eric Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I thought the forum might appreciate this story. It's one that I've heard about most of my life, though only recently some more of the details came into focus as we are working to move my dad out of his house into a senior living facility. My dad will be 82 this year and is still quite lucid mentally, though he has lots of physical/mobility challenges. As we've been clearing out his house, lots of memorabilia bits have been found, and it has generated new interest and recollection of stories from the past. My dad is an accomplished pianist, having earned a music degree and some post graduate work back in the day. He was my primary inspiration as a young child when he would play piano daily as I played with my toys and rode my rocking horse. He was mostly a jazz guy and had the Dave Brubeck Time Out repertoire committed to memory. Anyways, in 1960 my dad auditioned for the chance to perform with Liberace, who was doing a thing around the US whereby he would travel to state fairs and put on a big "Piano Pyramid" show where 50 pianists were playing grand pianos on staggered platforms, with Liberace at the top platform leading the whole thing. My dad was one of the 50 pianists in Kentucky to perform in the 1960 Kentucky State Fair with Liberace. As we were clearing some closets out, we found a signed Liberace print that had been rolled up in storage, and also have tracked down the local newspaper with a picture of my dad on the front page with Liberace. I found all of this to be very interesting and plan to have the signed print framed and put alongside the Kawai grand piano my dad has just passed along to me as part of the moving process. It would be really cool if there was a recording available. I attached a few pictures. That's my dad on the right side next to Liberace. 18 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montunoman 2 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Cool story. Liberace was a beast ! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Brotha E that is a very cool story. Might even call it....wait....LAW(some).🤣😎 1 Quote PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mate stubb Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 I met him in 1980. One of the nicest famous people we encountered in over 10 years on the road. RIP Lee. 4 Quote Moe --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Wow!! 1 Quote Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherry Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Best to your dad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allan_evett Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Fantastic! Great story.. 1 Quote 'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo. We need a barfing cat emoticon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxcvbnm098 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 What a wonderful story and family legacy Eric! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveMcM Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 What a great find and so cool that your Dad had that experience! 1 Quote Wm. David McMahan I Play, Therefore I Am Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old No7 Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 8 hours ago, eric said: He was my primary inspiration as a young child when he would play piano daily as I played with my toys and rode my rocking horse. He was mostly a jazz guy and had the Dave Brubeck Time Out repertoire committed to memory. Great story -- and an even greater inspiration! Thanks for sharing the story and images. Old No7 1 Quote Yamaha MODX6 * Hammond SK Pro 73 * Roland Fantom-08 * Crumar Mojo Pedals * Mackie Thump 12As * Tascam DP-24SD * JBL 305 MkIIs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Wright Posted February 15 Share Posted February 15 Great story! 1 Quote "I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too long" Walter Becker Donald Fagan 1977 Deacon Blues Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcgoo Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Awesome story. Frame that Pic and hang it proud!!! 1 Quote Custom Music, Audio Post Production, Location Audio www.gmma.biz https://www.facebook.com/gmmamusic/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Weiser Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 On 2/15/2024 at 9:50 AM, eric said: I thought the forum might appreciate this story. It's one that I've heard about most of my life, though only recently some more of the details came into focus as we are working to move my dad out of his house into a senior living facility. My dad will be 82 this year and is still quite lucid mentally, though he has lots of physical/mobility challenges. As we've been clearing out his house, lots of memorabilia bits have been found, and it has generated new interest and recollection of stories from the past. My dad is an accomplished pianist, having earned a music degree and some post graduate work back in the day. He was my primary inspiration as a young child when he would play piano daily as I played with my toys and rode my rocking horse. He was mostly a jazz guy and had the Dave Brubeck Time Out repertoire committed to memory. Anyways, in 1960 my dad auditioned for the chance to perform with Liberace, who was doing a thing around the US whereby he would travel to state fairs and put on a big "Piano Pyramid" show where 50 pianists were playing grand pianos on staggered platforms, with Liberace at the top platform leading the whole thing. My dad was one of the 50 pianists in Kentucky to perform in the 1960 Kentucky State Fair with