Okay,, here we go.. This is interesting about Slims Coxxs brother. Rocky Coxx: Roland Miclette, 80, of Vernon, died May 6, 2004. Roland Rocky Miclette had two identities, two lives that rarely intersected. By day, he worked at a company that made parachutes for the military, where he printed brochures and sales material. In the evenings and on weekends, he was Rocky Coxx, part of the Cowboy Caravan, a country-and-western band that played Lake Compounce, fairgrounds, clubs and just about any place that enjoyed toe-tapping, passionate thigh-slapping music. Rocky played bass and sang. His older brother Gerard Miclette, known professionally as Slim Coxx, was the band leader and played fiddle. The brothers apparently inherited their musical skills from their father, George Miclette of Vermont, a self-taught fiddler. His lively jigs and intricate foot-tapping rhythms have been copied, but never duplicated, by his three sons, six grandsons and one great- grandson, all musicians. George Miclette worked in many of the New Deal programs formed to combat unemployment, and after his wife died, their younger children went to live with relatives. Rocky moved in with Slim but joined the Navy in his late teens. He served four years, mostly in the Pacific, where he was part of the Leyte Gulf assault and the battle of the Coral Sea. After his discharge, he returned to Vermont and joined Slims band, the Kentucky Ramblers. The group played at barn dances, fairs, parades and over the local radio station. They sometimes had gigs in movie theaters on Saturday afternoons before the picture shows began. The Ramblers growing reputation became known to the Down Homers, a nationally popular country-and-western band that at one time featured Bill Haley, who later performed with the Comets, and Kenny Roberts, known as the king of the yodelers. The brothers were offered a job with the Down Homers, but they were reluctant to leave Vermont and move to Connecticut. Never thinking the band would meet their demands, the brothers asked for the ridiculous sum of $200 a week in wages. They said OK, which is how Slim and Rocky got down to Connecticut, said Rocky Miclette Jr., who lives in Delaware. The Down Homers appeared on popular television shows, including the Ted Mack Amateur Hour, the Arthur Godfrey show and at Madison Square Garden in New York. They also broadcast coast-to-coast on WTIC radio. The Miclette brothers worked by day, and their alter egos, the Coxx brothers, played music on weekends. By the late 40s, the Down Homers had dissolved, and the brothers were playing Lake Compounce every Sunday afternoon and evening in Slims band, the Cowboy Caravan. As Slims five sons grew, they joined the band, as did Rocky Jr. and the Miclettes brother Maurice. At that time, The Lake was a homey, friendly place; concerts were free, and families could spend all day listening to music, swimming and watching children play. Sometimes local bands would appear with the Coxx brothers, and new Nashville groups would gain practice playing the amusement park. It was a great time in our lives, said Paul Miclette, Slims oldest son, who, like his four brothers, is a musician. We enjoyed it immensely. The band also played hundreds of gigs in small towns across Connecticut, Vermont and Massachusetts: American Legion halls, Granges and band shells on town greens. They met notables in the entertainment world, including Hank Williams Jr., Danny Kaye and George Jones. Rocky and his brothers were self-taught and could not read music. They listened, they improvised, they composed and above all, they performed. Slim was like a Bob Hope, said Rocky Miclette Jr. He was the consummate entertainer. Nothing could ruffle him. Rocky and the band performed old favorites: Your Cheatin Heart, The Key Is in the Mailbox and Orange Blossom, an instrumental. At one of the early Vermont concerts, Rocky began talking to a fan, Terry Viens, whom he later married. Rocky was tall, blue-eyed, good-natured and told corny jokes. When he played, he wore a Western shirt, cowboy boots, a string tie and a Stetson. I inherited his silliness, his klutziness, his love of junk food and, thank God, his metabolism, said his daughter, Dee Sweeney. She also absorbed her dads motto: Humor is the key to getting through life. Terry Viens Miclette died in 1997, and besides their two children, Rocky Miclette is survived by his second wife, Carlene Martin Miclette, and five grandchildren. One grandson, Travis Sweeney, 17, is carrying on the family tradition with a band called Escape Generation. He has hopes to be a rock star. In 1998, Slim and Rocky were inducted into the Connecticut and the New England Country Music Hall of Fame. They played their signature song, Golly, Gosh, Oh Gee, which they composed. Slim died in 1999, after the brothers had played together for almost 60 years. The younger generation -- Slims five sons and Rocky Jr. -- hope to hire a hall and gather some of the old-timers for a concert in honor of the Coxx brothers. Id love to see everybody playing, said Rocky Jr. Back
Posted on: Sat, 22 Mar 2014 04:36:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015