Table of Contents

The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides
The Musical Life and Times of Harry Brabec, 
Legendary Chicago Symphony
Percussionist and Humorist

by Barbara Brabec

Acknowledgments

 Preface

 Chapter 1: Beginning Again
A Whirlwind  Courtship • Ready to Roll • Feast or Famine

Chapter 2: Melody Top Summer Theater
Amusing Reviews for 1962 Shows • A Rip in Time • First Vacation and Other Work • The 1963 Melody Top Season • Melody Top’s Last Season • “The Rain in Spain” • Backstage with Pete Fountain • End of an Era

Chapter 3: Divinely Connected by the Marimba
Better Marimbas and Music Lessons in Chicago • “Get an Act, Honey”  •  Supper Club Debut and Musician’s Union Surprise • Entertaining Women’s Clubs

Chapter 4: On Being Czech
Czech History and the “Bohemian Sausage Cheer” • Louis M. Blaha and J. Sterling Morton High School • “Blaha’s Blasting Bohemians” • Courting Girls in the Forties • Trekking to Berwyn for Goodies • “Food, Glorious Food!”

Chapter 5: The Shubert Theatre Days
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying • “I Hope You Boys Don’t Play Too Loud” • Harry’s Meat Baster Stunt in Oliver • Funny Girl • Hello, Dolly! • A Very Personal Shubert Theatre Story • Harry’s 1966 Percussion Recital • So You Want to Leave Show Biz?

Chapter 6: Flashback to the Forties & Harry’s Big Band Days
Jobbing in High School • Two Years with Wayne King • Touring and Recording with Chuck Foster • Foster and Band Personnel Stories • Recordings, Transcriptions, V-Disks, and Soundies • Musicians in Glenn Miller's Band • The “Sweet Bands”

Chapter 7: Chicago’s Radio/TV Orchestras & Recording Studios
The NBC Studio Orchestra • Chicago’s Jingle Business • Making Recordings and Commercials • Booking Agents, Contractors, and Recording Studios • Hotel Jobs, Night Clubs, and Chicago Gangsters • A Tale of Two Drum Shops

Chapter 8: The Chicago Symphony Years
The National Symphony Orchestra • Rafael Kubelik and Harry • Legendary Brabec-Reiner Stories • A Shotgun Confrontation • The Story Behind the Story • A Mentor to Many • More Stories from Fellow Musicians • Recordings Made with Fritz Reiner • Other Fritz Reiner Stories • The Painful Aftermath • Three Punches to the Gut

Chapter 9: Taking another Chance on Love and Music
Bad Habits Broken • Touring with the Symphony • Ring Dem Bells! • Onward to Alaska • Back with the Symphony Full Time • Chicago’s “Killer Storm of ’67” • Memorable Music Moments of 1967 • Trouble Ahead

Chapter 10: The Lure of Disney World
The Walt Disney World Marching Band • Disney World’s Grand Opening • The “76 Trombones” Recording • The Life of a Disney Musician • Cinderella Castle • All That Glitters is Not Gold • Leaving on a High Note

Chapter 11: A Man of Many Interests and Talents
“Smarter than the Average Bear” • Brabec the Bibliophile • Trivia and the English Language • Word Play • An Amazing Collection of Music • Amusing Surprises in the Cassette Tape Boxes • Seeing Harry through His Files, Notebooks, and Scrapbooks • The Drummer’s Workshop and Pack Rat Tendencies

Chapter 12: Playing Life by Ear
The Silver Dollar City Crafts Festival • Music in the Ozarks • The International Crafts Exposition • Dining on the Way to Germany • Forced to Move Again

Chapter 13: Dark Days in Brabecland
Harry’s Deepening Depression • Situation Desperate • Hitting Bottom Once Again • More Disappointment in the Eighties • A Symphony Fiasco • Back to Chicago Again • “But at least we ain’t got locusts” • Lifestyle and Attitude Changes

Chapter 14: Nostalgic Music Remembrances
Joe Sperry and Harry’s Old Drum Set • Ollie Zinsmeister, Xylophonist Extraordinaire • Five Famous Russian Composers • A Twenty-Year Correspondence with Doug MacLeod  •  Harry's Most Amusing Letter

Chapter 15: Winding Down a Long Musical Career
Chicago’s Music Business Then and Now • Playing A Chorus Line • The Bensenville Concert Band • The Windjammers Circus Band • Masonic Musicians • Sitting in with the Carson & Barnes Circus

Chapter 16: The Last Difficult Decade
Nine Days that Changed Our Lives • Talking to God • A New Perspective on Life • A Hard Row to Hoe • Dancing with Death • Is That Jimmy Stewart I See There? • Special Blessings and Small Miracles • Going Home

Chapter 17: A Widow's Ponderings and Regrets
“No Fanfare, Please” • Harry’s Estranged Daughter • A Widow’s “Busy Work” • No Ordinary Joe • Thoughts about Love • Being a Witness to Someone’s Life

Encore, Encore!

Appendix

Index

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