My brother Ron was a person who loved music, listening and playing. From a very young age, he drummed. I mean he drummed on the coffee tables, the windows of the car, across my back, the walls, any place that would produce a beat, he found it.
He was given his first real set of drums when he was in grade school. We lived in Arizona at the time, and he was so excited to receive that sparkling red metallic kit. (Santa brought me a Kazoo. Most likely because he knew it was something I could handle.) And within a few weeks, Ron was playing in a real garage band with kids who were in high school. Of course, practice was always at OUR house.
Songs like Little Black Egg With the Little White Specks and Eve of Destruction, boomed from our living room. I'm sure the neighbors where quite pleased. After he played his first gig for a teenage girl's Sweet Sixteen birthday party, he was hooked. From that time on, no matter where we lived, he managed to find a band in need of a drummer. And I never stopped requesting, at least in those early years, my favorite drumming song Wipe Out. He would always groan, but he never failed to play it.
When you think of Ron, bands and his drums, the band Crosswind immediately comes to mind, at least around here, but I recall his very first band. No, not the one in AZ, but the one formed in Dayton, Ohio so many years ago.
The band consisted of two people: Ron who was 9; and me, I was 6. We had just returned from a family night out at the Ice Capades. My mom and dad, as well as my Aunt Alpha and Uncle Herman were gathered in the living room, a true captive audience, while Ron and I played our own rendition of the song HANG ON SLOOPY.
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
(yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
(yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
Pencils served as microphones as well as Ron's drumsticks, and the bottom of a small mental trashcan provided the beat. Each of us had donned our cherished Beatle wigs and we bopped and jumped and twisted, our wigs sliding first forward, and then backwards as we played and sang our little hearts out.
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
(yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
(yeah) (yeah) (yeah) (yeah)
Hang on sloopy, sloopy hang on
We had practiced for weeks for that small fifteen minutes of fame and the applause from our adoring fans was well worth it LOL
It's a very fond memory, and one I will always cherish.
A few facts about HANG ON SLOOPY:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3901
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=1878
"We never truly fade away as long as we are remembered."
My brother, Ron Noe, passed away on October 20, 2007 from cancer at the age of 52. In his short time here with us, he touched many lives in many different ways, some good, some not so good, but he touched them just the same. He was a brother, son, husband, father, uncle, cousin, and friend. I wanted a place where I and others could come and share how he touched their lives. Please join me in "Remembering Ron."
"We never truly fade away as long as we are remembered."
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- Sheri
- Author, reader, animal lover, artist, nature seeker, and admirer of trees
4 comments:
Funny you should mention Crosswind - that's my first memory of Ronnie, too! Somehow, I got a tape of their music when I was in high school. I don't remember where I got it - I think Ron mailed it to my dad. But I do remember some of the songs they played - a lot of good classic rock - and I listened to it over and over!
All I can remember of your brother was his car. It stood out. At least to me. Do you have any pictures of him then and recently. Nancy Portwood
Hi Nancy,
I've posted two photos for now, two different threads. I do have photos of Ron with the GTO you mentioned, but I'll have to scan them. I'll do that as soon as I have some free time.
Also, if anyone has any photos they wish to share and are like me, can't figure out how to insert them in the comments section, then please send them to me with your comments concerning the photo and memory and I'll post them to a new thread. Thanks!
Sheri,
I'm so sorry to hear about Ronnie. I last saw him at our reunion 3 years ago and he looked great. I still have a junior high ID card of his that he gave me when we were in JR. High. I'm not sure why he gave it to me but I have kept it all these years. I will miss seeing him even if it was every five years. Terry (Yeager) Keller
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