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Tales of The Tune Man
Roger Lee Hall, The Tune Man
For permission to reprint or quote any of the writing on this page for publication,
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There are three e-books on CD-ROM by The Tune Man which include some of his tales and songs:
"Dream World" -- Songs, Poems and Stories
"Following the Stars" -- Music and Memories of Hopalong Cassidy
"Free As The Breeze" -- Confessions of a Struggling Songwriter
Tale No. 1:
"I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry"-
Remembering My Dad and Elvis
It's hard to believe that this is the birthday of Elvis Presley once again.
He was born at 4:25 a.m. on 8 January 1935.
What is even harder to believe is a very special milestone in my own family history.
My dad, Russell, was born in Winchester, Kentucky one hundred years ago today.
So he shares the same birthday with Elvis. What a fortunate coincidence!
My dad died in 1974, just three years before Elvis.
1902
In this year, my dad was born, and the Texas oil company (Texaco) was founded and Theodore Roosevelt became the first American President to ride in an automobile. I mention these facts because dad was always proud of his cars and would keep them clean and bright. The same was true for Elvis with all those Cadillacs.
Dad spent most of his life working as a waiter in New York City and as a machinist in New Jersey.
What songs were popular when dad was born? Here are a few of them:
"Bill Bailey, Won't You Please Come Home?" (Hughie Cannon)
"In the Good Old Summertime" (George Evans-Ren Shields)
"Under the Bamboo Tree" (J. Rosamond Johnson-Bob Cole)
"In the Sweet Bye and Bye" (Harry von Tilzer-Vincent P. Bryan)
"The Entertainer" (Scott Joplin)
1952
Fifty years after dad was born, our family was split up and I didn't see him again for a few years. The family separation was especially hard on me. But I took some comfort remembering my dad listening to music on the radio and in the bars he went to.
Even though dad never was a big fan of Elvis, they did share one connection. Both grew up listening to country music, or "hillbilly music" as it was commonly termed at that time.
The best known hillbilly or country musicians of the 1940s and 1950s included: Roy Acuff, Eddy Arnold, Red Foley, Bill Monroe, Hank Snow, Ernest Tubb, and Hank Williams (my dad's favorite singer). Was Elvis aware of these musicians? You bet he was. He worked with Hank Snow in his early career before he became a superstar. Some of Elvis's songs reflect his interest in other kinds of music.
On the essential CD, The Sun Sessions, Peter Guralnick provides fascinating observations on the early songs Elvis recorded.
Here is what Guralnick writes about one of the most soulful early recordings by Elvis:
"Listen to 'Blue Moon,' the Rodgers and Hart ballad which Billy Eckstine recorded in 1948 in a satin-and-silk version with which Elvis must have been familiar (Eckstine was one of his favorite singers). What is he doing to this song? What is that eerie falsetto wail? The first time I heard this cut on Elvis's debut album in 1956 when I was 12 years old, I was outraged! I must have taken it as a betrayal of rock 'n' roll. Now I hear it somewhat differently: now it seems touching to me, a ghostly echo from the past, though whose past - Elvis' or mine - I'm not really sure."
Unlike Guralnick, I wasn't outraged when I first heard Elvis sing "Blue Moon." I liked the recording then and still like it today. That "eerie falsetto wail" (as Guralnick calls it) is probably unique in the Elvis recorded archive - a gutsy, no holds barred rendition of this great Rodgers & Hart ballad.
1993
When I premiered my new radio show "IN THE MOOD"on August 16, 1993, I played "Blue Moon" in memory of Elvis, who had died on that day in 1977. I also played "Poor Boy" from LOVE ME TENDER, because Elvis started out that way when he lived first in Tupelo and then later in Memphis. Note: This radio tribute is included on the CDR: Songs of Survival
And what about my dad's favorite singer, Hank Williams? Did Elvis record any of the Hank Williams songs? He sure did.
In the excellent RCA/Time-Life Music series, The Elvis Presley Collection, there are double discs to illustrate the broad range of Elvis's talent. On the country CD there are a few songs about my dad's home state: "Blue Moon of Kentucky" and "Kentucky Rain."
There's also two songs by Hank Williams. On the first CD is: "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" - from a live appearance in 1973. The other song is on the second CD and is one of the most popular Hank Williams songs: "Your Cheatin' Heart."
When Elvis introduces "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," he says:
"I'd like to sing a song that's probably the saddest song I've ever heard."
That song was a favorite of my dad. Another Williams song he liked was "Cold, Cold Heart."
