “The First
Time”, “What’ll I Do?” . I like them all.

Lastly, a yet to be released Christmas album, “Till
The Season Comes ‘Round Again”. I love that Vince Gill
song and was able to find the tracks. I lost my hearing
before this album was produced. Will it happen? I have
no idea.

Two songs on the album are re-releases from
another: “The Best Gift” and “Dor Ye Hudi”.

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The others are still on the computer and in my
head. I may not be able to sing anymore, but nothing or
no one can take away the beautiful and cherished
memories I have of my music and the days of recording.

Some of the happiest times and memories of my
life.

www.michaeldardenelle.com/music. I hope you
enjoy it.

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SOUNDTRACKS OF MY LIFE Those Good Old Barbershop Days

Those Good Old Barbershop Days
In June, 1992, a friend from church, Ron Craig and I,
decided to look for a couple of guys to form a Barbershop
Quartet for a church Ice Cream Social coming up in
September. I sang high tenor and Ron sang low bass. What
we needed was a guy to sing the melody and another guy to
make up the 4th guy. We didn't know anything about parts
in a quartet, other than that 4 people who know how to sing
sound good. Ron had an uncle who was a member of a
Barbershop chorus in Newhall, so we contacted him and he
invited us up to a meeting of about 30 guys to listen. I hate
meetings like this, where you don't know anyone except the
guy you go with, but I was game and nervously went up
that Tuesday evening. Before I took my seat with the 25 or

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so others, I was asked what part I sing. I have always been
a tenor, but was not aware that "Tenor" in a barbershop
quartet was like a soprano in a mixed choir. My idea of a
tenor was their idea of a "Lead", or melody singer.

So here I am in the tenor section, along with Don
Buchanan, Ron’s uncle, who also sang tenor - very loudly.
They gave me a guest book and we opened it to "Carry Me
Back To Ole' Virginny" and because I harmonize naturally,
it wasn't too difficult to pick up. The sounds we made sent
chills down my spine, and right then I knew I wanted to be
a part of this group. I didn't know anything about the
chorus or the society. Nationally they are known as
SPEBSQSA - The Society for the Preservation and
Encouragement of BarberShop Quartet Singing in America
(incorporated!), having members all across the United
States - about 36,000 strong. Ron and I decided to join.

As a new member of the Santa Clarita Valley Chapter,
Harmony Hills Chorus, I looked forward to each Tuesday
night to get away from it all and relieve the stresses of the
daily grind. When I came home that night, I was so excited

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I couldn't sleep. They loved my voice and enthusiasm and
"spunk" because on that first night there, I was up singing
with 3 other guys to a tune we had just learned.

Weeks went on, still on a cloud, and learning more and
more each week. We sang at all kinds of performances;
some were paid, most were not, but the experience was
priceless. As time went on, naturally, we met more and
more of the group and became close friends with a few of
them. In fact, the very reason we came up there (remember
the quartet we needed??), we met this guy named Bill
Searcy, a baritone, and Bob Lang, a lead. The 4 of us
rehearsed about a 20-minute package of songs that we could
do for the church ice cream social, and we sounded decent
enough to do it. The social was scheduled for a Saturday
afternoon in mid-September, and on a Tuesday before, I got
this call from Bob who had to bow out at the last minute.
Panic-stricken, I called another lead named Jim Marshall,
who I had never met nor spoken to during the previous few
weeks we were in chorus. I didn't think Jim knew who I

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was, so I called him and left the following message on his

answering machine:

"Hi, Jim. My name is Mike Dardenelle, a

new member of the Barbershop Chorus, and I'll

be your best friend for life if you can help me

out of a jam. Bob Lang was supposed to sing

with me this weekend and had to cancel. Can

you help? Please?"

I get this call back from Jim, willing, ready, and more

than able to help out. We made arrangements to meet at our

house on the Thursday before the gig, so here I have Ron

and me, and my two new friends who I hadn't known from

Adam a month before, in our den rehearsing a 20-minute

show. It was going very well; Jim has this mellow voice

that is extremely pleasing to listen to; the perfect

replacement. Boy, was I happy. Bill, a heavy man with a

rich baritone voice had been in barbershopping many many

years and like me, literally ached for people to sing to. The

four of us really hit it off well right from the beginning.

