Saturday, January 28, 2017

THE VOICE....

The Voice.
         
My father adored her.

He joined the Navy in 1940 with dreams of becoming a pilot; he had his flight training in Jacksonville, Florida.
After successfully completing flight school, he flew transport planes for the US Navy during the war, hopping between Miami and Rio every few days.
          Before he married my mother, he lived in a small house in Miami with three other US Navy pilots and a chimpanzee named Violet (she’s a whole different story), a charismatic group of flyboys who spent their evenings in the bars and nightclubs of Miami, slamming down drinks, appreciating the women and listening to jazz and swing bands that toured the area…Basie, Goodman, Dorsey, etc.
         
And then along came Ella Fitzgerald.
         
The first time he heard her sing, my father was transported.
He spent an entire night at a little table in a nightclub, smoking Chesterfields, sipping Manhattans and listening to a voice that left him speechless.
When she took a break between sets, my father (emboldened, I’m sure, by the alcohol), approached her, asked if he could buy her a drink.
She said yes.

He never could remember what she had to drink; he remembered her eyes and her laugh and her voice.


The Voice.

14 comments:

  1. Wow! How lucky he felt emboldened enough to ask if he could buy her a drink. You never know. She could have said "No thank you." But she didn't - leading to great memories and a neat story!

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    1. Dad talked about this all his adult life! He also bought every single LP Ella Fitzgerald made...I grew up listening to her, and she set the standard for all future female vocalists for me...

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  2. Wow! He was also able to drink in her music! Lucky Man .

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    1. He WAS a lucky man...those Manhattans were powerful, powerful...

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  3. A lovely personal memory of your Dad's link with the prompt photograph.

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    1. He spoke of this encounter over and over again...

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  4. Now, that's an amazing story about my "Uncle Bill" I never heard before; and there were lots of family stories that circulated, too. Ella certainly cemented a fan for life with that drink, too. Great story; I love it!

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    1. I'm surprised you never heard this, Cousin! He was such an incredible Ella fan...

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  5. Hearing and SEEing a Great Voice are two different things. Recordings and films just don't give the full effect of a live musician. Putting both together is rare and for your dad a memorable experience.

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    1. I saw her in NYC when I was about 14 (guess who took me?)...gave me a whole new appreciation for her talent! She was even better live than on recording!

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    1. It's a fun story...and my father's deep respect for her talent was passed down to us!

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  7. Navy flyboys did have a habit of doing things that normal folks might not even consider doing. I know because my dad was a Naval aviator for 21 years. Oh my the stories he tells.

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    1. I know this too well! My father spent lots of time in Rio (flew transport there); the stories of his Brazilian exploits were hysterical!

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