Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Pioneer 'son' Spencer dies at 75
From the Arizona Daily Star
Robert J. "Sunny" Spencer blew one last labored breath into his saxophone, then stopped.
He put the instrument on the stage at the Hidden Valley Inn on that Thursday night two weeks ago and turned to his Sons of the Pioneers bandmates.
Spencer spent the last seven years battling respiratory illness after contracting valley fever, said his son-in-law and fellow band member, Gary LeMaster.
Spencer joined the Pioneers - the 72-year-old Western band that plays winters in Tucson and summers in Branson, Mo. - in 1984, 40 years into his music career.
"He was just a great player with lots of humor," said Debbie Pundt, office manager for the Tucson-based Western Music Association.
Spencer's signature act with the Pioneers had him playing every instrument in the band, from fiddle to sax, for the ditty "Mama Don't Allow No Music Played Around Here." He would light into the fiddle at a furious pace, and the band would sing "Mama don't allow …" and fill in the blank with whatever instrument Spencer was playing. The audience would laugh as Spencer scrambled to play every instrument, followed by the perfect harmonies of his boys chiding him not to play.
Read the article
Arizona Daily Star
Robert J. "Sunny" Spencer blew one last labored breath into his saxophone, then stopped.
He put the instrument on the stage at the Hidden Valley Inn on that Thursday night two weeks ago and turned to his Sons of the Pioneers bandmates.
Spencer spent the last seven years battling respiratory illness after contracting valley fever, said his son-in-law and fellow band member, Gary LeMaster.
Spencer joined the Pioneers - the 72-year-old Western band that plays winters in Tucson and summers in Branson, Mo. - in 1984, 40 years into his music career.
"He was just a great player with lots of humor," said Debbie Pundt, office manager for the Tucson-based Western Music Association.
Spencer's signature act with the Pioneers had him playing every instrument in the band, from fiddle to sax, for the ditty "Mama Don't Allow No Music Played Around Here." He would light into the fiddle at a furious pace, and the band would sing "Mama don't allow …" and fill in the blank with whatever instrument Spencer was playing. The audience would laugh as Spencer scrambled to play every instrument, followed by the perfect harmonies of his boys chiding him not to play.
Read the article
Arizona Daily Star
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 9:22 PM 