Almost through the end of the night, we were trying to

come up with a name to call ourselves Saturday night. We

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thought of many names conducive to a quartet, when Jim
pops up and says, "What Happened To Bob?" What a great
name, we thought. Catchy, cute. But Jim says, "I wasn't
suggesting that for a name. I really meant really, what
happened to Bob?" After we explained the story, we all
decided that WHTB was such a neat sounding name, we
adopted it for the show.

Bill Searcy, Ron Craig, Mike Dardenelle, Jim Marshall
What Happened To Bob?

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The show was a great success, and afterward, we hung
around and "quartetted" for the audience. After our
thinking how well it went, we decided to see about making
this quartet thing a regular sound. Before long, we had
regular rehearsals, registered the name, and began getting
some real shows to do. Since the inception of the quartet,
we have sung at The Hollywood Palace, The Ventura
Harbor ($350 gig!), various parties, my mother’s wedding,
lots of places. We ended up with about a dozen or so
uniforms in the year we were together, but more
importantly, cultivated some wonderful friendships with
Jim and Bill.

We were paid to do a party for a friend of mine at work
who had passed away from AIDS, and he didn't want a
funeral. . .he wanted a party, and he wanted WHTB to sing.
Bill wasn't feeling too well, though. He had a heart
condition and his weight put a lot of stress on his problem.
He sang though, true to form for Bill. The next day he went
to the doctors and was told he was in desperate need of a
by-pass operation. It was to be scheduled for a couple of

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weeks away, but as time drew near, after further testing, the
doctors told him that the condition does not look good, and
there is a chance he may not make it through the surgery.

Bill and I were very close, and we talked about this in
some depth, and he decided to take the risk. Surgery was
scheduled for early August, and when it was complete, the
doctors said that he had absolutely sailed through without
complications. A QUINTUPLE by-pass, yet! He
recuperated in the hospital for about 10 days, then released.

Bill's 51st birthday was Monday, September 27, 5
weeks after his surgery, and Ron and I went out to his home
in Simi and took him out to lunch. His progress was
phenomenal, and his prognosis was better than the doctors
ever thought. Bill was going to make it.

Later, on a Tuesday afternoon, I received a call from
one of the members of the chorus to inform me that Bill had
passed away earlier during the day. I was dozing at the time
and wondered if I heard correctly. "That can't be. I just saw
him yesterday", I said. I was told that Bill never made it out
of surgery (now I KNEW the information was wrong

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because his surgery was 5 weeks before). Stunned, I called
Jim at work, and through the tears, was able to tell him that
our dear friend had died. Jim was in disbelief. He left work
and came over to our house and he and I went out for a
consoling drive, some yogurt, and some tears that best
friends share. Being more emotional than Jim, I needed his
comfort now more than ever. We were very comforting to
each other, naturally, and had some heavy conversation that
evening. Neither of us could even believe that Bill was
gone.

That Saturday morning, Bill was laid to rest at
Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, to a plethora of
Barbershop brothers. During the week, Bill's son asked me
to arrange for some music at the service, so I asked Keith
Goudy, our director, to direct us in "From The First Hello
To The Last Goodbye", Dave Norman to direct "Sweet
Sweet Roses Of Morn" and I chose to direct "Thank You,
Dear Lord, For Music". As I began to direct the final song,
I announced that this particular song was the one song our
quartet sang at the end of each rehearsal because not only is

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it giving thanks for the music, but thanks for the friendship
that goes with it. After each rehearsal singing that song, we
never sang another. It was the WHTB rule.

The send-off to Bill was very moving, but especially for
me because of the very special relationship Bill and I had.

And so ended the career of "What Happened To Bob",
an ensemble of 4 very special friends.

