Keith Ricks – Island groove master Keith Ricks was born in Bermuda, living there off and on for most of his childhood. His father was in the military, and the family moved around a bit. His grandparents lived in Bermuda so Keith would spend a lot of time with them. He graduated from high school […]
Bob Boyd “Always smiling on the inside” From the upstate hills of Rochester, New York, Bob Boyd was born into a family of musicians. His father was a piano player and conductor. Bob played piano while growing up, graduating from high school in 1976 and studied music at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. He […]
Jennifer Lowe loves who she gets to be in Key West Jennifer Lowe is from Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. She began taking ballet and violin lessons at five years old and continued through high school. She gained a full scholarship to University of Wisconsin in Madison performing with the school orchestra, graduating in […]
Jackie Robinson Inspired In the Spring of 1947, the “great war” was over and our soldiers came back home. A young teenage shortstop at Key West’s then segregated Fredrick Douglas High School read the story of Jackie Robinson. Robinson had broken the color barrier in Major League Baseball, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers and started […]
Denis Hyland – New life for a true jazz club Denis Hyland was born in New York City and raised in New Jersey. His father was a writer for Billboard magazine. As a young child performer, with incredible New York City influences, Denis was featured in the musical Mame, until his voice changed. He was […]
Mary Spear is on a higher and happier frequency Mary Spear was raised in Carroll, Iowa. At fourteen, she was listening to recordings of Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan and started playing the guitar. She was very musical in high school, also learning to play the flute and piano. While in high school, […]
Commander Moulton and the Historic American Legion Post 168 Located at 803 Emma Street in Bahama Village, the American Legion Post 168 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. Commander Nancy Moulton, a self- proclaimed “fix-it” person, is trying the promote the site. It has been termed by the long-time Bahama […]
Camille Toler – “Life, Love and Key West” Camille Russo Toler comes from a very big Italian family and grew up on the Upper West Side of New York. Later, they moved to Richmond Hill neighborhood in Queens where she graduated from Richmond Hills High School. While Camille never had a voice lesson or studied […]
James King – recently discovered how much he is appreciated James King was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina and raised in Columbia, South Carolina. His mother passed away when he was 11 years old and his maternal grandmother raised him and his younger sister. There was a 1935 Everett upright piano in her house which […]
Albert Romano – Looking for answers Originally from a big Italian family in Providence, Rhode Island, Al Romano was the oldest – he had four sisters. His uncle, Tony Tomasso, lived next door. He was big band trumpeter who could have been a big star but did not want to leave home and tour. Uncle […]
