Topic starter
08/12/2011 5:47 pm
I just received copies of the new expanded AMERICAN QUEEN brochure, and the best part of it reads: "Top Ragtime musician Steve Spracklen and other performers from the rich steamboating tradition are favorites who regularly appear onboard." Hopefully that means Steve will be on a regular rotation - the only thing better would be if he could be reunited with his Paddlewheel Lounge partner Fred Dodd!...maybe a little reunion on a UMR trip where Fred currently resides? And Bubba, that picture with the NATCHEZ in the background at the wharf is on p. 14. The AQ is docked at Bienville for their race.
08/12/2011 7:51 pm
Fred Dodd
There might be better banjo players on this planet but I don't remember ever hearing one.
Topic starter
08/12/2011 8:25 pm
Fred
Not to mention his dry sense of humor - the bantering between Steve and Fred really made their performances. And for those who don't go back this far, Steve on piano and Fred on banjo were the duo in the MQ's Paddlewheel Lounge. They played cocktail hour and then late shows. Steve later went on to become Cruise Director on the AQ, with an occasional piano performance. Jazzou, if you are reading: did you ever work with either of them on the boats? You and Steve are the ultimate in ragtime piano...
09/12/2011 4:28 am
Yes, I go back to those years. In fact, Steve started just after I did on the MQ in the Paddlewheel. Because we both do the same job we rarely got to work together, but I remember on quite a few occasions in port playing the Maple Leaf Rag as a piano duo switching out on the piano stool in relay style for each section and trying not to miss any beats during the switches. Steve is also known for his great Spike Jones numbers. Got to work with Fred as a duo a number of times and, like I am when I work with Bob Schad, I was always Fred's best audience. He kept me in stitches with that wry and dry humor for which he's famous - and also for his amazing banjo picking.
09/12/2011 4:57 am
Steve and Fred
Yes, I go back to those years, Judy. In fact, Steve started just after I did on the MQ in the Paddlewheel. Because we both did the same job we rarely got to work together, but I remember on quite a few occasions in port playing the Maple Leaf Rag as a piano duo switching out on the piano stool in relay style for each section and trying not to miss any beats during the switches. Steve is also known for his great Spike Jones numbers. Got to work with Fred as a duo a number of times and, like I am when I work with Bob Schad, I was always Fred's best audience. He kept me in stitches with that wry and dry humor for which he's famous - and also for his amazing banjo picking. Fred is the one who bestowed my son John's river name on him one day when he called him "Boyzzou"