One of the most memorable experiences of my
barbershopping days was during a trip to Dallas for work. It
had nothing to do with the chorus, but I knew the
internationally known and world famous Vocal Majority
was based out of Dallas. They rehearsed on Thursday
nights, and I happened to be in Dallas on a Thursday night.
I arranged with the director, Jim Clancy, prior to my coming
to Dallas, to visit them during a rehearsal. He arranged for
me to be picked up at my hotel, taken to dinner and then
rehearsal.

I walked into the rehearsal hall, sat myself down, and
saw nearly 300 internationally famous men prepare for the
evening. I sat for nearly 3 hours engrossed in their sound. I

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was familiar with the chorus through my limited time with

Harmony Hills singers. I met Jim Clancy, the founder and

director, and his son Greg, the associate director. Neither

could have been more warm and welcoming. The entire

chorus was this way, and when I was introduced at the end

of the rehearsal, Jim asked me if I would like to direct the

closing song, “Keep The Whole World Singing.” It’s a

standard barbershop song that every barbershopper knows,

and is usually sung at the end of rehearsals.

Keep The Whole World Singing
Keep the whole world singing,

All day long
Watch good will come a winging,

On a song
Smile the while you are singing,

Oh, carry, carry your part.
Keep the melody ringing and ringing

In your heart.

I could not believe I was being asked to direct an

international contest winning chorus. I confidently said yes

to the invitation, and as I stood before 250 men, with my

arms up and prepared, I directed the Vocal Majority.

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I was told later, upon returning to my home chorus, that
Jim NEVER lets someone else direct his chorus. Never.

But I directed the Vocal Majority. Let me say it again in
case you missed it:

I directed the Vocal Majority.
Due to political reasons in the Santa Clarita Chapter,

Jim and I sought refuge in the San Fernando Valley chapter,
"The Valleyaires", a 5-time division champion chorus. We
had since outgrown our stay in Santa Clarita and wanted to
move ahead. We auditioned and were warmly accepted by
the 40-50 men in the chorus.

I clearly, even after all these years, remember my
audition for the Valleyaires, under the direction of Roger
Dixon. The first time I saw Roger direct was at Fulton Jr.
High School where his chorus put on a show about travel.
The music, the choreography, everything...just splendid. I
knew I had to be a part of this group. I didn’t know that
much about the group, other than it was in the valley and
closer to my home than Santa Clarita, so that was a plus.

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I knew NO ONE in the Valleyaires. I just knew they
existed. I was nervous about going in, singing for total
strangers but it was a very simple and intimate audition.
Just Roger the director and Tom Raffety, the music team
leader. Jim also auditioned, and we were both invited to
join.

The audition consisted of us singing (alone) a scale to
determine our vocal range, and a “Pole Cat” song (a song
that every barbershopper knows; songs from the early years
of barbershop singing with the tight 4 part harmony). The
song they gave me was “Down Our Way”, a typical
barbershop song that is short, easy and memorable after the
first time listening to it. It’s the kind of song that loops in
your head.

When I finished my singing, without any pomp, Roger
got up from his chair, and said, “You’re in.” That was it. I
was in. I was a Valleyaire...in less than 10 minutes. I
thought I’d arrived.

The years I spent with the Valleyaires were some of the
brightest times of my musical life. I was able to sing the

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kind of music I loved; popular, harmonic, meaningful.
Every Wednesday night was a retreat night for me. No
work, no family, no worries. Just music and camaraderie
that I’d not known before.

We sang at many different venues and events; some
private, some very public. Roger was the kind of director
who knew what he wanted and spared nothing to get what
he knew was right. He was very well respected in the
barbershop society (yeah, there really is a barbershop
society….SPEBSQSA...Society for the Preservation and
Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in
America) and his musical talents were astounding.
Everyone in the district loved him and anyone who sang for
him was considered very fortunate to be under his direction.

I sang with the Valleyaires for many years, joined
several quartets, took many trips to various parts of the
country where barbershopping events were held. I
eventually found myself at “Director’s College” to learn
about directing a chorus. It was suggested to me by Roger

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and was approved by the board to pay for me to go. It was
in Northern California, and the small classes were presented
by major directors of choruses. I passed the course, and one
of our “tests” was to direct a room full of barbershoppers to
view our talents, our expressions, etc. It was very enjoyable,
and everyone seemed to enjoy my directing.

