Interesting semi-famous people you've met by chance

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Story Part one:

Thirty-seven years ago, I had four small children that were all musically inclined. I wanted a piano in the house so each kid could take lessons. They didn't all want to play piano as my oldest son wanted to play guitar, drums, etc. I told them, regardless of which instrument you choose to play, you are going to take at least one year of piano lessons so you learn the basics of music and you can at least find "middle C" on the keyboard and understand how to read timing, scales, flats vs. sharps, etc. I said no matter what you play, you should be able to walk up to a keyboard and hit a note and know what it is. With all that said, I went on a hunt for a piano. I had saved up a thousand dollars and wanted a decent sounding piano that wasn't a spinet nor so old it would have to be tuned a couple of times a year

I found a grand piano for sale in the local Binghamton Newspaper. It was an older grand piano and the price was exactly one thousand dollars. So I called the guy, and he told me how to get to his house to check it out. The house was at the end of a road covered with trees and flowers for a yard that made the setting look very rural even though it was only a mile out of the city. It was a white stucco house that looked like something you'd find in Italy with a flat roof, extended porch slats with hanging plants and vines everywhere, a fountain, all over a flat rock floor. I rang the doorbell and the guy answered and was very flamboyant. He led me into a white marble floor living room where a couple of Angora cats wandered around checking me out as I went to see the piano. I felt like I was in a different country. He asked me to sit down and play something. Embarrassed, I played a few chords and a couple of rolls. He then said, "play a song" and I said that wasn't necessary. He asked me my favorite piano piece and I told him Rhapsody in Blue and he said, "play it for me, play it for me". Luckily, I had practiced that piece so many times that I wasn't half bad...or so I thought. After about a minute he said, "scootch over". He raised his hands above his head and brought them down on the keyboard with authority, and proceeded to hammer out the most beautiful rendition of Rhapsody in Blue I had ever heard in my life. My jaw dropped to the floor in amazement. When he finished, I said..."holy cow, you are really good". The man had a puzzled look on his face and said, "you have no idea who I am do you?". I said, "nope, but I know you're a good pianist". He then yelled to his wife in the kitchen, "honey, I found somebody else who doesn't know who I am". She replied, "oh honey, don't pick on the guy"...lol. Anyway, he proceeded to tell me who he was. He said, "first and foremost I am a conductor, but also a pianist...I am the conductor of the Binghamton Symphony Orchestra as well as the Miami Symphony Orchestra". He asked if I had ever attended a symphony in Binghamton and I told him "no, the only symphonies I've ever heard live were in Syracuse"...he said, "good, good, I am a guest conductor up there off and on". He then showed me awards on the wall where he had won multiple international competitions on piano for his rendition of Rhapsody in Blue...LOL

I didn't buy it because I didn't think a grand piano would fit well in our living room. I told him I had to think it over with my wife. Meanwhile, I found an upright grand in the paper for 800 bucks that was only 4 years old. I checked it out and it looked brand new and sounded great. I asked the lady why she was selling it so cheap and she said she paid 9,000 for it and she still owes 800 and she just wanted it out of the house because no one plays it and none of her kids wanted it and it was taking up space. I bought it. Still have it

When Covelli moved away from Binghamton, the Binghamton Mets put a concert grand piano in the infield and he played Rhapsody in Blue one last time for a sold out crowd who came mostly to see him off

https://queenelisabethcompetition.be/en/laureates/john-covelli/138/

https://www.pbs.org/video/arts-and-culture-shorts-john-covelli/

Part two - the next time I ran into John Covelli

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Part Two:

My oldest daughter was turning 25 and had gone through a rather brutal divorce. When she turned 18, I took her to Paris and then Israel for a week. Anyway, she was (and is) my gifted daughter in the music world...although my youngest son is a gifted guitarist and can still play piano. A friend of mine told me about an upcoming concert at the Binghamton Community Forum where there was going to be a celebration of Motown music performed by past members of some groups like the Temptations and The Four Tops, etc. She said she had sold out of tickets for the VIP lounge for the after party, but told me where it was going to be. So for my daughter's 25th birthday, I got two tickets to the show. She loved it and they were fantastic

We then went to the restaurant/bar where the post party was to be held, but most of the area was roped off for the VIP crowd. Every small table that wasn't in the VIP section already had people seated in them, and the only table left was a large table that could seat 10 people. That was awkward, but my daughter and I sat down there anyway and ordered a couple of drinks. Twenty minutes later that group of singers came in and the crowd clapped. They were invited into the VIP section where they shook hands and thanked the people there. As they got through the crowd, they were invited to sit in a designated area. One of them spoke up and said, "why don't we just sit there at that big table...there's more room". The waitress told them that they were supposed to sit at the designated area. One guy said, "screw that, we're sitting at that big table". So they came over to the table that my daughter and I were sitting. I got up and said, "no problem, we'll move". One of the guys said, "nonsense, you sit right there"...so I said, "well...okay, you sure" and they all said, "absolutely". So we spent the next hour listening to them talk back and forth and they asked us a bunch of questions and made us feel completely at home

