I Used To Play Cello

     I was going through a pile of old clothes today and came across this shirt:

     This shirt is from Richards Middle School where I played cello in orchestra.  Originally I wanted to play viola and my sister wanted to play bass, but my parents could only afford one instrument.  We met in the middle and picked the cello.

     I don't remember being very good at it, but I did have fun.  We played things like the theme from The Muppet Show and Forest Gump, as well as Christmas songs and the perennial school classic: Pomp and Circumstance.  We also got to watch movies like the Sound of Music and Mr Holland's Opus and went on field trips to watch other orchestras perform.  And of course, we did concerts.  I don't remember how many we did, but probably between two and four a year.  

     After sixth grade we ditched the blue shirts and wore white button ups and black dress pants.  We stopped playing when we entered high school and I couldn't even begin to try and play anything now.  It was a great experience though, and I'm glad I got the chance to do it.

     Here's the sixth grade orchestra photo from my yearbook. I'm on the second to the back row, all the way to the right and my sister is directly in front of me. 

More Music in the Family

In a previous post, I wrote about the musical instruments on my ancestors, which are in the possession of my cousins. In the post, I mentioned that the family was related by marriage to two early country music recording artists.

One of those musicians was Christopher Allen Bouchillon. Chris was born in Oconee County, SC on 21 Aug 1893 and is credited with originating the "talking blues" style. He recorded a number of songs with his brothers as "The Bouchillon Trio" and as a solo artist. Chris married my Great-Great Aunt Ethel Waters, sometime after 1920. It was the second marriage for both of them.

I had no idea until I started researching Chris, but it turned out that Ethel's entire family was musical. Her father's and siblings sang and played musical instruments. The cousins who have their instruments say that the family played at barn dances. It's probably how Ethel and Chris met: mingling in local Atlanta musical circles.

In 1928, "Mr. and Mrs. Bouchillon" recorded a series of comedic talking songs.¹ You can hear a 30 second clip here. Ethel was about 25 years old when this album was recorded. It's very strange to hear a recording this old and knowing that you are listening to the voices of your ancestors!

It is interesting to note, however, that music was not Chris' main profession. In the 1930 census he's listed as a sewing machine salesman.

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Sources:

1. Tony Russell and Bob Pinson, Country Music Records: A Discography, 1921-1942 (Oxford University Press, 2004), 119-120.