First and foremost, the loss of Jerry Hannah saddens me greatly. If you knew Jerry, you also know it was an honor to have known him. He got along with everyone and loved the good parts of life and absolutely loved music.
He made a lasting difference in my life and I thank him for that !
I met Jerry when I joined a local Fort Wayne, Indiana classic rock band called Ground Fault. He was the drummer and I was the guitar player who played "too loud". (I still do). We had some good clean fun and were good enough to play some local gigs. We even got paid !
There was something unique about Jerry and we hit it off right from the go. Maybe it was his "East Coast Vibe" or maybe it was his jazz background, but he agreed to play drums on my original music recording, which just became even more special to me. I won't take it for granted again !
The thing about music is that it lives-on and these recordings would not have happened without him saying yes. There is a funny story when we first started the recording process that basically has me telling Jerry "this isn't jazz". Me being the rock & roller that I am, I had to tame Jerry's jazz chops on the drums and reminded him that we were going to play some rock. The jazz chops came in handy though. He told that story back to me a few times and always seemed to appreciate my honesty.
I miss Jerry and and probably always will. He made a difference !
Musicians connect on a deeper level than most and you can't make real music if you don't make the connection. It's just the way it is.
Those connections linger on, long past our time on Earth,
God Speed Brother !!!
Posted by Jeff Lopshire - Fort Wayne, IN - Friend February 06, 2021
Ducky as I knew him at Villanova where we were fraternity brothers was always up beat. I always looked forward to seeing him because he had something funny to say about everything. Rest well good friend and be with your God.
Posted by Mark St.Pierre - Lantana, TX - Friend September 18, 2019
Jerry and I pledged our fraternity, DPE, together at Villanova. He filled our lives with laughter. His motto was "Peace, Love and Happiness". He practiced that which he preached. Heartfelt condolences to his family.
Posted by Tom Morrison - Tampa, FL - Friend September 17, 2019