Almost Famous

By Lou Gomez

A memoir of a life in music spanning 65 years as a professional singer, drummer, front man, Lou Gomez. 

"I've had the pleasure of performing or just rubbing elbows with the superstars of yesterday and today, as well as a successful recording career."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paradiddle Press
• Release date: Jan 10, 2024
• ISBN: 9798869060693

Book preview

Almost Famous

Lou Gomez

Copyright © 2024 Lou Gomez

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Paradiddle Press—Sayreville, NJ

ISBN: 979-8-218-33786-5

eBook ISBN: 979-8869060693

Title: Almost Famous

Author: Lou Gomez

Digital distribution | 2024

Paperback | 2024

Dedication

To Mom and Dad who taught and encouraged all of us to hear the gift of music in our lives. To the friends who became family, especially those who left us too soon. To the countless talented musicians, with whom I have had the immense pleasure of sharing the stages of my life. To my sons who, well, had a musician for a dad. To Almighty God that has held my hand and safely delivered me through my journey. And to all of those who read this book for giving my words and stories lasting meaning.

Contents

Almost Famous

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

The Chatterbox

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-eight

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Chapter One

Baseball and Ruffles

I

guess my interest in Baseball was piqued by the lack of opportunity to learn, the proper way to play the game. Louis put the stick down, run upstairs and put on the ruffles I made for you, Dora wants to hear you sing. So here was the scene, I am playing stickball with my neighborhood boys in front of the eight-family tenement building we called home. The front stoop was alive with a group of women, entertaining themselves with small talk about food, recipes and consumption thereof, judging by the size of Dora (the owner's wife) eating was a main topic. Suddenly, my mom volunteers my services to Entertain the Troops. Mom, not now I’m playing stickball.

Louis, get upstairs, put the ruffles on and get right back down here. The girls want to hear you sing like ‘Johnny Ray.’

Johnny Ray was a singer with a few big hits in the Fifties. He was partially hearing impaired and for that reason he over-compensated in his delivery, and that made him popular with the ladies, which was somewhat ironic because his career came tumbling down when he was later found to be homosexual. Being Gay back then was a major taboo. Nonetheless, I was summoned to impress the Landlords, wife, and the lunch bunch with a serenade of Johnny’s big hit, Cry.

The ruffles, which my mom made from multicolored pieces of cloth, were sewn on to strips of elastic which were then pulled over each arm. They were originally created for me to wear for my second number which was a cute little Latin ditty called Cuban Pete.

The lyrics as I remember them go something like this, My name is Cuban Pete I’m the king of the rhumba beat and when I play the maracas, the girls go boom shika boom, boom shika boom.

Well, there I am, seven years old, singing and shaking my ruffles, being looked upon by my neighborhood stickball buddies with annoyed astonishment, waiting to resume the game. Embarrassed would be putting it mildly. However, truth be told, looking back to wherever the road would eventually lead, I must believe that was the start of my adventures in music and obviously the end of a career in baseball.

Chapter Two

Mom & Dad

M

y dad was a drummer, I mean a real drummer, a card bearing member of The Musicians Union Local # 502. My dad of the same name Louis, was an ex-Navy man who shortly after serving his country, married my mom Roseann; a marriage that resulted in four offspring, three boys and a girl, me being the oldest and brothers Richard, Donald and sister Donna Marie. All possessing talents. My Mom could sing, singing in numerous choirs and some operettic venues, as well as a women’s Glee Club called, The Sweet Adelines. Christmas Eve, as the family gathered to celebrate, would be incomplete unless mom and I finished the festivities with our duet of Oh Holy Night. Speaking about that song brings me back to my Grammar School days. Every year the school choir, which I belonged to, would have tryouts to find the right student to sing Oh Holy Night in the school's Christmas play. It was the thrill of my young life to have been chosen in my Senior year. Mmm? Come to think of it, every singer chosen year after year was in their Senior year. Oh well, it was still a thrill and a great memory.

Looking back, I remember the first day I went to try out for the school orchestra (still in grammar school) the teacher in charge Mr. Amato was happy to have me involved and immediately handed me a violin. Happy to be accepted, I promptly ran home to tell my dad the good news. Hey dad I am in the school orchestra.

His reply was, That’s great son, what’s that?

That’s my new instrument, the violin.

He looks at the violin and says, Did you tell your teacher you play the drums?

No, I was just happy to be in the group.

That’s great, but do you want to be a violinist?

I reply, "Well, no,