Lalla

By Stu Stevens

Lalla Bond was a wild, untamed vagabond of a man who lived in the mining village of Annesley in Nottinghamshire. He was a stoutly, independent spirit whose lifestyle was total nonconformity. Lallas bizarre lifestyle surprisingly included literature and music. Willie Pearson, a child of eight or so was almost a miniature edition of Lalla, a younger scarecrow.

Based on segments of his own life from childhood until young manhood, our author Wilfrid A. Pearce (a.k.a. Stu Stevens) shares this story in his heart-warming memoir, Lalla. Pearce relates how Lalla became a father figure to young Willie, and despite the age difference, they developed a lasting friendship. Lalla proved to be the most influential educational benefactor in Willies rearing. An education instilled through word and mirrored deed; showing the importance of setting goals for himself as a man. After evaluating and using those goals in developing a tailored lifestyle, Willie would find a productive lifestyle suitable to feeding and fulfilling the needs of his own heart and spirit.

A true rendering of two lives seemingly cut from the same mold, Lalla narrates how, with Lallas guidance and influence, Willie found ways to make changes to the impositions life had forced on him. Lalla tells a story filled with both joy and the sadness as these two conflicting independent spirits meet and form a life-long father-son-like bond of love and friendship of the greatest respect.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781491759257

Stu Stevens

Stu Stevens became one of the world’s greatest baritone singers and a three-time recipient of the British Country Music Association Male Vocal of Year and 2014 “BCMA Hall of Fame” Inductee. He is a prolific songwriter who enjoys working his own farms and recording music in his studio.

Book preview

LALLA

A CHARMING STORY INSPIRED BY THE

CHARACTER OF MY BEST FRIEND

Copyright © 2015 Stu Stevens.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5924-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5926-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4917-5925-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015901319

iUniverse rev. date: 02/25/2015

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Chapter 1: Like Calls Unto Like

Chapter 2: At the River

Chapter 3: Willie Is Fostered

Chapter 4: The Gypsy Returns

Chapter 5: Willie Makes a Record

Chapter 6: RIP

Chapter 7: Getting On with It

About the Author

Photo Gallery

Stu Stevens’ Discography

In loving memory of my little boy genius,

Stephen Christopher Pearce

1965–1984

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Stephen on tour with dad Stu in Los Angeles

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Preface

Even though this story is based on true-life characters and emotions, some portions have been embellished to set up scenes for screen or stage transition and adaptation. The story was originally written in manuscript format. Rather than written from the first-person point of view, it is presented from a third-person perspective.

To illustrate this, think about the composition being from a person who is looking back on a time in his life as if he were in a déjà vu state. Scenes and events are described as one man watches his life play out before him again from a distance, rather than being a participant in the scene himself.

Writing the story in third person enabled the author to better describe it from the viewpoint of what an audience would be viewing in a movie or stage play. Copies of the original manuscript have been presented to major movie studios in Los Angeles, California, and are being held for potential future production.

A.W. Blake/BIBB Promotional

Acknowledgments

With heartfelt appreciation, I would like to recognize and thank those who contributed toward the development of this publication. First and foremost, my love and gratitude goes to my wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Katie, who stood by me and gave me encouragement and loving support in seeing this project to its finish. To Lindsey Tate Griffin in central Alabama of the United States, I extend my gratitude and congratulations for creating and bringing life to the captivating cover illustration for Lalla.

I wish to express a very special thank-you to radio and television host (owner of Hotdisc) and longtime friend, Stuart Cameron of the United Kingdom. Without the contribution of his painstaking time and in-depth research spent in compilation of the history of my musical career, the bios and discography for this book would not have been available.

And to my managing representative and dear friend, Anne Walker Blake in Alabama, I cannot thank enough for believing in my work. As collaborator, coordinator, contributor, presenter, promotional sponsor, and my personal liaison, her tireless efforts and hard work put forth on my behalf have made it possible for me to see the fruition of this book.

Stu Stevens, 2014

Foreword

The year 1982 saw a forty-six-year-old Stu Stevens at the height of a phenomenal career as one of the world’s greatest baritones of alternative music genres. He was taking the time to reflect over the path that led him through numerous countries and concert tours to becoming a three-time recipient of the British Country Music Association (BCMA) Male Vocal of the Year Award.

One name and one face stood before him in memory. Though there were some impressive memories of world-renowned VIPs that presented his awards to him—actor/singer/songwriter Tex Ritter and his wife, Dorothy, at Wembley Country Music Festival/UK in 1970 (under Stu’s then singing name Willard Pearce), actor John Wayne at the Country Music Association (CMA) headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee in 1973, and actor/former governor of California and future president Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California in 1980—that one name and one face that came to heart and mind was virtually unknown outside his home realm. It was his oldest and dearest friend, known as Lalla.

Though already deceased, Lalla still lived in heart and soul as a vivid presence in the life of the author. Stevens was born with a roaming gypsy-like love for a life of his own making. Couple that unrestrained desire to roam free with the curiosity of an eight-year-old boy called Willie, one would likely