Table of Contents
The Drummer Drives! Everybody Else Rides
The Musical Life and Times of Harry Brabec,Â
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 Topâs Last Season ⢠âThe Rain in Spainâ ⢠Backstage with Pete Fountain ⢠End of an Era
Chapter 3: Divinely Connected by the Marimba
Better Marimbas and Music Lessons in Chicago ⢠âGet an Act, Honeyâ â˘Â Supper Club Debut and Musicianâs Union Surprise ⢠Entertaining Womenâs Clubs
Chapter 4: On Being Czech
Czech History and the âBohemian Sausage Cheerâ ⢠Louis M. Blaha and J. Sterling Morton High School ⢠âBlahaâs Blasting Bohemiansâ ⢠Courting Girls in the Forties ⢠Trekking to Berwyn for Goodies ⢠âFood, Glorious Food!â
Chapter 5: The Shubert Theatre Days
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying ⢠âI Hope You Boys Donât Play Too Loudâ ⢠Harryâs Meat Baster Stunt in Oliver ⢠Funny Girl ⢠Hello, Dolly! ⢠A Very Personal Shubert Theatre Story ⢠Harryâs 1966 Percussion Recital ⢠So You Want to Leave Show Biz?
Chapter 6: Flashback to the Forties & Harryâs 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 âSweet Bandsâ
Chapter 7: Chicagoâs Radio/TV Orchestras & Recording Studios
The NBC Studio Orchestra ⢠Chicagoâs 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 ⢠Chicagoâs âKiller Storm of â67â ⢠Memorable Music Moments of 1967 ⢠Trouble Ahead
Chapter 10: The Lure of Disney World
The Walt Disney World Marching Band ⢠Disney Worldâs Grand Opening ⢠The â76 Trombonesâ 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
âSmarter than the Average Bearâ ⢠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 Drummerâs 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
Harryâs Deepening Depression ⢠Situation Desperate ⢠Hitting Bottom Once Again ⢠More Disappointment in the Eighties ⢠A Symphony Fiasco ⢠Back to Chicago Again ⢠âBut at least we ainât got locustsâ ⢠Lifestyle and Attitude Changes
Chapter 14: Nostalgic Music Remembrances
Joe Sperry and Harryâs Old Drum Set ⢠Ollie Zinsmeister, Xylophonist Extraordinaire ⢠Five Famous Russian Composers ⢠A Twenty-Year Correspondence with Doug MacLeod â˘Â Harry's Most Amusing Letter
Chapter 15: Winding Down a Long Musical Career
Chicagoâs 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
âNo Fanfare, Pleaseâ ⢠Harryâs Estranged Daughter ⢠A Widowâs âBusy Workâ ⢠No Ordinary Joe ⢠Thoughts about Love ⢠Being a Witness to Someoneâs Life
Encore, Encore!
Appendix
Index