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- THE LOST WANDERING RELIEF FUND -
EVERYBODY knows the LOST WANDERING JAZZ AND BLUES BAND. And everybody knows the founder of that band... (read in Danny's voice)..
"Ladies and Gentlemen... the one and only... DANIEL FITZGERALD!"
A LITTLE HISTORY...
Daniel Fitzgerald was born in 1933 one of 9 children in Kingston, New York. For years I’ve heard stories from Danny about his family and those times but for the real nitty gritty you’re just going to have to ask his sister, Brenda Waldemar.
Now I don’t know the exact timeline, but at some point in the 1950’s Danny got into the U.S. Army and was shipped overseas to Germany. While stationed there, somebody (Gerta!) fell in love and they now have an awesome son, Danny (Jr) Loechner, who was born in and still lives in Stuttgart, Germany.
After his stint in the Army Danny was back in the States and enrolled in City College New York where he studied law. And he was always lawyerin’ about something! He also became a fixture in the downtown New York City scene. When all that ’60’s stuff was happening in the West Village and Harlem... Danny was there. He knew lots of the jazz & pop scene-makers at the time.
And then there was 3rd Street! the rent: $39.13. (I’ll NEVER forget that rent amount!) That was a famous apartment... corner of Bowery & 3rd St. NYC. The Bowery was funky back in the ’60’s,’70’s and ’80’s. The Hell’s Angels had their main NYC clubhouse right down the block on 3rd St. I think the apartment officially belonged to Bill Gross. That place was Danny & Bill’s international headquarters for decades. Everybody went there, Lil Joe, David Wakeman, Bedonna, Anthony Ravelli, Bruce, Tommy Tortalini, Izak Haber, Brian White, George Breakfast, and all kinds of people from all over the world.
Meanwhile in the ’60’s and ’70’s...
Danny’s making annual pilgrimages to Europe to see his son, Danny Jr., and to just hang out in Paris. He would work six months at the Advertising Club across from Penn Station in New York. Then go to Paris and stay in a cheap hotel and just hang. I don’t know everybody who was hanging w. Danny at that time but somehow David Hadley, Gracie and Nobby, Bill Gross, Carolyn Wilson, David Wakeman, e.g. were all running between Berkeley, Tunis, Casablanca, Stuttgart, Paris, Munich, Las Palmas, NYC, Fort Meyers, Sarasota and all points between. All the while Danny’s singing Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Fats Waller songs from his childhood while he’s cooking in the kitchen or taking a long trip in the car with his friends.
Paris 1970's and '80's. Belleville. Le Cafe Mazet. Chicara, Graham, Bente, Marcus and Nadine, Beardetta, Brian White, Father Alan Kelly, Cris Monen, The Fabulous Miss Tina Provenzano, Joe Flood, Joan Osborne, Ron Sunshine, Brown Bag, Mark Hershler and his twin brother, Fast Eddie Wilkinson, Jonothan Lyerly, Madeleine (No introduction needed) Peyroux, Bedonna, Gene Clark, Pickin’, Walter, Dennis, Ron Sunshine, Christoff and many, many others. All to the soundtrack of Bessie Smith, Big Maybelle, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Reed, James Brown, Mahalia Jackson et al. By 1982 Danny had all but moved to Paris. The LOST WANDERING JAZZ and BLUES BAND was founded. Bessie Smith, Ma Raney, Fats Waller songs were highlighted. Wigs were worn, washtubs were played, hats were worn and sometime even dresses! The band was playing everywhere from high-falutin' private Paris parties to the streetcorners and boulevards of Paris, Zurich and New York. German television shows. They were a hit in the discos of the alpine resorts of Davos, Zermatt, and Livigno.
Somehow during this period Danny went back to New York... downtown East Village and founded the BUSKERS CLUB on the Bowery and Houston which actually featured many up and coming avant guard jazz musicians and celebrities. I remember even John Lurie played there!
And... then there was a new Lost Wandering Worldwide Headquarters: THE BIG MAYBELLE!
