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It was the fall/winter of 1985 when I went off to Arm Basic Combat Training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. When all was said and done, my parents picked me up after graduation and we proceeded to drive back to Pennsylvania. On the way, we stopped off to visit an Aunt and Uncle in Bedford, PA. My uncle handed me a pair of Mike Balter 5A drumsticks. He pointed at the signature in magic marker on one of the sticks. It was Buddy's autograph on the stick!!
The story as told to me was that Buddy and his band were on the PA Turnpike when his equipment truck had a breakdown (blew a tire, I believe). My uncle was a PA State Trooper at the time and he was the officer that happened to see the vehicles on the side of the road. When he was told it was Buddy Rich in the bus, he immediately asked for a pair of sticks for his nephew. Buddy told him that his sticks were packed in the truck and that all he had was this pair of sticks he'd been, "beating on my shoe with in the bus." So he signed them with a magic marker and headed on down the road. I thought graduating basic training was the greatest day of my life... then I got those sticks! I saw Buddy one time in concert in Altoona, PA in 1979. I was 13 years old and I can still remember it like it was yesterday. I still have those sticks after 18 years in the Army, and 9 different duty stations. I've been waiting too long to share that story.
~ Randy Servello
The memory of seeing Buddy Rich and his orchestra for the first time is a terrifically vivid one for me. My father, a jazz lover from way, way back (the 30's) exposed me to the finest in the world of jazz from at a very young age. The first big band I saw was Woody Herman and His Thundering Heard. The next was Buddy and his orchestra, at that was a turning point in my life for certain! The concert was at Toronto's Seneca College, and I believe that I was about nine years old, so back in 1975 or so.
My dad, bless his heart, always wanted to have the best seats if you were to
be witnessing the best in their craft, so we sat front row center. At Seneca
College's concert hall, this put you on the floor with the band. When Buddy stated
to play with his fantastic orchestra, my father quotes me as turning to him and
asking "Dad? How did one man get so many talented musicians in one place at one
time and make this music?" My pops new I was bitten even harder by the jazz bug
than I had been previously. My dad's answer was a huge smile. I continued to
be enraptured by how Buddy made those drums sing, man! I was truly born again
musically somewhere deep inside. I decided then and there that this was to be
my calling in life - to be a jazz drummer as good as Mister Rich!
During Buddy's intermissions, he would have a Q&A with the audience. I put my hand up and said "I just decided now that I want to be a drummer like you. How do I do that?" He responded by saying "C'mere" and meeting me half way on the floor, saying "Practice, man. You have to want it, and this is where it starts - Here.." he said while handing me a brand new drum stick "Keep this, and next time I see you, I'll give you another one." This put any old coke commercial/jersey exchange thing to shame by leaps and bounds! I took the stick from my new hero, and returned to my seat. My dad and I were ecstatic throughout the rest of the show.
Needless to say, it was all about that show for months for me. The first album I purchased with my own money was "The Drum Battle - Gene Krupa/ Buddy Rich at JATP". I couldn't get enough of it! My parents have always supported the creative endeavors of my sister and myself, and I began taking drum lessons.
The following year, Buddy was at Seneca College again, and again, we purchased the same seats. When the intermission hit, the Q&A began, but it began a bit differently this time. Buddy said to me "C'mere. I have something for you." I couldn't believe that he remembered, let alone followed through on his promise from a year before. "This one" he explained while handing the second stick to me "is slightly used, so don't play with it. Just keep it. Are you practicing?" I shyly replied with a yes, and went back to my seat.
As it goes, each year that Buddy and his orchestra were anywhere in the vicinity of my dad and I, we'd attend. I didn't follow through with my drumming, but I became a jazz enthusiast unlike any 9 or 10 year old boy my neighborhood had ever known. In the era of "KISS" and "Black Sabbath" I was introducing my pals to Buddy and Miles and Coltrane and Bird and Maynard Ferguson.
The last time we witnessed Buddy and his band was when I was maybe 15 or 16 years
old at the Center in the Square in Kitchener, Ontario - my then home town. Afterwards,
my father and I managed to get ourselves backstage to the load-out area. The
band was beginning to board the bus. I saw Buddy and called out "Mr. Rich!" to
him. He stopped and I approached him, shook his hand and explained the many times
that I had witnessed him in concert. He smiled and said to me "Just wait here.
I remember you" and disappeared onto the bus. I waited for a few moments, and
he came out with a poster in his hand that he and the rest of the band had signed
for me. Some of the autographs on the poster, aside from Buddy's, are Steve Swanson,
Vinny Carter, Keith Bishop (bass) and more. I thanked him profusely for such
a treasure.
