A Combination of Things

OneVoice - March 28, 2008

  Tom’s recent blog entry about the Grateful Dead song Dark Star reminded me of my father. Was my dad a Deadhead? Not at all - in fact, I’m not sure he ever heard a Grateful Dead song. So, why does this mention remind me of my dad?My father would have been 73 this March 28th had he not passed away suddenly in 2004. It was almost 30 years before his death that he and my mom took my two brothers (Carl and Mike) and me to see our first concert. I don’t think we even asked to go, so it was a big surprise when they took us to the now defunct New Haven Coliseum to see Three Dog Night.

At that time, Three Dog Night were my second favorite band, second only to The Beatles. While I knew their music from Top 40 radio stations, I didn’t become a huge fan until Joy to the World became a smash. I got their album Naturally (the one that included Joy to the World) as a gift, and, after that, I couldn’t get enough Three Dog Night.

The band was touring behind their Hard Labor album, the one that featured The Show Must Go On. I have a few memories of the show. The warm-up act was the Souther, Hillman and Furay Band, which, as I found out in later years, was quite an all-star band. The crowd wanted no part of them. Three Dog Night, which had been a seven-piece group up to that point, added a second keyboardist Skip Konte, who dressed like a wizard, and played that great calliope opening to The Show Must Go On. I remember younger girls sitting next to me, and waving their arms in front of my face to the music (although I can’t think of what song they could have been doing that to). Oh, yes, and I also remember the pungent smell of marijuana, and not really knowing what it was.

All in all, I remember it as my first concert, the first of many I’ve attended, probably not the best, but definitely the first, and I have to thank my folks for that experience.

So, what does this have to do with the Grateful Dead? It was probably 25 years later when I was taking my sons to the New Haven Coliseum to see a World Wrestling event. We had invited my dad and my brother Mike to join us. As we walked into the venue, my dad looked at Mike and me, and said, “Do you remember when I took you guys here to see the Grateful Dead?”

We laughed and told him that it wasn’t the Dead, but rather Three Dog Night. I’m not sure we convinced him, and I don’t know, if that point, whether he would have recognized a Three Dog Night song or not. It didn’t really matter then, and it doesn’t matter now.

Happy Birthday, Dad, and say “Hi” to Jerry Garcia for us.

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