Rock and roll is my passion. I don’t play an instrument nor sing in a band, but I have a large collection, run a rock and roll trivia event at Athentic Brewing Co. and love to hear live music. Music is one of the reasons my wife and I moved to Athens in 2021. I never got to interact with any band members until I was at a charity event and sat next to a former member of The Lemon Pipers. They had a huge hit in the 1960s with Green Tambourine. I thought meeting him was pretty cool until a friend of mine said she knew the limo driver for Elton John. She got to meet Elton backstage and while she was there Mick Jagger showed up, so she got to meet him, too (the Stones were performing down the street the next night). I didn’t think I’d meet anyone who could top that story until I talked to my older cousin who had lunch with the four Beatles at the Indianapolis Speedway in 1964. He and a few coworkers ate there every day during their lunch break. The Beatles were secretly staying there to get a break from their fans and the press. For whatever reason the police let my cousin’s group into the otherwise closed cafeteria. John, Paul, George and Ringo entered soon after and sat at a separate table. It wasn’t long before the Beatles decided to merge tables and my cousin wound up interacting with the Beatles for two and a half hours! How cool is that? I didn’t bother telling my cousin the Lemon Pipers story, but if Michael Stipe should come knocking on my door, I’ll be giving him a call.
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