Here it is only three days until Christmas 09 and I am thinking about how awful it would be if there was no music in the world. To correct foot problems – order Birko balance, Birko sport, Birko motion and Blue heeled arch supports from our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com. Christmas is a wonderful time for great music, both religious and contemporary. When I was very young, living in Waverly, Iowa my folks Listened to “The Blue Skirt Waltz” and, of course, I listened to it also. My dad liked big band music and he was especially fond of Dixieland music and liked the “The Dukes of Dixie”. He liked Pete Fountain and Louis Armstrong and played their records. I saw a Louis Armstrong concert at Upper Iowa U. in Fayette, Ia back in the late 50’s. Danny Barcelona was his drummer and he was a terrific musician! I liked a lot the same music my folks liked but then in the late 50’s, when I was becoming a teenager, a new music came on the scene – Rock N Roll. Older boys at school were singing and saying “you ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog” words from one of Elvis Presley’s first hit songs. I wasn’t sure if I liked this new singer but I did like the beat of this new style of music. Rock N Roll music inspired me to take up playing the drums and I am still playing drums today. My folks were not too crazy about this new music and thought it was just a fad and it would soon fade away. It was not just the music that adults didn’t like – They did not like the hip and leg gyrations Elvis used when performing. Elvis appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and it was obvious Elvis was a hit with teens including me. Other act were soon to follow including Bill Haley and the Comets, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and my all time favorite – Buddy Holly. I started going to teenage dances that were held on Fridays at our local armory in Oelwein, Iowa put on by Dale Woods, owner of the local radio station. Dale played all the popular tunes of the time and gave away 6 packs of RC Cola at intermission. It seemed to me the same kids won 6 packs of RC every week. Dale announced at one dance that Buddy Holly was coming to our Oelwein armory to put on a show and boy was I excited! Buddy Holly’s music had its own unique sound and seemed ahead of other entertainers. The night of his show Buddy had his band play sedate and slow songs before his show. Buddy Holly took the stage and opened up with his big hit “Well that’ll be the Day”. The crowd erupted with screams and applause! It was the first Rock N Roll show I ever attended and I will never forget it . I was very sad when I found out Buddy Holly had been killed in a plane crash when leaving Clear Lake, Iowa in a blinding snow storm after a show at the Surf Ballroom. Dick Clark started up “American Bandstand”, a show that featured music and dancing and I watched it every day after school. Sometimes they would have popular groups and singers perform their latest hit by mouthing the words to the music. I went on to play drums full time in a country western band – Bobby Hankins and the Blue Boys. I was not too crazy about country music as I liked Rock music better but I liked the money I was making playing what I considered corny hillbilly music. I did like other kinds of music and attended a big band concert put on by Stan Kenton at Electra Park in Waterloo, Iowa. I liked the full sound and the drumming expertise it took to play this big band music. Today it seems music has gotten all mixed up together and sometimes its hard to tell if its blues, rock, pop, or country music. My wife and I have enjoyed going to Omaha to attend music shows put on by The Fifth Dimension, War, Eagles, Bob Dylan, Bog Seger, Neil Diamond, Rolling Stones, Robert Palmer, Paul McCartney, Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty, Brooks and Dunn, and Eric Clapton. Omaha built the Qwest Center in downtown Omaha and this new large arena brings a lot of the bigger acts to town. I hope you enjoy the sounds of music at Christmas time and throughout the coming years. Merry Christmas to all our customers and friends! Need a good price for brand name footwear? Check out our internet store www.lionfootweardirect.com where we offer Free Shipping for Rockport men’s Encounter, Rockport Dressport 2, Dansko men’s Cutter, Dansko shoes, Super Birki, Birkenstock chef shoes, Sandro Moscoloni, Nautilus 1621 safety shoes, and Ultimate Protein.

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