Elvis was a singer I've long admired for his deep feelings for the music he recorded. I think he has been misrepresented in the media. I had the pleasure to work with the Cleveland disc jockey who introduced Elvis on national TV back in January of 1956. The first song sung by Elvis was "Shake, Rattle and Roll/Flip, Flop and Fly" and not "Heartbreak Hotel" as many have written.
Elvis is usually portrayed as just a swivel-hipped rocker or the overweight drugged-up lounge lizard.
He was actually a unique singer who could sing almost anything, at least in the early years before he was sanitized for the many Hollywood films he made.
I believe Elvis was best when he sang love ballads and gospel songs. He sang them with more sensitivity and depth of feeling. His recordings of "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art" are among the best by any pop singer I've heard. I've never been a huge fan of his more famous upbeat rockin' numbers, like "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock." But even his uptempo recordings are well done. He put all he had into his recordings.
So in memory of my dad's 100th birthday and for Elvis (who died twenty-five years ago), I'll say...
"I'm so lonesome I could cry" when I think about the sadness but also the joy they brought to my life.
January 8, 2002
For more information about Elvis in the 1950's, go to:
"There's A Man You've Seen"
Look! Hoppy and Me!
Howdy, pards!
It's time to spin a little yarn about meeting a famous cowboy film star...
Do you remember the days of cowboy film stars like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers? I enjoyed them both, as well as other Hollywood cowboys like Johnny Mack Brown, Hoot Gibson, and Tex Ritter.
But my favorite star was Hopalong Cassidy, as portrayed by that distinguished silver haired actor, William Boyd (1895-1972).
For millions of his young fans he was just called - "Hoppy." And I had the tremendous thrill of meeting him in person. The story of what happened after meeting him is a somewhat bizarre family mystery. The clues to solving it stretched from coast to coast and spanned over four decades.
The mystery tale began in...
1950
It seems Hoppy was on a personal appearance tour in New York City, including a stop at Macy's Department Store. My mother found out about it and asked if I wanted to meet him. Did I want to meet him? Does a kid like ice cream? Of course, I wanted to meet him! I was so excited I could hardly speak. Mother was very clever. She thought I might be picked for a photograph if I had on a Hoppy outfit. One warm summer day, I think it was in late June, I got dressed in my new Hoppy outfit and was ready to go before my mother was ready. That seldom happened becuase I hated to dress up for the modeling jobs I was doing in New York City at that time. Mother was excited about me possibly getting a modeling job out of the meeting with Hoppy. She thought that with a Hoppy outfit on I might be picked for a photo assignment. Well, she was right because they picked me out of the line of kids because I had on the Hoppy outfit. They were taking pictures for a national magazine. While I sat on Hoppy's lap, afraid to say anything to my hero, a woman put a yellow neckerchief around my neck and a black hat on me. I can remember Mother pestering this woman from the magazine about me being a professional model. Boy was I embarrassed! For me, it was such a thrill just to be there next to my cowboy hero. It all happened so fast that I didn't get to say much to him, sort of like meeting Santa Claus. I do remember he was very kind and patient with me and encouraged me to be a good boy. For him, I would sure try my best. Mother never heard from the magazine so she assumed they didn't use my photo.
Here's where the story gets very murky...
Over a month later, Mother ran into a friend of hers. Her friend showed her a copy of a magazine with Hoppy on the cover. And who was the young boy sitting on his lap? Who was it? Why it was little me who was on the Look magazine cover of August 29, 1950. Mother asked her friend if she could buy that magazine from her. Her friend refused. When mother checked the newstands, the magazine was already sold out. She was furious with her friend and said she never spoke to her again. I was told this story over and over again in later years. She kept telling me to look for that magazine. Since I was too young to remember, I asked her which magazine it was and she told it was Life magazine. So for many years I searched in vain for that issue and never found it.
1989
Then one day I found out why I couldn't find the Life magazine cover. I was looking for the wrong magazine!
I had purchased a copy of a nostalgia magazine called Memories. In the June/July issue of 1989 was a wonderful story about Hopalong Cassidy's debut on TV in 1949. While I was reading this article titled "William Boyd" Hoppy at Last," I turned a page and there it was - Hoppy and me on that Look magazine cover. It was the first time I had seen it since the photo shoot in 1950. Now I finally knew which magazine it was and could search for it.
But once again I couldn't find a copy.
Then I got some help from a Hoppy fan in...
