Were still grieving the loss of Tom Magliozzi, who, with his brother, Ray, kept us informed, entertained, and in stitches, on many great years of Car Talk. Rays memorial show, yesterday, was both heartbreaking and hilarious. In the early 2000s, I called in to Car Talk to ask how best to make a Dodge van (of which I had owned several over many years) run forever. I actually got through and was given some great advice and enjoyed chatting with the guys - who, to my disappointment, didnt even make fun of me! Being musicians themselves, I think they were sympathetic and curious about my road-dog way of life and were very helpful. In 2003, I was in the studio recording a CD, Walkin Dreams, and was about to play a song which I hadnt quite completed. It was unlike anything I had ever done before, something like a humorous talking blues, full of made-up car parts and terms, about a doofus - me - who couldnt fix his own car, and who seemed incapable of finding a good, honest mechanic to do it for him. As he was about to give up on ever driving again, a friend suggested one last attempt: ask the guys on Car Talk. As we were recording the tracks, I was scrambling to finish the last verse, and came up against what seemed an insurmountable problem. I needed to either imitate - or find someone who could imitate - Click & Clacks voices (I certainly couldnt), or ask Click & Clack themselves to record a brief line or two to complete the last verse. The latter seemed extremely unlikely, especially since we needed the part within 2 days. I called and spoke with someone who said he would ask Tom and Ray. I figured that would be the last Id hear about it. But I was wrong, and, within the day, I got word that they were willing and eager to do the part! I told them that I needed a recording of about 12 seconds of the two of them calling the guy an idiot and telling him that his little sister could have fixed the car for 50 cents! Well before the deadline, they had recorded it, over-nighted the 12 seconds of derision, and we had grafted it into the song! Their willingness, generosity, and enthusiasm in granting this favor (at no charge) moved me then and left me satisfied with the understanding that these guys were all they seemed to be on the show and that they clearly took delight in their own work and in dealing with their fans. R.I.P Tom Magliozzi.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Nov 2014 19:20:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015