Gary Hempsey The Hippie Doctrine By Ralph De Palma The original American Bandstand was in Philadelphia, and Gary Hempsey’s older sister took him along to listen to the music. Gary was thirteen when Woodstock happened. He loved the music and began playing the guitar and taking lessons in Center City, Philadelphia. At seventeen, he started […]
Rolando Rojas By Ralph De Palma Rolando’s original home is in Concepción, Chile. He studied music, learning classical guitar in high school. Later, in a vineyard/wine-making region of Viña del Mar, he studied classical piano and harmonies. While in music school, Rolando stopped playing guitar and learned the piano. He loves both instruments but did not […]
Carmen Rodriguez By Ralph De Palma Born and raised in Key West, Carmen Rodriguez graduated from Key West High School, attended Florida Keys Community College, and graduated from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Her mother, Milly Biegliese, was a singer whose stage name was Milly Kelly. She entertained in New York, singing mostly […]
Soul of Key West Calendar! Stay connected with Key West Musicians all year long… …and now you can download the 2022 Soul of Key West Calendar for free! Enjoy a new photos of your favorite Key West musician every month. Their birthdays are highlighted. We have all missed our normal Key West music scene with 55 […]
George Joseph Cook aka: Jersey Slim by Ralph De Palma George Joseph Cook is originally from Newark, New Jersey, born to a family of Italian immigrants. The original family surname was Cuoco. His father changed their name to Cook (Cuoco is Italian for cook) to make applying for work easier and avoid prejudice. George Cook […]
Raven Cooper “Everyone needs music, it’s like magic.” Raven grew up in Hot Springs, Arkansas and was a competitive freestyle and butterfly swimmer and diver in high school. At age five, she saw the movie, “The Color Purple.” The scenes set in a juke joint inspired her to be a singer. Listening to Janis Joplin was […]
Larry “Guitar” Baeder ” You can’t play American music without feeling you’re a link in the chain.” Larry Baeder was born in Philadelphia and raised in Kansas City, Kansas. Many of the older jazz greats from Kansas City (Count Basie, Charlie Parker, Lester Young) were still alive while Larry was growing up and played a […]
Paul Cotton – “He didn’t have fans in Key West, Paul had an extended family…Rest in Peace” By Ralph De Palma It is with great sadness that I report the passing of music legend and Key Wester, Paul Cotton. Paul didn’t have fans in Key West, he had an extended family. After spending a life in […]
The Philosophy of Piano Moving – The Movie Early 2018 Steve Panariello, Chad Newman, and myself conducted a series of meetings to develop the scope of a video documentary of the Key West music scene. The concept was to produce a three dimensional video version of my books the “Soul of Key West”. We […]
Caffeine Carl Wagoner – The Real Thing By Ralph De Palma Carl Wagoner was born and raised in Key West. His father played ukulele in a barber shop quartet. There was a Hammond organ in the Wagoner home, and by the time he was five, Carl had learned to play quite well. Radio station WKWF, […]
