Pictures R U, LW! Late 80's+
Last time, we published an entry featuring pictures of us from the early 80's. In this episode, we will look, in particular, at the late 80's & early 90's. As I noted before, this task of showing group pictures had already been done in a sense in the video for "Love's in a Name". That video is here:
As the 80's progressed, we continued to be very active, going out in our bus just about every weekend, but, after 1986 or so, without Mike. Another factor was that we were all getting married and starting families at this time. That means
many Living Waters children, whom I dubbed, "puddles"! Chuck & Joyce and Tony & Denise were already married. (Mike & Sharon, our first real married couple had left the active group and were having children.) All the other LW families formed then. Dave & Kathy, Mark & Julia, John & Joyce (not in the pic below) and Anne & Greg, all got married in quick succession, and Jim married our dance foundress, Ann-Marie. Jackie, Chris R. and little Mark were the first in a growing list of "puddles".
Some others had left the active group like the Foucres or the Gagnons, but once you had been in Living Waters, you were always part of it, somehow. In this picture below, we also see several co-workers of happy memory who were new to the group at this time, like Miles, Cindy, Kevin, Joe and Don; their families & friends became part of us. Living Waters wouldn't have been what it was without their unique and unforgettable presence. In view of all this, the picture below is a treasured slice of this wonderful time.
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| Here we are outside the 505 Pleasant House circa 1988, near Betsy the Bus. Front row: Miles, Cindy, Carole, Anne & Greg, Don Morrier, Denise; middle: Joyce with Chris, Joline, Jeff, Kevin, Mark with little Mark & Julia, Tony, Kathy & Dave with little Jackie, Pepi; back left: Ann-Marie & Dave & Jim Babish, Chuck (behind his Joyce) and Joe D. |
One thing about our weddings of this time is that they were
Living Waters weddings, featuring our own tunes and style. We began to do
many weddings for Bourque relatives and many others as well. This remains a key part of who we are to this day. It reminds me of something like the Von Trapps, a musical
family, bound by sacred oaths to God. (Several of our past members had also given their lives by becoming presbyters, like Bob, Danny & Mike Higgins; they remain part of this faith family.) This very weekend, we are set to do the wedding for Dave & Kathy's son, Matthew, featuring John & Joyce's daughter Caroline singing. The beat goes on!
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| Mark sings "Perfect Gift Song" at his marriage to Julia 1986 |
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| Left: Mike Higgins, in charge of TOR Franciscans in Rome at one point; right: Danny, missionary in Mexico |
We should throw in a classic picture from right before this other one, when we sort of went to a formal look with fancy shirts and colored dresses. This picture allows us to mention a few other members we had in the 80's. In the front left we see Joan, whom we haven't mentioned, and peeking in the back is Chrissy, the star of the "Prodigal Daughter". Front & right is our beloved Mary Gillis; we played music for her funeral, and recently, also, for Cheryl.
As the 80's turned into the 90's, we moved our large equipment from Holliston to the nearby Sons of Mary, across Route 9 in Framingham. It was there that we had one of the best Christmas concerts we ever did captured by Jim on tape. This was the source of a couple of the live tracks we put on our recent Christmas album, "The Joy". (There is a link to those songs below, the "Christmas Live" playlist.) We were also spending time in the hall recording some of our concert standards of this time. The gem of that session is undeniably, "Love's in a Name". "Let's Stay" was always the next to last song leading to "Nobody Else" as the closer, in those days. (There is also a playlist with these songs below.)
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| The Sons of Mary in Framingham, where we were based in the early 90's |
Here are the links to the recordings of those days:
The Sons Sessions
Christmas Live
It around the mid-90's that the group 'ended' as a regular touring band, due to the pressures of families, jobs and other issues. However, the group never really totally 'ended'. In the early 90's, we also recorded "Peter the Rock", did a concert with Mike in 1995 at Sheepgate Coffeehouse, reviving many old songs, and continued to do sporadic concerts, weddings and such until the present time. Further, each of us bloomed where we were planted providing our music talents to our own churches. Around 2011, a whole new era would dawn with the entrance of the band to the internet, and brand new songs and recording. Stay tuned for the
next episode!
So, sit back and tune in to this. A Blessed Christmas to all of you....
