In 1949 I was 5 years old and had just begun to play the 78rpm records that were stored in the bottom of a Crosley console radio/record player. What I played then was the direct result of my father and mothers' musical taste and included a wide mixture of musical styles and genres. From blues to marches, from gospel to big band, from comedy to hillbilly the cabinet was full! My earliest music recollections are un-dated. Glimpses of me sitting on a bandstand in a local park while i watched someone playing a guitar and singing, rides in the family car and conducting our own sing-a-long, or playing "radio star"; We, my brothers, my sister and myself each imitating our favorite Grand Ole Opry Star.

We had just moved to Mt. Gilead, a small central Ohio rural community. The population was about 1900 people, with one high school, one junior high and one grade school. My mother began working at The Coffee Shop the next year. The Coffee Shop became another source of music for me! With counter top juke boxes and a little bit of Mom's tip-money, I could enjoy the latest in jukebox favorites.

At five or six years old there is no realization of the enormity of changes taking place, but the transition of popular music was beginning as my generation gained in number and gained purchase power. The changed was also fueled by development of technology, including improvements of television, recording techniques, electrified guitars, etc. With ground work laid in the late 40's, that crazy music was taking shape. The actual transition to Rock and Roll took about 6 years, 1950 to 1956. The most common views of The origin of the music are flawed. It didn't just pop out of a box, it grew like a field of wild flowers. Influences coming from all directions.

What I didn't know at 5 years old, but learned later, was that my heritage included a "musical" tradition as well. My father (Allen Callahan) had played in a Harmonica Quartet as a teen. He had local success in his community and continued to play and entertain at family gatherings as he got older. I remember how exciting it was to hear him say, get my harmonica! My mother (Juanita Plotner-Callahan) was second violin in her high school orchestra and was raised in a family that regularly had "Saturday night jam sessions". Her uncles, father, and cousins played various instruments (guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin) and had some larger success. The Tanner and Plotner families, both on my mothers side, were well known around the area for their music. Little Joe Tanner (my second cousin) had a major influence on my dreams as i watched and wondered in awe at his career and success in the music business as a musician, writer, artist, and producer. More about him later.

A memorable event took place in 1953. The details of the event are sketchy at best, but the feeling of the event is still fresh in my mind. In some way (and for some reason) we were on a trip thru the Smokey Mountains headed into North or South Carolina. The trip left an impression on me about the roots of the music, the origin! I could now visualize (albeit an incorrect vision) of these singers of hillbilly music and rockabilly. I also was exposed to my first recollection of close harmony ... Sandy and Ricky singing "You You You", over and over again as we drove through the mountains. Sandy, Rick and Ron are my brothers and sister.

In about 1954 I received a transistor radio as a gift. The little red radio was with me every night when I went to bed. And in the darkness, from my room, I was able to pick-up "skips" (radio signals skipping) from all over the eastern half of the united states. I didn't always have a great signal and usually listened as music faded in and out and static bolted through the tiny speaker. From New Orleans I heard Fats Domino, Little Richard, and Screamin Jay Hawkins for the first time. From St. Louis it was Chuck Berry, From Randy's Record Shop in Gallatin Tennessee I heard Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Ronnie Hawkins. Carl Perkins was "Boppin The Blues" in Memphis. Doo-wop groups like The Dell-Vikings, were presented on Detroit Stations. From Dick Biondi on WLS radio in Chicago were more new sounds. And of course there was a Cleveland Station that played "the new sound". Alan Freed, The godfather of R&R Disc Jockeys, did work in Cleveland, but I can't remember ever listening specifically to him .. although its certainly possible.

The essence of Black/White Radio became clear to me somewhere around 1954-55. You may have caught it as you read the above paragraph. The St. Louis station I heard was all "colored" music, as was New Orleans. The Gallatin Tennessee station was mostly white (playing a lot of white "cover" songs). WCOL in Columbus was "colored", WLW in Columbus/Cincinnati was "white". The Cleveland, Chicago and Detroit stations were beginning to transition and blend the color lines. I can't say this division of race was a fact but, it was a definite impression.

Throwing fuel on my burning desire, in 1956 Little Joe Tanner (2nd cousin) did the arrangement and played guitar on "A Rose And A Baby Ruth" (#6) by George Hamilton IV. This made my "day dreams" seem more possible. Then in 1957 Joe arranged and played lead guitar on Johnny Dee's recording of "Sittin In The Balcony" (#38). Little Joe was a part of a quartet called The Bluenotes, in 1959, (there have been several groups with this name) that recorded a song called "Never Never Land" that approached the top 40. The follow-up record "I Don't Know What It Is" was a Bullet on the Record Charts and landed them an appearance on American Bandstand! In the early 60's Little Joe became the A/R person for Monument Records in Nashville and began working with Roy Orbison among countless others. He wrote "Evergreen" for Roy, which is a part of his first Greatest Hits album and later was the arranger and musical conductor for "In Dreams" (#7) by Orbison.

