Taylor Tarn has found a passion for singing Taylor Tarn is from the military town, Virginia Beach, Va. She never really studied music and had no vocal training but says her older sister was an inspiration. Taylor says her musicality comes from rhythm and dancing. Her mother was a disco dance queen. Taylor studied ballet […]
Sam Carlson – pouring love into his music Sam Carlson is from Pottstown Pennsylvania, located about 60 miles from Philadelphia. His mother played piano and taught him to sing in the church choir. Both parents loved music. They live near the home of the Philadelphia Folk Festival and would often travel to concerts. Sam started […]
Dottie Martin “…a legendary Key West classic.” Dottie was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. At age 17, she fell in love with a 4ft. 10in. jockey. They were married, traveled around the country, and soon later, divorced. Dottie started singing and performing at the age of 20. In 1949, while visiting friends in New […]
After interviewing over 190 Key West musicians, I’ve heard some great stories. I haven’t been able to squeeze many of the short stories into a musicians’ biography or the weekly music column, so I thought I would share a few stories with you this week. Mick’s Caribe Beans Often introduced by Ericson Holt as ‘the […]
A product of Central Massachusetts, Richie Hennessy says music was just part of his life. Both his parents were musicians. His father Richard played in several groups and his mother Margaret played in local orchestras. Richie was in the 4th grade when he studied his first musical instrument which was the cello. In high school, […]
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 […]
Chris Rehm and Dani Hoy – The Shanty Hounds Chris Rehm grew up in Ho-Ho-Kus, a small town in New Jersey. He started performing in the eighth grade with the grammar school band. They didn’t have a vocalist so Chris jumped in and started singing the Rolling Stone’s “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”. After high school, he […]
