Second in the series of 22 articles by Lawson E. Parker.
Grandpop BROKE his records??? I guarantee Great-grandpop didn’t know about this! However, I don’t recall Great-grandpop ever listening to or talking about any music whatsoever, so maybe he didn’t care.
Here is the first mention of my dad, Joe, the “son with a knowledge of electronics.” He was a freshman at U.F. studying electrical engineering when Grandpop wrote this, and though my dad does love his father’s music, he also loved swing, which Grandpop disliked as “ear-rending modern jazz.” I love all of it, but I also like everything that came after, and Dad doesn’t… except of course Dave Brubeck and Erroll Garner.
Grandpop just taught me a new term: blind pig. It’s a speakeasy. I bet Great-grandpop never knew about THAT visit!
And FYI, the Dixie Land Jass Band is the correct name, not a typo (Grandpop didn’t make typos). The band changed the spelling to “Jazz” in their second year.
I have trouble imagining my Grandpop as a 13 year old, let alone playing THIS on the piano.
“Ear-rending modern jazz”? Really, Grandpop? What did you think of rock and roll that hit the airwaves soon after you wrote this?
Word UP.
PP.
