SKF NOTE: What a gift. Ms. Barney is a living link to 70-years of drumset history. I wonder if anyone in Canton, OH has recorded her stories for future generations of musicians.
Canton drummer still jamming for 70 years
Feb, 6 2015 00:00:00
by Todd Moe, in Canton, NY
Feb 06, 2015 — Now in her mid-90’s, Lillian Barney remembers keeping the beat for dance parties during the Big Band era, the Big Bopper and beyond. She was one of only a few women musicians in New York’s North Country dance bands that started in the 1930s.
Barney grew up on a farm near Rensselaer Falls, the only girl in a family of seven. Her grandfather and the radio were her teachers. She inherited his sense of rhythm and spent many nights listening to big band and country music on the radio. Barney was a member of several local groups, including the Hammond Kitchen Band in the 40s — a time when Saturday night social dancing was something not to be missed.
…Barney still has a set of drums near her room at Maplewood Campus, a retirement home in Canton.
Listen to Radio Story (MP3)
Scott K Fish 