For as long as I can remember, I’ve always liked figuring out old mutual friends among new friends. Luckily it’s 2011 and this is quite an easy task with Facebook. I just think it’s fun to find previous connections with new people you meet. I’ve also always been fascinated by history, especially family history. Lucky for me, these two things go hand-in-hand.
While at my dad’s for Christmas, a Beatles inspired Christmas gift lead to talks about my aunt’s connection to The Beatles from back in the day. Kevin hadn’t heard the story yet, so my dad and I told him how my dad’s family lived in England for a bit and my aunt was friends with a girl named Di, whose brother was Gordon (of Peter and Gordon). Easy enough to follow, right? Well, here’s the fun part. Peter and Gordon were friends with Paul McCartney and would often be the recipient of discarded Beatles songs. So, Peter wrote his own songs, borrowed songs from The Beatles and produced quite an impressive list of albums including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Cher, 10,000 Maniacs, Morrissey…the list goes on and on. He also produced many, many albums for Linda Ronstadt. During this story telling, it was here when Kevin said “oh, Linda Ronstadt! Her nephew played on my album”. I just looked at him and said, “uh, what?” haha. Long story short, it turns out both Kevin and I have similar 6 degrees (or actually 4-5) of separation from The Beatles. It made an interesting story! Michael Ronstadt, Linda’s nephew plays cello and while Kevin’s band, Hazle Weatherfield, was looking for a cellist, they ran into him playing inside a Ben and Jerry’s in Clifton and he played on their album. I hope I get to hear Michael play cello someday, I hear he's amazing!
Anyway, I thought it was a fun little story to share. I know my aunt reads my blog from time to time and I thought she’d enjoy it! (and she can correct me if I have any facts wrong, lol). To sum it all up: Sarah > Sarah's Aunt > Di > Gordon > Paul McCartney. Kevin > Michael Ronstadt > Linda Ronstadt > Peter Asher > Paul McCartney. Not too shabby!
Who is someone cool that you are separated from? I guess maybe we all could be connect through 6 degrees!
p.s. I also recently found out that Peter Asher was one of the original owners of The Roxy, a venue I frequented while living in LA. Also, his daughter is in Cobra Starship, a band I saw live in LA. It’s fun to feel connected in even the most random of situations!
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