Coaster Photo
Some of the performers at a tribute for former Asbury Park musician Big Danny Gallagher at Red Fusion in Asbury Park Sunday were Ken Sorensen (left), Sonny Kenn (center) and David Meyers (right).
By DON STINE
Big Danny Gallagher had a lot of friends- a fact that was made abundantly clear as hundreds of people turned out Sunday in Asbury Park for a tribute concert to the musician who died in Colorado on January 25.
The concert, dubbed Big Dannys Final Farewell Tour, brought together dozens of local musicians and hundreds of fans to honor the former Asbury Park singer and songwriter, who was also known by friends as the gentle giant.
Gallagher, an Asbury Park native who was born in 1948, was well-known in the area for his musical talent, humor, and generosity to others. During the last several years, when he wasnt in Ireland, he could be heard playing at the now closed Cross Roads Bar and Cafe in Asbury Park and the Oak Lounge at the Berkeley Carteret Hotel.
Some of the proceeds from the concert, held at Red Fusion restaurant on Cookman Avenue, will be used to buy instruments for the Asbury Park High School musical program. Concert organizers estimate that about 500 people attended the five-hour event.
Gallaghers 37-year-old son, Eddie, came from St. Louis, Missouri to attend the concert along with other family members and friends. Other family members came from as far away as Hawaii, Ohio, Florida and Texas.
Its wonderful. Its unreal that so many people turned out to pay tribute to my father, Eddie said. I love them all. Dad would have loved this and I know he is up there right now shaking in his shoes. He was a great man and he would have loved this support.
Stan Goldstein, co-author of The Rock And Roll Tour Of The Jersey Shore, now heading into its third revised edition, said he was in awe and blown away by the event
And while Goldstein said he did not know Gallagher on a close personal level, he was always very much aware that he was one of the real local legends of the Asbury Park musical scene.
He was a big man with a huge presence. He knew who he was and was one of the innovators on the local music scene, he said.
Goldstein also said he was also impressed by the crowd attending the tribute concert.
This is a real Asbury Park crowd with many local musicians and music fans from this area. This is an all-time Asbury Park event, he said.
Gallagher and his band, Big Danny And The Lost Leader Band, issued a self-produced album in 1993 called Dont Stop The Dreaming, with well-known local drummer Vini Lopez, along with other area musicians, making musical contributions to the recording.
Danny was a long-time friend and we played some of his favorite songs and some of his original songs at the concert, Lopez said. The concert was outrageous. It was great for his family and people were very supportive.
And how does Lopez feel about Big Dannys death?
His passing is just something you just cant let go by. Thats Big Danny, man. Thats the dude! He helped us all, he said. He was the greatest, sweetest guy you ever knew. We always called him `The Troubadour Of The World and thats what he was. Everywhere he went people gathered around to listen to him perform.
Lopez gripped Gallaghers walking stick during several songs he sang from the stage Sunday.
Albee Tellone, who lives in Arkansas, said he and Big Danny were among the first roadies for Bruce Springsteen in the 1970s.
We took care of all the equipment and setting up for the concerts. On the road we would all sing funny songs and make people laugh, both for our own enjoyment and for Bruce and the band too, he said.
Tellone said he too was amazed by the outpouring of affection for Big Danny at the concert.
It was like the biggest Irish wake I have ever seen. I know his family was really moved by it and he will be missed very much! he said.
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Thanks you very much for your coverage and picture(s) of my brother Danny’s tribute. It was a beautiful time for his family and friends to gather and pay respect to our “talented teddy bear.”
I was honored to read a poem entitled “An Irishman.” Danny had sent that poem to our brother Pat and our nephews when Pat’s 21 year old son, Michael (Pip) was tragically killed in 1996. My nephew, Eddie ( Dan’s oldest son) requested that I read it for his Dad. The other touching moments of Danny’s Irish Wake were when we all sang “Danny Boy” and when all his great friends/musicians played his songs. We could not have asked for a better send off for a truly Big legend. Rest in peace my dear brother.