Long before the high-tech music machines and pipe organs of today with all of their fancy bells and whistles (pun intended), there was the pump organ that required a two-man team to play it: one on the keyboard to play the music, the other to manually pump the bellows hidden behind the organ that fed the massive pipes with air. One could not exist without the other.
This story was given to me by my musician friend, Tommy Baily, so I thank him as my source. Back in 18th century France organists would tour cathedrals giving recitals. In one French city a famous musician came to town to give a series of sold out concerts. The first night concert was a huge success with a standing ovation at the end.
As the famous organist was leaving the concert hall, the young man who had been pumping the bellows came up to the organist and said, “We had a great performance tonight, didn’t we?”
“We didn’t have anything,” replied the haughty organist. “I had a great performance.”
The next night when the concert started and the organist began to play the music, there was no sound coming from the pipes. He kept playing, waiting for music to soar through the pipes, but it never did. So, the organist went around back and yelled at the young man, “What is going on back here?”
The young man looked at him and said, “It looks like you are not having a great performance tonight.”
We get through life “with a little help from our friends.” It is what makes our journey tolerable, and at times, enjoyable. There are so many people in our life that remain in the background but should be acknowledged for any success we might enjoy. That is why authors have “Acknowledgement” pages in their books.
And I never do a show without thanking and praising the hard work of those who are never seen by the audience. Their names are in the program but they remain hidden from sight. Backstage crews are as vital to the success of any performance as those of us who make “their exits and entrances” on the stage. All hail to the bellows players. All hail to the publishing and editorial teams. All hail to the backstage crews.
