[Pdubs76]

Originally Posted by TheGITM

In 1987 I was in the US Army stationed in Germany and playing in a touring rock band on the weekends. We landed a local gig at a large beer festival in the local town where we were stationed, so we got to play for a large group of fellow GIs that we knew.

It was just after dark and we were cranking out the metal tunes. Everyone was drinking and having a good time. I hear our lead singers voice cracking badly and he was suddenly struggling... visibly. He left the stage in the middle of the song so we wrapped that song up as best we could.

Since 'my other music life' was acoustics and folk songs, the lead guitarist suggested a play an impromptu set with my acoustic. There were a few hundred beer-guzzling metal heads in the crowd and a rock band that clearly had a problem.


I strapped on the acoustic, did a quick sound check, then started playing 'Margaritaville'. The crowd seemed to get into it. When I finished the lead guitarist let me know that John (the singer) had been throwing up and had lost his voice entirely (turned out he had strep). So, I played a bunch more songs. When I felt things were winding down and maybe we'd put in enough time to get paid, I told the crowd I was going to finish with a classic, and that I'd really like for them to sing along...

"A long, long time ago... I can still remember... how that music... used to make me smile..."

When I got to the chorus, the entire beer tent, Germans and Americans, were wailing... "Bye bye, miss American Pie..." - I was nailing everything - every chord and vocal nuance... just spot on and I knew it.

I got to the end (which I would slow down, dramatically), and after the final chorus I got a huge ovation... but that's not the coolest part!

There was an E8 Master Sgt that never much cared for me. He came up to me when I left the stage, put his hand on my shoulder and with teary eyes said, "Manning, I thought you were just a burnt out space case dud, but after hearing you play that song I know I was wrong."

He went on to describe how much that song meant to him, and a lot of other soldiers that were caught up in the final years in Viet Nam. He and I were friends for the rest of my tour...

That’s a great story!