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  My Musical Journey – Rock-n-Roll, Sort Of.... Me and my sister sitting at my Grandmother's piano at her house in ~ 55/56 I n 1960 I was 11 when I entered the 6 th grade. That year for Christmas I got a phonograph. Now I could play my music whenever I wanted and didn't have to hear my father complain about it. Less than 2 months after Christmas I turned 12. I continued to play the trombone in the 6 th grade in the school band but the trombone is not an instrument associated with Rock-n-Roll and also not one generally played by itself. As such, I was not planning to continue playing after 6 th .grade. I was asked to join the junior high school band when I started 7 th grade but I turned them down. S ometime while I was in 6 th grade a piano arrived. It came from my grandparents (mom). It was the piano my mother learned to play on. We now had a piano sitting right in our living room. That drew my interest and I started to fool around on it doing things like...

My Musical Journey – The Beginning Tommy Dorsey M usic has always been a significant part of who I am. I enjoyed listening to music at an early age. My father had been a jazz trombone player as a young person. My mom played the piano. My only aunt (had no uncles) loved jazz and classical music and played in an orchestra. Music was often being played in our house either on my parents' hi-fi or on the radio. Neither of my grandparents played much music, I don't remember hearing any music at either of their houses. The lone exception was they watched the Guy Lombardo show. What Guy Lombardo is probably most known for is hosting the New Year's Eve specials on TV for many years. If you are from Long Island, like me, you may know him from the Jones Beach Theater where he and his band were essentially the house band for the musical shows that were put on there. I never cared for or paid much attention to Guy Lombardo and his band, “The Royal Canadians”. M y dad had ...