I’m typing this while sitting in a hotel room in Delaware which has me thinking of David Bromberg, a citizen of this state. There’s a good story about how that happened.
Bromberg grew up in Tarrytown North of New York City, and moved to the City, first for school (Columbia University) and then music, leaning guitar from Gary Davis. He became one of the better session men around, even sharing slide guitar techniques with George Harrison and teaching the spiritual Beatle how to play the dobro.
Along the way, Bromberg developed the ability to make and repair his guitars, mandolins and a raft of stringed instruments. Bromberg become a luthier. He and his wife opened a Violin and Guitar Shop in Chicago, which provided a home base for many years.
Back in the year 2000, the City of Wilmington came calling. They wanted to revitalize the downtown area and believed that the presence of artist would help their cause. The City leaders approached David Bromberg and offered to give him a building downtown if he would relocate his guitar and violin shop and come and live in Wilmington. Bromberg was ready to leave the cold winters of Chicago and found his old home in New York City too expensive, so he and his wife moved to Delaware.
It worked to a degree and Bromberg poured himself into his new City. His store became a cultural hub. Bromberg performed often in the City and became a major sponsor of local art groups. He still lives in Wilmington though he and his wife sold the store a few years ago and a little over a year ago Bromberg played what he said was his farewell concert.
None of this has anything to do with “Sammy’s Song,” a memorizing tune that is both stark and gentle. Recorded in 1972, it tells the story of Sammy, a sixteen-year-old kid in the South of Spain and the time his uncle took him to a brothel for his birthday. Bromberg avoids cliches, refuses to gloss over the experience, as Sammy and his companion strip naked and confront their frailties, scars and loneliness. At times it is painful to witness and yet the song is beautiful and gives both Sammy and his companion back their dignity. It is an amazing act of imagination that finds truth. Think Keats:
Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.
Bromberg had recently played on Bob Dylan’s “Self Portrait” and “New Morning” albums. Dylan returns the favor by playing an emotional harmonica on this song. Most radio stations refused to play the song because of tis explicit nature and the FCC hounded those that did.
#Songoftheday #spreadinghappiness #davidbromberg #delaware #sammyssong
YouTube: https://youtu.be/dOWe7o11IrU?si=VVh4WnljLXgYAf4D
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0MpTfWKo1AILLkb0wKjQC5?si=5b3ea8b72d354468