Joe Mc Laughlin liked to walk to work and rain , hail, or shine, he always had a song in his heart and would whistle as he walked along the street . He would give a nod or
tilt his cap with an unspoken good morning , how are you .
Some people used to follow him as he walked along just to listen to his little tunes . Blind Freddie followed him because he knew Joe would be on the way to past the bakery and so he was a great guide along the way who could whistle like a bird .
Tessie and her two best friends , Bessie and Jessie just liked to listen him because sometimes he also sand as well and they loved the sound of his voice .
He worked in the post office and during the day and all he ever did was sing that led to his work colleagues saying ,
“Hey Joe you should be on the stage “
The thought had never come to him about becoming a professional singer but as more and more people urged him to give it a go , he decided why not .
So he went down to the big hall where they had a dance every Friday and asked the manager there if he could give him a half hour spot before the dance started .
At first the manager said no but then he said ,
“Hang on , let me hear you sing a song “
Joe sang a well known ballad or a parlour song as they called them .
and right away the manager eyes lit up with dollar signs and he said ,
“You’re hired come on Friday evening and you can start singing at 630 “
That Friday he arrived and took his place on the stage . A large crowd were there eager for the dance to start , The manager of the dance hall introduced Joe the crowd who were rough and ready young couples looking for some fun on a Friday .
And so he began to sing to the crowd , unaccompanied .
Some of the young men started shouting and calling him names . A young girl threw him a coin and told him to get a taxi home .As hard as it was he kept on singing regardless of the unruly crowd .At the end of the half hour session the manager asked the crowd to show their appreciation for the new singer . The crowd just laughed and asked for the music to start playing as they were all eager to dance .
Week after week he continued to sing his heart out to the unruly crown .
As the months went past they people could see the determination he had and how . He kept coming back no matter how much they laughed and called him names , Eventually his persistence paid off. He had won their respect and the young men began to applaud after each song , Joe had won their hearts and before long he was singing in three halls every Friday night . Soon he had a lot of fans around the city began and then he was approached by a recording company in the city who offered him a three year recording contract with their label .
Now a lot of people were taking notice of his talent .
Young people would often ask his advice on how to become a popular singer and he would always say ,
“Well you’ve got to ask yourself how bad do you want it . When the times get hard and you’ve got to cut the cheese thin look again and cut it even thinner . When there’s no one who believes in you m that’s when you’ve got to keep on believing in yourself and sooner or later people will start to take notice .
Now that he had made the big time he used the name Joseph Locke and they made a movie about his career called “Hear My Song Violetta”
He kept singing his ballad songs and making records , He even bought himself a pub and lived the life of Riely always on the go with a song in his heart ..
.
The End
