I learned of some bad news the other day. I had posted the other month about seeing Steve Miller band live and loving their harp player
Norton Buffalo. Apparently he has been diagnosed with cancer in his lower lung's lobes. He had been suffering from pneumonia and through following him on Twitter read this, "
Discovered that my last update was a bit premature.I was told,Weds nite,that my pneumonia was caused by a cancer in my lower rt lobe(lungs)." My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family as he begins his battle with such a horrible disease. His personal website has an amazing gallery of images of him playing through the seventies to the present with more than a handful of my favorite artists. As I said earlier when I saw him live I was blown away by his harp. His diatonic work was so crisp and the tonality was awesome. Later he took the whole crowd's attention with a beautiful chromatic solo. I was even more blown away to find that he sent me an e-mail through twitter to say hi and sorry to miss meeting me at the show. I can only urge everyone to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. With the good lord's grace he will pull through to hit the stage again.
The following pictures are from Norton Buffalo's site's said gallery. For bio info, pictures, show dates and all other things Buffalo visit http://www.norton-buffalo.com/
Norton Live with Steve MillerDay On The Green • Oakland Coliseum Stadium 1978
Norton Buffalo, James Cotton & Paul ButterfieldHarmonica Summit • Marin Civic Auditorium 1980
Norton Live with Steve Miller
Norton Buffalo, James Cotton & Paul Butterfield
I first worked with Norton in the mid seventies when he had the Stampede, and I to was shocked about his health situation. This is a guy who has given more than he has recieved, and that is saying a lot. It is understandable that he hasn't changed the way he treats others... Your article simple states that he is the same old Norton who has always gone the extra mile to make a fan feel like a friend. I too will be sending Norton positive thoughts and prayers to get well soon.
ReplyDeleteGreg MacCarthy
Thanks for the kind comment Greg. I'm keeping him in my prayers and hope for the best, and I have never even met him. Just seems like a really great guy and is a hell of a harp player. If anyone is wanting more information on his health, I believe he is planning on updating his website as he finds out more and continues to fight his illness.
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