Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Barry Piggott, Barry Piggott, Where For Art Thou?

Okay, sue me. I was trying a little Shakespearean prose without much success!

You're probably wondering just who in the hell is Barry Piggott? You're also probably wondering if that last name is real. I mean really....Piggott?

To answer your first question: Barry Piggott was a childhood friend of mine that I met through my sister. She had a little band that consisted of keyboards (my sister), Bass (a friend of hers, Bob) and drums (Barry Piggott). I remember they would rehearse in our living room and I thought it was so cool when they played together.

The reason Barry made such an impression on me is that he was the youngest in the group, he was awfully cute, and he was a drummer, the same as me. For a teenage boy of 14 or 15, he was exceedingly easy to talk to. So, we grew into fast friends although I kept my huge crush on him a secret!

So whatever happened to Barry Piggott?

He is living in the Beaumont/Port Arthur Texas area and he is a professional musician. He plays a variety of instruments with his main instruments being keyboards and harmonica (or harp) as well as singing lead. He favors R & B and Rock-n-Roll as is the tradition of music in that area.

Barry Piggott
C'mon, you know the musicians to come out of the Golden Triangle: Janis Joplin, Edgar Winter, Johnny Winter, songwriter Don Rollins (It's 5 O'clock Somewhere) , George Jones, Clay Walker, Mark Chesnutt, Tracy Byrd, Jerry LaCroix and a host of others.

Barry with Jerry LaCroix, former lead singer of Blood Sweat & Tears
It's funny, I found out that Barry has a 15 year old son now and my God, it's like looking at his father 30 years ago. Right down to the hair-do! He even plays a shiny blue set of drums. History is repeating itself!

The Piggotts are a talented family. Barry's father, Johnny Piggott is a lifelong musician in his own right and plays a mean guitar. He often sits in with his son and sings backup. I can remember many a weekend spending time at the Piggotts' house watching Barry practice and Johnny coaching his band. Oh, and there is one more Piggott musician, little brother David who was 3 years old when I knew him. He now plays bass for Monte Montgomery and travels all over the world.

David Piggott all grown up!

Another shot of David
Question #2: Yes, Piggott is their real name! I was always so glad all the guys were thin...Porky Piggott is such an unkind nickname.

I've tried to hook up with Barry several times, but it just hasn't worked out as he doesn't have internet connection.

Thanks for the memories, Barry.

More Musings Later-

4 comments:

Swen's Mom said...

Hey, I came across your blog through a Google news alert about Monte Montgomery. David Piggott is a great guy. I've been watching him play bass with Monte for a few years now and he's a terrific bass player. Wish I got to see David, Monte and drummer Jamey Bell more often but I live in Wisconsin and they come up here only 2-3 times a year.

Anonymous said...

To Musings from a writer-
I am a close friend of Barry and have just read your blog to him via phone. He found the trip down memory lane fantastic. Oh and he still has that same hairstyle!

Jerry said...

Great to hear he is doing well. I took guitar lessons from him for a while when I first started about 22 years ago (it was at A&S music store). He got me off to a good start and he is an outstanding musician. Also, he is a really fun and friendly guy.

Jerry May

Anonymous said...

Ah, yes, I remember. I played in the band for a year, 1981-1982. The Piggotts were very, very nice, as I'm sure they still are. I had to finally stop, professionally. Glad to see Barry did not!

Greg M.