Freddie B at the Keys
Dupont,
Ind., keyboardist
has the rhythm
By
Pam Decker
Contributing Writer
MADISON, Ind. – (October 2002) Every Saturday evening
from 6 to 9 on the outdoor patio at Cabana Joe’s restaurant, one
can hear the Golden Oldies and easy listening performed by Madison’s
own one man band, Freddie B. and the Keys.
Freddie B., a.k.a. Fred Black, 61, of Dupont Ind., has been singing
since 1974 at clubs, private parties and nursing homes. His latest gig
is entertaining the evening diners at Cabana Joe’s, a new restaurant
at 621 Clifty Dr. with his Roland EM-2000 Workstation-Synthesizer keyboard
and a repertoire of oldies, country classics and other favorites.
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Fred & Shirley Black |
“It’s really a one-man band,” Black said.
He added that his workstation can digitally reproduce any instrument,
which makes his Saturday night shows as close to the real thing as possible.
Black started performing at Cabana Joe’s early last May when he
approached owner Joe Torline about playing there.
“I just came down and introduced myself, touched base with him,
and he hired me,” explains Black.
As for the customers’ responses, the patio fills up every Saturday
evening with people enjoying the atmosphere and Black’s songs while
eating their steaks and lobster tails. Black’s wife, Shirley, who
helps him set up his equipment before his shows, says that the customers
who have yet to be seated come out to listen while they wait, and after
their dinner come back out to listen to some more. He has even accumulated
some regular fans.
“We know people who don’t cook on Saturday nights anymore,
they come out here just to listen to him,” says Shirley. “Some
people wait an hour just to hear him.”
Black began his passion for music and performing at the age of 5 when
he started taking piano lessons in Jefferson county, where he was raised.
He played the trumpet in the Dupont High School band but continued to
practice the piano into college.
Perhaps his most interesting practice sessions were when he and his
friend, who lived in his friend’s parents’ funeral parlor
to save money during college, would jam on the parlor’s Hammond
147 Leslie Tone Cabinet organ when nobody was around.
Now retired, Black formerly worked as an English teacher in Indianapolis
for 17 years, as well as a sales manager for Public Gas Co. in central
Florida, and as a real estate agent with Prudential Gallagher Properties
in Orlando and Kissimmee, Fla.
He now spends his time between Madison and central Florida, playing
such venues as the Elk’s Club in Kissimmee, the Broadway Fountain
in Madison, Cabana Joe’s and nursing homes. The couple resides
on a small farm north of Madison and have a son, Darryl, and a daughter,
Erica.
Black will often play on a volunteer basis, especially at the nursing
homes where he performs at least once a month. “Mainly it’s
for smiles, and they love it,” Black said describing his warm receptions
there. “The reward is already there.”