Welcome home, Mel and Terry

About nine months ago, I was contacted by “Sonny Boy” Terry Jerome from Houston, Texas, via Facebook. Since Terry had performed in Fountain Park about five years ago, we have stayed in contact occasionally.  I had actually been thinking it would be nice to feature some of our most successful Van Wert natives in concert again. This time, I wanted to make sure Mel Deal was one of the featured musicians to bring back home. He and his wife still have family in the area and try to make it back when they can.

Both Mel and Terry have been gone for years, but still think of Van Wert as home.  For the past 30-40 years, though, Mel and Terry have established themselves in the music industries of Nashville and Houston, respectively: Mel as a guitarist (string instruments of all kind, really) and Terry as a Blues harmonica player.

You have probably already seen and heard that Mel has performed with and for just about every name in the Nashville Country and Jazz music industry.  As a matter of fact, Mel was just telling me he recently backed up the legendary Willie Nelson and ended up being the “go to” musician during the concert, giving cues to the entire band.  For many years, Mel has been a regular on the General Jackson River Boat which does a dinner cruise on the Cumberland River in Nashville.

Being a Deal family member, Mel just had to get involved in the orchestral scene too.  His mother and father, Georgia and Orin Deal, besides their photography business they operated for years in Van Wert, were both violin players who performed with local orchestras including the Lima Symphony.  So, Mel being one of the finest string players in all of Nashville (which is saying a lot!), has performed with the Nashville Symphony and others as a banjo player when needed.

This Friday, Mel will be bringing a Hammond B3 organ player and a drummer up from Nashville to play some jazz and country music that he is so well known for.  It’s about time we bring Mel Deal back home to entertain in Fountain Park!

Joining Mel on this concert is Terry Jerome, who actually started the idea for this Friday night.  Mel grew up in Van Wert during the 1960’s while Terry grew up in Van Wert during the ‘70s. I remember the ‘60s and ‘70s as a time when garage bands were the thing in Van Wert. There were many youths in Van Wert from that time who went on to become quite influential musicians.

I remember Terry saying how he was looking for something to identify with and he found he just loved playing the harmonica and the music of the Blues. Knowing that if he was going to ever become anything with this kind of music, he needed to move to an area where this genre of music was flourishing and enjoyed.  He moved to Houston, Texas and the rest is history.

Known for years now as “Sonny Boy” Terry Jerome, Terry has recorded and performed music all over the country and has earned the reputation as the “King of the Blues Harp” in Houston.  I have even seen clips of him being interviewed by college professors about the music of the Blues.  Not only does he perform, he also lectures about it in colleges.  I think this makes him quite eligible to play in Fountain Park again in Van Wert.!

One more interesting tidbit of information I recently learned is that Terry was looking for a guitar player for this Van Wert concert and he ended up contacting a colleague who lives in Columbus, and whose father is Larry Carney.  Larry used to teach music in Van Wert City Schools back in the 1960s. Terry hadn’t realized the Van Wert connection until just recently.

It will be a musical reunion this Friday night in Fountain Park that is not to be missed.  Show these two native sons that they are remembered and appreciated.  I hope to fill the park with family, friends, and music lovers from all over as we welcome Mel and Terry to Third Ward, I mean Fountain Park.

The next night (Saturday), come to the NPAC and experience the power of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra and Festival Chorus.  Tickets can be purchased in advance or at the door for this memorable 7:30 p.m. concert.

Quite a weekend of Jazz, Blues, Country, and Classical, all in Van Wert, Ohio!

FINÉ.