Phyllis Hyman, DJC4 and Me…

I often think of my great friend Danny Callahan, especially around his birthday and the holidays. He lived greedily and lustily as if each day was going to be his last. Until it was. I met Danny in Washington, DC in 1982 when his brother, Carey, brought me to his 35th Street apartment in Georgetown. Danny was not home so Carey found Danny's key under the mat and let us in. Security was never an obsession with Danny. Carey said, "Make yourself at home and have a drink." I did.

I walked over to a beautiful antique Welsh dresser with a gorgeous marble top and a fully stocked bar, Well fortified with glass in hand, I surveyed the apartment. Some tasteful furnishings graced his living room, reflecting his mother's proper English upbringing, marred (or enhanced!) by inversion boots which hung menacingly in a door way. I felt like I was in an interior from American Gigolo and Richard Gere was about to enter. The stereo was along a wall with a nice stack of vinyl. Carey suggested I pick something out, so I started digging. Then, Carey excused himself to run an errand and he left me alone in the apartment.

There was an eclectic mix of records and a lot of disco and dance music, artists like Sylvester, Donna Summer, and The Weather Girls. Not feeling that vibe, I found some jazz. I selected Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue, placed it on the turntable, and the glorious sounds of Miles, John Coltrane and Bill Evans filled the room. Halfway through "So What", the door opened abruptly and Danny exploded into the room. "Who the f*ck are you? And what are you doing in my apartment?" Startled, I stammered, ‘I'm dating Erin, Carey brought me here. Carey said he'd be right back.’ "So you're Lance Romance, I've heard a lot about you. Well Lance, you have good taste in music." Unclear who Lance was, I stuck out my hand, and his paw engulfed mine. I guess I was Lance. We shared a drink and this was the beginning of our beautiful friendship. A friendship that would last nearly thirty years.

Danny was an unstoppable force of nature. Fiercely loyal and protective of his friends, he was a hustler's hustler, a salesman extraordinaire, an expert carpenter/plumber/electrician, devoted to his wife and children, and a brilliant storyteller in the great Irish tradition. He had so many stories...

When Danny graduated from high school, which was interrupted when he got dismissed from the Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey, he attended the University of Utah, a surprising choice given the Mormon influence and a reputation as a "dry" state. Why? I asked. He replied, "The skiing. It was fabulous." Not surprisingly, Danny's university life was not a solemn oath of chastity and contrition.

He was on campus just a short while when he secured a most valuable employment: a Miller Beer truck driver. In short order, Danny turned a moribund route into the most lucrative in the Utah Miller Beer Company by the sheer dint of his fearless and outsized personality. Soon, he moved off campus and into an apartment with a monstrous stereo subsidized by his Miller Beer earnings. Danny slept on a pool table (he felt it was better support for his lumbar) and he developed his skills as a fearsome 9 ball champion. And there were many, many parties. The late night revelry continued until the Miller Beer truck route was rescinded. Evidently, after a year or so, there were inventory issues. Indeed, some supplies may have fallen off the back of the truck. No matter, Danny was ready to move on and so he did.

Danny returned to Washington, DC and joined an investment bank, Drexel Burnham Lambert, just as Michael Milken was beginning his junk bond alchemy which would revolutionize corporate bond financings and merger arbitrage. Rather than sell Mrs. Jones $25,000 in municipal bonds with 1 point ($250 commission), Danny was selling commercial banks and trust departments $25 million MCI Communication or Turner Broadcasting high yield bonds with 4 points ($100,000 commission). Danny did so well that he was the only retail broker in the Drexel network to be invited by Milken to attend the infamous Predator's Ball in Beverly Hills. All the 1980s legendary financiers were there: Carl Icahn, Nelson Peltz, Ron Perelman, T. Boone Pickens.....and Danny Callahan.

Danny's clients loved him so much that they hired him to run their businesses. First, he moved to Chicago to run Moloney Coach, an old school custom limousine/car builder. Danny ended up at a car show in Las Vegas, partying all night with Super Bowl Champ and Chicago Bear Dan Hampton and a newcomer who was working the car show for the first time, Pamela Anderson. Her first Playboy cover had yet to appear, and Danny said they had a great time. Pam was really kind and sweet, just a small town girl from Canada. And not genetically modified or surgically enhanced. Yet.

***Callahan’s Famous - best barbecue chicken ever, served at Macomb Street Beach Club***

***Callahan’s Famous: made by a master***

Then Danny put some money in a venture capital deal, Tiregator, a tire recycling business headquartered in Mexia, Texas, a dusty, hardscrabble town of 7,000 hardy inhabitants about 90 miles south of Dallas. Danny slept in a cinder block factory during the week, as loyalty and commitment were hallmarks of his life. Unfortunately, the failure of a highway bill to include recycled tires doomed his company but Danny remained undeterred. There were other dreams and deals to pursue. At the very least, Danny found an old wooden, lead fortified Mexican jail door with bullet holes and visible claw marks which weighed a ton. A real ton, 2,000 pounds and Danny drove it back to DC to find a place for it.

He found the perfect place when he and his wife Karen bought a Kensington Maryland house. I visited the house just as they closed on the property. The land was remarkable but the house was less than inspiring. In an instant, Danny started sketching his vision on a napkin. "We're gonna knock this wall down, blow this side out, nuke those trees and build a wraparound deck 12 feet off the ground." My head was spinning, these were the rants of a madman, or so I (wrongly) thought...

