How Joe became a singer
Joe de la Torre was raised by his father, Demetrio de la Torre, Sr. , a working musician and singer performing around southern California. That’s how he had made his living, put food on the table for the family all this life. “Dad taught my older brother Demetrio de la Torre, Jr and me to play the guitar when we were both young kids”, recall Joe. “Our dad’s efforts took hold with Demetrio, Jr. as he remained interested and continued developing his skills with the guitar” Joe added.
Demetrio, Jr. was 2 years older than Joe and knew more of what he wanted at the time. And yes, in time Demetrio, Jr. became a working musician and singer as well. As for young Joe, he says he was just a regular kid growing up the regular way, perhaps distracted by life in southern California. But deep inside he recalls knowing that wanted to concentrate more on singing. “Growing up our house was always filled with the singers and songs of the Fifties”, he recalls. “Many people know of those tunes as ‘Oldies’, but to me”, Joe explains, “those songs were known ‘irresistible’, and I always sang along”.
Heading North
In the late seventies, as a young adult, Joe moved north to San Jose. He found work at the Ethan Allen Furniture store, purveyors at the time of the highest quality home furnishings. His assignments, in the beginning, were polishing the beautiful furniture and helping to load the large delivery trucks. It didn’t take long before he realized that to really succeed, he would need a more challenging and more rewarding career path. “Fortunately for me, around that same time I met Arnold Rimback, a co-worker at Ethan Allen”, Joe recalls. Rimback was old. “Friends called him Bud”, Joe says. They became best friends.
The Radio’s Still On
Bud’s job was to seamlessly repair any damaged furniture at the store. He did it very well. Rimback had many years of experience and was a true craftsman, with the much-deserved reputation as a highly skilled a woodworker. Bud was handsomely compensated by Ethan Allen for his skills. He earned a good living and proudly paid for the college educations of his three children. Rimback also had his own thriving refinishing business that kept him busy on the weekends and evenings. He was so busy that he asked Joe to join him to refinish furniture and pianos for his customers. It was there that Rimback generously shared his skills and taught Joe the expert skill he would use in woodworking trade. “I must say, it was a great education. I made some much appreciated extra money as well. He trusted me and taught me well. I enjoyed working with him and learning the techniques he had perfected years earlier”, recall Joe. Joe added, “It was good just being around him. He was a jokester at heart and really enjoyed a good laugh. He loved music too, just as I do. The shop radio was always on. The Big Band sound was his music of choice. I came to love that era’s great music too.” Joe eventually learned many of those classic songs. Joe continues, “Bud was my mentor and ultimately convinced me to start my own custom woodworking business. We went on to work together and remain fast friends for twenty-five years”.
The Awakening
“I woke early one morning”, Joe remembers, “with the sudden realization that time was moving fast and the years were indeed slipping away. I’d been working hard for so many years by then. I realized at that moment that I really needed to expand my horizons, to do something for myself. To balance working a bit of fun. I knew that the key for me was music. It was a family thing, in my blood, as they say”. Music had been such an important part of Joe’s life growing up he decided that he must embrace it again. First, by enrolling in a vocal school were he studied for a number of years to refine his voice and strengthen vocal skills. It was there, at the school that he recalls having his first good singing experience. “I soon found myself next to the beautiful grand piano out there in front of the large audience attending the school’s recitals,” Joe recalls fondly. He smiles as he says, ”I knew immediately that I loved singing for people and that I wanted to sing for the rest of my life”. When he completed the school programs he soon began looking for places to continue sing. He enjoyed doing karaoke for a while.
Finding Vahl’s
When karaoke became a bit tiresome Joe decided the next step would be to find a piano bar where good musicians perform and sing live in front of hopefully enthusiastic patrons. He found Vahl’s, a nice place just north of San Jose in the Bay Area. It was at Vahl’s that Joe met Margie and her husband Aldo. “Margie was a terrific piano player and I really enjoyed singing while she played”, said Joe. From then on, he made it a point to be there whenever Margie performed at Vahl’s.
As fate would have it, one evening after singing at Vahl’s, a beautiful blonde lady introduced herself and then invited Joe to sing with her when she performed at a place called The 3 Flames. Her name was Mary Anita Lillpop. She performed Friday and Saturday nights. Joe says, “I was always there to sing”. This continued for 20 years or so. Lillpop was a great piano player and they became good friends. She also became a huge influence in Joe singing. “It was always great to listen and to watch as she sang”, says Joe. “You could really sense her passion for music. It was evident in her smile and with the reactions of her ever-increasing audiences. Mary taught me a lot about music. Sadly we lost Mary in 2016. I miss her greatly, but her music and the lessons she taught will surely live on always,” continues Joe.
For the Record
Things are moving fast. “It seems like we just complete the recording sessions for the first CD and now we’re well into the sessions for our second release”, states Joe. He continues, “I would like to mention the songs that I love to sing. I call them Classic Pop Songs. To give you an idea of the tunes I sing, I’ll mention the great singers that made these songs famous and inspired me, names like Jerry Vale, Al Martino, Vic Damone, Englebert Humperdink and there are many others”. He adds, “ I love singing these songs mainly because I simply love them. Maybe secondarily because hardly anyone else is singing this kind of music today. And that’s a shame” . “So, as long as I can sing,” Joe continues, “I will be singing all these great songs. People need to hear this music. Sadly we’ve lost many of the great artists that sang these Classic Pop Songs”. Joe says he determined that, along with his many musician friends, they will be out there, on a stage somewhere performing and preserving the legacy of this type of great music.