~ Malden Musings ~ Lana & Milo Meet Vinyl Records

By Peter Levine

In the “fill my heart with song” department, in three parts…

1. The Newport Jazz Festival has once again come and gone. My one time attending was many years ago and — to be honest — I remember very little from the day (“bad ice cube” day?). We started the Saturday morning at Mike’s Café, made Newport halfway through Mel Torme’s first set and jetted back to Malden for last call at the Roadside. I recently broke out my pristine copy of Newport 1958 Mahalia Jackson vinyl record and have been wearing it out ever since. The “Queen of Gospel” performed a legendary, star-making set at the festival that year highlighted by powerful renditions of my faves, “The Lord’s Prayer,” “An Evening Prayer” and “Didn’t It Rain.”
2. Malden/Mahalia connection…mid-1960s, Preacher Jack is a Mahalia fanatic. Jack was famous for his unhinged boogie-woogie performances but was also an accomplished pen and ink guy. Long story short, he pens a 10×12 portrait of Mahalia, finds an address in a fanzine, sends her the drawing first-class postage. Six months passed without a thank you note from the “little girl with the big voice” (which quite a few artists did in those days). Jack is in Malden Square, walks into Woolworths, picks up a copy of Look Magazine with Mahalia on the cover and opens to page 12. Jack stood gob smacked for what he described as feeling like “eternity” when he spied a photo taken in Mahalia’s living room with Jack’s pen and ink matted and framed on the wall going up the stairs to the bedrooms. He kept that Look Magazine on him for decades until it finally evaporated into thin air. True story.
3. Which brings me to my grandchildren Christian (16), Lola (13), Lana (6) and Milo (4), who are now the proud owners of their very own turntable. Six-year-old Lana’s first words: “What the heck is THAT, Papa!?” Centrally located in the living room I have also gifted many vinyl albums to the foursome, with Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” the “Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack” and the 1972 release “Hokey Pokey’ and Other Favorites’ on Melody House Records getting the most spins. Vinyl records being kept alive one family at a time.

It is said in Malden Musings….

• I ran into Mary Hampton’s little brother John (MHS Class of ’74) recently at — where else but the meeting place of the Maldonia elite — Pearl Street Station. Although it was just a “hello, how ya doin’” type of interaction, it is always a pleasure to run into another person who loves Malden just as much as I do. Stay well, John.
• Thinking of you always, Donna M. (Lynch) Pisaturo, on the Sept. 21 (2023) anniversary of your passing. A Somerville gal who married into Malden making Malden an even better place to live; we were very fortunate to have Donna in our lives. Rest peacefully, sweet Donna.
• This is a Public Service Announcement brought to you by the good folks (me) at Malden Musings: It is now safe once again to travel down Highland Ave. without fear of losing your muffler or blowing out a tire, but continue to avoid Pleasant Street, Canal, Broadway, Lebanon from basically Melrose to Malden for that matter, and most of Salem Street. No need to thank me.
• In the “she gives Malden a bad name department,” I present to you… the (late) middle-aged woman driving for Uber in the “USA 250” sweatshirt and unflattering activewear parked in the bike lane on Exchange Street who, when alerted by a passerby that she was parked in said bike lane, told the passerby to “mind their own expletive deleted business” accompanied by the one-fingered salute. Because of her ill-mannered and entitled “Karen” response, she will bypass GO and immediately be enshrined in the “Giving Malden a Bad Name Boorish Behavior Hall of Fame.” So be it, so shall it be done.
• Fun facts brought to you by those of us who love the esoteric side of pop culture (Paul Sherman?)… Hal Smith ruled in 1960! There was a catcher named Hal W. Smith who hit a Game 7 go-ahead three-run home run for the 1960 World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates. There was also an All-Star catcher named Hal R. Smith who played for the Saint Louis Cardinals and finally there was the lovable Mayberry town drunkard of the Andy Griffith Show, Hal Smith aka Otis Campbell. How ’bout that!
• Speaking of PSS, next time you are there enjoying any of their fabulous offerings (especially their pizza pie!), say hello to MHS Class of 1975’s Paula Cagno, who is the newest great hire at that Malden institution. She’s like wicked nice just like the rest of her family.

