A MAN OF MUSIC

NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

In the 1960’S young couples like my wife and I would go to dinner some place in town and then go to a ‘piano bar,’ with friends and that was about it.  Once kids came along we were lucky to get out very often.  Jim’s Steak House was a good place to eat which was located on North Adams.  When we arrived for our reservation we sat next to three teenage kids, and talked a bit with them.  A pretty lady stood in front of a mike and introduced those three kids by pointing to them and saying, “Ladies and gentlemen please welcome The Forty-Second Street Auxiliary Choir!”  We thought it was a joke and we certainly knew what a choir was, but they scrambled up on the little stage, packing their string instruments and stood up there grinning at us for a moment before they started singing.  Well, they blew us away and we have been friends with them since that fun night.  It was in fact a trio; Bob Applegate, Tom Burton and the subject of this article, the man of music himself, Barry Cloyd.

Barry was all of fourteen and he likes to talk about his experience playing in a place that served alcohol, and where he learned an awful lot about making a living as an entertainer. “Norm I remember you and your wife and friends coming into Jims. I will admit it was a strange environment for kids but we usually only played until ten at night. I remember one night right in the middle of one of our sets a man came running in from the front of the place.  We learned he had been over at Suzie’s, a bar next door. Well, he ran right past us followed by a very irate, scary lady carrying a pair of scissors and both heading for the kitchen. We just kept singing as they raced through the place.  It was not long after that that the restaurant was loaded with police officers.  We soon learned that she had stabbed the man to death.  We kept that little trio together for about a year and being kids, we loved that wild nightlife scene I can tell you that.”

Music, guitars and singing have been a major part of Barry’s life since he picked up his first guitar at age six. “I played during my Hines Grade School days, and when I was very young I wrote a song that my mother had copyrighted.  I thought I was a big shot over that.  I liked to play in front of people and enjoyed the little plays we put on at Hines.  I learned to yodel at that time and taught my friend Rob Pyle to yodel.  I would play the guitar and we would yodel and sing. We were a big hit.”

Barry graduated from Richwoods High School appearing in a lot of plays and active in the Assemblies the staff put on. He loved the Choir and especially enjoyed his role in “How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. “I was a member of The Young Folk here and that was a lot of fun.  There must have been fifty kids in that group and it was directed by Dirk McGinnis and Choreographed by Gene Holmes. I learned a lot about presentation, music and entertainment and still have friends from that group.”

Barry went on to Milliken University majoring in Music Education, leaving after a year and a half.  “I was number seventeen in the draft and the Viet Nam War was still going on so I decided to enlist for three years so that I would have some say as to what I would do while I was in the Army. I ended up in Germany as a Missile Crewman in the mountains over there driving a massive truck carrying a nuclear Pershing Missile that could carry a 10 megaton warhead. I was not crazy about the army but I had my guitar, my music and my wife so I lived pretty well.”

Once out of the army Cloyd and his wife went out to Los Angeles to see if he could make it out there as an entertainer.  He made a demo record there and went around to studios and clubs to see if he could get some bookings and maybe get a recording contract. “I played at some pretty good places out there but I got shot down. Later we had a daughter named Ashley and I realized that I had to get some work but I never gave up my dream to be a full-time entertainer.  I worked at Montgomery Wards, sold new and used cars, and drove a concrete truck for five years. I spent a lot of years in marketing as an executive, but you know Norm I was never really a happy person.  After my divorce I decided that I was finally going to break free and put forth all my energy into making a living as a full-time musician, singer and song writer:  and that is exactly what I did.  I feel fulfilled today and realize that I made the decision that was best for me. I owe a lot to folks that helped me and I am very grateful for my time spent with Corn Stock and Peoria Players. I had great support from my parents and the early encouragement I received from them drives me to this day keeping my commitment as strong as it was the day I began living my dream.

One day I met Mr. Brian “Fox” Ellis and my fate was sealed.  We have written a ton of songs, plays and shows together connected with the Prairie Folklore Theatre and the River Boat. We both love to entertain and I have lived my dream for sixteen years doing at least 175 shows a year and we have written a vast amount of music together.  I have an agent now but do my own bookings and a lot of self promoting to keep busy. It is indeed a labor of love.”

Barry Cloyd, a true man of music, is still out there traveling much of the United States, and has been from Ireland to the Caribbean, playing fairs, colleges, concerts and River Boats. “Norm my latest CD, which is my 10^th release is called “Southland” and is available. The life I chose can be long and arduous with long trips in lonely cars, and second rate motels, but it is a life I love. Truth is it is the only thing that I have ever wanted to do. Barry would love to hear from you, just e-mail him at barryc1025@aol.com

EDITOR’S NOTE:   Norm is a Peoria Historian and true crime writer. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net