I was, first, a performer, then, by a quirk of fate, I became a songwriter.
It happened when I quit my job at the New York Stock Exchange in the fall of 1960. Sitting around at home, getting up late, my parents were getting concerned that I would fall into the trap of “unemployment” and would continue to be a detriment toboth, myself and to my family.
Most parents in those days would have said, either find work or get out of the house!
My folks were not those type of people.
After a month of being lazy, my mother remembered that since I played the guitar and piano and was a surprise 2nd place winner at Irvington High School’s, “Fun for Funds” night plus I had played a few gigs with a small band at local dances, maybe that it was music which might be the right direction for my future.
I told my parents the Stock Exchange job, as a page, wasn’t going to be possible for me, since I couldn’t afford to go to school or take a special course in order to obtain a Federal SEC License to sell stocks. bonds or commodities. It was not a plausible or practical direction for me.
My mother remembered that I had taken dancing lessons as a young child at a dance school in Newark, New Jersey! It was only a half hour drive from our house in Irvington. She made a call and asked June, the owner, if my musical talent was something which she or her husband would be interested in helping me, along.
June Stirling, the teacher at that school and her husband, Don, who was a singing teacher. She replied, of course. I am sure that Don would like to hear your son perform and play.
Since the school was opened on Saturdays and usually my dad didn’t work that day, he drove me to the Newark School location.
I auditioned for Don and since he had a piece of recording equipment there, he recorded my audio performance. He then told me that he had an idea as to who might be the right person for me to see.
Sure enough, he didn’t tell me who but it turned out that she was a superstar who lived in Bloomfield, New Jersey and he would arrange for me to audition for her in that very next week!.
Well, it was the following Saturday in the fall of 1960 that Don picked me up and we drove to a middle class quite Bi-Level home where we parked and walked down a driveway and rang a side entrance doorbell. The greeting came from a short stocky man who was no taller than 5 feet. Being a stevedore and dock-worker, he invited us in to his finished basement.
I was prepared for my audition and I played and sang, “Be Bop a Lula”, a song originally recorded by Gene Vincent.
He listened intently and after I finished singing he commented that I sounded like Elvis Presley. Actually, Gene Vincent was a star prior to Presley and some folks say that Elvis stole his own sound from Gene Vincent, not the other way around.
Sadly, I was sure that this was the end of a musical career for me. Mr. Franconero (I found out his name, a bit later) gave Don a business card of Al Greiner, a vocal teacher who shared a small office in New York City.
It was suggested that after a year of lessons, I might be ready for a career in the music business. No mention was made of the fact that I had no manager or agent, which might have been something which might have been a subject of that very conversation.
Don had mentioned to me that he would only ask that I write songs with him in turn for his helping me to start a career in music. Although, I told him that I never wrote a song in my life, he assured me that if I played musical instruments by ear, I had the ability to compose music.
Well, sure enough, as it happened, that day became the beginning of my career. The Queen of popular music, Connie Francis (Franconero) happened to be home that day and heard us walking back down the driveway, to Don’s car. She opened her window and yelled, “Don!” Don Stirling .. is that YOU???
She then asked what was his reason for coming to her house. It seemed her Dad never told her of my audition. With her head in curlers, no make up .. and looking like an ordinary young lady, I couldn’t believe that I had seen the most popular female artist at that time.
She asked us to come back in and wait for her to come downstairs. We waited about ten minutes and sure, enough, the Queen made her appearance. WHAT LUCK .. of all the days for her to be at home. Another five or ten minutes later, I am sure she would never have known we were ever there. Being at the right place at the right time was the key to my future successes.
I played and sang the exact same song the exact same way and when I was finished, she asked her father, “What did you tell this young man?” … He replied, “He sounds like Elvis … nobody will buy someone who is a sound-alike!”
Connie replied, this young man has what is called, “Street Talent”! Lessons will only hurt the raw talent he already has. Thank GOD for Connie Francis. She asked me if I had signed any contract with a record company. I answered “No” .. she asked me if I had a manager or agent … I answered “No” again. She asked me if I wrote songs, I answered, “Ok!” (Not wanted to lie, I agreed to write songs for anyone she asked).
There it was … MY BREAK! The right time and right place was HERE …. Thank God for my mom and dad, thank God for Don & June Stirling and most of all, THANK GOD FOR CONNIE FRANCIS!
This is part one of two separate experiences which proved to be the beginning of a twenty one year musical career.
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