I was on my way. (insert LOL here)
I remember one international convention held in Salt
Lake City, Utah, where Tom and I (we had become very
close friends by now) attended. The choruses presented two
songs to the audience, and were judged by a panel of judges
on style, harmony, emotions...the whole thing. I don’t
remember how we placed; I was just a member at the time,
not directing.
I remember coming out of the concert hall after a
session, and as Tom and I were coming down the hall’s
staircase, we saw a woman in front of us (I’ll not soon
forget this…) she was wearing a bright lime green polyester
2 piece pants’ suit. At the bottom of her jacket (matching

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the pants, of course) hung a piece of toilet paper about 6
feet long, trailing behind her. Tom pointed her out to me
and said, “Mike, look at that…” and I fell to the floor
laughing so hard, I probably wet myself. It was the funniest
thing I had ever seen. I can still picture it today.

Roger passed away in April, 1995, in Tucson. I had
been taking care of him the best I could while he was here
but towards the end of his life, he wanted to go to Tucson to
be with a friend. As it turns out, Roger ended up in hospice
care. Alone.

Tom and I would go to Tucson every so often to visit
with him. I was Roger’s legal guardian at this point, so I
was in charge of his money and doled it out to him as he
needed. One less burden for him, but one more for me.
Roger wanted me to use his money to fly Tom and me for a
visit, and as much as we said no, he continued to say yes.

When Roger died, part of me went with him. I was
working near the airport at the time of his death, and I was
at lunch, in my car, out by the beach as I watched planes
take off and land. It was very calming for me.

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A few weeks before that, I had started to write a poem
for Roger and how he invited me into the chorus. I was
having trouble for several weeks finishing the poem but that
day, April 25, 1995, thoughts were running furiously
through my head as I ate my lunch. The words would stop.

As I finished the last line of the poem, I got a page from
hospice in Tucson. We didn’t have cell phones then, so I
had to return the call once I got back to my office.

It was Paul from hospice.
“I’m sorry to tell you that Roger passed away 10
minutes ago. He told me to tell you he loved you, and thank
you for taking care of him.”
Roger died as I was finishing my poem.

I Wanted To Sing
Michael Dardenelle

April 25, 1995
Dedicated to Roger Dixon

Far back as I remember, from days of long ago
I fondly think back through the years gone by.
I’d close my eyes and realize how much I miss them so
It never came to me wo wonder why

I wanted to sing.

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Through all my years of learning, education I went through,
My music overpowered my every whim.
I ached at times to sing my rhymes yes, anyone would do
The light inside my head just wouldn’t dim.

I wanted to sing.

I never knew its power, my music finely timed
The will to sing my songs forever grew.
The harmony inside of me becoming finely primed
By someone who I hardly even knew.

I wanted to sing.

I heard his voices from afar, so rich and very near me
It truly left my head in quite a spin.
Then came the day, a thrill I’d say, when he sat down to hear me
He stood straight up and quietly said, “You’re in.”

I wanted to sing.

So now I stand before you, loving music like the rest
Through all the years I’ve come to know one thing.
I’ve come to know friends come and go, and I’ve been truly blessed
By this man who simply knew

I wanted to sing.

This poem was recited at Roger’s memorial service I
had planned for the chorus, and after I read the poem, the
Valleyaires Chorus sang, in Roger’s honor, the two songs he
became known for, his signature songs, “Take Me To The
Land of Jazz” and “I Used To Call Her Baby”. Two rousing

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songs with lots of movement and choreography that
involved the chorus and the director. They really had me
moving on my feet! The audience loved the tribute because
everyone in attendance saw Roger direct these songs to
perfection many times over. We had them stomping on the
floors.

Our final tribute to him was “When I Lost You” and as
uplifting as the first two were, was how emotional the last
one was.

I’ll never forget that day, or the days of taking care of
Roger - my friend - who truly knew how important it was
for me to release my spirit, to sing and perform.

