Trailer Park Casanova
September 6th, 2009, 08:04 PM
When I was a kid, the Grammy Awards were anti-rock music.
I lived in Hollywood and the word was producer/tonight show host Johnny Carson and Sketch Henderson had a lot of juice in TV at the time, and they hated rock music, hence no grammys for rockers.
Even Elvis only won one for Gospel.
But, that could only last for so long, and finally a few were awarded out to rockers.
I believe one of the first groups to get a Grammy was the Beach Boys, and they thanked Leo in their acceptance speech on TV.
Then Simon and Garfunkle, and they thanked Leo too.
A few years later it was Aerosmith, and they thanked Leo.
At school the next day we had student awards.
We all thanked Leo as we accepted them for student service, attendance etc,, though we didn't Know who Leo was, it was a gesture enough to irritate the faculty.
Then, a decade later when Aerosmith made their post heroin comeback, they thanked Leo at the Grammys again.
Always wondered who Leo was.
My son and I were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and Brian Wilson just happened to step on the elevator with us.
I asked him, "who is Leo that was so often thanked at the grammys?"
He said in a milisecond; " Leo Fender."
"Leo owned a amplifer, radio and sound shop near our house when I was a kid.
Inventor of the Fender Solid Body guitars."
DAMFIKNEW.
http://z.hubpages.com/u/341839_f520.jpg http://www.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2005/111/3045_111420025685.jpg
I lived in Hollywood and the word was producer/tonight show host Johnny Carson and Sketch Henderson had a lot of juice in TV at the time, and they hated rock music, hence no grammys for rockers.
Even Elvis only won one for Gospel.
But, that could only last for so long, and finally a few were awarded out to rockers.
I believe one of the first groups to get a Grammy was the Beach Boys, and they thanked Leo in their acceptance speech on TV.
Then Simon and Garfunkle, and they thanked Leo too.
A few years later it was Aerosmith, and they thanked Leo.
At school the next day we had student awards.
We all thanked Leo as we accepted them for student service, attendance etc,, though we didn't Know who Leo was, it was a gesture enough to irritate the faculty.
Then, a decade later when Aerosmith made their post heroin comeback, they thanked Leo at the Grammys again.
Always wondered who Leo was.
My son and I were staying at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and Brian Wilson just happened to step on the elevator with us.
I asked him, "who is Leo that was so often thanked at the grammys?"
He said in a milisecond; " Leo Fender."
"Leo owned a amplifer, radio and sound shop near our house when I was a kid.
Inventor of the Fender Solid Body guitars."
DAMFIKNEW.
http://z.hubpages.com/u/341839_f520.jpg http://www.findagrave.com/photos250/photos/2005/111/3045_111420025685.jpg