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CHILDREN Soundtracks Of My Life

All over this land.”

And years later, they sounded exactly the same as
they did when they first sang those immortal words so
many years ago. Peter and Paul have lost a lot of hair,
and Mary had found a lot of pounds, but their recent
album, "No Easy Walk To Freedom" takes me back to
the days of old when P P & M were strong. I hope as
you read this, you may remember the music of Peter
Paul and Mary. It's good solid music that fills the heart
with happy and meaningful thoughts.

Mary Travers died from leukemia in September
2009. What a loss I felt since not only did I love the
music of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I sang in a trio
designed after their music and their style. It was a
blow.

Lest we should forget The Mamas and the Papas.
Oh, if you could have seen them in person. What a
quartet of variety. Papa John, with his beard and
mustache, shoulder length hair that never looked

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washed or combed, dressed like an absolute slob.
Mama Michelle, who was John's wife, slim and trim,
beatnik looking, with a voice that was beautiful but not
very strong. She had such a tiny voice, that really had
to be pushed. When she recorded, she had to have her
voice mixed with the others through the mixing board
more heavily than the rest, because she simply couldn't
be heard. I think, personally, that she was in the group
only because her husband started it. If it weren’t for
John, Michelle probably would be home washing
dishes. Then there was Papa Denny. Denny had this
wonderfully mellow tenor voice that was music to
anyone's ears. He was rather easy on the eyes and had
shorter hair than John. Denny Dougherty was in
another group, The Halifax Three, and added the depth
and warmth to both groups that made them sound the
way they sounded. But the one who made The Mamas
and The Papas The Mamas and The Papas was none
other than the lovely, the talented, the rotund Mama
Cass Elliott. Cass was a big one. She was beyond

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large. She was fat. She was obese. But what a voice.
Crystal clear, pronouncing every note and every word
with the utmost of clarity that, left alone, would run
rings around any female singer amend. Even Connie
Francis. (But not Barbra Streisand!) Soon after the
group broke up, as most groups tend to do, Mama Cass
went out on her own and was quite successful. She was
playing at the London Palladium and after her show,
was found dead in her bed in London, rumored to be
holding a ham sandwich on which she choked to death,
but later revealed to have died of a heart attack due to
obesity. The woman was a talent among talents. What
a waste. What a loss.

John died in March 2001 and Denny died in 2007.
And so were The Mamas and The Papas.

There are so many others - Neil Diamond is one of
the greatest singers in the world today. Simon and
Garfunkel made the kind of music that treated your
ears to something special. There are so many. I hope
that you find some singer, some artist that you will

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remember throughout your lifetime as I have
remembered throughout mine.

Given the choice of going blind or going deaf, I
really think I would sooner die. Not being able to hear
the sounds of everything about me that I have grown
to love so dearly for my entire life, especially my
music, would mean the end of my world.

I can't remember when I loved music more than I
do at this point in my life. Not only do I love to listen
to it, I love singing, as most everyone knows. But
moreover, I have come to greatly respect and admire
the people whose lives revolve around the sounds that
no longer appear to be the music I grew up on; now
there's "RAP", which for the life of me I don't know
how anyone calls music.

So that’s a brief (yeah, brief. That’s a good one)
introduction of what I am about to present to you.

I hope you enjoy it.
I just wish I could put it to music.

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Those Pesky School Years
When I was in the fourth grade at Hayvenhurst
Avenue School, my teacher, Mrs. Ebner, said I could
bring my accordion to school. I was really excited
because I have always enjoyed the limelight. So, when
the day came, I lugged this stupid accordion to school,
and
for about half an hour, I was the star. The applause
from my fourth-grade peers rang in my ears for days.
I was good. I don’t remember what I played, but I can
assure you, “My Dog Towser” was not one of the
songs.

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I always enjoyed singing with the class, and fondly
remember the Christmas recitals that we had in our
schools. One year, we had to make the mats we were
to
sit on, out of newspapers. Remember those? Each
piece of paper was folded into a strip approximately 2
inches wide by 20 inches long. Each strip was woven
into another, and by time it was done, we had a mat
that was about 20 x 20. This was supposed to protect
our clothes from the dirty floor on which we sat while
we were not performing. Now that I look back, what
kept the newsprint from getting our clothes dirty? We
looked like little ladies and gentlemen in our dark
pants and white shirts and bow ties. We looked like
ladies and gentlemen, but we sang like little kids!