The house became a showcase of their impeccable taste, and the Mexican jail door found a place of prominence in Danny's custom wine cellar. He wanted it to be the entry door, but it was too heavy to open and hanging it would take some advanced engineering. He fastened it against the back wall, nestled among the first growth burgundies and bordeaux, with nary a California cabernet to be found. He wanted stone walls for his new property but he didn't like the price he was quoted. So he went to a library, read a book and built beautiful stone walls by himself. There was nothing insurmountable for Danny.

***Katie, Danny, Karen and DJ at the beach!***

He was also an expert diver, which certainly saved his foot and his life in September 2009. As he was packing up some personal effects from his family home in the Florida Keys which they had recently sold, he went for a farewell swim and dove off the dock into the intra-coastal. Just then, a bull shark chomped on his right foot. Danny knew that it would be foolhardy to fight the shark, the jagged, uneven teeth would surely shred his foot if he struggled. So he let the shark pull him under. Then he kicked it under the snout with all the force he could possibly muster. The shark released his foot, Danny broke free and swam toward the closest ladder. Unfortunately, the ladder was covered in sharp, jagged barnacles which caused additional wounds. Danny told me that he wanted to swim to a newly installed (barnacle free) ladder but it was too far, and he didn't think he could out swim the angry bull shark. Danny came out of the water, writhing in pain. He and a friend duct taped the wounds and then drove frantically to Marathon Hospital. They had called ahead and found out that a plastic surgeon was waiting in the ER to treat him. 130 stitches later, Danny was up and about, extolling the wonders and virtues of duct tape. "You can do anything with duct tape" became his mantra.

When Danny was leaving the hospital, a crusty, old ER nurse commented how lucky he was. "I've seen people show up here with half their leg in a bag, and they leave with a stump. You're a very lucky man." Actually, we were the lucky ones. Danny Callahan was so much fun to be around, and his light shone so bright for so long that the world seems ever dark and dim since his untimely passing in June 2010.

I miss him every single day.

The Phyllis Hyman story below and so many others wouldn't have happened without him.

Oh, I'm a ballad queen for sure... I don't dig dance stuff very much but I seem to hit the charts with it. Go figure...
Phyllis Hyman

***Phyllis Hyman (1977) signed by Phyllis***

Be nice to take that thing home and put it on my wall - but you know it ain't even real. Just a record they spray-painted gold. But that's OK. I'll take this and be more than thrilled! I've been in the business long enough to collect a whole bunch of them suckers!
Phyllis Hyman

Phyllis Hyman was a beautiful and statuesque soul singer. Born in Philadelphia in 1949, she was raised in Pittsburgh and moved to New York City in the mid 1970s. She had a hit with a cover of The Stylistics' "Betcha By Golly Wow." and she joined Arista Records under the aegis of noted hit maker/svengali Clive Davis. She released four albums with Arista and ten in her career. Phyllis also was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Performance by an Actress in Sophisticated Ladies, a 1981 musical that featured the music of Duke Ellington. She had talent and beauty in abundance and her performance of "In A Sentimental Mood" is transcendent.

Danny, Karen, Erin and I went to see Phyllis perform at Blues Alley in Washington, DC in the early 1990s. Blues Alley is a (mostly) jazz club housed in an 18th century carriage house in Georgetown, which seats maybe 150. The first show was sold out so went to the late show. As we waited for the first show to end, a line snaked from the club entrance down the alley out to the Wisconsin Avenue sidewalk. There was excitement and a buzz among the crowd as it was a rare opportunity to hear an R&B diva perform in such an intimate setting.

***Under Her Spell (1989) signed by Phyllis***

Just then the door to the club opened, and Phyllis walked out alone to mingle with the crowd. She was gorgeous, impeccably dressed, over 6 feet tall, and she exchanged pleasantries with her fans as she made her way down the line. When she approached me, I had some albums ready. While she signed I asked her why she came outside? She said, "Darling, I always like to see my audience. I need to see who I'm performing for." I was mesmerized, I'm not sure what else I said, something inane like we were thrilled to see her and looked forward to her show. She continued greeting her fans and the line started moving so we headed into the club.

We took our seats at a table about eight feet from the stage. Phyllis had a great band with her and she went through some of her biggest hits, "Somewhere In My Lifetime", "You Know How To Love Me", and "Betcha By Golly Wow." During a break between songs, she bantered with the audience. At one of the tables nearby, Phyllis noticed a delicious plate of roast chicken. She said to the table, "Man, that chicken looks good. Is it?" Yes came the reply, muffled with laughter. "Can I have some? Just give me a taste. I'm really hungry." With that, a fan gave Phyllis a large piece of chicken, which she devoured voraciously on stage. It was rather disconcerting but she went on to perform the rest of her show flawlessly. And without further interruption.

Sadly, her demons got to her in June 1995 when she took her own life, and she was only forty five years old. Her note read in part. "I'm tired. I'm tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you." The news was tragic and such an unfortunate end to a beautiful and talented artist.

Choice Phyllis Hyman Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62onld3ZNac

“You Know How To Love Me” You Know How To Love Me 1979

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZpqBqx9kVU

“Somewhere In My Lifetime” Somewhere In My Lifetime 1978

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBvDSbFdgic

“Never Say Never Again” unreleased James Bond theme 1983

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SupGplAkREc

“Betcha By Golly Why” with Norman Connors 1976

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctavAD72byY

“Meet Me On The Moon” Prime Of My Life 1991

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-fLcBT0hes

“Living All Alone” Living All Alone 1986