A story by Ken Brooks from 2024
Ken Brooks circa 1969
I grew up in the small town of Robbinston in eastern Washington County, Maine, population around 400. There was a small family band called Stanhope’s Orchestra that played a few times a year at our local grange hall. Their instruments were horns and drums, and their music, for the most part, was the big band dance numbers. I was too shy to consider dancing, but I loved the music. My family always had a radio and I listened to WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia and CFNB in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, both stations playing all country music.
There were a few folks around who played guitar and sang at local grange halls and school events. A teacher in our elementary school, who played piano and taught some music in school, found out that I could sing and encouraged me.
The instrument that I was most drawn to was guitar. I got my first guitar at age 11. I have always enjoyed most genres of music but country music appealed to me the most. What really captivated me was the stories told (some true, some as if they were true), the way they rhymed, and the way the music, often simple, enhanced those stories. Of course, several instruments would be utilized in making a recording and I enjoyed the interplay of all of them – the rhythm guitar, lead guitar (acoustic or electric), fiddle, drums, steel guitar, banjo, and mandolin.
Having taken an interest in singing, it seems to me that the guitar was the most versatile instrument for accompaniment and I still love the sound of a good guitar well-played.
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