I credit my grandmother Louise for a lot of the
musical abilities and talents I have. She was an avid
pianist, author, artist. I wish I had known her, but she
died when I was very young. Oh, the questions I would
have for her now. I hope that she would have been

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very proud of my accomplishments had she known.
Maybe she does.

In grammar school, I learned to play the autoharp;
a zither-like instrument that was strummed with, at
that time, an eraser. It had buttons you could push that
would block out some of the strings, so the remaining
strings would produce this very soft strumming sound.
Whenever I could, I would practice the autoharp in
class. I could never take it home, though, because it
belonged to the school. But when it came to be my
turn playing it, I always played it better than anyone
else. It was one of the few things I could do better than
anyone else.

As my school years progressed, so did my music.
I was always very conscious of the way things should
sound, musically, and was very critical of what I heard.
When I entered high school, I joined the William
Howard Taft High School A Capella Choir. I studied
under the direction of George Turner for 6 solid
semesters. We would sing religious songs, popular

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songs, you name it. And our choir was good! One of
the best in the district. One of the songs we sang from
the first semester was a song called “Oh, Lemuel”, a
Negro spiritual that accentuated the heavy bass notes
and close harmony. It was a favorite of ours, and when
we sang it in concert for
the school, it was a favorite of the faculty and student
body. Given the chance, I could sing it again today:

“Oh, Lemuel my lark, Oh Lemuel my beau
I’se gwine to hab a ball tonight, I hab you fo’ to know.
But if you wants to dance, jes’ dance outside da do’
Because yoe feets so berry large, dey cover all de flo’
“Oh, Lem, Lem, Lemuel I say: Go down tode cotton
fields, and bring dem boys away.
Go down to de cotton fields, go down I say
Go down and call de’ darkie boys all
We work no mo’ today.”

“Oh, Lemuel” will long be remembered by me and

anyone else who had the pleasure of singing in the

choir. Imagine 80 voices singing about some ole’

darkie boy going down to “de cotton fields”. Wouldn’t

fly today. Guaranteed.

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We had several kids of celebrities at Taft. One was
Maggie Bannon, singing alto in the choir. Maggie was
the daughter of Bea Benaderet, who was a popular
actress in many television shows. She played most
notably Kate in Petticoat Junction. She was Lucille
Ball’s first choice to play Ethel Mertz but she was
unable to because of contract disputes. She was also
Aunt Pearl (Bodine) in the Beverly Hillbillies.
Maggie’s brother was Jack Bannon, also a popular
television start.

Maggie and I were friends but that was pretty
much it. She signed my yearbook, I signed hers.

Another child of celebrities was Julie Dickinson.
Julie’s parents were founders of the Modernaires, an
extremely popular vocal group from the 30s and 40s.
Julie’s dad was Hal Dickinson and her mom was Paula
Kelly. I loved and still love the sound of that kind of
music. When music was music and lyrics were
meaningful and understandable.

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Julie and I became lifelong friends beginning in
our high school years. I kinda had a crush on Julie and
one day I bit the bullet to ask her out to a Peter Paul
and Mary concert playing locally. She accepted and
we had a wonderful time.

Julie and I lost touch for many years after high
school, but she went on to continue the work of her
mom and dad and took over the lead with the new
Modernaires she formed, with her sister Paula Kelly
Jr. Julie and I have rekindled our friendship through
social media and remain friends to this day.

I also developed a friendship with Jenny Cohee.
Jenny was in the choir as well and had this wonderful
voice that I always thought soothing. She was really
cute and had a bubbly personality. She was really
popular in school so I thought I could never get near
her long enough to say hello.

