A Song for Bobby
Bobby, my half-brother, spent the last 40 years or so of his life appreciated for his dixieland cornet wherever he graced a stage on the lonely roads he travelled. There were some specks of glory there, too: playing and touring with Tiny Hill’s band at Carnegie Hall; in smoky dive jazz joints, and some Oshkosh Serenaders 78 rpm recordings in which he was featured. And, like may artists, he has posthumously been hailed as a non-superstar great, news and commentary that never reached his ear when he created the music he loved. Divorced from his wife and estranged from his six children all of whom disappeared over the years down nameless highways somewhere — alone at the time this world ended its hold on him and his whiskey-fueled life, leaving only the comments of strangers to eulogize and praise the essence of his glory with comments like, You know, that guy was really great!
— Stephen Anderson