Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Opening a Gift 49 Years Later

On Saturday night my cousin Kate Forman and I threw a St. Patrick's Day party in our home.  During the festivities, my cousin Steven Grogan shared an amazing gift with us.  In 1962 my father, Robert Grogan, performed with legendary Jose Feliciano in a group called The Modern Sound Trio (Jose's first band) and appeared on  The Ted Mack Amateur Hour.  He would often refer to his time playing with Jose, an honor of which he was immensely proud.  Through the power of modern media, we can now share a part of my father's history that until now had gone with him ....


"Jose's first band, however, was quite a different story. As a teenager, he was part of a jazz ensemble they called "The Modern Sound Trio". Bobby Grogen was the drummer, Bliss Rodriguez, the pianist, and of course a very young Jose, played the electric guitar. They played at school dances and at the Lighthouse for the Blind in New York City, and even on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, a major television variety show in the 1950's and '60's."