Jenny and I had a taste in music like most other
teenagers, and we could both carry a tune, and we both
liked The Mamas and The Papas. In later years as our

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friendship bonded, we got together at her little studio
apartment somewhere near Coldwater Canyon, I
believe, if memory serves. At the time I had this big
ole’ Wollensak tape recorder, one of those reel-to-reel
things with speakers on either side and a port for 2
microphones. I would bring it over to her place and the
two of us would sit there for hours, it seems, singing
to The Mamas and The Papas. We did “California
Dreamin’”, “Straight Shooter”, “Creeque Alley”
...anything we thought sounded good singing.
Actually, we sounded pretty good. The main thing
was, though, we were friends then, and remain friends
today, even with the 250 miles that separate us. We
stay in contact on social media and reminisce about
those “olden” days.

I spent 3 years with my high school a cappella
choir. I loved every minute of it. I loved the rehearsals,
I loved performing for the school. I knew I wanted to
join some sort of musical group when I went to
college.

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And so I did. When I started Pierce College in the
fall of 1964, I signed up for the mixed choir, conducted
by Marion Vree. She told us (and why I remember this
so many years later is beyond me…) “The way you
remember my name is ‘the best things in life are
Vree.” I’ll always remember that. Marion Vree was a
well-experienced choir director and demanded
perfection. When the choir sang under her direction,
that’s what she got. I often wondered how I would
manage to sing under her direction, but I did, and she
was pleased.

The concert that Christmas was Vivaldi’s “Four
Seasons” and the choir put on a performance of
“Gloria In Excelsis Deo” Thrilled everyone. To this
day when I hear that piece, I think back to those days
of Pierce College Choir and Marion Vree. I remember
it fondly.

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We were not Peter, Paul, and Mary. We were

Two of the 80 voices in our high school choir
became two of my closest friends: Jim Bastian and
Marla Marco. As our school years went on, so did our
friendships. The three of us became inseparable. It
was only a matter of time before we decided to put our
musical talents to good use and to pool our voices. We

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thought, “Hey. If others can do it, so can we.” So,
with encouraging thoughts in mind, we formed our
little trio that we called “The Other Three”. A rather
stupid name, but we told people that there used to be a
fourth member, but he left, and we were (you guessed
it. . .) “The Other Three”. We were copies of Peter
Paul and Mary, and most of our repertoire was taken
from them. Jim sang baritone, Marla sang soprano,
and I sang tenor and played the guitar.

Our first gig was for the City of Hope, for their
annual spring fashion luncheon. Those luncheons
since had lasted over 50 years. The Other Three”
lasted one. We sang at the Castaways Restaurant in
Burbank to 300 people. The audience loved us, and
from the applause, it was evident. We were on a cloud.
I’m proud to say that the entertainment we provided
was instrumental in that luncheon providing a net
profit that was donated to the City of Hope, of $300.
That’s like a donation of $1 per person…but you must
remember, that was in 1964.

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Our set finished with “He’s Got The Whole World
In His Hands.” To a crowd full of Jewish people.

We soon found our way to sing for a man in
Gardena who was running for local congress and
wanted us to sing in his weekend campaign. “The
Other Three” drove down to Gardena, where we met
this Japanese man, whose name I don’t remember, and
rode around the city of Gardena in the back of a
Cadillac convertible waving and singing to the
crowds. Peter Paul and Mary we weren’t, but good we
were, and fun we had. The job paid us $100 (not each)
and we thought we were on our way. We opened a
bank account, and after buying checks for the checking
account, (business style, 3 to a page, of course) and
some minor expenses (we had to celebrate with
dinner… in a fancy-schmancy restaurant…in our
“uniforms”), it took all the money we had in our
account. And the account never saw another dime
from that day on. Getting the money from this guy,
who lost the election, by the way, is another story for

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another time. Marla’s dad, Norm, was a debt collector,
and he got involved, and as I recall, was none too
gentle with this idiot who said he’d pay us and didn’t.
Norm got us paid.

We got hired to sing for a graduating class of 1965,
I believe, for their “graduation dinner” held at the
Airport Marina Hotel down by the airport. I would
have to say that that was the better of the performances
we had. We were in good voice, knew our material,
and sounded good. The kids liked us; possibly
because we were their ages, and we were singing songs
we all knew and liked.

