Ed Wingate would go on to do
a lot of recording at Tera Shirma, after selling his studio
on West Davison to Motown.
He was quite a character...... It's
not uncommon for arrangers to stop a string session to tell
the players to make a change on their music, because of a
mistake on the original score sheet. Well
one day in Tera Shirma, during a full blown string session,
Wingate gets on the talk-back mike and instructs them to
make a change at line 42, bar 6, or something of that
nature. So here is the
Detroit Symphony string guys thumbing through their music
looking for a place that didn't even exist and Wingate is in
the control room laughing his ass off. He
said..." I always wanted to do that". My
most vivid memory, however, was driving somewhere around
Detroit.... I think I was at Motown on West Grand
Boulevard. Anyway,
I noticed this car in front of me. A Cadillac. A woman was
driving and a huge figure was sitting next to her on the
passenger side. Every few seconds a peanut shell would fly
out his window. I
knew who it was. I whipped my car along side of him and
yelled "UNCLE ED" he looked over at me an
when he saw who it was his face lit up and he yelled back in
a booming voice " HEY SON...HOW YA DOING....HOW'S YOUR
BROTHER" That
was the last time I saw Ed Wingate. I'll never forget him.
Notes thanks to
Ralph Terrana
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