The Big Maybelle was a “peniche” or barge/houseboat docked on the banks of the Seine River in Conflans-sur-Seine which is about 40km north-west of Paris. This barge was converted to a living space where Danny, Gene, Chris, Lawrence, Mark, Mady, David Shore, e.g. held court. I wasn’t there that much at that time so you have to ask those guys for the x-rated details. FAMOUS and FABULOUS PARTIES were held there! Many a love story started there! Many a story will never be told! Much music was composed, practiced and performed there! (see movie: LIVING THE GOOD LIFE).
Now there’s lots that I’ve skipped or just plain don’t know about and maybe facts that I got wrong and lots of important people that I just didn’t have room to write about in this mini history... So everybody PLEASE add your own story to the mix in the comment section... I promise that we all want to read about it!
LIFE FOR DANNY ON THE BIG MAYBELLE outside of Paris continued on and took on a whole new (and often related) generation of musicians, poets and dreamers... Spencer & Jazbo Gross, Greta & Jean Hadley, Jules & Josephine Monen, India McGovern, Jack Daniel among others. This was the continuation of what some people had already coined as: THE FITZGERALD SCHOOL.
In 2011 Danny moved back to Kingston, New York and lived with his sister, Brenda.
2 years ago, he, Joe Flood and Mark Hershler made some new recordings and interviews in Connecticut... awesome! (Contact Joe about those!)
But... like many well known African American artists, jazz and blues musicians, writers etc. James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Vick Pitts, Mickey Baker, Josephine Baker, Memphis Slim and too many others... Danny just couldn’t kick the habit of his “Continental” and French lifestyle.
In 2003 Danny celebrated his 80th Birthday in Nice, France. He’s been there ever since... and he ain’t leaving!
Which brings us to this page.
Danny, who's 82 this year, needs our help.
Danny is now living in Nice, France.
He is living in and apartment with Hoover (Uve Daniel) and seems to be pretty content being "retired" there.
The weather's pretty temperate down there... and Wayne's.
BUT... it also seems that Danny's retirement savings (Savings!??!!) is nowhere near enough for him to continue living there (or anywhere else for that matter). Danny gets just over $300./month in Social Security... we're talking about homelessness knocking on the door... we're talking about not enough food in the cupboard at the end of the month...
Yes, it's tight like that!
DANNY'S OLD FRIEND, HOOVER, is currently taking care of all danny's physical and financial needs... rent, food, clothing, toiletries, pharmaceutical, etc... (extremely generous and very helpful). But he needs our help.
OUR GOAL:
Maybe now it's our turn... to provide Danny and Hoover with $1500/month every month for the next 2 years for rent, living and medical expenses.
At the end of 2 years we'll just have to have another fund raiser.
ANYBODY who, over the years, has been friends with or related to Danny and...
laughed, cussed at, fought with, been arrested with, partied on the Big Maybelle, been stopped by the police with, travelled with, fell in love with, loaned money to, borrowed money from, been to Sarasota with, ate lemon chicken with, been in the Army with, related to, sat in Woodstock Town Square with, played poker with, hung out at Phoebie's with, Tina's Cafe with, played tonk with, sold stuff at Clingencourt, slept at Franklin St., had bottles thrown at them in Harlem, played on St Andre des Arts with, slept on Bill & Charlotte's floor in Copenhagen, performed at the Buskers Club on the Bowery, hung out on Telegraph Ave with, ridden in one of those funky Mercedes or Volvos, Livigno, Divignano, ate at the Drouot, slept at 3rd Street, slept at Oma's in Stuttgart, hitch-hiked with, put on a wig and dress, played in Oslo with, hung out in front of the American Express on Rue Scribe, been to City College with, been stuck in the Carary Islands with, been stuck in North Africa with, stuck in Ireland with, busked with, played the washtub with, played legit gigs with, slept at Belleville, been to the top of the mountain (Zermat), had coffee at the Croissanterie or the Mazet with,
or... done something that will NEVER, EVER be told...
Come on and pitch in... for someone you know you love!
Give what you can...
You can make a one-time or monthly payments...
Absolutely ANYTHING is fine... $5. or $500.
(and leave a comment/story!... Everybody LOVES the dirt!)
