(252) JERRY COLE - AN INTERVIEW WITH WES BRYAN

This is from an interview I did with Wes recently during one of our meetings. Christine Trzyna

Wes Bryan:

"Jerry Cole always drove a big Lincoln Town Car. It was a massive car for a guy who was barely five feet tall. But Jerry was BIG is so many ways..."

"He had the biggest Fender amps at the time. And Jerry had a low resonance in his voice (Tequila!) that made him SOUND like he was six foot four - bigger than the sky."

"When I started producing records, I called Jerry into the studio to play every chance I got. He was a natural arranger. And he became a regular on the Shindig television show... Jerry's gift was that he could play just about any instrument he got his hands on, so when we recorded we would "stack" various instruments. He helped me more than anyone. Always a smile on his face. A one man band."

"I ran into Andy Williams at the Farmers Market on Fairfax, in Los Angeles. He said this of Jerry: He's one of the best musicians that every existed." At the time Jerry had lead Andy's band and produced a record called "Tell Mary," a hit on Capitol.

Jerry's passed away - a great loss to me. I think of him on so many different occasions. He's on so much of the music that I produced.

(6) WE FOLLOWED THE BUILDING TRADE TO COTTAGE GROVE, OREGON

My father expertise was home building. Like Elvis Presley's father, Vernon, my father had to travel for work quite a bit. When I was about ready to start high school we moved from Murphy, North Carolina to Cottage Grove, Oregon following a building trade boom.

My brother Junior had a Fender TM guitar - the best! He taught me to play. I idolized my brother Junior. He had a Country Western band that played all around Oregon and had a deep voice like Tennessee Ernie Ford. Junior loved to sing "Dark as a Dungeon."

My daydreams as a teenager were about joining Junior's band, making out with girls, and driving fast cars. I loved speed! I had a few accidents that shook me up but I always walked away without a scratch.

Link above to Tennessee Ernie Ford's official web site, so you can read up a bit on him.