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    CLAUDIA
    CLAUDIA
    CLAUDIA
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    CLAUDIA

    By Claudia Genteel

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    About this ebook

    Travel through these pages with Claudia to discover a world of music, from Wyoming to Hong Kong, from Colorado to Miami, from New York to Tokyo, from South America to London. And then you throw in the bonus of sailing on Luxury Liners on World Cruises, and you’ve seen the world! Get on board, and I can promise you a happy ride and more than a few laughs. 
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOutskirts Press
    Release dateAug 27, 2024
    ISBN9781977277596
    CLAUDIA
    Author

    Claudia Genteel

    Claudia’s goals were set early, at the age of 4 when her older brother began to hit random keys on the piano and she could match “pitch” instantly, and Eddie knew she was a singer. Follow her life and discover, through living, her life unfolded. All she needed was to follow the steps, and it was carefully “laid out”. Take every opportunity to grow, and take every chance to be prepared. Learn everything you can about your chosen profession so you are prepared—learn, so when that door opens with an opportunity, you are ready. This book will help you to be prepared. Life is not easy, but you can prepare yourself to be ready! 

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      Book preview

      CLAUDIA - Claudia Genteel

      A Singer’s Journey

      I was in the eighth grade when my destiny came into focus with the movie Luxury Liner starring Jane Powell and George Brent! What a wonderful prospect—to SING on a Luxury liner and see the world!

      Of course, that was not quite the premise of the movie—but it set my imagination on fire! I always knew I wanted to be a singer…And oh, the joy of actually being able to do that in such a grand and glamorous way!

      But wait…I am getting ahead of my story! Read on…I have had a wonderful journey with my dreams and aspirations actually coming true, many times, through diligent preparation and fortuitous accidents!

      1

      It Makes You Wonder

      It makes you wonder –

      there is a time for sowing,

      a time for reaping, a time for …

      Yes…time is the operative word! What is meant to be…will be! Things we have heard as we’re growing up. But it IS true—let me expound on the subject.

      My siblings and I were so fortunate growing up in a house full of music and love. Dad was the provider and Mom stayed home to help us (my siblings and me) find our potential and reach our goals. She introduced us to music and books of all kinds, which of course included the Classics. We grew up with the music of Liszt, Chopin, Schubert, Sebelius, Rachmaninoff, Greig, and the poetry of Longfellow and Whitman, and the list goes on and on. We also learned the music of the day from radio and sheet music. The composers of the modern era at that time included George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, etc. (I remember when sheet music was only 35 cents). Mom played the piano almost every evening after dinner, and the entire family, including my father, (whose appreciation of music was greater than his ability to sing) would gather around the piano, singing the popular songs of the twenties, thirties, and forties. There was Eddie, the eldest, and only son, ten years older than me, my sister Arlene, six years older, and of course, I was the youngest. Mom encouraged all of us to choose an instrument, and then saw to it that we had lessons. We all gravitated to piano, but Eddie excelled and became quite accomplished in not only piano, but on trap drums as well. In fact, he excelled in everything he undertook! He was my hero, my mentor and my compass! I wanted to be just like him. In my eyes he was wonderfully talented! So, one day, when I was four, Eddie was hitting random keys on the piano, when I joined in, he discovered I could match pitch immediately. (It was a revelation to me too…wasn’t everybody a singer?) Eddie told our parents that I was a natural (singer), and should study voice with a good teacher when I was old enough…Because, he declared, Claudia is indeed a singer! That thought stayed with me the rest of my life…and served as a beacon for a future that was yet to unfold, but also gave me a sense of encouragement for some distant time!

      Fast forward to 1942, my brother graduated from High School and left for college in Laramie, Wyoming to begin studies in Electrical Engineering. An accomplished pianist, drummer, a sketch artist gravitating to portraiture, a cartoonist, he dabbled in acting, was a great dancer, and an all-around popular young man with many friends and many interests. I mention these things because Eddie was my idol…I wanted to accomplish all the things he had accomplished!

      Now the year is 1943, our Country has entered World War II, and life as I knew it, was changing rapidly. Americans were fiercely patriotic—young men were answering the call of Uncle Sam’s We need You, a sign that was in front of every Post Office and Government building in America!…Still in his freshman year of college, my brother Eddie answered that call by enlisting in the Navy and became a Signalman. After boot camp training at Lake Farragut in Idaho, he was sent to Lilac Terrace in Los Angeles to begin his studies in communications.

      In late summer, Mom went to Los Angeles to visit Eddie and fell in love with California—after the two-week visit, Mom returned to Wyoming and announced to the family we were moving to California! My father, a barber, sold his share of the business to his partner, and by December, packed up the family, and we moved to Hermosa Beach, California. My brother Eddie had found us a two-story rental with a poop deck terrace on the roof. We were on a hill about 10 or 12 blocks from the ocean, and the view was spectacular! My sister Arlene, and I thought we had moved to paradise!

      I have a side story to interject here. When we made our move from Wyoming to California, we drove the family 1935 Dodge, and pulled a trailer with our belongings. During this three-day trip, I had a lot of time to think…so I asked my parents if I could change my first name, by telling the teacher in my new school, that my name is Lorraine. {in reality, my name is Claudia and Lorraine is my middle name). I never liked my first name, because no one else had that name, and all of my acquaintances were named Mary Jane or Sally or Susie or Betty…so I wanted to be Lorraine. My parents agreed I could do that if I chose. So, I was registered in the third-grade class in Hermosa Beach Elementary School as Lorraine. Basically shy, it is difficult to come into a new school, as you try desperately to learn your classmates’ names as quickly as possible to fit in. The teacher introduced me by my new name and said that I came from that cold country of Wyoming! The day progressed and now it was afternoon. The teacher read something from a textbook, and then addressed a question to Lorraine. Eager to see who in my class was named Lorraine, I glanced around the classroom, only to discover every eye was on ME! How embarrassing! I had forgotten I had changed my name that very day! After school I told the teacher how I had changed my name, with my parents’ approval…but since I did not seem to remember it…I had best return to my original first name of Claudia! So, I was Lorraine for only a Day!

      My parent’s reasons for our move were more practical…first and foremost they wanted to be closer to my brother, but also wanted to be supportive of the war effort in whatever way they could. My father had tried to join the military while we still lived in Wyoming, as soon as the war broke out, but was classified 4-F due to a compound fracture he had suffered to his right leg in an accident when he was only 28 years old, which had left him with a limp. So, he wanted to work in an industry that would help with the war. At that point, we moved from Hermosa Beach to Los Angeles (only 14 miles), where he took a course in Electricity at UCLA, and then worked as an electrician in a shipyard in San Pedro, that built ships for the war. He worked there until after the war ended.

      During those years we were grateful to live closer to Eddie and he usually brought a couple of his buddies to visit us on their weekend pass. Music and lively conversation was always available on those visits, and I would sit quietly soaking up every word. Whatever happened to conversation? Today it seems like a lost art form.

      Eddie and his friends looked forward to going to the Stage Door Canteen in Los Angeles where many of the current Movie Stars were on hand for conversation and to dance with the soldiers, sailors, and marines. They would serve them sandwiches and soda or just be good listeners. I remember one time Eddie said he danced with Alexis Smith, and said she was tall, and lovely and had a certain grace. He also spoke of Bette Davis, Irene Dunne, Greer Garson, and everybody’s favorite, Jimmy Durante. They, and many more stars, were always at the Stage Door Canteen to boost the morale and show their support for the

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