Dick, pictured here with his granddaughter, Abigail, was born in Bridgeton, NJ. He majored in math at Western Maryland College,
received his Masters in Theology at Princeton, his Doctor of Ministry at Drew University, and subsequently served 30 years as a US
Army Chaplain, achieving the rank of Colonel. Along the way, he served at the Pentagon, the Army War College, and at the US
Army Chaplain School.
His musical interest was spawned at his cousin’s house listening to Spike Jones. He discovered some banjo
solos that were inspirational to him while listening to his grandfather’s old 78 rpm Victrola. Duly smitten, he bought his first banjo
in 1960 for $4—probably worth at least $2, he adds. Poking fun at himself, he says that in 2010, he will celebrate a half-century
of playing for his own “amazement”.
In 1973, he took lessons from “arguably the world’s best banjo player”, Buddy Wachter. He played in a Mummer-style string band (13 banjos plus other instruments) replete with strutters in costume in Neptune, NJ, along
with banjo virtuoso Al Smith on the Delaware Bay. He played regularly in a Dixieland Band which played before all Richmond Braves
home games on Sundays. While stationed in southern Germany, he founded the Bavarian Banjo Barons.
On occasion, he has
played gigs with his banjo-playing cousin on the eastern shore of Maryland in a duo he dubbed The Salisbury Mistakes. Dick likes
to quip that he never met a banjo player that he didn’t like. His wife adds, “nor a banjo”.
Dick and his wife, Pat, live
on Lake Murray northwest of Columbia, SC, and they frequently make a trip to Beaufort, SC, to visit one of their two daughters and
six of their eight grandchildren. While they’re “in the neighborhood”, the Last-Sunday Dixieland Jam is near the top of their list
and he is grateful that Pat introduced him to The Jazz Corner. One of Dick’s great joys is to see his grandchildren appreciate and
practice the art of music. The photograph above says it all: two thumbs up! Dick also enjoys Ragtime, juggling, sailing, and
travel.
The DJSLC has given Dick a renewed appreciation of the other musicians and their instruments and he finds “the enthusiasm
of the audience to be contagious”. He is pleased with the many new-found friends he has made in this venue, and he looks forward to
a long and musically rewarding association at The Jazz Corner. Dick considers the banjo a “very happy instrument” and enjoys
using it to bring happiness to others.
As a wise man once told him:
“So much music…so little time!” and
“Life is a symphony…not
a solo!”