1994
It was five years later. I got a phone call from someone I didn't know on the West Coast. His name was Mike Merryman and he told me that he had gotten a copy of Memories magazine and wondered how I felt to meet Hoppy. I told him the whole story and then mentioned I'm still looking for the Look magazine. He said he'd check around and let me know if he found one. The very next day - and the last day of the year - he called me to say he had found a nice clean copy for me. What great news! I was especially pleased since I had been feeling really depressed about my erratic music career. Mike had really made my day!
1995
Early the next year, I had a phone conversation with Laura Bates of the Hoppy Fan Club. She graciously invited me to be a guest at the 5th annual Hopalong Cassidy Festival, held on May 5 -7 in Cambridge, Ohio. That's the place where William Boyd grew up. He was born in Hendrysburg, Ohio on June 5, 1895. So, it was the 100th anniversary of his birth. I felt honored to be invited to tell my story at that festival. The other invited guests were mostly those who appeared with William Boyd in his movies, including Frank "Junior" Coghlan, a child actor from the silent movie days; and Pierce Lyden, who played the bad guy in Hopalong Cassidy movie westerns. But the true star of that festival was William Boyd's widow.
Grace Bradley Boyd still looked stunning after all those years. The first day of the festival, I gave her a copy of my new story: Look! Hoppy and Me!
When I spoke with her the next day, she told me she enjoyed reading my story and asked how my mother arranged for the magazine photo in . I told her it happened by chance that they picked me for that cover because I was wearing my own Hoppy outfit when I met him. She told me how much they traveled to different places meeting the huge crowds of Hoppy's young fans. She especially remembered the Macy's appearance where I had met her husband.
Grace also told me about her show business career. I was surprised to learn that she started out studying piano (like I did) and wanted to be a concert pianist. But instead, she got a job on Broadway as a dancer and worked as many as six exhausting shows a day. The she went to Hollywood. Between 1933 and 1943, she appeared in over 30 films. Among the films were: TOO MUCH HARMONY (1933) with Bing Crosby, and BIG BROADCAST OF 1938 with Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Martha Raye, and W.C. Fields. She married William Boyd in 1937 and gave up her acting to begin a second career with her husband portraying Hopalong Cassidy in movies and on television and radio. She accompanied him when he went on nationwide promotional tours meeting all those young Hoppy fans - like me.
At about the same time I got the Look magazine, I also bought a story set of 45 RPM records titled: "Hopalong Cassidy and the Singing Bandit." This set was released in 1950, the same year as the Look magazine, and included a catchy little song, with words by Alan Livingston (who later was head of Capitol Records and signed the Beatles to the label), and the music by well known arranger and band leader, Billy May, who later worked with Frank Sinatra and others. Here is the first part of this 1950 song:
There's a man you've seen,
On the television screen,
Who's the kind I'd like to be,
He can ride and shoot,
And is plenty smart to boot
That's Hopalong Cassidy!
Note: This song is included on the CD-R: Songs of Survival
Besides listening to that record, I can now point to the framed copy of that 1950 magazine hanging on my wall and say proudly -
"Look...there's Hoppy and me!"
May 2003
For more information, go to:
"My Buddy"
Memories of E.M.A. and OHEKA Castle
Note: In February of 1999, after nearly 45 years away from the castle, my wife and I drove to OHEKA to see where I had gone to school in the 1950s. I met Ted Owens, who was then the Friends of OHEKA President. He asked me to write my story but it was never printed in their newsletter.
Years later I wrote an expanded version of this tale with many photos and it is available in this e-book: "Dream World" - Songs, Poems and Stories
Here is an abridged version of this tale...
Introduction
The first questions you might ask is - what does "E.M.A." stand for and who was Otto Kahn?
The E.M.A. abbreviation stands for Eastern Military Academy, located in Cold Spring Hills, New York.
As far as Otto Kahn, I didn't know who he was until many years later.
But I was thrilled to go to EMA at his castle on Long Island for a few years in the 1950s.
Let me explain...
As a longtime film buff, I was pleased to discover several views of Otto Kahn's castle shown in the "News On The March" footage at the beginning of the Orson Welles classic, CITIZEN KANE. The film's story is supposedly based on the life of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.
But it could also apply to Otto Hermann Kahn (1867-1934), a wealthy financier who had a love of opera and, like Hearst, built his own castle.
I don't know if Kahn had a mistress like William Randolph Hearst, although there have been rumors about his eye for beautiful showgirls, and he did invite them to his Long Island castle where he lived the high life.
Kahn was known as "King of New York" in the 1920's, because of his major support of the Metropolitan Opera and other philanthropic activities. He also championed famous musicians like Enrico Caruso, George Gershwin, Paul Robeson, and Arturo Toscanini.
