Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | This El Paso Times opinion page article by Andy Porras titled "Blondie was a Musical Magician" touched me as I've known players like him.
"An unusually gifted classmate of mine passed away this winter. He died in a place near Lubbock, a six hour drive from where we were raised together in the border town of Del Rio, Texas.
Moises "Blondie" Calderon, director and arranger for the Ray Price's Country and Western band, suffered a massive heart attact at age 60. attempts to revive him at the local hospital were futile.
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"Remember when I told you guys I was going to Austin to try out for a band?" Blondie reminded his freinds often. "Well, I rolled down my marimba from my pickup, and Price almost went nuts!"
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The pride of Del Rio's barrio San Felipe, he was a genius when it came to anything musical, be it an instrument or arranging a particular tune for an entire symphony. and the guy didn't even know how to read music.
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Back in the 50's our high school's piano was a disaster. But during assemblies and lunch performances, Blondie skipped over the bad keys and made it sound great.
We knew he was special because when our school would bring in touring professional big band talent from Laughlin Air Base to entertain us, the pianists couldn't handle the ancient piano. But Blondie never failed to make sweet music on it.
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The sounds Blondie made in his early Price sessions were to become etched in musical history. Price recorded "Danny Boy" utilizing Blondie's favorite instrument, the xylophone. That's right. A xylophone in a country band. "Danny Boy" became a hit on all the charts, and you can distinctly hear Blondie's xylophone."
That's the extent of the quotes from the op ed piece, there was some commentary on Price's seemingly lack of respect for Moises' Mexican roots.
(Blondie's parents had a restaurant in Del Rio called Memo's, and they had many pictures from his career there).
I have a recent Austin City Limits video of Ray Price where he introduces "Blondie" and says that Moises has been his arranger and band leader for most of his (Ray Price's) career.
The original op ed piece was much longer but I think I have given the general idea. Moises Calderon just reminds of so many good musicians I have met. Some made it, many didn't.
Bailey |
A Piano Player