Grants Lick KY Elementary Musical Production
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Historic Grants Lick KY Elementary Musical Production recently discovered with songs such as Lullaby of Broadway, Yankee Doodle Dandy, You’re a Grand Old Flag, This is my country, In the Good Old Summertime, The Sidewalks of New York, Moonlight in Vermont, Mountain Greenery, Won’t You Come Home Bill Bailey, This Land Is Your Land, Deep In The Heart Of Texas, Sleep Kentucky Babe.
I recently discovered the tape and photos, which had been stored away for years. I was a student at Campbell County High School when I played piano for this show. I recorded the show and my dad took the photos.
I had never played the tape before. I recorded it the night of the show and pretty much forgot about it. When I put the tape on my Sony reel to reel, I was astounded by what I heard and realized this was historic. These type of shows are indeed a thing of the past… not likely to be seen or heard again.
Since the tape was years old the sound quality was scratchy and there were hums & noises, so I had to do a lot of work using audio software programs to make it playable.
After having played with some excellent musicians over the years, I feel the performers in this show were top notch. The lady who sang “Moonlight in Vermont” was outstanding.
If you have photos of this event, the program guide, were one of the performers or know the names of any of the performers, have photos or recordings of any of the performers please contact us.
(Photo of Ray Rice at age 14 playing piano for a Campbell County High School talent show)
Sleep Kentucky Babe was one of the incredible songs performed at the Musicland USA event. I remember how they turned off all the lights during this song, illuminated the stage with black lights and used props which looked amazing and beautiful. Would be great if someone had photos of this part of the show.
Moonlight in Vermont
Moonlight in Vermont was one of songs performed at the Musicland USA event. Since there were only a few photos taken of the show, I decided to add photos from Vermont to make the recording more interesting.
There was another reel to reel audio tape with more of the show which is missing. The reason is because I lent it to the lady who directed the show (don’t remember her name) and it was never returned to me. So there are performances missing such as “It’s in the book”. If anyone knows who she was and can get the tape, I will add that material to the show.
If you have photos of this event, the program guide, were one of the performers or know the names of any of the performers, have photos or recordings of any of the performers please contact us.
I will be adding more material to the video as it’s received.
In the Musicland USA video, I mentioned that I started playing out in my dad’s band at age 14. Here’s a link to recordings of his band, The Mysticons
The Mysticons played at VFW’s, Elks lodges, Knights of Columbus, Beverly Hills Supper Club, Moose Lodges, Shriner’s, Weddings, American Legions, Eagles and other organizations throughout the Greater Cincinnati area.
After I left my dad’s band, I played with the “Ice” at Guy & Dolls for 2 years. When the Ice broke up I played with “Carefree Day” for a short time, then with a band called “West”. That band later became known as the Young Invaders.
I left that band and went on the road with a band from Las Vegas called “Friends of the Family”. After leaving that band, I formed a band called East Wind which played backup on the road for the Diamonds which had several top 40 hit records.
I eventually moved to Los Angeles, CA… played with several bands there including “Nighthawk” and I did studio work. I also played in a band with the drummer for the Ventures which did theme music for the Hawaii Five-O TV show. He had a copy of the Gold Record award hanging on his living room wall (LOL).
I moved back to Cincinnati and got a day job as a Communications Technician / Engineer, maintaining and installing transmitters at Radio & TV Stations. (I studied Electronic Technology while in High School at the Northern KY Vocational School and got my 1st Class FCC License). I also installed / maintained computerized telecom mainframe equipment associated with mobile communications.
I also played with the band “Troy”… Troy Tipton and Mike (Pugsley) Hicks during the 80’s, as mentioned in the Cincinnati Enquirer Newspaper article shown in the video. Troy played with Head East’s lead singer John Schlitt who had a top 40 hit record, “Never Been Any Reason” and Sly Fox, “Let’s Go All The Way” which went to #7 in the United States.
You can listen to recordings of bands I played in at Ray’s Recordings
Recent video I recorded in March of 2022 dedicated to Campbell County High School… “I Wanna go Back”. I’m doing the vocals… still feel like a teenager.
It’s been a great life. Thanks for stopping by!
Ray
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