Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Tow Truck Rip Off On Padre Island
Please check out the banner on the bottom of the page. This worthwhile group is seeking counselors and other positions for their summer programs. Here is a link for more information.
http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/
The Fresh Air Fund is also in need of hosts for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give a fresh air experience that disadvantaged children never forget. Below is a link which explains everything.
http://freshair.smnr.us/
Here are some links to a nice Polish lady's blogs with pictures from Poland, her dogs and other things.
http://foto-donata.blogspot.com/
http://foto-dona.blogspot.com/
Here's a link to my old friend Dave Terry's photo blog:
http://daveterryphotography.com
port a cam link
http://www.corpusbeach.com/portacam2.htm
This link is for the We The People newspaper.
http://www.wethepeoplenews.net/
Please check out the banner on the bottom of the page. This worthwhile group is seeking counselors and other positions for their summer programs. Here is a link for more information.
http://freshairfundcounselors.smnr.us/
The Fresh Air Fund is also in need of hosts for this summer. Host families are volunteers who open their hearts and home to a child from the city to give a fresh air experience that disadvantaged children never forget. Below is a link which explains everything.
http://freshair.smnr.us/
Here are some links to a nice Polish lady's blogs with pictures from Poland, her dogs and other things.
http://foto-donata.blogspot.com/
http://foto-dona.blogspot.com/
Here's a link to my old friend Dave Terry's photo blog:
http://daveterryphotography.com
port a cam link
http://www.corpusbeach.com/portacam2.htm
This link is for the We The People newspaper.
http://www.wethepeoplenews.net/
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Today They Laid Old Rocky Down
Today they laid old Rocky down
They put a good man in the ground.
Now Rocky was a wonderful soul
Playing his blues just never got old.
Rocky would pick up his harp and wail
And sing the blues as if he were in jail.
And you knew he was the real thing,
He was blind, black and how he could sing.
Rocky played ‘bout everywhere around.
Folks would come to see him from out of town.
He sang about women, drinkin’ and automobiles
And most anything else that had that blues feel.
Now Rocky wasn’t that old, he was only 57
But if there is such a place he’s in blues heaven.
I bet that the blues angels are havin’ a hell of a jam
And Rocky is out front and really layin it down.
Everybody loved Rocky, he was a great blues man.
He’s left it for us to carry on as well as we can.
But I know some night I will hear a cryin’ blues harp
And it will be Rocky Benton playin’ out in the dark.
He will be singing the blues cause they can’t go away
And I’ll have the blues then like I have ‘em today.
I’ll think about Rocky and the good times we had
And those harmonica blues never made me feel bad!
Today they laid old Rocky down
They put a good man in the ground.
Now Rocky was a wonderful soul
Playing his blues just never got old.
Rocky would pick up his harp and wail
And sing the blues as if he were in jail.
And you knew he was the real thing,
He was blind, black and how he could sing.
Rocky played ‘bout everywhere around.
Folks would come to see him from out of town.
He sang about women, drinkin’ and automobiles
And most anything else that had that blues feel.
Now Rocky wasn’t that old, he was only 57
But if there is such a place he’s in blues heaven.
I bet that the blues angels are havin’ a hell of a jam
And Rocky is out front and really layin it down.
Everybody loved Rocky, he was a great blues man.
He’s left it for us to carry on as well as we can.
But I know some night I will hear a cryin’ blues harp
And it will be Rocky Benton playin’ out in the dark.
He will be singing the blues cause they can’t go away
And I’ll have the blues then like I have ‘em today.
I’ll think about Rocky and the good times we had
And those harmonica blues never made me feel bad!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Rocky Benton, Corpus Christi's "Main Man," Passes Away
Rocky Benton was Corpus Christi's "main man!" No local musician was more admired and loved by so many. His passing leaves a huge hole in the local music scene.
Rocky's road to the blues began in Silsbee, Tx. about 20 miles south of Beaumont where he was born to hard working parents of moderate means. He was second to the youngest of 6 children, and was no stranger to trouble and pain. As a young child he began to lose his vision and was blind at the age of 4. At the age of 6 he attended the Texas School for the Blind in Austin where he learned to read Braille, started his education and got his nickname "Rocky".
He said one of his teachers called him 'Rocky'. His teacher would tell him that he knew someday he would drive by a billboard somewhere and would see "Rocky Benton" up in lights. The name stuck with him and since then he has had his name in lights on many a marquee.
Music came to play a role in Rocky's life at an early age. He said he grew up listening to old gospel tunes that his mother played on their record player and sang for him.
Rocky was introduced to the harmonica by his uncle Bill who could play only one song. He was fascinated with it and wanted to be able to play. Rocky got his first harmonica at the age of 6 and later learned to play drums and keyboards. At the age of 10, Rocky was performing professionally as a drummer and singer in an Austin Jazz band led by James Polk.
"I came up in a day when a kid playing a bar was kind of like an act", Benton said. "Even if I was not the headliner, it seemed I was always somehow the center of attention."
Rocky first played Corpus Christi at the Downbeat Club, while attending high school at the Texas School for the Blind.He moved to Corpus Christi in the early 80's and hooked up with Mike Cross, another excellent musician, and they made a team!
Rocky's stage prescence was powerful. He wore a leather belt that resembled a western holster belt which held twelve harmonicas in different keys. The letters "R O C K Y" were emblazoned on the back.
'Rocky' was the real thing, a consummate blues singer and a great harp player. His audiences loved him and there was no one who enjoyed rocking the house more.
Rocky Benton was Corpus Christi's "main man!" No local musician was more admired and loved by so many. His passing leaves a huge hole in the local music scene.
Rocky's road to the blues began in Silsbee, Tx. about 20 miles south of Beaumont where he was born to hard working parents of moderate means. He was second to the youngest of 6 children, and was no stranger to trouble and pain. As a young child he began to lose his vision and was blind at the age of 4. At the age of 6 he attended the Texas School for the Blind in Austin where he learned to read Braille, started his education and got his nickname "Rocky".
He said one of his teachers called him 'Rocky'. His teacher would tell him that he knew someday he would drive by a billboard somewhere and would see "Rocky Benton" up in lights. The name stuck with him and since then he has had his name in lights on many a marquee.
Music came to play a role in Rocky's life at an early age. He said he grew up listening to old gospel tunes that his mother played on their record player and sang for him.
Rocky was introduced to the harmonica by his uncle Bill who could play only one song. He was fascinated with it and wanted to be able to play. Rocky got his first harmonica at the age of 6 and later learned to play drums and keyboards. At the age of 10, Rocky was performing professionally as a drummer and singer in an Austin Jazz band led by James Polk.
"I came up in a day when a kid playing a bar was kind of like an act", Benton said. "Even if I was not the headliner, it seemed I was always somehow the center of attention."
Rocky first played Corpus Christi at the Downbeat Club, while attending high school at the Texas School for the Blind.He moved to Corpus Christi in the early 80's and hooked up with Mike Cross, another excellent musician, and they made a team!
Rocky's stage prescence was powerful. He wore a leather belt that resembled a western holster belt which held twelve harmonicas in different keys. The letters "R O C K Y" were emblazoned on the back.
'Rocky' was the real thing, a consummate blues singer and a great harp player. His audiences loved him and there was no one who enjoyed rocking the house more.
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