My father was a self-taught mandolin player.
He was one of the best string instrument players in our town.
He could not read music, but if he heard a tune a few times,
he could play it. When he was younger, he was a member of a
small country music band. They would play at local dances and
on a few occasions would play for the local radio station.
He often told us how he had auditioned and earned a position in
a band that featured Patsy Cline as their lead singer. He told
the family that after he was hired he never went back. Dad was a
very religious man. He stated that there was a lot of drinking and
cursing the day of his audition and he did not want to be around
that type of environment.Occasionally, Dad would get out his
mandolin and play for the family. We three children: Trisha, Monte and I,
George Jr., would often sing along. Songs such as the Tennessee Waltz,
Harbor Lights and around Christmas time, the well-known rendition of Silver
Bells. "Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the city" would
ring throughout the house. One of Dad's favorite hymns was "The Old Rugged Cross".
We learned the words to the hymn when we were very young, and would sing it with
Dad when he would play and sing. Another song that was often shared in our house
was a song that accompanied the Walt Disney series: Davey Crockett. Dad only had
to hear the song twice before he learned it well enough to play it. "Davey, Davey
Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" was a favorite song for the family. He knew
we enjoyed the song and the program and would often get out the mandolin after
the program was over. I could never get over how he could play the songs so well
after only hearing them a few times. I loved to sing, but I never learned how to
play the mandolin. This is something I regret to this day.