Ok, age 58. Got infatuated around age 5 seeing the big kids garage bands, Beatle hair, Fender amps, sparkle drums, “House of the Rising Sun” “I Can’t Explain” “Love Me Do”. 1967 or 8 at Myrtle Beach Lakewood Campground rec center, my brother drumming, Cousin Steve on bass, CousinBobby vocal, some dude on guitar, playing “Gloria”, “Satisfaction” “TheLetter” “Spooky” “Wipeout” “Hey Joe” . My goof nerd looking brother had girls hanging around to talk to him! Gross! Steve and Bobby waltz off with a girl on each arm. I guarded the drums. I started learning to play at 13 and graduated to songs quickly. From 14 on I ended up being the singer because literally most kids were afraid to even try and I had been in church boys choir since age 8 and of course kicked out at 12. Wish I could still those notes like at 10. Anyway by 14 Music was the only thing that mattered and everything else like sports, hunting, fishing, hobbies, Boy Scouts, got left behind and playing in a rock band and making it as a rock star wasn’t everything, it was the only thing. First real gig when I was barely 15. It was at the drummer’s church social hall and it was packed with kids! I think it was close to a 100 but could have been 50, all I know is it seemed full and by the time I barked “Hey Man” for the first verse of “Suffragete City” five or six girls were at the stage area and the rest of the kids were on the way. We played 8-9 songs, all covers like Stones, Kiss, Monkeys, Deep Purple, Free/BadCo, etc. 2 real guitar players, me, bass, drums, keyboard. I had thes knee high leather platform boots and in the middle of a song I was ricking back and fort and a heel snapped off! I stumbled but didn’t fall and pulled them off at the end of the song. The stage riser was concrete so the next time I went to sing my lips touched the mic and shocked the hell out of me because I was grounded w no shoes on!
So, a couple embarrassing gaffes but we sounded good enough that they liked us and asked for encore. We played Smoke on the Water again. After the show I was surrounded by girls from age 13 to 17 and I thought it must be dream! I got kisses on the cheek and notes with phone numbers slipped in my pocket and from that day onward, until I was 21 and said goodbye to the dream for good, I had never imagined myself doing anything else and still happy. Who else chased, almost caught, and was then rejected by that thing called Rock n Roll? What’s your shoulda, coulda, woulda been a Rock Star story?
So, a couple embarrassing gaffes but we sounded good enough that they liked us and asked for encore. We played Smoke on the Water again. After the show I was surrounded by girls from age 13 to 17 and I thought it must be dream! I got kisses on the cheek and notes with phone numbers slipped in my pocket and from that day onward, until I was 21 and said goodbye to the dream for good, I had never imagined myself doing anything else and still happy. Who else chased, almost caught, and was then rejected by that thing called Rock n Roll? What’s your shoulda, coulda, woulda been a Rock Star story?