Dick Dale and Will Ferrell.
September 7, 2008 · Print This Article
What do Dick Dale and Will Ferrell have in common? Well bear with me and I will enlighten you!
I ran across some old pictures the other day and it reminded me of a bit of trivia that some of you might find interesting. BTW my meanderings have no chronological order - it’s just how they happen to pop up.
After I returned from Vietnam in 1962 I was discharged from the Marine Corp and rejoined Dick Dale and The Del Tones (or His Del Tones as we were sometimes referred to). At different times Dick would have two sax players. The one constant sax player was Barry Rillera, who, as I have mentioned before was a great guitar player. The second player would change from time to time. I believe Barry was there before I left for overseas, but I’m not sure of the other. It may have been Armando Frank or someone named Jerry? (not sure, help!).
When I rejoined Dick in 1962 he was playing at Harmony Park. The second sax player was a new arrival from North Carolina named Lee Ferrell (OK, now you know where this is going!). Because Lee and I were the new guys in the band we became friends and went on to work in a number of little bands around the area (on our off nights with Dick). Lee was a quiet guy off stage, but we would be playing in these small local bars and some nights he would just do the craziest things - Jump up on the tables or the bar while playing, pull out a crazy wig and just generally cut up. You never knew when it would happen and he would be totally spontaneous. He was very, very funny.
Lee often talked of his girlfriend back home, Kay, and at one point he went back to North Carolina and married her. Will was born in 1967 and Lee and I worked together off and on up until 1971 when I moved to Los Angeles. I had always been a fan of Will Ferrell, even before I made the connection that he was Lee and Kay’s son. I only found out when I was visiting Bill Medley a few years ago and he mentioned it. Duh, I should of made the connection as I remembered how funny Lee had been those many years ago. I talked to Lee after I had spoken to Bill and he told me how Will’s success had evolved (from Lee’s perspective) but that’s another story.
Those are great shots of Lee, et al. My best (or most vivid) memory of Lee was that shortly after he arrived and started playing with Dick, it was nearing the end of the year and another (ho hum) New Years Day Parade. (Hi Art!) I was playing bass with Dick, Art, Lee Drew and the others at (first the Rendezvous) Harmony Park, and Lee was not taking NO for an answer. He was a damn country boy from Cherry Point, and he was NOT going to miss the (In Person) thrill of a Rose Parade. So, midnight or so, after the gig, we headed up to Pasadena. By the time we arrived, it was dark, and particularly drunk out that night. By about 4:30-5:00 am, I was having trouble keeping track of Lee. I finally found him climbing onto a roof of a business which he had accessed from climbing up a telephone pole. He was going to have the best seat in the house. Remember, this is at just before dawn, people by the thousands are arriving, staking out their vantage points, and here is Lee, hanging off that roof, shouting, as loud as possible, “Hey EVERYBODY-WAKE UP! The parade is gonna start.” “GET UP-the parade is comin’!” Luckily no one got irritated enough to physically accost Lee, or me, for coming to his aid, but it was close! But I gotta tell you it was HILARIOUS! I finally talked him down, and about three hours later, the excitement wore in, and he dropped off and slept through most of the parade. We finally found the car, and I dropped him off at his home. (An apt. in Hollywood-he wasn’t going to live anywhere else now that he had made it to his ‘launch-pad for success!)
Lee’s first BIG Southern California fantasy had happened for him. Too bad he missed about 3/4 of it.