It wasn’t till 1963 - when we moved to Woodland Hills, right next door to the Bartek family - that my true musical ambitions came to fruition. When I was 12 I started tinkering around with the neighborhood guitar. I joined the chorus, the glee club and the choir. At first I resigned myself to the idea that I would just sing instead of play an instrument. The walk to school proved to be torturous, so that was the end of that. Then I tried the accordion like my cousin Gino. But, in school that meant violin and the Christmas show, the Easter show - no fun. It was legendary.Īll this was crucial because as we moved forward I was compelled to play music. They all loved my grandparents and loved my grandma’s lasagna. Nudie played mandolin and many of the other pickers would come by and jam - and drink! We bounced back and forth between the two stores all day. Nudie had a daughter who was about my age so I had a playmate. Their clientele were the who’s who of country & western music, TV shows and Western movies. My grandaunt took me to all the auditions and dance and music lessons, and to the Nudie’s store, which provided plenty of entertainment. I hadn’t started school yet so I was taken care of by my grandaunt and grandmother. My parents took jobs at Lockheed Aircraft and my grandparents opened a 5 and 10 cent store next door to Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors. He was on “Lassie” and was in the movie “East of Eden” and bunch of others. My cousin Raymond was about 11 years old and was getting some starring roles. She had the boys’ days occupied with dance, music and acting lessons. Then to top it off, my grandaunt was a showbiz mom. I was only 3 but it made a tremendous impression on me. They had a band! In the living room was an organ, an electric guitar and a drum set. My grandaunt and uncle had two of their four kids still at home. They lived behind it and were happy to have us move in until we could find a place of our own. We had a place to stay as my grandfather’s brother Pete had an Italian deli and café in North Hollywood. I was only 2 or 3 but they couldn’t keep me away from it.Īt that point (1952) my parents and my grandparents all decided to move together to California. Then my dad was stationed in Norfolk, Va. My mom’s early influence on me was through art. Shortly thereafter, my dad, who was in the Navy, shipped off to Korea. We lived in North Andover with my maternal grandparents, the Giarrussos, until my folks got their own place. I was born June 9th, 1949 in Lawrence, Mass. Photo: Laura Calcaterra George: ‘We even learned songs - surf songs.
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