91-Year-Old Bourbon Man Shares Love Of Music
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Elliott, 91, is married to Barbara, and they have a daughter, Sara McKrill, and a granddaughter, Morgan McKrill.
He owns his dad’s 1936 Recording King Gibson guitar. He also has a 1966 Gibson.
“Once you’re a musician you can’t quit because there is something in your blood,” Elliott said.
Besides the guitars, he owns five ukuleles, a banjo, five harmonicas and a piano.
His favorite instrument to play is the 1973 Fender he purchased that year in Bremen. His favorite musicians are Hank Williams and Eddie Arnold, whose songs he performs.
“I like the sound of the guitar and the thin neck and the guitar fits me and has a sound I like,” Elliott said.
Elliott’s love for music began at age 5 when his father, Harvey, had him play a ukulele. He grew up in Tippecanoe, the son of a farmer.
“My brother, Robert, broke the ukulele so dad bought me a tenor guitar and my dad and I played guitars and harmonicas and sang until he died in 1975,” Elliott said. “We played on the radio and for talent shows and never lost one. Back in my day there wasn’t a lot of entertainment so we were the ones to play.”
From then on he played the tenor guitar, banjo, mandolin and piano.
“I never had piano lessons and I picked it up on my own and had a grandmother, Odella, who played the organ and her dad was a minister and I think that is where I got the musical talent,” Elliott said.
He said his family had a band during the Great Depression. He and his dad played the guitar; his uncle, Ernest, played the fiddle and accordion; and his cousins Merrill played the banjo, Charles the mandolin and Kenneth the harmonica.
They played for talent shows in Argos, Plymouth, Warsaw and Culver.
He served in the Navy Air Corp. from 1944 to 1946 as a radio radar operator and machine gunner. He also played the guitar when he was in the Navy for the officer’s club and for bond rallies to support the war.
He married in 1947 after getting out of the Navy. He played in the Neidlinger Band from Culver at square dances, ballroom dances and played the banjo.
He played from 1952 to 1992 in the Pete Frehauf Band. He also recalled playing music with an Elkhart man, Carl Demorest.
He said he has been in 20 bands over the years, playing mostly the electric guitar and banjo. He has played music in different bands performing in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.
He currently plays guitar with a friend, Melvin Mullins, Columbia City. They will play for the Valentine’s Day Dance Feb. 13 at the Matchette Center.
He also has played at Grace Village Retirement Community, Winona Lake, Warsaw American Legion, Moose Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He has jam sessions at the Old Jail Museum Tuesday nights.
Elliott said music is important because it is like therapy.
“It calms a lot of people down,” he said.
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Elliott, 91, is married to Barbara, and they have a daughter, Sara McKrill, and a granddaughter, Morgan McKrill.
He owns his dad’s 1936 Recording King Gibson guitar. He also has a 1966 Gibson.
“Once you’re a musician you can’t quit because there is something in your blood,” Elliott said.
Besides the guitars, he owns five ukuleles, a banjo, five harmonicas and a piano.
His favorite instrument to play is the 1973 Fender he purchased that year in Bremen. His favorite musicians are Hank Williams and Eddie Arnold, whose songs he performs.
“I like the sound of the guitar and the thin neck and the guitar fits me and has a sound I like,” Elliott said.
Elliott’s love for music began at age 5 when his father, Harvey, had him play a ukulele. He grew up in Tippecanoe, the son of a farmer.
“My brother, Robert, broke the ukulele so dad bought me a tenor guitar and my dad and I played guitars and harmonicas and sang until he died in 1975,” Elliott said. “We played on the radio and for talent shows and never lost one. Back in my day there wasn’t a lot of entertainment so we were the ones to play.”
From then on he played the tenor guitar, banjo, mandolin and piano.
“I never had piano lessons and I picked it up on my own and had a grandmother, Odella, who played the organ and her dad was a minister and I think that is where I got the musical talent,” Elliott said.
He said his family had a band during the Great Depression. He and his dad played the guitar; his uncle, Ernest, played the fiddle and accordion; and his cousins Merrill played the banjo, Charles the mandolin and Kenneth the harmonica.
They played for talent shows in Argos, Plymouth, Warsaw and Culver.
He served in the Navy Air Corp. from 1944 to 1946 as a radio radar operator and machine gunner. He also played the guitar when he was in the Navy for the officer’s club and for bond rallies to support the war.
He married in 1947 after getting out of the Navy. He played in the Neidlinger Band from Culver at square dances, ballroom dances and played the banjo.
He played from 1952 to 1992 in the Pete Frehauf Band. He also recalled playing music with an Elkhart man, Carl Demorest.
He said he has been in 20 bands over the years, playing mostly the electric guitar and banjo. He has played music in different bands performing in Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Iowa.
He currently plays guitar with a friend, Melvin Mullins, Columbia City. They will play for the Valentine’s Day Dance Feb. 13 at the Matchette Center.
He also has played at Grace Village Retirement Community, Winona Lake, Warsaw American Legion, Moose Lodge and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He has jam sessions at the Old Jail Museum Tuesday nights.
Elliott said music is important because it is like therapy.
“It calms a lot of people down,” he said.
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