Wilfried ... LOL again.

I wonder if there should be a new thread about "Who encouraged you to sing?" ...

One of the greatest moments for me, in terms of developing confidence, came in around 1978, at the FSGW Getaway. Up until that time I hung back whenever I was in a group, figuring people would rather hear the "good" singers than be bored by me.

That year, a wonderful singer named Janice Cole (she of the blues/torch version of Rubber Ducky) asked me to join her in singing Mary Hamilton at the Sunday evening concert. I said Sure! -- knowing that with Janice singing, it could hardly go wrong. So, we signed up on the concert list.

All weekend I nagged Janice to practice the song with me and she kept putting me off. Finally about 5 pm on Sunday she said, "Oh, I don't intend to sing it with you! You sound just fine by yourself. I like the way you sing Mary Hamilton and I think other people should get to hear it, but I knew you'd never go up there and sing it unless you thought I was going to sing too." I didn't know whether to kiss her or kill her.

But after that I was a bit less shy after singing in public. I figured that if Janice went to that much trouble to get me to sing out, there must be at least a few people who wouldn't mind if I sang oftener.... Have often blessed her for that.

What about other people? Who encouraged you and helped you get over the hump? A number of people have already mentioned someone or some incident that has helped them keep singing in spite of it all....