Any questions?
email Paul McGovern: [email redacted]
EVERYBODY knows the LOST WANDERING JAZZ AND BLUES BAND. And everybody knows the founder of that band... (read in Danny's voice)..
"Ladies and Gentlemen... the one and only... DANIEL FITZGERALD!"
A LITTLE HISTORY...
Daniel Fitzgerald was born in 1933 one of 9 children in Kingston, New York. For years I’ve heard stories from Danny about his family and those times but for the real nitty gritty you’re just going to have to ask his sister, Brenda Waldemar.
Now I don’t know the exact timeline, but at some point in the 1950’s Danny got into the U.S. Army and was shipped overseas to Germany. While stationed there, somebody (Gerta!) fell in love and they now have an awesome son, Danny (Jr) Loechner, who was born in and still lives in Stuttgart, Germany.
After his stint in the Army Danny was back in the States and enrolled in City College New York where he studied law. And he was always lawyerin’ about something! He also became a fixture in the downtown New York City scene. When all that ’60’s stuff was happening in the West Village and Harlem... Danny was there. He knew lots of the jazz & pop scene-makers at the time.
And then there was 3rd Street! the rent: $39.13. (I’ll NEVER forget that rent amount!) That was a famous apartment... corner of Bowery & 3rd St. NYC. The Bowery was funky back in the ’60’s,’70’s and ’80’s. The Hell’s Angels had their main NYC clubhouse right down the block on 3rd St. I think the apartment officially belonged to Bill Gross. That place was Danny & Bill’s international headquarters for decades. Everybody went there, Lil Joe, David Wakeman, Bedonna, Anthony Ravelli, Bruce, Tommy Tortalini, Izak Haber, Brian White, George Breakfast, and all kinds of people from all over the world.
Meanwhile in the ’60’s and ’70’s...
Danny’s making annual pilgrimages to Europe to see his son, Danny Jr., and to just hang out in Paris. He would work six months at the Advertising Club across from Penn Station in New York. Then go to Paris and stay in a cheap hotel and just hang. I don’t know everybody who was hanging w. Danny at that time but somehow David Hadley, Gracie and Nobby, Bill Gross, Carolyn Wilson, David Wakeman, e.g. were all running between Berkeley, Tunis, Casablanca, Stuttgart, Paris, Munich, Las Palmas, NYC, Fort Meyers, Sarasota and all points between. All the while Danny’s singing Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Fats Waller songs from his childhood while he’s cooking in the kitchen or taking a long trip in the car with his friends.
Paris 1970's and '80's. Belleville. Le Cafe Mazet. Chicara, Graham, Bente, Marcus and Nadine, Beardetta, Brian White, Father Alan Kelly, Cris Monen, The Fabulous Miss Tina Provenzano, Joe Flood, Joan Osborne, Ron Sunshine, Brown Bag, Mark Hershler and his twin brother, Fast Eddie Wilkinson, Jonothan Lyerly, Madeleine (No introduction needed) Peyroux, Bedonna, Gene Clark, Pickin’, Walter, Dennis, Ron Sunshine, Christoff and many, many others. All to the soundtrack of Bessie Smith, Big Maybelle, Stevie Wonder, Jimmy Reed, James Brown, Mahalia Jackson et al. By 1982 Danny had all but moved to Paris. The LOST WANDERING JAZZ and BLUES BAND was founded. Bessie Smith, Ma Raney, Fats Waller songs were highlighted. Wigs were worn, washtubs were played, hats were worn and sometime even dresses! The band was playing everywhere from high-falutin' private Paris parties to the streetcorners and boulevards of Paris, Zurich and New York. German television shows. They were a hit in the discos of the alpine resorts of Davos, Zermatt, and Livigno.
Somehow during this period Danny went back to New York... downtown East Village and founded the BUSKERS CLUB on the Bowery and Houston which actually featured many up and coming avant guard jazz musicians and celebrities. I remember even John Lurie played there!
And... then there was a new Lost Wandering Worldwide Headquarters: THE BIG MAYBELLE!
