DRIFTERS 'CLOWN' KEEPS SINGING.Byline: BETTIE RENCORET Senior columnist LANCASTER - Bobby Maxwell, a singer with Chico Vega's Drifters, is an enigma. He plays the clown while singing, but has a serious side, too. He has 13 children by two wives and though some are miles away, he remains close to them. ``I'm a good father,'' he said. ``I keep in contact and know pretty much what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. with all of them. It's important to do that, you know. If you're gonna have kids, you need to take parenting seriously.'' That hasn't always been easy. His performance scheduling - with the complete Drifters troupe, as a duo with Drifter Edd Freeman, or on his own - keeps him on the move. The group's next gig is in Spain. ``We love doing shows overseas, but we don't do it as much any more,'' Maxwell said. ``Chico is getting tired of touring and wants to retire, so we'll only be doing a few things now and then as a quartet.'' Last week, the group performed what was meant to be its last scheduled appearance together. They rang the rafters in the Tehachapi Moose Lodge and a contingent of fans from Lancaster was there to cheer them on. ``Edd and Sharon and I've been friends for 22 years and we work well together so we'll continue to do some of the things we've always done,'' he said. Sharon, Freeman's wife, often sings informally on the same bill with her husband and Maxwell, and is developing her own coterie of fans. ``We do things like karaoke at the Elks Club together,'' Maxwell said. ``Then I also do some on my own.'' Maxwell's first love is music but he also has worked at other jobs. He was employed five years for Nissan and, appropriately, named his dog Sentra. For a while, he worked in the shipping department of a big chain store and was promoted to floor supervisor. ``Then they discovered I could sing, so they made me a convention vendor and singer,'' he said. At a convention, ``they had a rotating stage there and on one occasion, 70,000 people showed up. It was awesome.'' Maxwell was born in Muskogee, Okla., of American Indian American Indian or Native American or Amerindian or indigenous American Any member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. parents who taught him respect. In 1953, at age 12, Maxwell moved with his family to Arizona before they settled in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . He went to the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , for a year and spent another year in acting school. He served in the Navy, including a stint from 1964 to '65 in Vietnam. Maxwell belongs to the Lancaster Elks Club, the Loyal Order of the Moose, California Rotary Club International, the Tehachapi Veterans of Foreign Wars, Lancaster American Legion American Legion, national association of male and female war veterans, founded (1919) in Paris. Membership is open to veterans of World Wars I and II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Post 311 and the J&J Social and Travel Club. For relaxation, he plays poker with one group of friends on Monday nights and pinochle pinochle (pē`nŭ'kəl), card game, probably derived from bezique, that was developed in the United States in the 19th cent. Pinochle is played by two, three, or four players, with a deck of 48 cards containing two each of the aces, face with another group on Thursdays. As a member of the Drifters, he's often entertained children. ``Too many people won't make the effort to show children the right way,'' he said. ``That's why so many young people don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. the right way. Edd and I love kids and we're always happy to speak to them or sing for then in high school assemblies, things like that. Too many kids are taught to hate and that's where trouble starts.'' And the group does frequent benefits for veterans groups. ``I know personally what every kindness means to them,'' he said. He is currently finishing ``Bobby's Love Songs,'' a CD with DJ Ben Thomas. And there's talk of forming a new group. ``Wouldn't that be something, now?'' he said. ``I'm not afraid of that kind of hard work. After all, I've been singing since I was 8 years old.'' < Menus for the week at the Senior Life nutrition sites in Lancaster and Palmdale include bread, margarine and coffee, tea or milk, for a suggested donation of $2. Monday: Cheeseburger, macaroni macaroni: see pasta. salad, corn nibblets, tossed salad, pineapple juice, peaches. Tuesday: Braised braise tr.v. braised, brais·ing, brais·es To cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container. beef and noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , soup, spinach, marinated salad, cheesecake. Wednesday: Barbecued chicken, rice pilaf, Normandy vegetables, lettuce and tomato salad, banana. Thursday: Meatloaf, mashed potatoes n. pl. 1. Potatoes which have been boiled and mashed to a pulpy consistency, usu. with sparing addition of milk, salt, butter, or other flavoring. It is a popular accompaniment to a meat course [U.S., 1900's], providing bulk and calories to a meal. , chicken rice soup, cooked cabbage, carrot salad, vanilla pudding. Friday: Roast turkey, bread dressing, peas and carrots, garden salad, grape juice, gelatin gelatin or animal jelly, foodstuff obtained from connective tissue (found in hoofs, bones, tendons, ligaments, and cartilage) of vertebrate animals by the action of boiling water or dilute acid. with fruit. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Bobby Maxwell of Chico Vega's Drifters is still singing at age 64, but leaves time for card games twice a week with friends. Bettie Rencoret/Special to the Daily News |
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