It’s here! We are so pleased to present our work to you! It has been an unexpected journey, full of hiccups and pivots, and strings of little miracles. We made it.
When Phyllis mentioned that she “always [thought] of [Barney] in a bow tie” we decided that donning bow ties of our own would be a fun way to honor him.
Phyllis said something in our interview with her that has added a surprising sense of poignancy to this project.
“…Right away after his stroke I bought a Sony Walkman—it was this thing that you plugged into your ears that you put a cassette in—and I played his own recordings to him from the day he had his stroke. I don’t know how I even thought to do that but I knew how much he loved to listen to himself and I knew it would connect to him the songs, the chords, whatever.”
Listening to his music and savoring the memories he had of playing, performing, traveling, and teaching kept Barney tethered to his own identity, despite the immobility caused by his stroke.
So explore the website. Read his words, listen to his music, connect with Barney and feel enlightened, illuminated, and inspired by the man and the musician. Preserve his legacy through your own curiosity and appreciation.
https://exhibits.library.umkc.edu/s/kessel/page/home
Thank you again and again to our mentor Dr. Tyrrell, the Omeka team at UMKC, and the staff at LaBudde Special Collections.
And finally, thanks to all of our readers for coming with us on this journey.
With love and music,