Liberace. As we were clearing some closets out, we found a signed Liberace print that had been rolled up in storage, and also have tracked down the local newspaper with a picture of my dad on the front page with Liberace. I found all of this to be very interesting and plan to have the signed print framed and put alongside the Kawai grand piano my dad has just passed along to me as part of the moving process. It would be really cool if there was a recording available. I attached a few pictures. That's my dad on the right side next to Liberace. That right there is a cool signature. Wow! 1 Quote https://www.theboywhowantedtorock.com http://www.weisersound.com https://www.facebook.com/weisersound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathOfInsects Posted February 18 Share Posted February 18 Very cool! 1 Quote Now out! "Mind the Gap," a 24-song album of new material. www.joshweinstein.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 15 hours ago, Dave Weiser said: That right there is a cool signature. Wow! No joke!!!! I bet he had that piano sketch down to muscle memory! I have nothing that cool...this is as close as it gets for me. My touring band from the '80s and '90s eventually became "almost famous enough" to sign autographs and we actually do an annual cancer benefit where our items are auctioned off to benefit the charity, so we are STILL signing posters, t-shirts, and guitars, etc. I realized about 30 years ago that I needed to up my signature game and so what you see here is about the best I can do. It's nowhere near as cool as Liberace! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberGene Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 I don’t know who Liberace is, maybe he’s been popular in the US only but that autograph is awesome, what a beautiful writing and that grand piano drawing! ❤️ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineandkeyz Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 That's some cool family history, Eric! Best wishes to your family and your father on his move. In keeping with the topic, the Liberace Foundation donated the use of Liberace's "Dancing Waters" piano to Styx for a recent run of shows at The Venetian Theater in Vegas: 1 Quote Live: Yamaha S70XS (#1); Roland Jupiter-80; Mackie 1202VLZ4: IEMs or Traynor K4 Home: Hammond SK Pro 73; Moog Minimoog Voyager Electric Blue; Yamaha S70XS (#2); Wurlitzer 200A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted May 3 Share Posted May 3 Hi, Eric. I happened upon your story about Liberace and your dad. I'm the historian for the Kentucky State Fair and I'd love to chat with you about this memory. If you're cool with that please email me at Stephanie.Seber@kyvenues.com. Thanks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Williams Posted Sunday at 02:26 AM Share Posted Sunday at 02:26 AM Eric, that's fantastic. I can only agree with the preceding superlatives. 1 Quote -Tom Williams {First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted Sunday at 07:09 PM Share Posted Sunday at 07:09 PM That's awesome Eric. 1 Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floyd Tatum Posted Monday at 12:26 AM Share Posted Monday at 12:26 AM Cool, Eric! Propers to you and your dad. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedKey Posted Monday at 01:18 AM Share Posted Monday at 01:18 AM Awesome story and the photo of your pop has a lot of resemblance to you! Miss my pop. He was a rock star too... One of Cash's sound guys. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyRude Posted Monday at 02:57 AM Share Posted Monday at 02:57 AM I missed this the first go around, cool stuff Eric! I gots to find a pic of the 50 piano pyramid 😁 EDIT: I couldn’t find the Liberace pyramid, but here’s another one 1 Quote Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands Tommy Rude Soundcloud Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted Monday at 04:15 PM Author Share Posted Monday at 04:15 PM Thank you for the kind words and interest in this story. It is very fascinating to have known most of my life that "my dad once played a show with Liberace," though most of these additional details have only come into focus this year. Since my early post in February when we were working on clearing his house and getting him moved to a senior living facility (mostly independent living), he has been in and out of the hospital several times with various health challenges. He's currently in a skilled nursing rehab and hoping he can get back to the place we just moved him in February. It's not easy watching your loved ones in declining health. My dad, being a long time resident of Kentucky, loves the Kentucky Derby. When I was a young kid, we visited Claiborne Farms and met Secretariat. There are pictures of this somewhere. To help bring him some joy this past weekend, I snuck some nice KY bourbon into his rehab place and we watched the KY Derby while sipping some bourbon on ice. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outkaster Posted Monday at 07:01 PM Share Posted Monday at 07:01 PM I watched my mom and dad decline. It's brutal. 1 Quote "Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello" noblevibes.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kpl1228 Posted Monday at 07:20 PM Share Posted Monday at 07:20 PM Now THAT'S an autograph! 1 Quote Roland RD-2000, Yamaha Motif XF7, Mojo 61, Invisible keyboard stand (!!!!!), 1939 Martin Handcraft Imperial trumpet "Everyone knows rock music attained perfection in 1974. It is a scientific fact." -- Homer Simpson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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