My brother Alan and I were huge Johnny Crawford fans!
We grew up with 'The Rifleman' and were glued to the adventures of
Lucas McCain and his son, Mark, for the duration of the series. Alan
was 3 years younger than I, a great music lover, and quite thrifty.
He would save most of his allowance each week, tucking it away for
later, and when I had spent all of mine, he never said no when I
begged to borrow a dollar here or a dollar there, to buy the latest
45 rpms. When Johnny's first records went on sale, Alan and I were
first in line to buy every one. One of our particular favorites was
'A Wonderful World.' It was so melodic, and just the sort of music
we treasured. I remember hearing Alan working out "Mr. Blue" on the
guitar night after night through the bedroom wall, and then he'd
call me and my sister in to work out the vocal harmony. He was a
hard taskmaster, having a true ear for beautiful melodies. Years
went by, and a few other remakes of both of those songs hit the
charts by various artists, but the first version we ever heard, by
Johnny, was always our favorite.
Somewhere around 1997 or '98, I was working at the
Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, California. Alan proceeded me
there, starting out as a bartender, then moving on to become Hugh
Hefner's personal photo- grapher before he was forced to leave due
to illness. Over the years Alan spent in Hef's employ, he told me
stories about seeing Johnny at various Playboy parties. He was a
fairly frequent guest there over quite a span of time. He always
told me about how nice Johnny was, quiet and polite, and not
affected at all, like many of the other guests.
Well, it was the late 90's, and I was working a buffet
table at the mansion, and who walks up, but Johnny Crawford. I
recognized him right away -- he had barely changed in all those
years. More mature, but handsome as ever, with a quick smile that
still crinkled around his eyes, and those dimples! I was immediately
tongue-tied, but told him how much I enjoyed watching him all those
years, and mentioned his music. He told me about his band and that
it played in Hollywood. I was floored to know that he was still
making music! I rushed home and told Alan about it.
At that time, Alan was seriously ill and having a very
hard time. I was trying to take care of him, and having a difficult
time myself, juggling work and care- giving. Alan wasn't getting up
and around much, but he was so excited, being reminded of Johnny and
his music, that he managed to get out of bed and onto his computer,
where he pulled up all the information he could find on Johnny and
his band. Just the idea of those old songs seemed to give him
energy. Alan started downloading his old songs from various sites.
He'd sit up at night when he couldn't sleep, and play them and we'd
sing along. The songs took us both back to our childhood, and it was
a happy space in the middle of some very difficult times. 'Cindy's
Birthday', 'Tennessee Waltz', 'Lonesome Town',... all sung so
sweetly by Johnny. When all seemed hopeless, these songs lifted Alan
and I up, taking us away to a place that was young and free and
hopeful... and soon he began to improve, downloading more and more
music from many artists from our past. Once the music was back in
his life, he exceeded everyone's expectations regarding his recovery
and confounded all predictions made by the doctors. We made plans to
try to see Johnny's big band sometime in the future, when he felt
strong enough to do it.
I lost Alan in 2007, without getting that chance to
take him to see the big band, but each time I hear a Johnny Crawford
song, I think of my little brother and how much joy those songs
brought to both of us, and how much fun we had singing along in
harmony to them over many years. Those songs left me with special
memories I will never forget, and might not have had, had it not
been for the music. Wherever Alan is now, he's probably still
singing a Johnny Crawford song.
Ever grateful to you, Johnny, for those treasured memories!
Taree
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