In the hot summers both of my grandmothers would rent bungalows at Rockaway. After the war my dad was a lifeguard at Rockaway Beach. He was the largest baby ever born in hospital history being 24 inches at birth. A very large family although my dad was an only child. The most loving person with class I had ever known. As for my dad’s side, his father died before I was born. He always gave me comic books and silver dollars that were in a big bucket under the kitchen sink. He never spoke English but he showed me love in his blue eyes. He didn’t speak much and I swear he never said a word to me. Later on he had a newspaper stand right across the street from the Yankee Stadium. All that was left behind. My grandfather used to drive a horse driven wagon where he sold ice. My grandmother and great-grandmother were seamstresses. She was studying to be an artist and had done some beautiful artwork. My mom had to quit school to work during The Great Depression.
They only wanted the best for my mom and my uncle. They had come from Eastern Europe and still lived the horrors. Her mother, father and grandmother lived upstairs. Many of them did not speak English. All the streets were lined with six story buildings with flights of stairs. Strong silent type and handsome as Johnny Weissmuller. My mom lived in an old tenement in the Bronx. He went right out of high school to enlist in the Army where he was a Master Sergeant. They both were first generation born in America. My dad was from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. Sheila Jones: I was born in the Bronx, New York on October 23 1948. Would you like to talk a bit about your background? Where and when did you grow up?
Their lead vocalist, Sheila Jones tells an interesting story that involves Wavy Gravy & Diggers, The Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, The Tubes and so much more! “Young and restless youths of the Village” Sheila Jones | The Group Image in Central Park 1968 The Group Image | Sheila Jones | Interview The Group Image was a Manhattan, NYC group community enterprise that recorded ‘A Mouth In The Clouds’ album in 1968, after years of park gigs and regular shows.