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Henry Henry was born in Kennett Square, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia and lived there until June '03, when he and his wife of 30 years, Shirley Anna, moved to Gainesville for the beautiful Florida sunshine. Shirley and Henry have three grown sons (the youngest of which is also a guitar player) as well as 5 grandchildren. Henry's first recollection of an interest in music (age 4) came from listening to accordion music on the radio in his Italian Grandmother's kitchen as she made meat balls and "home mades" (spaghetti). He learned to play the accordion by age six and still has one that he will bring out with a little coaxing. After the accordion, he moved on to the usual combo organs and electric pianos of the 60's, however his main instrument became and still is the King of all keyboards, the mighty HAMMOND ORGAN. |
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Henry has been playing professionally since age 14 when he played his first New Year's Eve gig in a room where he clearly should not have been. At about age 16, he formed the HJR trio, a commercial jazz band that played weddings, parties, nightclubs (otherwise known as bars) and the like for over 25 years which helped finance his son's education. After the Trio he was a co-founder of "RED HOT & blue", a 7 piece rhythm & blues horn band that played high profile gigs and nightclubs in the Philadelphia area. Whenever he's in Pa. you'll see him seated behind the keys with RHB. His favorite music ranges from Blues / Rhythm & Blues to Classic Rock. A Professional Land Surveyor by day, Henry still co-owns a business, Crossman-Raimato, Inc. in Pennsylvania (heck of a commute!), but hopes to open up a second office here in Gainesville by the end of the year. Musical Influences include: James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin, Chicago, Tower Of Power, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Robert Cray, The Allman Brothers, Carlos Santana, The Beatles, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin and just about anybody else from the 60's on up who played blues, soul, rock or funk. Instrumental Influences: Greg Allman, Joey DeFrancesco, Jimmy Smith, Reese Wynans, Dr. John Favorite Getaways: Tucson, Maui, Roma, any Caribbean island. Hobbies: Traveling with friends and living in Florida with Shirley Anna Favorite Quote: "It's easy to get good players, getting them to play together is the hard part." -- Casey Stengle |
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