Maude and Earl

Me and my sister Kimberly Mascheri were recently reminiscing about the old Johnny's and Sammy's restaurant in Salisbury, MD when Kimberly brought up remembering a man and woman duo who always used to perform there named Maude and Earl. I have no recollection of them what so ever but this is how I imagine they would be....


Maude Jacobs was up up the little corner stage, off towards the front and side of the dimly light restaurant. She was finishing up her and her husband Earls second set of the night. She was ending this particular set with a song from one of her favorite blues singers, Miss Billie Holiday. The song was Yesterdays and Maude was bringing it home with a big ending, belting it out about the yesterdays of past. Earl was making the baby grand drive home the sadness of the yesterdays that his wife was reminiscing about, running his long agile fingers along the ivory keys, making the piano come to life and express a sadness to match the vocals of the song. Earl could do that. He had always had the talent to make a piano come to life. To come to life and almost speak and cry out and hit that sentimental spot everyone has but never seemed to visit much anymore. Things were a lot different now in 1979. No one appreciated good music anymore. Now, it was disco, pop and Lord only knows what else. There was that terrible time from the 60's when music stopped being music and the whole world seemed to go to hell. Music that sang about defiance and in your face anti this and anti that. That's when morals and respect for others had gone right out the window to join the singers and songs of yesterday. No one was interested in the entertainers from Maude and Earls time. Back when everybody was listening to the blues and the crooners and the big swing bands of yesterday. Back when the music was MUSIC and not the garbage out today. Still, Maude and Earl persevered. Performing was all they had known and even today with both of them into their 70's they continued to pay tribute to their hero's of yesterday. Maude's being Ella Fitzgerald, Rosemary Clooney, and Sarah Vaughan. She also did a pretty good impression of Bill Holiday and absolutely loved the performers heart and soul and the way she poured herself into all of her songs. Earl liked the old Nat King Cole songs and even had a eerie resemblance to the long gone star. Same tight, thick head of hair. Same dark skin color. And Earl did a pretty good darn impression of him as well. Earls repertoire also included hits from Alan Dale, Bob Manning, Vic Damone and the lovable old Blue Eyes himself Frank Sinatra. Most of their idols of yesterday were backed by a big orchestra but these days it was just Earl and his baby grand. Earl and Maude had been doing this act now for fifty years. They had met in their hometown of Chicago way back in the late 20's when they were both pursuing musical careers , Earl playing the piano on weekdays in speakeasys, the weekends being reserved for the "good bands" when they were the most busiest and Maude singing at charity events and social get togethers, also performing for free and mostly on evenings after working a shift at the garment factory where she worked. Earl was a laborer by day but they had one goal in common, to be entertainers and performers and work the big clubs and venues on the weekends, not just fill ins for the middle of the week. The two of them meet at a audition for a last minute attempt to put a opening act together for the great Buddy Clark after his regular band had to cancel after several members had gotten ill with a flu virus and were ordered to bed rest until recovery. Maude had caught Earls eye and gotten up the nerve to talk to her after the audition (which neither one made the cut) and asked her to dinner. She went and a year latter they were married. The two of them both shared the same dream and they worked their tails off practicing and blending their styles together. Soon, they were performing in supper clubs around Chicago (on the weekends at that) and their name began spreading around the city. Throughout the thirties and forties Maude and Earl continued to perform and opened for many of the big stars of the day in huge venues that held a thousand people, some of them even more. They became friends with those same stars and popped champagne bottles and toasted their success with them after shows. The mood of the country was tense and somber during the early forties as the country went to war and when it ended in 1945 America was ready to celebrate and Maude and Earl helped them do just that. But alas, all good thing must end and when the 50's rolled around the big band sound started it's slow death. Suddenly, the country was wanting to hear a new king of music, they called it rock and roll. Elvis Presley sealed the deal on this new type of music but before him there was The Treniers (more doo-wop then rock and roll), Les Paul and Mary Ford, The Clovers and Lloyd Price. Maude and Earl forged on and still had work but it wasn't anywhere like the heyday of the 30's and 40's. Then came the 60's and that was a decade they didn't like to look back on. The Vietnam war was going on and the youth revolted against anyone or anything of authority. Music ceased to exist for awhile as these hippie, drug using bums who dared call themselves musicians became popular and sang about things that interested no one except other hippies. It was a sad decade for music and Earl and Maude had even considered hanging it up and retiring from the business. They had saved up a very nice sum of money from the golden years and didn't really need to be doing anything but they loved the music and they loved the spotlight. They hung in there and performed at mostly golden memories concerts, playing to a audience mostly their age who, like them, loved the music of yesterday and the performers of it as well. Their music had become nostalgia music. They even left their beloved city of Chicago and traveled up and down the east coast, renting a apartment here and there, staying in one place until they had exhausted the clubs or places that would hire them to do a few shows. Their venues then mostly consisted of civic organization celebrations like at the local VFW or the Lions Club or the Chamber of Commerce get togethers. These groups would usually have a cocktail hour and Maude and Earl would be payed to set up and play during these social hours, singing their songs of yesterday softly so that the people heard them but could still carry on a conversation with their friends. Their latest stop and place they called home was where they were now, Salisbury MD. They had been here for the last six years and they really loved this place. The people were nice, the living was at a relaxed pace and they had found work at one of the nicer restaurants in town, Johnny's and Sammy's. The owners of the restaurant were fans of the big band era and had promised them a job performing on the weekends there as long as they wanted to. Their schedule at the restaurant was performing on Friday and Saturday nights, three sets on each of the nights. They appeared in the more upscale side of the restaurant, the adults only Alpine Room, where patrons could dine on Johnny and Sammy's famous Veal Steak or any of the other fabulous selections from the menu and have a couple drinks afterwards and listen to Maude and Earl performing the great songs of yesterday, songs mostly forgotten here in 1979 with disco and the other junk being played today. Here in the Alpine Room diners could relax and be transported back to a magical era when music was just that, music. No screaming vocals, no blaring music that caused your head to hurt. Maude and Earl were both in their 70's now and they did talk of retiring from the business every now and then but why? They were healthy and they were doing what they loved to do. A two night a week schedule was certainly easy enough and they supplemented their time performing at various events around town and in surrounding ones as well. The regular diners at Johnny's and Sammy's had come to expect to see them on the weekends performing and why stop now and disappoint them. They had became a staple to the restaurant. The marquee out front announcing that they would be performing there this weekend hadn't been changed in three years. And it wasn't like the restaurant was going to be closing anytime soon. The locals loved the place and they loved Maude and Earl. As long as they kept coming they would keep performing there and taking those diners back to a era where the crooners and divas ruled and the big band sound was king. All good things do come to a end but this one's end was far away and they were going to enjoy every minute of it while it was here.