So here we are. The Other Three. Trying to make
it big in the music business, trying to compete with
Peter Paul and Mary, but to no avail. Maybe it was
because they were….what, I don’t know….better than
us?? We had a great time entertaining other high
school students, and they enjoyed listening to songs
they knew in a style they were familiar with.

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We sang at the Oak Room, a small dinner
restaurant in Encino, and as I began to strum the guitar
to our opening number, “When The Ship Comes In”, I
knew we were on our way. Ready. Confident.
Prepared. Sure of ourselves.

” Oh, the time will come up when the winds
will stop, and the breeze will cease to be
breathing…

Like the stillness in the wind, ‘fore the
hurricane begins; the hour that the ship comes
in. . .”
We were a-singin’ and a strummin’, knowing that
each of us had a small part to sing solo, and also
knowing that we had each other for support as
individuals and as soloists. Here comes Mike’s part:
“Oh, a song will lift as the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline. . .”
. . .But where’s Mike? The guitar continued, but
Mike didn’t. Oh, Mike. . .? Sing, Mike. But lo and

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behold, Mike has forgotten the words to his part. To a
song that I knew backwards and forwards, right side
up and inside out. And Jim and Marla looked at me
and gave me that look that can only be left to the
imagination...the proverbial “stink eye” ... But in the
true spirit of professionalism and showmanship, the
show went on. Jim remembered HIS lines, Marla
remembered HER lines, and together, we remembered
OUR lines. These things happen, I guess, but they
never happen to me. Even as I continued to sing
publicly, my mind goes back to that day, and I pray
during each song I sing, “Please. Remember the
words. Under penalty of death, or worse, deep
embarrassment.” So far, I can still hold my head
proudly when I sing.

We were taken in by one of Marla’s friends,
who wanted to manage our “career.” Jack wasn’t one
of those hot-shot musicians, but he DID have some
connections, and before we knew it, we were in a
recording studio down in Hollywood singing a protest

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song called ”Hear The Drums”. This was the era of
protest songs, and I don’t know who wrote it (probably
our manager, Jack. . .) The tune and the words are
indelibly etched in my mind:

“Hear The Drums:
They’re pounding out a message, can't you hear.
Hear The Drums,
You’ve got to listen with an open ear…
Can’t you hear what they’re say - ing. . .”

“Hear The Drums” was nothing more than a vocal
exercise put to music with close 3-part harmony, but
what an experience to sing in a real recording studio.
It was the only recording we ever did that was actually
pressed onto vinyl (cassettes and CDs were not
invented yet). I believe Marla still has a copy of it.
How I wish I did. Marla and I are still best of friends,
well over 50 years, now with grown children and
grandchildren of our own. There are times we fondly
recall those days of The Other Three and Hear the
Drums.”

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Marla and I recorded an album together during this
time, called “The Album”…for lack of a better title.
The cover depicts her and me with headsets on,
laughing about something, and the moment was
captured on film, probably by our engineer, and we
thought it was perfect. That album is floating around
somewhere in her possession.

Jim died in 1996, and I didn’t find out about it until
2019 when for some unknown reason, I connected
with his brother, Jon. Jim’s death, even so many years

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later, saddened me a lot. Jim and I grew up together as
next-door neighbors, singing partners, and best
friends. I had known Jim had a heart ailment, so it
didn’t surprise me that that’s what caused his death. I
have to say after all these years, I have thought about
him a lot. We went to school together, cut classes
together, enjoyed each other’s company…plus we
were just next door to each other. Great arrangement.

I never gave up. Although the group saw a parting
of the ways, Marla and I remained very close friends,
and as I mentioned, still are. We decided to form
another group with Marla, her husband at the time,
Bruce, her cousin Elliott, Georgia, and me. We were
called “Canterbury”. Why, I don’t know, and made
The Other Three pale by comparison. Bruce played
the banjo, Elliott and I played the guitar, Marla and
Georgia alternated on the tambourine, and we all sang,
and the five of us had a really nice harmonic blend.
We covered the songs of the likes of Neil Diamond

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and Barbra Streisand. Their music never sounded. .
.well, so different.

