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Author Topic: The Very Sad Story of Lenny's Dog  (Read 5769 times)

compasspnt

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The Very Sad Story of Lenny's Dog
« on: March 25, 2005, 11:30:11 PM »

The end of a century was nearly at hand, a century which had seen the most amazingly rapid growth in human societal history.  When the twentieth had begun, there were no real usable automobiles, no airplanes, no rapid transportation of any kind.  Few people had even heard of electricity.  There were no telephones, no television, not even radio.  There was no recorded music.  Yet in the possible length of time of the span of one human life, everything had seemingly changed.


•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

Lenny was understandably upset.  He had surrounded himself with those he loved, with those from whom he wanted love in return, and now one of them was gone.  It didn’t matter that it was a dog; it was his special dog.  Now one of his good friends was gone forever.

It was February, 1995, only halfway through the final decade of the current millenium, and Lenny was in the process of moving into a rented house on West Bay Road on the island of New Providence in The Bahamas.  He had arrived by boat, laden with boatloads of personal items, musical gear, and a big dog.  His dog, sadly not wise to the ways of the street, and left unwatched for a brief moment, had run into the road, and been squashed by a taxi.  No, things weren’t going as planned.  Lenny was in The Bahamas to continue recording work on his fourth album, which would later become "Circus."  Fortunately, he had friends and family around him to provide support, especially his mother, Roxie Roker.  At least Lenny was not alone in the world.


•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •


What visionary of the early twentieth century could have forseen the changes wrought within that span of time?  And yet, despite tremendous technological leaps, despite sophistication undreamed of only a few short years before, despite even the huge leap into music without melody, nothing truly important had really changed.  People still loved, they hated, they laughed, they cried.  Workers were still upset with their bosses, citizens still mistrusted their governments.  The poor envied the rich.  The ugly were jealous of the handsome.  No technological miracles could change the basic nature of the homo sapien.  Television, fax machines, the Internet, and Federal Express had done little to change the people we were.  Almost assuredly, those of us positioned at the end of the 20th, and the beginning of the 21st century, had as little knowledge of what was to come in those next 100 years as those of a century earlier.  But we knew what we had.  And we could record our music.


•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •


Lenny was calling in the exorcist.  Yes, evil spirits must be inhabiting the island, so in the wake of dog death, an exorcist was already on his way from California.  Roxie had taken charge until that time, and was trying to calm the situation in her genteel way.   Sherrie had also stepped in, and the women were definitely mothering the emotionally crazed.  Lenny decided that the only way he could immediately relieve himself of the heavy burden of friend-dog death was to sing about it.  A song was quickly composed, entitled “Where Are You Now?”

I was still fairly oblivious to the severity of the situation, as I had been in the final, hectic stages of finishing a George Thorogood album.  On this very day, as on many consecutive ones previously, I had been mixing for about 16 hours, this time to finish the final track. Then the dog died.  Just as I was finally about to close things down, put another project to bed, and finally get some rest myself, Sherrie called.  “You’ve got to immediately go into the studio tonight with Lenny, or he’s ready to leave.”   I couldn’t believe it!  And of course, I didn’t want to do it.  It was already midnight, and I wasn't sure I could concentrate on any more music that day.  Nonetheless, after hearing the whole story, there was no choice but to fire the machines back up.  And although Lenny was distraught, I was exhausted, and we were totally unfamiliar with each other, things seemed to flow well.  Lenny played several instruments, and for the first time used a drum loop (supplied by Nellie Hooper, who was there recording Bj
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Re: The Very Sad Story of Lenny's Dog
« Reply #1 on: March 25, 2005, 11:58:45 PM »

Our pets are our personal friends. They understand and we have them for such a short time. They need us. We need them.

Thank you for sharing and more about "Circus" is of order..as you have time Terry.

PS, Your past experiences are very appreciated by all.
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J.J. Blair

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Re: The Very Sad Story of Lenny's Dog
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2005, 01:05:45 AM »

George Thorogood.  A client of mine since 1992 and one of the top three reasons I coined the phrase that adorns my signature.  I really dig his bodyguard, Jim.  A really nice guy.

Anyway, one of my dogs, Coltrane, is about to be 15.  It's hard to imagine what it will be like when he's not around.  My favorite company in the studio.
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Re: The Very Sad Story of Lenny's Dog
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2005, 11:20:47 PM »

JJ.

Please let me give you a bit of kind advice. Get a puppy...Soon.

The transistion will be so much better for you and your best friend.
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