Topic starter
02/06/2008 5:44 am
I was treated to a "calliope concert" last night (June 1) as I sat on the riverbank waiting for the Delta Queen to approach Cheatham Lock. That was the first time I heard the calliope, and it sounded great! My teenage daughter (also a DQ fan in every sense of the word) called it "carnival music," but what does she know!? Kids.
The sun had just disappeared behind the hills and the DQ wasn't anywhere around. Then suddenly, the DQ's captain radioed to Cheatham Lock (they had their outdoor loudspeaker turned on last night). He gave an ETA of 9:15 P.M. About 30 minutes later, he radioed again and said they still had a concert going, and that they were just going to slowly make their way to the lock.
Shortly thereafter, I heard the faint sounds of her calliope echoing through the hills and across the fields. Man, was that a sweet sound! I listened for 20 minutes as the sound grew louder. The concert ended just as the Delta Queen's spotlight came into full view. Man, what a treat!
And now for the inevitable question..... what's the history behind the DQ's calliope? Can someone provide a link to more information about it?
By the way: I shot LOTS of DQ video last night, and the preliminary results are very good. Because there's so much, it will take me a while to get it all prepared and uploaded to YouTube. But, stay tuned....
02/06/2008 11:03 am
Pat, if I had to guess, I would say the culprit behind that calliope concert was Travis, a frequent and recent poster here, who works as Riverlorian (or whatever it is they call it these days) on the DQ. You'll find that, just like it says in the song "Proud Mary", people on the river are happy to give! Knowing you'd be around, I'll bet Travis fired up the calliope just for you. Ain't it great?
The DQ's calliope was installed in 1960. The whistles are from a far older instrument. More info is probably already available either here on this site or steamboats.com . The idea came from two pipe organ nuts who had ownership of the boat in the 50's and 60's, Richard Simonton and E.J. Quinby.
02/06/2008 5:54 pm
Pat,
Well, I wish I could say I was the culprit. However, I was not infact aboard her Ladyship last evening. What you were hearing last night was the conclusion of the Captains Dinner proceedings on the second to last night of the cruise where they have a Coloured steam concert. This is provided by the Aurora Effect ("oooooh!").
The history of the DELTA QUEEN calliope is a highly debated one at best. There is little fact known about the calliope other than when it was installed aboard the boat and who provided the instrument to Cmdr. E.J. Quinby in 1959.
I will address this "history" in a seperate subject heading later this week in much more detail as I feel it may be helpful to Jon Tchiggfrie in his calliope research and perhaps what I know will entice others to comment and perhaps we all will learn something about the calliope of the DELTA QUEEN.
~Travis~
Topic starter
05/06/2008 1:03 am
Thanks for the info, Travis; I'm looking forward to reading your post. I tried to record the concert, but it didn't come out very well; the Delta Queen was nearly a mile away, and the microphone on my camera isn't very sensitive. I also heard one long toot of the whistle in there, too. I'm not sure if it was part of the concert or what, but it was a pleasant surprise. If I can pull any discernable sounds out of my audio recording, I'll post them.
05/06/2008 4:14 am
I know this: It's not played enough!!!
BTW, where do you find the sheet music to the Delta Queen Waltz??
S'
David D.
05/06/2008 10:10 pm
Pat,
Calliope: Delta Queen | steamboats.org
Here is the link to the paper. Franz posted it today. Thanks Franz!
~Travis~
05/06/2008 10:19 pm
David,
I have looked all over the net for it and have never found sheet music of any sort. If I ever do find it, I will let you know where I found it!
~Travis~
07/06/2008 1:00 pm
I've never seen the actual published sheet music for Delta Queen Waltz, but I can provide a lead sheet (melody, chords, lyrics) if you'd like. Just drop me an email [email protected].