Dr. Greg's other Hobbies

Music

Well, see, my parents forced me to take piano lessons from about age five until I finally rebelled at around fourteen. "You'll thank us in the end," they said, and THEY WERE RIGHT (they usually were...)

Well, I ended up being the keyboard player in a high school garage band in Southern California in the early 60s that continued into my undergraduate days...1962-1967 roughly. We started playing surf music, but when the British Invasion happened we had to find a singer...that was the day the music died for me!

My first love has always been surf music...and there appears to be a worldwide renaissance of surf music. surfmusic.com is a good place to start, although there are many more. for some information and other links. Surf music (IMHO) is the only kind of music THAT HAS TO BE PLAYED LOUD!

Favorite Instrumental of ALL TIME

My favorite instrumental of all time, ironically, is not really surf music, although it has some of the characteristics:

The song is "Telstar" by the British (!) group the Tornados. Produced by the legendary (but eccentric) "Alchemist of Pop" Joe Meek, "Telstar" was magic. The grainy picture you see shows the "Tornados." The "organ" on Telstar was a cheap, two-octave keyboard, and the harp-like arpeggios were Meek's invention. These two components are definitely what make the song, although I especially like the percussion. (eldest son Paul is a percussionist). By the way, "Telstar" was the first single by a British group to make #1 on the US charts, and is the favorite song of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (and is the BIGGEST-SELLING instrumental of ALL TIME). So I'm in good company...

Favorite Vocal of ALL TIME

My favorite vocal of all time touched me deeply in April 1968. I was driving my dad's new 1968 GMC pickup (I still own and drive it) back home (Hemet, CA) from school (USC) in Los Angeles. It was Friday evening, and I was looking forward to Spring Break at Devil's Playground, halfway between Amboy and Baker, at the sand dunes with our Corvair dune buggy. About 20 miles from home, driving south by March AFB (now a museum) on US Hwy 395, looking over at the blue runway lights where the SAC bombers waited for their phone call from President Johnson, I heard the opening C-major arpeggio of Angel Baby by Rosie and the Originals (used to have a link to the song but it broke)...followed by

It's just like heaven, bein' here with you;

you're like an angel, too good to be true;

but after all, I love you, I do...

angel baby, my angel baby...

It was the amazing soprano of Rosie Hamlin at age 15...and she was beautiful (see picture at left below) "Angel Baby" made the charts in 1962, but it touched my heartstrings on that night in 1968.

I have written a short story about this drive, let me know if you want a copy.

I met Rosie 30 years later, on July 12, 1998; that's the picture on the right. She still has a beautiful voice, and is a very nice lady.

And Angel Baby still honestly brings a tear to my eye...