In 1976, Robbie Benson and Glynnis O’Connor starred in a movie version of the 1967 Bobbie Gentry folk classic, “Ode to Billy Joe.” At the time of the movie’s release, I was a student DJ at WMCX-FM at Monmouth University. I was also the “production engineer” for some basement tape recordings my dad made with a musical colleague from Fort Monmouth, N…

Dad’s vibes Back in the early 1970s, we had a music room in the basement. My dad played the vibes (see photo), mom played the Lowrey organ, and we hosted musical accompanists from among my dad’s students in the military at Ft. Monmouth. We made lots of recordings, most of them were songs owned by others, so we’re not posting them online. But my dad…

The American Freedom Train toured the country during the Bicentennial celebration in 1976. When it visited Bradley Beach, NJ, we visited the train and interviewed visitors. The exhibits of American history were viewed from a moving walkway in the train that took visitors from the back of the train to the front, but many visitors thought the speed o…