Long time KT fan starting with the Stewart Trio...a bit young for the Guard group
Sang in my own knockoff folk trio group. We played a lot up in Northern Michigan at the Boyne resorts during the summer.
I think my KT interest started to wane when the Trio finished with the Decca albums....I'd moved on, but kept all my albums.
In 1972, I graduated from Michigan State and knocked on doors with my audio tapes until someone took a chance on me as a TV sportscaster. They really liked my voice...In 1979 I was hired as the weeknight sports guy at the NBC station in Dallas. First time I made real money....and no state income tax. They also liked my voice. From there I was hired by WXYZ the ABC owned station in Detroit. I worked there with local Detroit TV legends...Bill Bonds, Jac LeGoff, Dave Diles et al....Finally a move to Denver...KMGH, the CBS affiliate. They liked my voice...in the late '80's I started having a lot of trouble with having to clear my throat...my health Achilles heal at that time in my life was/were my sinuses with the resultant post nasal drip. It was starting to affect my voice...not a lot at first, but it was an issue..
I really do have a point to this rant. I was with the Denver Broncos for a pre season game in Minneapolis. During the game I was constantly clearing my throat using the "cough switch" constantly. When I arrived home on the Denver charter very early the next morning, I had a message from Dr. Pete Carter, an ENT specialist and a social friend. He had me meet him in his office early that Sunday morning so he could take a look at what was going on. He used that scope I'm sure you're familiar with. He quickly ruled out cancer, but did give me the news that I had viral pappaloma, the virus we hear so much about these days and its relations to cervical cancer in women.
Dr. Carter used a laser to take the lesions off and told me to go on vacation and not talk for two weeks. I did that..went to Florida and laid on a beach and read books. To bring this to a close, I ended up have ten surgeries in three years...seven of them at the Mayo clinic. The lesions went away, by my vocal cords were so scarred that my voice sounded much like Rod Stewart without the ability to sing.
I was able to sit around and stew about it for a couple of years....I tried voice therapy, but it wasn't going to work on physically altered larynx. I did regain my voice enough to be part of a sports talk theme at KYBG....clung to that for six years along with my partner Sandy Clough. I sat in for Peter Boyles when he was on vacation three or four times a year....actually had John Stewart as my guest for two hours when he was playing a showroom of a downtown Denver hotel.
No one will ever understand (maybe you will) what that stress and depression is like when you lose your identity. One that provided us with celebrity, financial gain, nice clothes and a lot of other things that don't matter.
I remember when you were replaced by Rick with Bob and Bill now making up the KT..If they were going to make that move then Red Grammar would have been my choice...
I seem to remember reading something you wrote about you KT ejection. You, Bill and George had recorded a live album. I had the album and knew something wasn't right. I thought it too bad they had to record the cd with Bob having a cold. High notes werent quite there, but I didn't really thing about it. It seems you wrote something about Bob dislikeing the whole project....I may be totally off on this and, if so, for that I'm sorry.
If I had a chance to do what I did, even with a new cast, I'd give it a try. I'll know if it's any good.
6 years ago I decided to take a flyer at something. I'm a Viet Nam combat veteran....I came away fairly unscathed and thought I might have something to offer some of the very trouble young and older men who didn't die in a war,, but they lost their lvies.and abiliy to live. So now after, what amounted to four years at the U of Utah, I"m a full time counselor at the Salt Lake City Veterans Administration,, working every day in the PTSD Clinic and the Substance Abuse Clinic. I'm also in training to be a certified suicide screener. All is good.I just thought there are some pin our lives.....Go sing your songs and forget this
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