Just like The Other Three, so went Canterbury. We
never played together after the first few rehearsals.
Too bad. That was a real fun time of our lives.
Rehearsals were at Bruce and Marla’s home in Canoga
Park, and it was a chore to get everyone together on
the same night because of schedules.

The Other Three and Canterubry will always
hold very special places in my musical heart; not so
much for the corny music we sang and how wonderful
we all thought we were, but for the lifelong friendship
of Marla Marco and the lifelong memory of my best
friend, Jim Bastian.

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The Valley Master Chorale
Marla called one day. saying that auditions were
being held for the Valley Master Chorale, a name I did
not know, and an organization with which I was not
familiar. Sounded fancy, though, don't you think?
"The Valley Master Chorale". Kinda rolls right off the
tongue. Marla says it is a chorus that rehearses out of
Pierce College in Woodland Hills, and sings several
times throughout the year at different venues. Now, as
much as I like to sing, I couldn't picture myself with a
professional chorus. Remember earlier how I said how
never really learned to read music? Well, you had to
be able to read music... and read it well, in order to
pass the audition. Marla offered to meet me at the

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music building at the Pierce campus one Monday
evening two years ago.

She and Bruce met me there, and I must say, I was
more anxious to see them than I was to sing for a total
stranger, not knowing what I was getting myself into.
We went to the room, where Marla tried out first. She
came out after about 5-7 minutes, not knowing any
more than when she went in. How encouraging. I
went in next, and Marla and Bruce so kindly waited
for me outside.

Inside this 7 foot square room (if that big), was a
piano, and two members of the chorale, who I don't
know, even today, who were very cordial and told me
that there were three parts to the audition:

Voice quality, range, and reading ability. Well, I
figured, it was nice while it lasted. First came the
range. The lady played the piano from low this to high
that, to determine my range, which later was classified
as first tenor. I could have told her that. Next, she had
me sing "America The Beautiful". She picked out a

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key that was suitable, and away I went. The acoustics
in the small room were remarkably well suited, and I
felt very comfortable singing a song I have known
most of my life.

Two down, one to go. Reading. I thought. "This
is it. This is where they’ll say, “thank you, we’ll be in
touch." They handed me this music with black and
white lines and notes that I couldn’t make out as
quarter notes, half notes, footnotes. She gave me the
pitch and the key and asked me to sing what was
written.

I was surprised as hell when I found that I could
actually read better than I had thought or hoped! I
read so-so, but I read. Then it came: "Thank you.
We’ll be in touch". And out I went.

Marla and Bruce asked me how it went, and I told
them. I thought, "what a waste of a perfectly good
Monday evening." Frankly, I didn't care if I made it
or not. I really didn't. Since I had never been to
anything like this before, I didn't know what to expect

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in the way of acceptance or being declined. Marla was
happy, I couldn't have cared less. I put the evening out
of my mind.

The next day at work, I got a message to call a Jean
Hom, whose number or name was not familiar to me
at all. I called the number, introduced myself. only to
find out that Jean was calling on behalf of the Valley
Master Chorale, and she said to me "we really
appreciate your taking the time last night to audition..."
and me thinking. "Now nice. They call you to say you
didn't make it." but instead, I get "...and we would like
to invite you to become a member of the Valley Master
Chorale." Suddenly, I realized how important Monday
night was to me. I was thrilled, and found out later,
honored to become a member of this professional
organization. Marla had been invited too, and
together, we accepted their invitation, under the
direction of noted director, Gerald Eskelin. (Noted...by
whom? I had never heard of him.)

During my tenure in the VMC, I found exciting

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music I loved, and even some pieces I knew. One was
the “Carmina Burana” which I had performed in the
College Choir. I didn’t care for it, but I was familiar
with it. The first concert I was part of with VMC was
in fact, the Carmina Burana. I asked Gerry if, since I
really wasn’t comfortable with the piece, if he’d like
me to either bow out, or remain on the risers and fake
and lip sync the words. “I need you up there with us.”
So that’s where I went: up on the risers, peas and
carrots and all. (“Peas and carrots” simulate knowing
the words to a song and mouthing the words with “peas
and carrots” so it looks like you’re singing.)

