[N.B. This month’s column is a continuation of my recalling halcyon days I enjoyed performing at the Yankee Silversmith Inn in Wallingford, CT, and being mentored by the fabulous banjoist, vocalist, and showman Bob Price, the “Banjo Crackerjack.” Part 1 is in the July 2022 issue]
My tenure at the historic Yankee Silversmith Inn (YS) had a modest start. Everyone agreed, due to my age and inexperience, that I’d play piano Thursday and Friday nights from 5-8 pm, whereupon Jan Fitzpatrick and Bob Price would take over for the night-time crowd. During the times Jan was undergoing lung-cancer treatment (while continuing to raise her five kids!), I’d sit in for her, keeping her seat warm and safe for her return.
I started at age 14 in 1981; I was entertaining the early evening 40 to 70-year-old patrons eager to belt out music from the 1920s-1940s. I stumbled through my sets and gratefully recall everyone being so patient and kind to me. From the start, Banjo Bob came in to share the early slot with me; that’s where my real training took place. He was a garrulous master of story and song; he knew everyone by name; he knew what their favorite songs were; he had a quick wit and a glib tongue: a real raconteur. I was on top of the world, earning the princely sum of ten dollars an hour (just a nickel under triple the then-hourly minimum wage) plus tips. While my peers were inquiring