Distractions happen! Over the course of time the human mind plays tricks. Which was first? Who was second? When did this or that happen? Near my entry into puberty A new family moved in, down the street. Sue was my age, tall, with dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, dusky skin, perfect smile. in a word she was beautiful! Without embarassing anyone, including me, I'll summarize my early love life like this. My first date was a disaster and I have always been sorry about my behavior. After taking Sue Dunbar to the school carnival, I wouldn't let her keep the cake we won .... I mean after all I paid for it! Such is the mind of a twelve year old boy! We never had a second date ... ever!

My parents gave me a tape recorder for Christmas when i was about 15 years old. With that machine I was able to begin to play with the idea of song writing, recording and performing. My whole life to that point seemed to be in some different direction from "normal". While I loved sports, I wasn't particularly good any sport. I was fascinated by "hot rods" and "custom cars", but wasn't mechanically inclined. I loved music, but wasn't a good enough student to be allowed (by my teachers) to join the High School Choir. Since I hadn't ever taken music lessons and had no interest in marching, The Marching Band wasn't an option. I was talented as an artist, but we didn't have art classes beyond grade school. My Mother always encouraged me to seek my artistic talents and helped me find ways to learn and practice my drawing and painting. To my Dad, I'm not sure all that artistic and music interest made any sense with regards to a real career. I suspect he understood, better than I, how the "odds" were stacked against me.

Through all of this time the choices made by my siblings, no doubt, had some influence on me as well. Ron (2 years older) didn't have a passion about music, but he did enjoy some variety. He bought a lot of modern jazz albums through Columbia Record Club and also had a few 'Homer & Jethro' albums. Rick (three years older) was most similar to me in musical taste with his roots firmly planted somewhere between Rock and Roll and Country .... Rockabilly! My sister, Sandy, loved the crooners! Eddie Fisher, The Crew Cuts, The Four Lads, Jo Stafford were among her favorites.

Life soon began to imitate music! February 3, 1959 was "The Day The Music Died". A small private plane took off from Clear Lake, Iowa bound for Fargo, N.D. In a cruel twist of fate, a young (relative unknown) Waylon Jennings gave up his seat on the plane so that his friend and music-mate Buddy would make the next show on time. Three rising stars of rock and roll never reached their destination. When the plane crashed, it claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. "Big Bopper" Richardson. Three most promising performers were gone. This event impacted everyone who loved "The Music". March of that same year Elvis joined the army. In December Chuck Berry was charged (and later convicted) for violation of The Mann Act (interstate transportation of a minor for prostitution). The following spring we were reminded again of our mortality. April 17, 1960: Eddie Cochran (Summertime Blues) was killed in a taxi crash in route to Heathrow airport in England. Gene Vincent (Be Bop-a-Lula) was critically injured in this same accident. I clearly remember mourning the losses.

My Junior Year of High School (1960-61), was another new start for me! I found myself in love with a beautiful girl and afraid to tell her! I was infact afraid I would be rejected by her. She was talented, smart, and way too good looking for me (or so I thought). By now I was doing better in school, and my musical interests were continuing to grow. I had learned about a "soft side" that I enjoyed. With a small rebuilt, single speaker record player beside my bed, late at night, I was listening to 101 Stings "Back-Beat Symphony", Roger Williams at The Piano, Andre Kostelanez "Lure of The Tropics". My loyalty to Rock & Roll hadn't changed, but my interest in music had grown! The breadth of my taste also included the Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, The New Christy Minstrels and Bob Dylan.

Its important to me to mention the names of a few people who impacted my life at that time. Jim Watson and Dorman Picklesiemer were young teachers at my high school. Both helped me find confidence and self-esteem. They each appreciated "me", my interest in music as well as my artistic talents. With their mentoring I began (albeit slowly) to gain a larger view of the world. I also had great friends! Joe Lancaster, John Wagner, Jerry Lee, Dick Casto, Terry VanHouten were some of my buddies. Trying not to embarrass anyone by pronouncing my love after all of these years, let me lump all of the important girls together. Lovers and others in my life were Sally, Suzi, Sherri, Sue, Pat, Linda, Candy, Nancy, Karen, Pam, and Mary. The truth is our town was so small I was friends with pretty much everyone, we all were!