People in the VIP area looked at us with glares that said, "who the hell do you think you are?" One of those people in the VIP area was John Covelli who got up and came over the table to talk with a couple of them. When he got to me I said, "I remember you". His face lit up and asked me how. I said, "I came to your house a few years ago to look at your piano". His face went from smiling/happy to a big frown and said, "oh yeah, I remember you too - you didn't take my piano". I said, "after looking things over, my wife and I decided it was too big for our living room". He said (quite angrily I might add), "that is no excuse. That was the biggest bargain you would have ever gotten in your life...". His wife stepped in between us and told him to calm down. I smiled and said, "believe me, if it wasn't so large, I would've bought it", and again he replied, "you made a huge mistake". His wife then led him back to the VIP section and one of the guys at the table laughed and asked me what that was all about. I told them the story and they all laughed

As we were getting ready to leave, one of the singers grabbed my daughter's hand and told her she was beautiful and wished she would stay. He then hugged her and gave a kiss on the cheek and whispered in her ear. She looked shocked and then laughed and told him thank you. I asked her, "what was that about?" She told me that if she get rid of that old guy she was with, she could meet him back at the hotel. She whispered back, "that's my Dad and he brought me to the concert for my birthday, but thanks anyway"

Nothing in the world could have cheered up my daughter than getting hit on by some famous singer. We still laugh about it years later

[Sem]

Part Two:

My oldest daughter was turning 25 and had gone through a rather brutal divorce. When she turned 18, I took her to Paris and then Israel for a week. Anyway, she was (and is) my gifted daughter in the music world...although my youngest son is a gifted guitarist and can still play piano. A friend of mine told me about an upcoming concert at the Binghamton Community Forum where there was going to be a celebration of Motown music performed by past members of some groups like the Temptations and The Four Tops, etc. She said she had sold out of tickets for the VIP lounge for the after party, but told me where it was going to be. So for my daughter's 25th birthday, I got two tickets to the show. She loved it and they were fantastic

We then went to the restaurant/bar where the post party was to be held, but most of the area was roped off for the VIP crowd. Every small table that wasn't in the VIP section already had people seated in them, and the only table left was a large table that could seat 10 people. That was awkward, but my daughter and I sat down there anyway and ordered a couple of drinks. Twenty minutes later that group of singers came in and the crowd clapped. They were invited into the VIP section where they shook hands and thanked the people there. As they got through the crowd, they were invited to sit in a designated area. One of them spoke up and said, "why don't we just sit there at that big table...there's more room". The waitress told them that they were supposed to sit at the designated area. One guy said, "screw that, we're sitting at that big table". So they came over to the table that my daughter and I were sitting. I got up and said, "no problem, we'll move". One of the guys said, "nonsense, you sit right there"...so I said, "well...okay, you sure" and they all said, "absolutely". So we spent the next hour listening to them talk back and forth and they asked us a bunch of questions and made us feel completely at home

People in the VIP area looked at us with glares that said, "who the hell do you think you are?" One of those people in the VIP area was John Covelli who got up and came over the table to talk with a couple of them. When he got to me I said, "I remember you". His face lit up and asked me how. I said, "I came to your house a few years ago to look at your piano". His face went from smiling/happy to a big frown and said, "oh yeah, I remember you too - you didn't take my piano". I said, "after looking things over, my wife and I decided it was too big for our living room". He said (quite angrily I might add), "that is no excuse. That was the biggest bargain you would have ever gotten in your life...". His wife stepped in between us and told him to calm down. I smiled and said, "believe me, if it wasn't so large, I would've bought it", and again he replied, "you made a huge mistake". His wife then led him back to the VIP section and one of the guys at the table laughed and asked me what that was all about. I told them the story and they all laughed

As we were getting ready to leave, one of the singers grabbed my daughter's hand and told her she was beautiful and wished she would stay. He then hugged her and gave a kiss on the cheek and whispered in her ear. She looked shocked and then laughed and told him thank you. I asked her, "what was that about?" She told me that if she get rid of that old guy she was with, she could meet him back at the hotel. She whispered back, "that's my Dad and he brought me to the concert for my birthday, but thanks anyway"

Nothing in the world could have cheered up my daughter than getting hit on by some famous singer. We still laugh about it years later

Very cool stories Ric!!

I remember my mom being devastated when Covelli left Binghamton, she never missed a symphony at BU. My brother is a long time musician/pianist and piano instructor, and has been very well connected within the music scene in the triple cities for decades. It wouldn't surprise me if he knows Covelli personally.

[Jolly Blue Giant]

Got me thinking about my piano. Here's a picture of my piano with my excited two younger daughters after I got it home. I miss having young kids. Now those two girls have kids of their own...one of those kids is 22 already and he and his girlfriend turned me into a great-grandfather 

Steve, if you remember the Number 5, which I'm sure you do (no longer a bar/restaurant BTW), my piano is exactly the same one they had there. It's given me lots of pleasure the last few decades. I remember Covelli telling me that a piano is important to have in your home. He said it becomes like a family member. Then he called his wife over and said, "isn't that true honey" and she said, "yup, it was the centerpiece of my home growing up and it wouldn't have been a home without one". One of things that always stick in my craw is being around a couple of my very well-to-do friends, both have Steinway grands in their house for nothing more than a prop. They don't play, and I'm the only one that ever visits and tinkers on them. A Steinway is NOT a prop - it's a work of art and a beautiful instrument. I guess it's like the boats up in Lake Ontario. All the real fishermen have beat up old boats that they go out on every day the lake isn't too rough, but the gorgeous big boats owned by the rich only go out on the lake maybe once or twice a year, sometimes once every other year. A Steinway needs to be used for more than a prop and quarter million dollar boats need to be used