Frank Features – music

Originally posted in June 2020

In honor of Father’s Day and my dear Dad, Frank Andrews whose 101st bday is June 30th, I share a series on Frank features.

Music Memories

My dad believed in and loved the power of music. I remember my dad usually singing to one of his children. I often recall hearing him break out in this silly song together.

The ukelele was Dad’s instrument. He would often break out his uke and song sheets with the handwritten chords during summer vacations. Many of the songs were of the vintage of a dad who grew up in the ’20s and ’30s. Dad grew up in Hawaii when his Dad was stationed there pre-WWII. Hawaiian music of that era and his living there during his service time in the 50’s heavily influenced his playlist and what my young ears heard. Since there were no headsets for individual listening, Dad’s music was our music. The Princess Papule was at the top of my Hawaiian favorites because of the funny-sounding lyrics. I can still rattle off the names of so many of his loved tunes as Dad continued playing and listening to music throughout his life.

When my dad was in his final days, the smartest thing I did was to bring my iPad loaded with all I could remember of what he loved. I knew what he loved not only because he shared it but also because he cataloged his music and created an order others could follow.

During a hospital stay, if Dad were unsettled about something going on, we would bring out the iPad. Dad would get still and quiet, take a deep breath and say on the exhale, “Ah, now that’s really good music.” Once the earbuds were in and the volume turned up on his favorites, his restlessness and anxiety would melt.

Think I” ll head over to youtube and listen to Lovely Hula Hands, Beyond the Reef, or My Little Grass Shack

Are there tunes you associate with your dad?

Thanks for the music and the memories, Dad.