Good Bye, Margaret

Margaret Wilton

It was several years ago that I made the acquaintance of Margaret Wilton. A spunky senior living out at Lewisville Estates, she was avidly interested in all things musical, and especially passionate about the ukulele. She pestered for me to come out and give her lessons. She pestered me to bring our group out to Lewisville Estates. She pestered me to help her find rides to Dallas Ukulele Headquarters events.

In short, she was a complete joy.

Today, I wish we had gone out to play at Lewisville Estates more. Today, I wish somehow we’d been able to arrange more rides for her to DUH events. Not that it slowed her down at all: She formed her own ukulele club at Lewisville Estates, and also taught people how to play just about any instrument you could think of. She did anything she could think of to be an active, vibrant part of the community.

When she developed health problems and moved to a smaller facility, The Sterling House, she was again instrumental in bringing my band, The Douboys, to perform. And again, she’d developed quite a following.  She was teaching the Executive Director to play Dobro, and his wife to play ukulele. She painted bird feeders. We always looked forward to playing there.

Today, unfortunately, I was unable to see Margaret Wilton. She passed away, peacefully, in her sleep, two days ago. Instead of playing our concert today for Margaret, we played in her honor.

The music was rich, our audience was involved and engaged, and the show was great. Perhaps Margaret was hovering about for one last show, influencing our fingers and our voices. It was a glorious send off.

And today, it doesn’t matter what I wished for: She is gone. But I do have one more wish. I wish every senior I encounter was as spunky and persistent as Margaret. If that wish comes true, the world will be filled with beautiful music.

So long, Margaret. Safe travels. And God help whomever you ask for a ukulele if all they have is a harp.

 

Here’s a link to Margaret performing with DUH at Lewisville Estates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JU2CVnqG0o

The Douboys were asked to play at  Bolsa Restaurant here in Dallas as part of a going-away party for world-class bartender, Eddie “Lucky” Campbell.

We were honored to be part of the event, and also got mentioned in the write-up on Pegasus News. You can read about it and check out the pictures here:

http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/jun/26/photos-bolsa-eddie-lucky-campbell-bar-main-st-new/#

Perhaps you need some entertainment to honor your own bartenders?

The Douboys: Books, anyone?

As a member of The Douboys, I am always proud to perform for residences across The Metroplex. However, recently, wearing my ukulele player hat, I am proud to have published two new ukulele-related books.

The first one is a compilation of songs performed through Dallas Ukulele Headquarters, our 400+ member club.

This may not be of immediate use to you, but the some of The Douboys songs do come from this collection, and certainly you might find some there that you’d like to see us add.

Please feel free to look at the songbook in your choice of paperback or hardcover editions:

Paperback: http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/dallas-ukulele-headquarters-songbook/15983398

Hardcover: http://www.lulu.com/product/hardcover/dallas-ukulele-headquarters-songbook/15983444

And finally, I also published my collection of ukulele jokes. You can look at those hear:

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/mark-twangs-ukulele-joke-book/15997336

The Douboys have been are proud to perform for people all over the Metroplex, and that our special style of Tin Pan Alley, Hawaiian, and Novelty Songs have found such receptive ears.
The Douboys are comprised of experienced ukulele performers Mark Levine and Don Aspromonte. Their music is a mix of Tin Pan Alley, Oldies, Hawaiian, and Novelty songs. They provide a fun, energetic, upbeat show, mixed with audience interaction and participation. It is not unusual to find audiences clapping and singing along when The Douboys perform.
Both Mark and Don are veterans of the 380+ member Dallas Ukulele Headquarters, the second largest ukulele club in the country. Mark Levine is the founder and leader of the club, now going on 15 years in the Metroplex. The Douboys performances credits include multiple appearances at The Dallas Museum of Art.
The Douboys are not expensive to book. We can usually arrange to perform for the typical per diem your facility charges. However, in some cases, we have been forced to add a fuel charge to supplement the increased cost of transportation. Contact Mark Levine for bookings at 214-914-7205 or ukulele@tx.rr.com . For more information, go to: http://thedouboys.wordpress.com/