Happy Birthday Jerry Murad

[HarpSPAH@xxxxxxx]

JERRY MURAD CELEBRATES 75TH BIRTHDAY
     In December a contingent of more than 30 people from Coast to Coast
gathered at Jerry Murad's house in Ohio to help him celebrate his 75th
birthday.  I
was among those lucky folks.  What an event it was.  Pete Pedersen came up
from
Memphis, Stan Harper and Alan Pogson from the East Coast, the Joe Mass family
from the West Coast, Richard Farrell from Ohio and on and on.  Though it was
officially scheduled for 6 to 10 p.m. on a Saturday evening, it turned out to
be more
like a four day convention.  People started arriving on Friday and some
didn't leave
until Monday.  The Murads had twelve of us staying with them, in their home
while the
overflow bedded down in a local hotel.  
     When I arrived on Saturday afternoon, there were people in all corners
of the
house snacking, talking, playing harmonicas and inspecting the hoards of
memorabilia
which cover the walls of their home.  Around 6 p.m. Alyce had to tear Jerry
away from
a jam session in the basement for him to greet his last minute guests and
start the
buffet line.  Following dinner there was a giant cake presented to Jerry
complete with
75 glowing candles.  Photos were taken of various groups of visitors.  The
one with
his harmonica playing buddies is shown here.  Then we watched presents being
opened, including many from those who couldn't make it, like Norm Dobson and
Jack
Kavoukian, but who wanted to wish him a happy birthday.  
     The party soon found its way down to the basement where Jerry, Pete
Pedersen, Stan Harper and Alan Pogson played a variety of Stan's
arrangements. 
The guys spent a lot of time moaning about how great it would be if they only
had a
few more people who could site read the remaining parts of the arrangements.
 From
8 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. the group was occasionally interrupted as guests said
farewell to
Jerry when they headed for home or the hotel.  Eventually it was just the
four of them
playing into the wee hours of the morning with a one person audience - me, in
the
best seat in the house, listening to the best arrangements ever written,
played by the
best musicians in the world, on our favorite instrument, the harmonica.  I
must have
died and gone to heaven.

Posted by-
Bob Williams
The Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica.
Now in our 32nd year.
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