Rest In Peace, Capt. Herb Emory
A good friend and band mate passed away suddenly yesterday. Here's the story from the Atlanta Journal and Constitution .
Herb and I were News Directors back in our "radio days", the 1970's. He at Douglasville Georgia's WDGL, and me at Carrollton Georgia's WLBB. We would call each other every morning to see if one of us had a story that the other could use. We used to joke about our use of the word "nearby" to localize the story: "In nearby Douglasville this morning........". Douglasville was about 22 miles away from Carrollton, so it was okay to use the story.
On slow news days, we had a running private joke: "In nearby Nome, Alaska this morning........" which meant neither of us had anything the other could use.
He and I also worked as "stringers" for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. If a story was news-worthy for the print media, we'd call the paper and dictate it after having rewritten it for print. We'd make $20.00 per story which supplemented our meager broadcast income.
After finally meeting, we decided we both liked the same music, and as he played guitar and sang and I played drums and sometimes rhythm guitar, we had the nucleus of a country band. We called ourselves The Sweetwater Creek Boys, and as you might guess, we played the "Outlaw" brand of country music. He especially loved the music of Waylon Jennings and it became his specialty.
On another sad note, I had scheduled Herb to speak to our Alzheimer's Association support group, due to the fact he had first-hand knowledge taking care of a family member himself. We were both looking forward to a reunion at his speech and afterward doing some "pickin' and grinnin' " here at the house.
I don't have that many real-time friends and Herb sure was a great one.
There are many tributes to Captain Herb, but one I read sticks in my mind: "He was not only an Atlanta icon, but a Georgia icon as well."
Rest in peace, dear friend and thank you for the many good times we had together. I will miss you.
Herb and I were News Directors back in our "radio days", the 1970's. He at Douglasville Georgia's WDGL, and me at Carrollton Georgia's WLBB. We would call each other every morning to see if one of us had a story that the other could use. We used to joke about our use of the word "nearby" to localize the story: "In nearby Douglasville this morning........". Douglasville was about 22 miles away from Carrollton, so it was okay to use the story.
On slow news days, we had a running private joke: "In nearby Nome, Alaska this morning........" which meant neither of us had anything the other could use.
He and I also worked as "stringers" for the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. If a story was news-worthy for the print media, we'd call the paper and dictate it after having rewritten it for print. We'd make $20.00 per story which supplemented our meager broadcast income.
After finally meeting, we decided we both liked the same music, and as he played guitar and sang and I played drums and sometimes rhythm guitar, we had the nucleus of a country band. We called ourselves The Sweetwater Creek Boys, and as you might guess, we played the "Outlaw" brand of country music. He especially loved the music of Waylon Jennings and it became his specialty.
On another sad note, I had scheduled Herb to speak to our Alzheimer's Association support group, due to the fact he had first-hand knowledge taking care of a family member himself. We were both looking forward to a reunion at his speech and afterward doing some "pickin' and grinnin' " here at the house.
I don't have that many real-time friends and Herb sure was a great one.
There are many tributes to Captain Herb, but one I read sticks in my mind: "He was not only an Atlanta icon, but a Georgia icon as well."
Rest in peace, dear friend and thank you for the many good times we had together. I will miss you.
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