"ROB!"

I have never reviewed a music tape, CD, or record. Now might not be the time to start but I just received Rob Richard's newest CD recorded on the new Walker digitized organ. It's impressive, both the artist as well as the organ. My reviewing is limited to good, very good, impressive and so on. This recording would rate a very, very good. I like all of the selections, the way they were played, and the organ itself. The fact that I am about to wear it out tells you how much I like it, as if you could wear out a CD. Rob has a web site called, you guessed it, "RobRichards.com" from which I am sure you would get prompt shipment. The name of the CD? Why it's "Rob Richards." Tell him I sent you.

In 1970 I was transferred to Rapid City, SD to make gas (out of coal). I can't say that the plant was hugely successful although it did help the economy of Rapid City for about 7 years. What does this have to do with the above music you might be asking by now? I'm about to tell you. At that time, there were only two members of ATOS in South Dakota, Rob and I. I don't suppose he would mind my saying so but he was then (and probably still is) Rob Leatherer. Rob lived in Aberdeen but his grandmother lived in Rapid City. At the time I had a 2/8 Wicks theatre organ that came out of Denver theatre. Somehow I had shoehorned it into our basement and it sounded pretty good. He came down to Rapid City as often as he could but mostly in the summer since he was still in high school. I have never before or since seen anyone so obsessed with the theatre organ, and I am sure he is still that way.

We had a good time. Several times we would present silent movies in the basement and invited whoever would come. I was the projectionist. Rob played the accompaniment of course and always followed with a tour and concert. One time we heard of an old theatre in Lead, S. D. that supposedly had an organ. Lead was an old gold mining town and the Homestake Theatre was company owned or was originally. Somehow we gained access and, low and behold, there was a Wurlitzer Style 109. A 109 has a piano console and four ranks, the percussion being the piano. Someone sometime had added a couple more ranks along the line. It was all installed under the stage, except of course for the gold console, with shutters speaking into what had been the orchestra pit. After a tune-up, it all worked amazingly well and before you could say "the face on the bar room floor," Rob had talked the management into letting us show a silent movie, which was very well attended. He also convinced a local theatre group to let him accompany a musical on the old organ. I don't remember the name of the play but again, it was very successful. I don't think they knew for sure what hit them when Rob came to town that summer. He was all of 16 years old.

One Fall, Barbara and I flew to Bismarck, N. D. for a special weekend at Reiny Delser's. Reiny had the four manual from Minneapolis on which Eddie Dunstedter recorded some of his best. Rob had preceded us there. He and Reiny met us at the airport with Rob wearing a chauffeur's cap and driving Reiny's big black Cadillac. It was some weekend with much music both at Reiny's and across the street on his neighbor's Robert Morton.

Well, time passes, I'm long retired, and Rob has become very successful in the Theatre Organ world. The Internet has made keeping in touch much easier. Just the other day when ordering the CD I said, "Can you believe I’m now 72?" He replied, "Can you believe I'm 40?" We don't write very long sentences.

John Adams