Later during the 2 years I was there, A few of us
were hand chosen by Gerry to appear on stage at the
Century Plaza hotel as backup singers, The Gerald
Eskelin Singers. I couldn’t believe I was one of the
ones he chose, but that experience has left an indelible
impression in my mind, even after all these years. I
really felt like a celebrity as I left the stage and so
many people came up to us and complimented us on

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our show. It felt amazing. I became hard to live with,
I’m sure.

In the two years that I was a member, there seemed
to be some political discord in the chorale, so I hadn’t
gone for a couple weeks, and it looked like I may not
return. The chorale was to soon become the
responsibility of another director from Cal State
Northridge, who may want to re-audition every
chorale member, whereas only"the best of the best"
will be accepted into the Northridge Master chorale. I
don't think I even wanted to try. I wasn't admitting
defeat, but my priorities were at home, and the chorale
took more time than I was able to devote to it.

What I took away from the chorale was an
experience of a lifetime. Another vibrant memory
from the Valley Master Chorale was a song called
“Dor Ye Hudi” that was a Hebrew holiday song sung
a cappella in a 4 part “round” with all chorale voices
intertwining with each other. It was a stirring song
without accompaniment that, even though we couldn’t

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understand the words, left the members feeling very
touched. I credit that to the harmony and arrangement
and the direction.

Since it was a “round”, the parts were all the same,
so it was easy enough for me to take the song into the
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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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

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a radio personality out of me. We learned to write
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

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commented about this one evening on-air…” I 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 its 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

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him. Bill operated a “cable” radio station from this
studio, which was also used to record anything
recordable. Radio “KUTR 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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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

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more than a vocal exercise with 3-part harmony, but I
knew this was something that I wanted more of.

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

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4 channels of music that was easily separated so the
music could be 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

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“Rs” correctly. At only 5 years old, she spoke
somewhat like 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

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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 “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 its 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.

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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 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.

Throughout my brief years at the church, Trinity
Community Presbyterian, I had become aware of
church camp that the kids of the church could go to.
There were maybe a dozen kids at that time, and
tuition for camp was expensive for some of the
parents. I decided to initiate a “Concert For The
Children” where I would put on a “show” in
Friendship Hall, promote it, get all my songs ready,
and present myself “In Concert”. This went on for
about 3-4 years, and the venue was always the same:
Friendship Hall next to the church. We had tables set

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up “cabaret” style, café style, and we served a light
snack for people to enjoy during the show.

I never was so presumptuous to set a ticket charge
to see the show. I wasn’t Dean Martin where I could
command such a thing as a fee. So, I decided to tell
people it’s by donation only. If you can afford to,
please donate. If you can’t, please join us for an
evening of song and fellowship.

Each concert took in about $500 in donations.
Some gave $2, some gave $50. Their love for the
children and the purpose of the show meant more than
charging a fee.

These were fun shows to do. Occasionally I had a
“guest artist” who did a few numbers alone, and a
couple with me. The shows were comprised of show
tunes, oldies, country, serious, fun. I loved doing those
shows.

One of my favorites was a Christmas Concert that
I performed inside the sanctuary. The first half I was
dressed in my “winter whites”: An off-white

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shirt/blouse I had made, with the same color pants and
shoes. The opening number was “Holly Jolly
Christmas”, and that section of the show was uplifting
popular Christmas music. The 2nd half of the show
turned more serious, and I had a wardrobe change into
my black tuxedo. That segment opened with “I
Wonder As I Wander” with me backstage ready to go
on. When that song was played, that was my cue that
the 2nd half of the show was starting. The segment
ended with “No Other Name (But Jesus)” and the
entire evening was one I won’t soon forget. The church
was about half filled with friends, relatives, and
congregation. It truly was an amazing night.

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.

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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.

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.

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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 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

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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 me again, but this
time I decided to leave them in because it added to the
depth 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 fairly good

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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.

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.

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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".

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

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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:

“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

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In A Manger” which, as mentioned before, holds an
incredibly 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
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

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“
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
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 dying. He was always in awe of how

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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.
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

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