April 29, 2008

For my putative son

And a contest. Or what passes for a contest here. Oh, and a moral: be careful who you wish to have for a father.

Oh yeah, contest. 1000 MBP points to anyone who can identify the singer, er, author, er, utterer of the following passage (as best I can recall the exact phrasing):

This fella sittin' next to me is named Martin Grosswendt. You heard him the last time we were up here. He's a great musician. From Massachussetts. Become a rumor in his own time, Martin Grosswendt has.

Music runs in his family. When he was three years old his mother bought him a drum and told him to beat it.

Martin Grosswendt wanted to learn to play the fiddle. He wanted to play the violin and be a concert violinist and take lessons on it every day but his mother said no. Didn't want the neighbors to know they were Jewish.

Besides, she said, you go down and play in low bars and dives and saloons on your git-tar and on your dobro and on your five-string banjo, you can bring home some extra money. Besides which, you get to know your father a little bit better.

For anyone who wants to cheat, reference (but it requires a download to listen, first track listed)

Posted by Ken S at April 29, 2008 06:59 PM | TrackBack (0) |
Comments

Wild ass guess here, but that sounds like a member of the Rat Pack, probably Dino or Frank.

Posted by: KG at April 29, 2008 07:59 PM

Not even close.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at April 29, 2008 08:16 PM

I have no idea who Martin Grosswendt is, but I'll take a wild guess at who spoke that and say Earl Scruggs. Like the "rumor in his own time", no matter who said it.

Posted by: Dave E. at April 29, 2008 08:29 PM

Daddy, I'm a cheater because I've got no idea who this person is.

Google being my friend, I found the likely answer and it prompted me to remember a comment you left on one of my Life With The Railroad posts.

"Moose Turd Pie"

Posted by: WunderKraut at April 30, 2008 04:16 AM

That's the guy.

See, if you wanted to know your Daddy better, you should have hung out in low bars and dives.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at April 30, 2008 04:22 AM