The Development Director at Bread of Life, Patty “Frankie’s Wife” Kelly, reached out to me recently and asked if I could spread the word. BOL has a new initiative — they’ve launched a garden paver fundraiser: 12×12 laser-engraved bricks to be placed at BOL along the bike path in between their garden planters (and beyond). Each paver is a $500 one-time donation. It’s the next project to beautify their space which, to date, 14 generous donors have participated in. Contact Patty at 781-397-0404 or on her direct line (781-820-4749) or go to their webpage for even more details: www.breadoflifemalden.org.

If you venture into the beautiful BOL facility in person, please remember to say hello to my sister Barbara (Scibelli), Annamaria Antoniou Georgopoulos and former Ace Parking Control Officer Richard “Dick” Young. They are doing the (deity of your choice) work for an outstanding organization.

Apropos of nothing… Richard, you are still missed every single day in the Parking Department.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” — there are eight million stories in the Naked City, this will be one of them… After reading the June 25 edition of the Jewish Journal’s wonderful tribute to the late, great Eddie Andelman (written magnificently by Rich Tenorio, btw) my admiration and love for Eddie and “The Sports Huddle” was rekindled once again. Must listen radio back in the day every Sunday night — my brother Frankie and I had our trusty vintage Stewart portable AM radio with the tan faux leather casing tuned in for three glorious hours of mishigas. His famous all-night session with Captain Lou Albano is stuff of legend. Lou bragged for three straight hours! About his then 32-inch waist (LOL)! How Sophia Loren chased him for years! And had Celtic Nation laughing out loud when he proclaimed Larry Bird the cheapest man at Daisey’s! My brief Eddie Andelman encounter along with childhood bestie Jimmy Damiano and brother Frankie was classic Eddie Andelman. It’s 1972 and Ross Tuxedo is located on Exchange Street approximately where Fitzgerald Park aka Ed Emberley Park currently sits. Eddie and his wife, the original “Fabulous Judy,” were making a special promotional appearance on our very own Exchange Street at the go-to tuxedo destination on the North Shore, “Ross Tuxedo.” We got in the door early with a little help from the boss’ daughter (Deby), who happens to be a very close friend of ours. Fast forward 15 minutes and we started yakking it up with Eddie. Jimmy said to Eddie he is very unhappy with the Sparky Lyle for Danny Cater trade that recently transpired between the Yanks and the Sox. Eddie felt the same way and all four of us yukked it up at the expense of — once again — the incompetent, amateurish Yawkey front office. All of us became fast friends, bonding over the continued misery of the Boston Red Sox aka the original Bad News Bears! Insert smiley face.

Postscript: The first annual Billy Settemio Memorial Bocce Tournament was, not surprisingly, a standing-room-only affair. Of course it was! Billy had that way of bringing people together, and as his daughter Amanda so beautifully reminded me, the turnout was a testament to Billy’s character and to the love he so freely shared with others. There was plenty of bocce, plenty of laughs, plenty of booze — and I’m sure, more than a few memories of Billy floating around the Italian American that day.

Mayor Gary Christenson and Sal Gennetti announced that a bench in Billy’s memory will be included at the new Butch Gennetti Park on Pearl Street as construction moves forward. Somehow, that just feels right. Don’t it? Billy spent so much of his life in and around this neighborhood and that park, and now there’ll be a place on Pearl Street where Maldonia can sit a spell, take a breather, tell an old Billy story and remember the guy who always seemed to have time for everybody. And on a personal note, I fully intend to be the first one sitting on that bench — Schlitz in hand — the beer of choice for Billy and me back in 1975. I can’t think of a more fitting way to christen it.

More on the bench and Butch Gennetti Park as details become available. Until then, raise a glass, roll a bocce ball and (please) always keep Billy’s memory alive.

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at Pe*****@*ol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.