They weren’t famous rock stars but they loved playing rock ‘n’ roll.
Since the birth of rock ‘n’ roll, many a kid has dreamed of becoming a rock star. Not all of us can be like Bowie or Prince, of course. But many, it would seem, find ways to fulfill rock ‘n’ roll fantasies. Here are a few not-so-famous musicians who loved to rock.
Rev. Dr. Gordon E. Weightman was a United Methodist pastor who loved music. Rev. Weightman was once principal trumpet in the Oral Roberts University orchestra and “enjoyed playing at church services and especially at the Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church,” according to his obituary, published in the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. And in the 1970s, he was a member of local rock band The Dynamics.
Originally from Poland, Chester Walter Bilski of Williamsburg, Virginia, “learned English in his teens in order to understand the Rock & Roll song lyrics of the day,” according to the obituary in the Daily Press. “A guitar was never far from his reach and he loved to strum at any chance he got.”
The many and varied musical pursuits of Christen F. “Chris” Howell are detailed in his obit in the Lake City (Florida) Reporter:
“Again becoming restless for new challenges, he moved to Caracas, Venezuela, in 1981 to help organize the rock and roll band ‘Fornax,’ playing guitar, designing posters, orchestrating the light show, as well as composing much of their music. While there, he perfected his Spanish, singing many songs in both Spanish and English.”
Elks district director Fred Kulick satisfied his music-making inclinations as a teenager. According to the obit in the Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, “Fred loved playing drums in his high school years and played in several dance bands, ending his career as a drummer for the Rock and Roll Starlights.”
Lawrence A. Anzuoni Jr. waited until his later years to join a band. President of Brush Hill Transportation Co. Inc., Anzuoni had “recently rediscovered his passion for music,” according to his obit in the Wicked Local of Plymouth, Massachusetts. He “brought to fruition his dream of being a musician and formed a successful cover rock band … The Knuckleheads.”
This post was contributed by Alana Baranick, a freelance obituary writer. She was the director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers and chief author of Life on the Death Beat: A Handbook for Obituary Writers before she passed away in 2015.
