Beverly Sills
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10/14/26
Bryan Deere, Paul Tester, & Beverly Sills
I introduced you to Rodger Nelson, the world’s only bluegrass piano player, a while ago. Besides being a musician, he’s a graphic artist who creates signs. His sign shop is in a large barn behind his house in Olney, Maryland. During the 1980s and 90s, Rodger hosted a weekly bluegrass jam session in that barn, where many of the characters I’ve talked about in these scrawls picked and grinned. One night, Rodger invited some fellow bluegrass-picking sign painters to his jam. That’s how I met Bryan Deere and Paul Tester in 1986.
At our first meeting, I found out right away that Bryan and I liked the early DC bluegrass sound. I’m talking about the music of Buzz Busby, Benny and Valley Cain, Bill Harrell, Bill Carroll, Red Allen & Frank Wakefield, Al Jones & Frank Necessary, Scotty Stoneman, and a few others who played a style that came to be known as honky-tonk bluegrass. Bryan and I started jamming at every opportunity because at the time, it seemed we were the only people in the world who knew and cared about that music.
The late Paul Tester is well known to banjo enthusiasts, as he was considered to be one of the best builders of those instruments. Don Stover and other famous pickers played his creations. Oh! I just remembered this funny little story about Paul. It won’t take too long.
Sometime in the 1960s, Buzz Busby was playing regularly in what we musicians call a club, but the rest of the world’s population calls a dive bar. Buzz’s banjo player, Bill Emerson, was unable to make the gig one night, so he called Paul to fill in for him. Paul was late getting to the club because Emerson had called him at the last minute. The rest of band was already on stage, and Buzz, who had already been drinking, said snidely to Paul. “I so happy you could join us, Bill.” For the rest of the night, Buzz would say, “Our banjo player, Bill Emerson’s gonna kick this off,” and later, “Take a break, Bill,” and so on. When the gig was over, Buzz paid Paul and said, “Show up on-time tomorrow night, Bill.” Buzz thought Emeson had been playing with him the whole night! Even though Buzz was in the bag, he would have realized the substitution if Paul hadn’t been an excellent banjo player.
Here’s how Bryan, Paul, and I ended up making an impression on opera star Beverly Sills.
Our friend, Richard Dress, was in a hospital in Manhattan, for the long term, recovering from a major operation. Paul, Bryan, and I, along with some other friends, made a road trip to visit him. We all piled into my big van for the trip. Paul had made magnetic signs, reading, “Transport Vehicle - St. Elizabeth's Institution for the Musically Insane.” and stuck them on each side of my van. It was New York or bust.
We barged into the hospital, with our instruments of course, and set up shop in the small lobby by the elevator on Richard’s floor. The staff wheeled him out and Paul handed him a banjo. Our mission, aside from cheering up Richard, was to bring a touch of culture to the Big Apple. Bryan and I belted out “Me and the Juke Box,” “Lost,” “Troubles Keep Hanging ‘Round My Door,” and one lonesome honky-tonk song after another.
All of a sudden, a hospital staff member seemed to materialize out of nowhere, right in the middle of our jam session. She was in a panic, making shushing noises and drawing her finger across her throat. After pretending we didn’t notice her for quite a while, we stopped playing. She told us that Beverly Sills was a patient in the ward and that our music was disturbing her.
I’m sure it was the banjos. It couldn’t possibly have been the singing. Anyway, we were happy to cease and desist out of respect for Miss Sills. I hope she got to hear us sing “Lost” before we quit, as we had approached her soprano range.
When we said goodbye to Richard and got back to the van, one of the St. Elizabeth’s signs had been stollen – Welcome to New York! The theft didn’t put a damper on our day though, as we had cheered up a friend, irritated an opera star, and had a mighty fine day.
Tom Mindte
October 2026
Beverly Sills
Bryan Deere
Paul Tester
Me with the Transport Vehicle