Happy Birthday Mr. President!

[Greg Burnham]

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[Phil Dragoo]

There is a man with glasses in suit and tie in front of the painting of the sailing ship.

Visible above his right shoulder is a man.

I had thought this was Greg Burnham.

Until several people reported seeing him chatting with the jazz combo across the room.

[Greg Burnham]

There is a man with glasses in suit and tie in front of the painting of the sailing ship.

Visible above his right shoulder is a man.

I had thought this was Greg Burnham.

Until several people reported seeing him chatting with the jazz combo across the room.

I was five years old at the time of this photo. I would have been underneath JFK's desk in the Oval Office with John John--"up to" something, no doubt.

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My dad still had duties at the White House and we bear a strong resemblance...

[Dawn Meredith]

If he could have survived JFK would be ninety five today. The years seem to spin by. I remember the assassination and aftermath so vividly. I was fourteen and due to the illness of both my prents in Canada, myself and sibs were in the US with various relatives. I was in Quincy MA, and JFK was to come to speak in Dec. I was so excited. I adored him. He was everything my father was not. I spent that year in the States and it struck me odd even then that I was far more upset and concerned with the assassination than the health of my parents. All my letters home were conspiracy oriented. And grief filled. I still cannot watch the peace speech of June 10 without crying. Kids from the 60's were so blessed to have had such an idealistic time: the music, the peace rallies, the love ins, etc. It is so different today. Rap and violence glorified on tv, movies,
These are not the best of times.

Happy birthday Mr. President. Oh for someone like you today.

Dawn

[Charles Drago]

Speaking of JFK and jazz, I was told the following story by Billy Eckstine in the green room at a VERY long ago Songwriters' Hall of Fame dinner.

It seems that Eckstine, known in black communities during the '40s and '50s as "the sepia Sinatra," was helping to coordinate Chicago events for the 1960 Kennedy campaign. Just before a gala jazz benefit, he was introduced to the candidate. Upon taking Eckstine's hand, JFK asked, "How's Dexter Gordon? Dexter is my favorite tenor player."

The point?

Use of the term "tenor player" -- as opposed to "tenor saxophonist" or "tenor saxophone player" -- is to be expected from a true jazz fan -- as opposed to a rehearsed politician or other form of dilettante.

For you, Mr. President, from my heart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIiLJ0PEz...re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A5vDrEAqdk

[Greg Burnham]

Charles,

A message from the President:

[LR Trotter]

If he could have survived JFK would be ninety five today. The years seem to spin by. I remember the assassination and aftermath so vividly. I was fourteen and due to the illness of both my prents in Canada, myself and sibs were in the US with various relatives. I was in Quincy MA, and JFK was to come to speak in Dec. I was so excited. I adored him. He was everything my father was not. I spent that year in the States and it struck me odd even then that I was far more upset and concerned with the assassination than the health of my parents. All my letters home were conspiracy oriented. And grief filled. I still cannot watch the peace speech of June 10 without crying. Kids from the 60's were so blessed to have had such an idealistic time: the music, the peace rallies, the love ins, etc. It is so different today. Rap and violence glorified on tv, movies,
These are not the best of times.

Happy birthday Mr. President. Oh for someone like you today.

Dawn

Thank you Ms Meredith for a very thoughtful post. Being a "Boomer" I can recall the idealism, but at the time I suppose I thought it was forever and I did not recognize the magnitude of that time. Certainly by the end of '64, looking back now, a great deal of the good was gone. Maybe the injury of the assassination has much more effect than some thought it would ever have.
:nosmilie:

[Charles Drago]

Charles,

A message from the President:

It seems, Mr. President, that not only do we have virtually the same taste in jazz music and jazz musicians; you also know a great deal about my concert- and festival-going history. Clearly your current CIA -- "C" standing for "Celestial," of course -- is a tad more trustworthy than your previous service.

Keep swingin' on a star, baby!

[Greg Burnham]

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