Comb the continent and you won’t find anyone more full of life than Bossy’s grandfather Walt. In his late teens he meets a trumpet player named Red and joins his outfit—a full Dixie combo consisting of trumpet, clarinet, piano, guitar, bass, and drums—and they play three to five nights a week for bootleggers in a…
family tree
The Family Album Straight Up With A Twist.
Here Bossy’s grandfather Walt—in the back—shares a moment with a few neighbors and his father, who is standing far right. Walt’s father is emotionally absent, but he works for RCA and so provides young Walt with one important thing: a table-top Victrola featuring a large wooden horn, which Walt promptly uses to play the grooves…
The Family Album Straight Up With A Twist.
Across town: Bossy’s grandfather, Walt. A real prankster, this kid. A natural athlete and hell-raiser. The first one up in the morning, the first one diving into an icy ocean, the first one across the Ben Franklin Bridge on ribbon-cutting day. He hops freight trains to school and lobs eggs into Grand Opening crowds and…