The Big Maybelle was a “peniche” or barge/houseboat docked on the banks of the Seine River in Conflans-sur-Seine which is about 40km north-west of Paris. This barge was converted to a living space where Danny, Gene, Chris, Lawrence, Mark, Mady, David Shore, e.g. held court. I wasn’t there that much at that time so you have to ask those guys for the x-rated details. FAMOUS and FABULOUS PARTIES were held there! Many a love story started there! Many a story will never be told! Much music was composed, practiced and performed there! (see movie: LIVING THE GOOD LIFE).
Now there’s lots that I’ve skipped or just plain don’t know about and maybe facts that I got wrong and lots of important people that I just didn’t have room to write about in this mini history... So everybody PLEASE add your own story to the mix in the comment section... I promise that we all want to read about it!
LIFE FOR DANNY ON THE BIG MAYBELLE outside of Paris continued on and took on a whole new (and often related) generation of musicians, poets and dreamers... Spencer & Jazbo Gross, Greta & Jean Hadley, Jules & Josephine Monen, India McGovern, Jack Daniel among others. This was the continuation of what some people had already coined as: THE FITZGERALD SCHOOL.
In 2011 Danny moved back to Kingston, New York and lived with his sister, Brenda.
2 years ago, he, Joe Flood and Mark Hershler made some new recordings and interviews in Connecticut... awesome! (Contact Joe about those!)
But... like many well known African American artists, jazz and blues musicians, writers etc. James Baldwin, Nina Simone, Vick Pitts, Mickey Baker, Josephine Baker, Memphis Slim and too many others... Danny just couldn’t kick the habit of his “Continental” and French lifestyle.
In 2003 Danny celebrated his 80th Birthday in Nice, France. He’s been there ever since... and he ain’t leaving!
Which brings us to this page.
Danny, who's 82 this year, needs our help.
Danny is now living in Nice, France.
He is living in and apartment with Hoover (Uve Daniel) and seems to be pretty content being "retired" there.
The weather's pretty temperate down there... and Wayne's.
BUT... it also seems that Danny's retirement savings (Savings!??!!) is nowhere near enough for him to continue living there (or anywhere else for that matter). Danny gets just over $300./month in Social Security... we're talking about homelessness knocking on the door... we're talking about not enough food in the cupboard at the end of the month...
Yes, it's tight like that!
DANNY'S OLD FRIEND, HOOVER, is currently taking care of all danny's physical and financial needs... rent, food, clothing, toiletries, pharmaceutical, etc... (extremely generous and very helpful). But he needs our help.
OUR GOAL:
Maybe now it's our turn... to provide Danny and Hoover with $1500/month every month for the next 2 years for rent, living and medical expenses.
At the end of 2 years we'll just have to have another fund raiser.
ANYBODY who, over the years, has been friends with or related to Danny and...
laughed, cussed at, fought with, been arrested with, partied on the Big Maybelle, been stopped by the police with, travelled with, fell in love with, loaned money to, borrowed money from, been to Sarasota with, ate lemon chicken with, been in the Army with, related to, sat in Woodstock Town Square with, played poker with, hung out at Phoebie's with, Tina's Cafe with, played tonk with, sold stuff at Clingencourt, slept at Franklin St., had bottles thrown at them in Harlem, played on St Andre des Arts with, slept on Bill & Charlotte's floor in Copenhagen, performed at the Buskers Club on the Bowery, hung out on Telegraph Ave with, ridden in one of those funky Mercedes or Volvos, Livigno, Divignano, ate at the Drouot, slept at 3rd Street, slept at Oma's in Stuttgart, hitch-hiked with, put on a wig and dress, played in Oslo with, hung out in front of the American Express on Rue Scribe, been to City College with, been stuck in the Carary Islands with, been stuck in North Africa with, stuck in Ireland with, busked with, played the washtub with, played legit gigs with, slept at Belleville, been to the top of the mountain (Zermat), had coffee at the Croissanterie or the Mazet with,
or... done something that will NEVER, EVER be told...
Come on and pitch in... for someone you know you love!
Give what you can...
You can make a one-time or monthly payments...
Absolutely ANYTHING is fine... $5. or $500.
(and leave a comment/story!... Everybody LOVES the dirt!)
Any questions?
email Paul McGovern: [email redacted]