Last night I went to my brother's house for his birthday. His daughter and son in law gave him tickets to see the Who at Fenway Park. (For those of you not familiar with baseball, that's the home field of the Boston Red Sox, his second favorite team after the San Diego Padres.) Going thousands of miles round trip for a concert might seem more hassle than it's worth (it would be for me) but he's such a Who fiend and a Sox fiend that it's a perfect combination. I was more impressed with something else. A jukebox, a late fifties Rockola, one that he got for nothing but one that needed a lot of work. He first attacked the cosmetics. Then he got down to business. He did what he could mechanically, took it to a jukebox guy for the intricate stuff, then tinkered with it again at home. He got it running, and and while there are still a few glitches (the records sometimes don't change without a nudge), it's amazing that he got it done. If I'd been in charge with the project like that, there'd still be parts all over the garage. But he's a crack the knuckles and get to work sort of guy, one of the things that makes me so proud of him. Nevermind the fact that he put himself through law school, got married, had kids, bought a house, and then when his house burned down cracked his knuckles again and rebuilt his house, and replaced basically everything else. Never once did I hear him complain about the job at hand. He's that kinda a guy. Last night he told me that he curated the first hundred singles for the jukebox carefully, wary of my scrutiny. I was kind of flattered though I thought it pointless for him to worry about what I thought. Then I remembered. Brothers.
Right about then, Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" started blasting. Yee haw. Good choice, that one. So here's a mess of Ricky Nelson. Dig the picking on most of his early stuff. That's James Burton (the guy with his back to the camera above).
Right about then, Ricky Nelson's "Hello Mary Lou" started blasting. Yee haw. Good choice, that one. So here's a mess of Ricky Nelson. Dig the picking on most of his early stuff. That's James Burton (the guy with his back to the camera above).
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:Ricky Nelson - My Babe mp3 at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Boppin' the Blues mp3 at Rocky 52
Ricky Nelson - Stood Up mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Ricky Nelson - Be Bop Baby mp3 at Rocky 52
Ricky Nelson - Lonesome Town mp3 at Diddy Wah
Ricky Nelson - Hello Mary Lou (streaming) at YouTube
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