But I didn't know anything about his past work or even his name. The story we heard as EMA cadets was that the castle had been built by Aly Kahn, one of movie star Rita Hayworth's husbands. It was only many years later, after I did some research, that I learned about Otto Kahn and his castle. Seeing those quick stills of Kahn's castle in CITIZEN KANE, reminded me of how wonderful it was to actually live there for a few years.
E.M.A.
I attended Eastern Military Academy from 1952 to 1955. While there I learned discipline and also got a good education too.
For me, those were the best years of my youth. I loved being at that school.
When I arrived at E.M.A. in September of 1952, I was pleased to see they had a small number of students in each class and very good teachers. My favorite was Mr. Lewis Brody, who was a very enthusiastic teacher. He called me his "jolly one" because I smiled so much. That was mainly because I was glad to be there instead of at home with an unstable mother and her drunken lover.
Thanks to Mr. Brody and other teachers, I learned to improve myself. From the military training there, I learned discipline and leadership. I had lots of fun too. And most important to my later music career, I learned how to sing. It was there that I sang for the first time in the Lower School Glee Club. I was in the 6th grade. Our music director was Willard Young, and he also led the Senior Glee Club. We spent most of our time rehearsing for music programs during the school year and enjoyed it a great deal.
One of the songs I remember singing was "My Buddy"--a sentimental song that had been recorded by Bing Crosby. Some of the cadet glee club members made fun ot it but I liked the song.
We had many drills and parades. My favorite march was Bagley's "National Enblem" which made me smile every time I heard it. Of course that's the march with the joke line: "And the monkey wrapped his tail around the flag pole." I didn't mind the marching although sometimes the weather wasn't the best. At least we didn't march in the rain or snow like the regular US Army.
I also remember the commencement exercise in June, held under the beautiful double row of trees near the Water Gardens.
In his book, Raising a Fallen Treasure: The Otto H. Kahn House, Robert King criticized the military academy for having little use for the formal gardens. He claimed that the military school's main purpose was "to train boys into soldiers, and manicuring the magnificent gardens of Frederick Law Olmstead did little to facilitate those ends." That's not accurate. The school did try to keep the grounds neat and clean, but didn't have the money for landscaping and most of the once beautiful gardens were neglected and the fountains were never filled with water. Still, the row of trees used for the June commencement exercises was quite a lovely spot. The interior of Otto Kahn's massive castle was pretty much intact. Naturally changes had been made to accommodate the needs of the military academy.
One of the most extreme alterations was to transform the once ornate Ballroom, into a gymnasium with scoreboards hanging down and quilted floor mats stuffed into the huge fireplaces. I remember the room was in need of repair, with broken plaster and cracks on the ceiling. That didn't seem to atter much at the time because it was a room used for all school occasions. And the view through those glass doors was quite something. I almost won the all-school spelling bee there, with Mr. Bolchoz as moderator.
Thanks to my good grades, I was the only Lower School kid invited to attend an Upper School old-fashioned square dance. I even got to wear my western outfit, which put me in mind of my Hopalong Cassidy days. Other events held in the Ballroom included visiting speakers and variety shows. I was in one of them as a member of a minstrel show. With all these activities, it was a fun place to go to school. I didn't want to go home on vacations.
Going to school there was like living in a miraculous fantasy castle like at Disneyland in California--remember that was years before Disney World had been built in Florida. Sadly, after I left in September of 1955, I didn't see the school or my E.M.A. brothers again.
Yet I kept hoping someday to return there.
OHEKA Castle
I read in Robert King's book that after E.M.A. went bankrupt and closed down, the castle was vacant and almost completely destroyed by gangs of young vandals. It was badly burned throughout and every one of the many windows were broken.
But Kahn's magnificent castle named OHEKA (made up of the owner's full name: "O" = Otto/ "HE" = Hermann/"KA" = Kahn) refused to die. He had wisely built his castle to be fire protected.
Fortunately local developer Gary Melius purchased the castle in 1984 and proceeded to carefully restore it.
After spending millions on cleaning, rebuilding and restoration, much of the castle has been restored to its original elegance. I never thought I would see it again. Then I joined at the Friends of OHEKA.
After the Friends meeting, thanks to the kindness of Mr. Owens and Mr. Melius, I went up to see the second floor room where I had lived while at E.M.A. Even though the room was empty and still in need of repair, the fireplace and mantel were still there as I remembered them. How thrilled I was to see that room again! I took a photo to remember it because the next time I might see it the room would look much different.
