He was right about country music. He used to listen to this disc jockey, Jerry Brenner in New York, who would play country music once a week.
I just remembered songs my grandmother taught me, and songs that I learned for the recordings. But, then I learned to speak Italian. When I was there, I hired a professor who stayed with me 24 hours a day. She wouldn't let me speak a word of English.
I was never encouraged to do it and I played the accordion, which I hated. I wish I had taken piano because I definitely would have written more songs of my own, but I didn't.
I would lay my voice down with the whole orchestra. Don't forget in '58 when "Who's Sorry Now?" was a hit, there wasn't even stereo until the end of the year. So, when you left that studio, you had to have a perfect mix.
My father said "Look, dummy," he had this great, but very elusive charm, "You picked out 18 duds. Let me pick one song."
There are some cities that I did take time out to study, 'cause I love history and one of them was Boston, and of course Rome and all of those places like that. But, in Syracuse or Rochester, or any of those places, no.
There wasn't much around. After the shows, we would go to an Italian restaurant that a friend of ours owned and so I didn't get a chance to see much. Actually, that holds true of most places I've been.
I go now before the milk of Human kindness goes sour for me.
You can share a link to this page with your friend!