One of the highlights of being with the chorus was after
Roger had passed away, I became artistic director which
meant I had to take the chorus to new heights and perform
as the “leader of the show” for contests.

My first contest was held in Lompoc, at a local church.
The church venue was selected because there is no “concert
hall” in Lompoc, so we hired a church for the venue. This
was for a contest within our own district, the Far Western

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District, so although it wasn’t a national convention, it was

regional, and we had to do what we could.

We sang “Waitin’ For The Robert E. Lee” and “When I

Lost You” (Irving Berlin). Roger had just passed away a

couple months earlier, and the chorus was still reeling in his

death. “When I Lost You” was very meaningful to the chorus

as it was written by Berlin when his wife had passed away.

He was inconsolable and was told by his brother to write a

song to help ease the pain.

When I Lost You

Irving Berlin
1912

The roses each one
Met with the sun
Sweetheart when I met you
The smiles turned to tears,
The days turned to years,
Sweetheart when I lost you

I lost the sunshine and roses
I lost the heavens of blue
I lost the beautiful rainbow
I lost the morning dew
I lost the angel who gave me
Summer, the whole winter through
I lost the gladness that turned into sadness
When I lost you

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The song was quite powerful in it’s meaning, and
especially now that our beloved director had passed away.
The chorus really had no direction because Roger had been
at the helm for about 15 years and really didn’t have a back
up. I was honored to be asked to step into his shoes. Big
shoes to fill.

Our opening song, “Waitin’ For The Robert E. Lee” was
very upbeat, had a lot of choreography, and was truly fun to
sing. It’s not easy for a director to direct AND do the
choreography but somehow I managed. The guys outdid
themselves.

Our second number, “When I Lost You”, the tearjerker,
was in such contrast to our opener. It was sad, it was
emotional, it was beautiful.

One thing I had learned in directors college, was that
the idea of singing softly was to get the audience to almost
strain to hear...while still keeping the energy going. You
don’t have to sing loud to produce energy.

The song as we were singing brought tears to my eyes.
Literally. I was crying on stage, remembering Roger and

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what he meant not only to the chorus, but to me as a dear
friend.

The guys performed this song beyond my wildest
imagination. The harmonies were spot on, the guys watched
me with great intent, and as I started to cry, they saw my
tears, which affected them emotionally and it showed in the
song. It was one of the most beautiful and powerful songs I
have ever directed. The audience was joyful and gleeful at
our first number, but when we finished our second number,
the audience went silent except for some sniffles I heard
behind me. The audience was moved.

That was my intent. And we won first place for the
district.

In 2010, I was honored with the Barbershopper Of The
Year Award given by the chorus to the most outstanding
contributor. By that time, I had been the director, on the
music team, the board of directors, section leader for the
leads and the tenors, and I had proven myself to be a
valuable asset. It never felt like the work that it was because

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I loved it so much. Yes, it was work, but the benefits I
received far overshadowed the work.

As a quartet member for several quartets, the last one I
was part of was “The GAS Co.” The Great American Sound
Company. It included Tom Raffety, Mike Henson, Gary
Bailer and me. We always placed high in contests, and were
requested by many to perform for private functions. The
four of us intertwined well with each other with our music,
our banter, and our personalities. I miss those guys but
fondly remember the great times we had.

There are people in this world who love music and love
to sing, but couldn’t carry a tune if it were in a basket. How
sad to not be able to vocalize what you hear in your heart.
But I was able to.

Because after all,
I wanted to sing.

98

SOUNDTRACKS OF MY LIFE Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles

I have always enjoyed...no, loved...male choruses.
The deep rich sounds of a low bass and the high crystal
clear voices of a tenor.

I first heard the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles
at a performance at the Alex Theater in Glendale. Carlos
at one time was a member and he took me to hear them. I
was in awe. I was almost star-struck. I put them all on a
pedestal as I watched them and listened to their sounds. It
was the most glorious sound I had ever heard, and each
one of them was a celebrity to me. When Carlos
introduced me to some of them after the show, I felt like I
was meeting stars.

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