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Today's comment comes from Car in response to our article on the passing of Fabulous Wailers great Kent Morrill and the memorial concert tonight at the Temple Theater.

Carl writes,

I consider "Dirty Robber", written and performed by Kent, to be the greatest down and dirty garage band rock song of all time. Kent's performance is just amazing. Equally amazing, I heard him sing "Ave Maria" in the St. Martin's College Glee Club, and on that song he had the voice of an angel. When it came to music, that man could do it all.

I, too, went to Visitation, the parochial school in South Tacoma. My mom tells me that Kent's dad was a barber who cut my dad's hair way back then. When Kent was a student at St. Martin's College in Lacey, I was in St. Martin's High School. The college and the high school ate in the cafeteria at the same time. I recall Kent standing in line in the cafeteria, boppin' around, moving his feet, snapping his fingers -- absolutely the coolest guy I ever saw in my life. And god could he sing

I never had a real personal connection with Kent, but it feels like I've lost a good friend. He WAS rock 'n roll for me.

I hadn't heard the Wailers play for years and years when I had the good luck to walk within hearing distance of the bandstand in Olympia during Lake Fair a few years ago. I heard this great rock music in the distance, and the sound was somehow familiar. It awakened long dormant memories of the sound coming from my transistor radio in the early 1960's. I wandered over and asked someone "who's playing"? It was the Wailers!

I stuck around, and shouted out requests for "Tall Cool One" and "Mashi", which they were nice enough to play. When I requested "Mashi", Kent shouted back "Do you know what that means?" Well, I DID remember, and I shouted back "It Moves!" Kent looked surprised, and said "He DOES know!" I was so proud :>) :>) :>)

I walked up to the stage when Kent took a break, and managed to have a few words with him. I told him "You were always the coolest guy at St. Martin's", which seemed to amuse him. :>)

So Long Kent - - - and say hi to Jimi and Janis and Elvis for us.

And I would LOVE to know what the connection was between our Wailers and the Reggae band of the same name. I read that our Wailers spent some time in Jamaica many years ago, before Bob Marley and his band became known. Did Bob Marley name his band after the band from the great Pacific Northwest?