Let me tell you about the ORIGINAL Soul Patrol.
May 25th, 2006 | By Joe Taylor Jr. | Category: Inspiration|
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When I first started working in radio, one of our station’s specialty DJ’s was a fascinating guy named Bernie Milton. He actually fronted a band called Bernie Milton and the Soul Patrol WAY back in the day. He had a dance hit called “The Waddle” back in the 60’s, and hit the charts again in 1985 with a song called “60/40.” (The chorus: “Sixty/forty, that’s how the world is treating me.”)
Bernie may never have reached the worldwide fame of some of his peers, but he enjoyed nearly six decades as a working musician and a radio raconteur. He, quite literally, had a story for everything, about everyone. Back in Bernie’s day, you’d play eight times a week on eight totally different bills with about sixty-four different acts. So, in a short period of time, Bernie and the Soul Patrol managed to open for EVERYBODY.
When Bernie didn’t quite make it to the top of the charts, he remained committed to his dream of entertaining everyone he possibly could. That meant gigging like crazy, playing lots of covers, and telling his stories on the radio.
We lost him to a heart attack four years ago, but his spirit infuses a lot of the work I do with musicians — he stayed true to himself and enjoyed a rich and meaningful life, where many other folks would have given up. Even when you’d ask him how he was doing, and he’d reply with his trademark, “Sixty/forty, lordy, lordy,” he did so with a spark that let you know he really loved music, and music was his life.
So, with all the American Idol hype around Taylor Hicks and his “Soul Patrol,” every one of those mentions brings back a different kind of memory for me, and for all of the folks that ever saw Bernie Milton live.
(Remember, what you’re doing now on stage carries an impact far greater than you realize. Who’s going to be writing about you fifty years from now?)
UPDATE: It’s a little tough to find Bernie on the web, since the folks in his hometown of Ithaca, NY named a performing arts stage after him. So when you search for “Bernie Milton” online, you get tons of event listings at the “Bernie Milton Pavillion,” and I think Bernie wouldn’t have it any other way.
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June 1st, 2006 at 5:00 pm
I grew up in Ithaca, and as a young music fan I looked forward every year to Bernie Milton’s shows at the Ithaca Festival! That man could really get the crowd to sweat… thanks for pointing him out.
August 25th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
I am a Uk Northern/modern DJ I am playing 60/40 to a packed floor. What a fantastic soul record.
RIP Bernie your the man.
June 1st, 2007 at 7:15 pm
I lived in Ithaca back in the mid sixties and Bernie was a friend of mine. I heard about him long before I met him…his reputation was so big….I was too young to get into the old Ithaca Hotel on State Street. It warms my heart to read that people are keeping Bernie’s memory alive. However I must say I was dissapointed by the sign by the Pavilion bearing his name. It was held together by two sticks. It looked very temporary. I was shocked and dismayed. Bernie deserved something more permanent looking. Maybe improvements have been made to the sign since the last time I was in Ithaca. Maybe not. I hope someone has noticed it and done something about it.
August 15th, 2007 at 4:21 pm
I am an Ithaca native and was blessed to be in a small town with so much talent people like Bobby Comstock,Ted(Big Daddy)Antrum,and Bernie Milton just to name a few.
I met Bernie in 1958 at Fred’s record shop I was checking out a Bo Diddley record in the listening booth when Bernie walked in.I said Hello.We introduced ourselves as Bo wailed in the background.We were friends ever since.I can tell many Bernie Milton Stories.What I would like to express though is what a warm,genuine,and most talented person he was.”Take two steps to the right and then you Waddle”Remember the North Side House!Bob Kane
May 13th, 2008 at 2:44 am
I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO GO TO SCHOOL WITH BERNIE MILTON…..AND ENJOYED THE BEGINNINGS OF HIS CAREER …..EVEN WAY BACK THEN YOU COULD TELL HE LOVED PEOPLE…ALWAYS WITH A SMILE….HE RECORDED A 45 RECORD WHICH I HAVE IN MY COLLECTION STILL TODAY…..AS THE YEAR 1960 CAME I GRADUATED AND LOST TRACK OF HIM FOR AWHILE..BUT THEN IN THE MID SIXTIES I FOUND MYSELF IN THE SINGLE SCENE AGAIN …….ONCE AGAIN MADE NEW FRIENDS AND STARTED GOING OUT AND IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG BEFORE I RAN ACROSS HIM AGAIN…HIS BAND AT THAT TIME WAS CALLED BERNIE AND THE CAVILIERS..WE FOLLOWED HIM WHERE EVER H E PLAYED..EVEN TO THAT LITTLE “BAR” IN TRUMANSBURG ON SUNDAY NIGHTS…IN THE EARLY 70′S I HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO WORK WITH HIS WIFE AT THE RECONSTRUCTION HOME AND ONCE AGAIN OUR PATHS CROSSED BUT ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL…HE WAS MARRIED AND A DAD….BUT HE WAS STILL BERNIE..SWEET AND ALWAYS WITH THAT SMILE….AS TIME PASSED I MOVED AWAY FROM ITHACA BUT THOUGHT OF HIM AND HIS FAMILY AND THAT ROCKIN BAND AND ALL THE GREAT TIMES WE HAD HAD LISTENNG TO HIM IN THOSE YESTER YEARS…MEMORIES FOR EVER EMBEDDED IN MY MIND…MY HEART WAS DEEPLY SADDENED WHEN I HEARD THAT HE HAD PASSED AWAY…A SWEET SOUL TAKEN WAY BEFORE HIS TIME….I NEVER KNEW HOW I COULD EVER TELL ANYBODY ABOUT HIM UNTIL TONIGHT WHEN I WAS LOOKING ON THE INTERNET AND PUT HIS NAME IN MY BROWSER AND FOUND ALL KINDS OF THINGS ABOUT HIM AND THIS PLACE WHERE I COULD WRITE A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT IS IN MY HEART….SO IT MAY COME LATE BUT BELIEVE THAT HE AND HIS FAMILY HAVE CROSSED MY MIND OFTEN SINCE…FOR THOSE OF US LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE GROWN UP WITH HIM AND HIS MUSIC WILL FOREVER CARRY HIM IN OUR HEARTS AND REMEMBER THE MEMORIES HE GAVE US….YOU MAY BE GONE IN IN THE PHYSICAL BUT YOU ARE IN OUR HEARTS …WE MISS YOU OLE FRIEND…………….