A cd of original music from one of Chicago's most beloved musicians
You've most likely heard by now of the amazing and unprecedented event that took place Sunday, June 1, 2008--a gathering of some of Chicago's finest Irish and Folk musicians took the stage at the Irish American Heritage Center to share their music with family, friends, and fans from all over Chicagoland as they helped to raise funds for Joe Dooley and his family during his time of need. What happened could only be described as "an avalanche of generosity and humanity"
If you haven't heard, Joe suffered a stroke last fall and has been unable to play with the band, along with many other things. Follow this link to read the story and learn more about this amazing event.
We've got plenty of pictures. Click here to check em out.
And if you've got some dilly's of your own, you can send them to us and we'll post them as well.
From 2:00 to well past 9:00 there were 6 bands performing, including the remaining Dooley's and an all-our Jam session at the end of the evening, including some members of the band from the 70s. We had planned food for about 250, set a goal to accumulate about 25-30 items for a silent auction, and perhaps an additional 10 or 15 for a raffle. We also had some of the recent released "Black Sunshine" cd as well as past Dooley music, and brand new T-shirts were going to be made. And there was also an idea for a special "Joe" cd that consisted of only his original music (no royalties, all profit) to help with the funds--most likely to be quickly compiled and thrown together and burned on one of our computers.
First off, the "Joe" cd is amazing. While all the music might not be of the best quality--much of it from old reel-to-reel recordings he made anywhere from 30 to 40 years ago when he was just a kid--the final product is as good an anthology of an artist as we've ever heard. Professional engineer Charlie Johnson donated hours of time (including his Memorial day weekend) to mastering the songs and then burning 200 discs--all for love of the Dooley's and Joe. Jim Dooley devoted hours and hours pouring through over 50 multi-song tapes, unleashing a wave of fond musical memories. It quickly became a project of passion and love for his brother, to reveal Joe's music to the world, these songs which no one outside the family has heard.
And according to Jim, this is only the beginning. Apparently there is plenty of archived Dooley music out there for more discs to come. If you didn't get your own copy at the fundraiser, you can click the picture and purchase it with any major credit card through Paypal.com. Truly, this CD, in it's final incarnation, exceeded all of our expectations.
And best of all, Joe was there. He got to witness first hand all the love from all these people throughout the years. People came from miles around, from Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana, even the East coast to celebrate Joe. As Mike Dooley remarked, "It was one of the most mind-blowing and wonderful experiences of my life!... [It] was an avalanche of heartwarming generosity and humanity. Not to mention just plain fun! "
We all felt that way.
Being in the middle of it, looking out over the crowd of all those smiling friends and "family" and you couldn't help but feel overwhelmed and thinking of the classic ending of "It's a Wonderful Life."--the phrase, "Remember, no man is a failure who has friends" and that scene of everyone coming from all over to give whatever they could to help George in his time of need. We got to experience that movie in real life. It was one of the most beautiful things that we all have ever been a part of, and are so deeply grateful for each and everyone's enthusiasm, generosity, and astounding support.