MOM and DAD

My Dad recently celebrated his 90th birthday which got me to thinking that an official homage to my folks here is long overdue. I apologize ahead of time if this comes off a bit corny or self-serving. But without my parents I would not be a musician. 

Paul Entress was born in 1917, and from everything I've been told he always dreamed of a career in radio.  Radio was THE medium of the day and the coming decades were to be its Golden Age. Mystery dramas such as "The Whistler" and comedy the likes of Abbot and Costello kept listeners riveted to their radios. Count Basie, Benny Goodman and other legendary bands broadcast live weekly, super stations such as WLS championed country music on shows like The National Barn Dance, and heck, NBC even had a Symphony Orchestra led by none other than Igor Stravinsky. No, this was not ClearChannel, and my Dad, with a talent for mimicry and an eclectic love of music, was a perfect fit.

Young Paul in the Roaring 20's with Grandad

World War II put life on hold for many Americans, but when Paul returned home from the Pacific Theatre he began his radio career in earnest. He also met a beautiful young woman from Toronto named Aline and had the smarts to marry her. They settled in New England and began a family. 

  I wish I owned that mic! (and the suit too)

Paul did just about everything in radio--news broadcasts, interviews, all-night talk shows--you name it he did it. In the fifties the Golden Age of Radio was waning and "spinning records" became the norm. But Paul adjusted even though it was radio theatre he truly loved. When I was born in 1955 he was doing the all-night show on WBZ radio in Boston.

Mom kept things on course, on water and on land.

One of my earliest childhood recollections was Mom playing our Wurlitzer spinet piano. Though not a professional she had a true musical touch on the keys and played everything in a stride piano style. (Left hand alternates between the bass note and chord.) I took a few piano lessons but I guess it wasn't the right fit for me. It was Mom who noticed that I was always drawn to the drummers in parades, so at age nine she signed me up for school drum lessons--knowing full well the racket that would follow! 

  Prettier than Maybelle Carter!

One day while still a young boy I dragged down two strange instrument cases from the attic. One was a violin that my dad played in his younger days, and the other an old arch top guitar that my Mom played for a while in her twenties. My Dad could perfectly imitate the Jack Benny Theme song on violin--sour notes and all! We kids got a kick out of that. But it was the guitar I was drawn to, so after a while Mom showed me how to finger a C and a G chord. It was a revelation, and my career as a self-taught, closet guitarist began.  I loved drums but never in an exclusionary way. Friends often ask what ever happened to that old guitar. Sad to say but I beat it into submission!  But I learned a lot about music in the process--I just thank God it wasn't an old Gibson L-5. (It was an S.S.Stewart.) 

Dad in makeup as "Grandpap."

As I mentioned before, Dad was nothing if not versatile. For a few years he had a country music show on WTXL where he would not only play himself, but a myriad of other characters including "Grandpap" and "Jasper the Squirrel." Most folks never realized that it was just Paul by himself sitting behind a microphone. When I was twelve he brought home a Hank Williams record singing its praises. Dad preferred opera, big band jazz, and the classics, but he also grasped the genius and soul of folks like Hank Williams. I was truly hooked. Of course I wasn't always open to a father's suggestions. During the late 60's he managed WKND in Hartford, a station that featured the "Sweet Soul Sound." Get it? KND? (candy!) One day Dad asked me if I wanted to go down to the station with him and meet James Brown. I wasn't interested--guess I was too into my Monkees records at the time. Oh the shame. 

I still marvel at how supportive my Mom and Dad were, and are, of my musicial dreams. Not once did they question it as a valid career choice or ask "Can you make money doing that?" (Others have!) They always want to hear about the latest gigs and recordings and at this stage of my career I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to still share my life with them. 

So here's to you Mom and Dad--the best parents a musician could have!!.....Love, Lorne