So what was Chicago's music scene like in the 1960s and 1970s?  One person who can tell you is Larry Dunphy.  As a young man still helping out on the farm, he was going to hear live performances of entertainers on their way up or on their way down or just on their way from one big town to another, like from St Louis or Kansas City to Chicago.  It was like heaven going to Chicago.
Larry's first music love is folk.  He can tell you about nightly fests at the Earl of Old Town, no longer with us.  He enjoys blues and straight ahead jazz, too.  Last week, we went to see Judy Roberts play at the Jazz Showcase, which has been around since 1947.  It has moved from one location to another all over the City of Chicago, and is currently in the back of the renovated Dearborn Station. 

Shortly after we met as neighbors, after months of talking about it, he took me to the Get Me High in the summer of 1988 and it was like going to a private house party.  We sat in the backyard on rickety chairs listening to the jazz.  Of course, that was in the last century.  Today, I hear that the Get Me High Lounge is renovated and "packed with hipsters."

Larry will tell you that there is nothing like live music.  He was fortunate to be in Chicago at a time when it was everywhere and cost but a few beers.

And, on Saturday, 21 Sep 2013, you can meet the author of The Chicago Music Scene 1960s and 1970s and musician in his own right, Dean Milano, making his debut at Books on First in Dixon.  Books on First hosts live music most Saturdays throughout the year, 7-9pm.  He heard about us through some of musicians who might actually be in the book.  Neither on the way up, down or between big city gigs, we are gratified to be known as a destination for many musicians.