This was the last time we were to see Buddy in concert, as a few years later
he passed. As I write this letter to your fantastic web site, the poster and
drum sticks hang over my computer desk. I am not a drummer (sorry Buddy), but
I do promote jazz concerts and various other kinds of shows. Much of what I do
know pivots on that first encounter with Buddy Rich - thanks, man.you're muchly
missed by me!
~ T.Paul Ste. Marie
My dad took me to see Buddy for the first time in the early 1970's at the opening of Buddy's Place in NYC. My dad was a piano player from Brooklyn and knew Buddy growing up and his A&R man Sonny Lester. We sat across from Frank Sinatra and his crew. I was a rock drummer and thought Ginger Baker was the best there was. Before the show, I was introduced to Buddy and when my dad told him I was a drummer, he swept me away into the back and gave me a pair of sticks and a pad. He then said play. I was so nervous that I could hardly tap out anything. Buddy then grabbed the sticks and did something so incredible, I could hardly speak. He then said; don't come back until you can do that. Well I never got to come back but, I did end up with the sticks and I did get to meet Sinatra and his crew. It was a night I will never forget. PS, I still can't do the rudiment over 30 years later.
~ Steve Sunshine
I've read all the stories folks have submitted on Buddy and really have enjoyed them. I'll share mine. I used to check the Tonite Show listings to be sure and catch Buddy when he was on. My folks wanted me in bed by 10:00 PM so I had a little mono earpiece I plugged in the audio jack so they couldn't hear that I was still up. Maybe some day some of the musical performances from the Tonite Show will be released commercially, I hope,I hope. By watching the Tonite Show, I became a Buddy Rich fan. Had to see him live. I turned 18 and could now get into clubs. A couple of years went by and still no real chance of seeing Buddy yet. In 1976 I move back to Nashville (my home) and eventually got a job at Discount Records on Elliston Place, Music City's coolest record store and only a couple of doors down from the Exit/In, about the only club where jazz could be heard in Nashville. The guy who ran the club was Jack Denet (sp?) who had been a drummer in Vegas for! a long time. Jack was an older guy who took a real liking to me. He knew I played drums. Jack comes in the store one day to tell me he's booked Buddy for two nights doing two sets each night. He says to make sure my schedule had me off for both nights because I was his guest for both. And oh yeah... wanna meet Buddy? I know I didn't hear anything else for about an hour. Finally, it was time for me to experience Buddy for the first time. Jack had a table reserved for me about 6 feet from Buddy's left. He comes out, settles in his chair and looks right at me and smiled. Amazingly enough, I didn't pass out. He taps out a rhythm and the band starts up. I don't really have to tell BR fans how powerful a big band can be. I remember a lot of the band scrambling for the correct chart each time Buddy tapped out his rhythm at the beginning of the song, everybody but Steve Marcus. Steve was so cool. He knew this stuff and occasionally he calmly flipped through his ! book to check something . From where I was sitting I could see Buddy's hands and feet. No real way to describe that is there? After the show, Jack takes me to meet Buddy. I had my BR Big Band Machine LP with me for an autograph. Jack introduces me and Buddy says, "you a friend of Jack's?" Yes I am, I reply. He goes " I'll try not to hold it against you." They had known each other for a good while. There was much laughter and we talk and to be honest, I can not remember what I said. I remember he talked to me like he had known me forever and treated me like an adult, not the wide eyed kid I was. I told him I worked at the record store a couple of doors down and if they needed some new tunes for the bus I'd give him my employee discount. Buddy says " really?" Sure I say. Next day- toward the end of my shift around 4:00, Buddy and a couple of the band walk in and Buddy comes over, calls me by name and says hello. Wow! I am silently freaking. My manager and ! other staff members are looking at me with a quizical look- you know Buddy Rich? I take him upstairs to the tape section ( 8 tracks back then- yuk!). Buddy and group picked out about ten or so tapes, some jazz, some show tunes but most were rock. They got my discount and on the way out Buddy turns and says "gonna see you tonite?" Try keeping me out, I replied. He just girnned and waved good-bye. I had the same table that night and was again blown away. I was fortunate enough to see Buddy live ten times. When I am asked about the best live shows I've seen (I've seen a lot), I always start my reply with "I saw the Buddy Rich Big Band and every time, it was the best." Any other show I've seen could only be second to those ten shows . I miss Buddy but I still play the LP's, CD's and DVD's (all of us fans do I know) and sometimes I forget Buddy has passed away because the music is part of my being. So he is still with me. If you want to honor the mem! ory of Buddy Rich, turn your friends on to his music and share the thrill that was, is and will always be Buddy Rich. Buddy wasn't a god- he was a regular guy who was talented beyond words and shared himself with the world. For that, I am grateful. So thank you Jack Denet and thank you Buddy! I'm a Buddy Rich fan. I'm a lucky guy.
~ Kerry Stinson
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