A very cool video of two stars of that show, Scarlet Rivera and Gene Lafond, making music with Bob Dylan’s boyhood friend Larry Kegan. Larry Kegan met young Robert Zimmerman at a Herzl Camp and the two became friends for life. A diving accident left Kegan a paraplegic when he was only 15 years old, and 10 years later he became a quadriplegic in a car accident. But everyone who crossed his path had the same thing to say about him, a rare individual who was an inspiration to all. Gene Lafond was also a friend of Larry Kegan’s in high school. When Zimmerman, now Dylan, began touring in earnest in the 70’s, a road show that has continued in various forms to this day, he invited his old friend Larry to join him several times a year. For about 15 years Geno came along to assist, and gained an inside look at the Dylan road show as it transitioned from the Rolling Thunder Revue to the beginnings of his Never Ending Tour. Dylan’s friendship with Larry was such that he dedicated his album Street Legal (one of my favorites) to this boyhood pal who once shared Bobs dream of making music for a living. Larry did become a performer. Lafond said: We used to sing together. Larry couldn’t scratch his nose but he’d go out and sing for people. In 1981, during Bob Dylans concert at the Holiday Star Music Theater in Merrillville, Ind., Dylan called up wheelchair-bound Larry Kegan for the encore and let him perform Chuck Berrys No Money Down while Dylan played the tenor saxophone. A snapshot of this moment in time has been shared on audio here. 32 years ago today Larry, Scarlet and Geno performed at the West Bank hotspot Cafe Extempore, a period of time captured in Cyn Collinss West Bank Boogie. The YouTube video embedded below captures their rehearsal for this event. If you dont have time for the entire segment, Larrys rendition of More to Give qualifies as a must listen. Larry and Bob Everyone who knew Larry Kegan was inspired by him. His last day on earth happened to be a major changepoint in history as he died on 9-11-2001, the day the Twin Towers fell. Dylans Love & Theft was released that day and I can imagine Larry looking forward to listening to his lifetime friends new recording. Instead, he became immersed in making phone calls from his home in Minnesota trying to affirm that all his friends were O.K. According to StreamingGoldies, he he died of a heart attack just hours later. At Larrys funeral service, the rabbi suggested that God called Larry to heaven to help disabled victims make their transition to eternity. He couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. In Memoriam of The CHAMPION OF ALL CAUSES...LARRY KEGAN (April 16th, 1942 - September 11th, 2001) Larry Kegan (Vocals) with Gene LaFond (Vocals and Guitar) and Scarlet Rivera (Violin) Coffeehouse Extempore / Minneapolis, Minnesota / April 19th, 1982 1. Forty Years (Gene LaFond) 2. More To Give (Larry Kegan) 3. More To Give (Larry Kegan) 4. All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down) (Hank Williams, Jr. 1981) 5. Aint Got The Blues (Larry Kegan / Gene LaFond) 6. Aint Got The Blues (Larry Kegan / Gene LaFond) 7. I Shall Be Released (Bob Dylan 1967) 8. Violin Lady (Gene LaFond) 9. Aint Got The Blues (Larry Kegan / Gene LaFond) 10. More Than A Memory (Gene LaFond) 11. Violin Lady (Gene LaFond) 12. North Country Blues (Bob Dylan 1964) youtu.be/EXH63oGLb8s
Posted on: Fri, 12 Sep 2014 15:11:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015