Former presidential candidate Lamar Alexander was featured on NPR this past Sunday. It was an interesting and far ranging interview that covered his musical influences and the "Tennessee Waltz."
From the interview:
"My dad led the singing at a lot of revivals, so I learned to play a lot of church music," he says.
Alexander says he would later be influenced by gospel music on the radio, guitarist Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley.
"It was a wonderful mix of American music," he says. "My piano playing was classical piano playing, but I was hearing on the radio and learning to play by ear this other music."
Alexander's Memorial Day performance with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra was not the first time the senator has played with an orchestra.
"When I was governor, I was looking for a way to unify our state," he recalls. "I realized music is about the only thing that unifies Tennessee."
Alexander says he decided to put some money in the community and symphony endowments, and challenged them to match that amount. He then went around the state and played concerts with 21 symphonies and community orchestras. "People came out in big numbers to see the governor make a big mistake," he says with a laugh.
The senator also recently recorded the song "Tennessee Waltz" with Patti Page, whose original recording was a top seller.
"It relaxes me," Alexander says of his playing. "I started out playing Mozart and Chopin, and I've ended up playing Bill Evans and George Shearing. I enjoy doing it, and I find that today I can play what I learned when I was 15. So if you can stick with your piano playing long enough, it's something you can love for the rest of your life."
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