I thought back to those student days when we used to listen on my little portable radio to such scary programs as "Inner Sanctum" and "Suspense." At that time there were about a dozen of us living in that one large room. It was divided into small cubicles, with two or three boys in each one. I didn't mind the crowded conditions at all. I can remember looking outside through the enormous glass doors in the room. What a view from there! I could look out the rear of the castle and see the private golf course with its well manicured fairways. During one especially harsh winter, I remember trying to walk through waist high snow on the golf course. It was the kind of foolish fun we did as young boys there.
Later on, I moved to a different room with my school pal Ed Steele, who played trombone in the school band. Believe it or not, we were asked to look after the younger kids. We were only in the 6th grade ourselves! We worked with the Housemother to keep the uniforms neat and the shoes shined. She was a rather plain looking woman but had grabbed the attention of one of the equally plain looking male teachers. I remember one particular incident.
One of those damaging hurricanes came roaring by in 1954. All the power went out at the castle. Since my mother wasn't able to come and get me, I had to stay there. Walking down the halls of OHEKA by canldelight was like being in one of those old Hollywood horror films. But I wasn't really scared because the castle was my safe home. Due to the lack of refigeration, we were given huge bowls of ice cream and other goodies to eat. During this power outage there was a party for all the teachers and staff. When the Housemother came back to her room I was sleeping just across the hallway. I happened to wake up and noticed that her male teacher friend went into the room with her. Later I heard some loud talking and then something hitting the floor. Apparently it was that male teacher! The door opened and he came rushing out holding his face. I guessed she had smacked him for putting the make on her. After he ran out, she came out dressed only in a flimsy see through slip. Boy, I was getting horny watching her! My heart was beating faster and faster. When she saw I was awake, she came over to my bed to comfort me and make go back to sleep. I was aroused by her sexy attire and felt tempted to grab her and kiss her. But then I realized her concern for my safety. I worked extra hard for her after that experience of seeing her half-dressed and me left horny but happy!
Because of our work with the Housemother, both Ed and me were given gold medals for "good conduct." I also received a silver medal for second highest academic standing in the entire Lower School (grades 1-6). I was very proud of those medals. But my mother was more interested in the politician who mispronounced my name at the commencement exercises. He called me: "Robert Hall" - probably thinking of the well known clothing store. In any case, my mother went on and on about the mispronounciation, instead of being pleased with my medals. It was quite a letdown for a shy young kid like me. The next year I was yanked out of EMA and went to public school, where I was very unhappy for quite awhile.
I didn't return to my fantasy castle until 45 years later.
Every time I hear Jo Stafford's "You Belong to Me," I think back on those scary years with "King George" the drunk who thought I "belonged" to him to use as a pet monkey to charm his easy women in the bars that he took me to as a teenager.
Note: "You Belong o Me" is included on the CDR: Songs of Survival
But I also remember those great years spent at OHEKA -- the second largest residence ever built in America with its ornate architecture and 126 rooms, which had been altered to suit the needs of the school.
Eastern Military Academy was my home away from home and my salvation.
I'll never forget living in Otto Kahn's magnificent castle.
Garden Party
On Thursday, June 10, 2004, the annual Garden Party was held by the Friends of OHEKA.
The event was given mainly to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Pam and Gary Melius's restoration of OHEKA Castle.
Friends President Ellen Schaffer announced that as a special guest, I was not only the featured singer who would perform a few Gershwin songs for the audience, but I had also been a former EMA cadet who had come back to his former home after 50 years.
After all, it was in 1954 that I had my first singing training in the Glee Club at Eastern Military Academy. As I looked around the grounds at beautifully restored OHEKA castle, I remembered how it used to look when I was attending EMA, especially the commencement exercises held outside in June.
In the OHEKA Garden Journal, I wrote a brief description of my happy experiences titled:
"Oh, How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning" - Memories of E.M.A. and OHEKA
To receive a free copy of this article, write to...
June 2004
Web links:
There is now an EMA Alumni Association website at:
Their motto is: "COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO UNIFICATION."
For information about Otto Kahn's magnificent castle, go to this extensive website:
For a list of the contents and to hear the title song, click on this link:
"Dream World"
Songs, Poems, and Stories
For a list of the contents, click on this link:
"Free As The Breeze"
Confessions of a Struggling Songwriter
Tune Man's Music
For a list of available music and publications written by The Tune Man,
click these links:
Tune Man Speaks
For a list of available music programs presented and performed by The Tune Man,
click on this link for
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100 Essential Songs (1861-1961)
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