I took piano lessons in 1st and 2nd grades from a woman who lived at the corner of Kickapoo and Belmont, right behind the school. She was wonderful and gave me my first connection with music. She was about 70 or so, and had grown up in Sedalia. On her wall, she had a diploma attesting to her graduation from the Sedalia Conservatory of Music, 1900. She confided that after school, she would sneak across the railroad track.But I was more interested, even at that age, in “Serious Music.” I loved the songs of Rachmaninoff and Chopin, even at that age, but my parents hated what I was trying to play, cut off my lessons, and relegated the piano to our door-less garage. In 4th grade, my they relented and my father bought me a saxophone, and I joined the School Band, led by Mr. Ellis Thurman. From there became one of the most sought after musician, arranger and songwriter of the Ozarks. Bill has played with Granny’s Bathwater, Ozark Mountain daredevils, Wayne Carson, The Skeletons and others within the Ozarks. He has hung out with many music notables including Martha Reeves, George Harrison and Norton Putnam. He has written for Broadway and written charts for many shows and albums.