|
New York Family Regards Manning by Pam Kusel A simple obituary in the February 25, 1993 Monitor quietly recorded the death of Harold Barlow. To many, the news item could easily have been overlooked. After all, the name Harold Barlow is not readily associated with the community.  Glancing through information in the obituary was even puzzling to most - age: 77 born: Boston, Massachusetts died: Queens, New York burial: Manning, Iowa Burial -- Manning -- why? A telephone call to Barlow's sister-in-law, Phyllis Ramsey, revealed the answer. "Because he just loved to come to Manning," she said. In light of this gentleman's background, Manning should be proud. While the name Harold Barlow may hold relatively small significance within the community, his name is readily recognized among celebrities throughout the country. According to the February 18 issue of New York Newsday, Harold Barlow was a composer and musicologist who most recently worked as an expert in music plagiarism. His career spanned decades, beginning in the Big Band era when he wrote "The Things I Love," a song that was recorded by band leader Tommy Dorsey and made the Hit Parade for 18 consecutive weeks. Another song he wrote, "I've Got Tears In My Ears (From Lyin' On My Back In My Bed While I Cry Over You)" was a popular country-western, comedy song performed on several television shows including "The Lucy Show" and "The Dean Martin Show", among others. But his accomplishments in the music world went much farther. One of Barlow's most longlasting contributions to music is the compilation of two music reference books he wrote with co-author Sam Morgenstern. The books, "A Dictionary of Musical Themes," and "A Dictionary of Vocal Themes" are considered among the best standard reference works in their field. A set of the books can be found in the Manning School Library and the public library, donated by Barlow. His study of the violin commenced at the age of seven. He graduated from high school at the age of 15 and in 1937 received a Bachelor of Music degree from Boston University. While serving in the U.S. military, he graduated as a Warrant Officer Bandleader from the Army Music School in 1943. He played violin in orchestras under such eminent conductors as Arthur Fiedler and Fabien Sevitzky. He was a professional music arranger until 1965, making sheet music arrangements for many popular songs including Elvis Presley songs released in the fifties and sixties. Since 1965 he practiced as a music plagiarism expert. He was retained by several United States publishing companies, as well as publishers in England and France, and by motion picture companies such as Paramount Pictures, Columbia and Universal. Through his 40 years of work as a consultant and expert witness in major plagiarism cases, Barlow was highly respected by his colleagues, by lawyers and by his clients. Some of his best known cases involved George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord," and Dolly Parton's "Nine to Five". He was retained by performing artists and song writers such as, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Elton John, The BeeGees, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Charlie Daniels, The Beatles and Michael Jackson. Ramsey said she was visiting in the Barlow home the day Michael Jackson called. "He often flew to California to testify," she said. "His work took him all over the country." Having seen so much of the country, what is it about Manning that Harold Barlow found so special? Ramsey explains that the initial connection was family. Being an only child, and having only one other relative, Barlow was very close to his wife's small family from Iowa, the Lavertys. Ramsey states the couple came to Iowa often, and they loved it here. Sometimes spending as much as two weeks in Manning, she said he would delight in waking in the morning and going out to walk. "He absolutely refused to take our car," she said. She recalled his joy in walking to the Corner Cafe where he would have coffee and visit with the locals. He spent time at the library and found a cafe run by Ralph and Martha Hagedorn to be another favorite spot. "He just loved their pie," said Ramsey. And, he would usually stop at The Dime Store and come home carrying a large sack of candy. During one of his visits to the library, shortly before Manning's 1981 Centennial, he heard local residents discussing their difficulty in locating old music they wanted to use in a centennial production. He offered his assistance, and after returning to New York, located the sheet music and sent it to Manning. During a more recent visit when the couple was accompanied by some of their children and grandchildren, son Steven toured Manning with his parents, making a video tape. "I think they filmed almost every place in town," said Ramsey. "Steven had his mother, Sara do the talking. She told about all the places while he filmed. When they brought it back here to the house and put it on the TV, I couldn't believe it!" The Barlows enjoyed Manning's friendly people, according to Ramsey. She said her nephew had found it remarkable that people smiled and said hello when they meet you on the street. She added, "You just don't do that in New York, you know." She said the couple called often and would always ask about people they knew. The Barlows also enjoyed opportunities to host family members when they were out east, including Ramsey's grandson, Nick Drees, during his Harvard school days. Laughing, she recalled how the couple had searched the city so they could surprise Nick by serving Oscar Mayer bacon. Their last trip to Manning was made three years ago. Ramsey said her sister, Sara, has had health problems for the past two years, and it was five months ago that Harold was diagnosed with cancer. As final preparations were planned, Manning was a natural choice. "Harold and Sara have been to Manning's cemetery several times," she said. "They thought it was lovely." The Barlow family is hoping to return to Manning in May and visit the grave of their loved one. Ramsey said, "It's hard to explain how we felt about him. He was simply a marvelous person." |