Sunday December 4, 2011

There were four boys who sat in the front left corner of Mrs. Henderson's 10th grade geometry class at Pittsfield High in the late 1960s. They sat in the first two seats of the first two rows.

It was a tough year because Henderson was one of a few teachers there who was grandfathered from mandatory retirement laws. So, she did things her way, the old-school way. There was no talking -- heck, there was hardly any breathing.

That quartet learned one thing that year -- geometry had no place in their future. One of the four, though, had a plan. He had given up the clarinet at age 8, but by the time he hit high school he had taught himself to play the guitar very well. That boy was David Grover and more than 40 years later he's not only still playing, he's an acclaimed writer and arranger who by the age of 30 had traveled around the world with his band "Shenendoah," which was Arlo Guthrie's front band for about six years between 1975-81.

During those years he also played on stage with John Denver, Willie Nelson, Richie Havens and Pete Seeger. But as Guthrie's lead guitarist, arranger and sometimes co-writer, he gained experience that proved to be invaluable, He performed with the Guthrie family on their album "Grow Big."

In 1981, Grover took his classical and country-rock guitar talents and shared them with Aaron Schroeder, who had written No. 1 hits for Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett. They framed "If I

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could only Touch Your Life," which Guthrie recorded first and Grover recorded later on his own album.

This is about the time that Grover changed gears. In part because he had his own young daughter, he began to write and perform songs for children. He recruited drummer Terry a la Berry and bassist Kathy Jo Barrett, and the trio have been nothing short of an acclaimed success for more than 25 years. The trio, Grover in particular, found and connected with a tough audience to reach -- kids and their parents.

Grover was given a television show by PBS in the mid-'80s called "Grover's Corner," which introduced children to music. That show spawned the Emmy-nominated "Channukah at Grover's Corner," a PBS special that was well-received.

In 1994, Grover was given an honorary degree in Humanities by North Adams State College. Grover continues to perform both as a solo act and with the Big Bear Band with a la Berry and Barrett.