In last week's entry, I told you about some of the unusual places I've attended concerts. I also asked for some of your recollections, saying that I'd post some of them here on Danny's Diary.
So, for the last Danny's Diary before the counter rolls to 400, here is what some of you had to say...
My sister and I were singing with several artists at a campground in W.Va., a few years back. There was another female duet that sang a few spots before our time who sang a hymn to the track of "The Rose." It was simply gorgeous and we were backstage singing the other two parts.
After we sang we told these ladies about singing with them. So we decided to go up the hill to sing the song, this time, together. We couldn't get away from the sound of the continued singing, so we went into the ladies' bathroom. It was one of those typical concrete block buildings and had great acoustics.
To our surprise, when we finished and came out the door, a crowd had gathered and began applauding! Prior to this "concert venue," an airplane hanger had been the most unusual place we'd sung ... but this one definitely scored the top spot!
Donna Strong
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Speaking of sings at a funeral home, a couple of years ago a funeral home in Albany, Ga., was having an anniversary event. The room was full and speakers were on throughout the facility when Wilma Smith closed with "Ain't No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down."
Paul McCoy
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My wife sang for years with Danny and Patsy Carter of the Carters and she said they sang on the back of a flatbed pickup in front of a laundromat and at a Mobile Home Sales Center. She also sang at a church that was held in an abandoned gas station.
Rodney Wilson
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I'd heard of drive-in movies and drive-up restaurants, but drive-through concerts? We were invited to sing outside on the main street at a small town's fall festival event. When we arrived, we set up on the sidewalk in front of the small community center - but none of the event's organizers had thought to get approval to block off the street or detour traffic. So there we were, on one side of the street with one row of chairs in front of us (and I mean right in front - they used our monitors for footrests) and the rest of the rather sparse crowd seated on the sidewalk on the other side of the street...with cars passing in both directions between us!
Mark Fisher
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I once attended a concert in an old convenience store. It's been several years and I don't remember the artists. Also, several years ago, I attended a concert at a fire department. They had chairs set up in the big area where they normally house the fire trucks. The Hoppers sang that night but I don't remember who else was there. I really wish I would have written all of that down way back when.
Laura Tice
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I have my own story about THE GOSPEL CHICKEN HOUSE.
Back when my son John Rulapaugh was finishing high school he had teamed up with a small group from Windsor, North Carolina called "Harry White & Southern Sound" to sing at our home church. This was the group Richard Simmons played piano for at the time. They sang at the G.C.H. on Saturday night and sang at our church on Sunday morning. Well, on Sunday morning they were unloading the bus when Richard shouted "Oh, no, we don't have the blue box!" (That was the box that had all the mics and cords. I had to drive an hour and a half to the G.C.H., and then to Culpepper Va., to meet them for their evening service. Richard Simmons went along and I broke all the speed limits that day and as I was coming back to interstate 95 from the G.C.H., the town's "Barney Fife" stopped me.
Just as he walked up to my driver's window, Richard poked his head out and shouted, "Officer I AM Richard Simmons!".
The officer said, "And I'M Lt., So and So and I'M writing you a ticket!
Duane Rulapaugh
(Editor's Note: Both John Rulapuagh and Richard Simmons were original members of the Dove Brothers Quartet.)
