[The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), 16 Mar 2005, Wed, Page 22]
GROESBECK-When jazz guitarist Bugsy Brandenburg turned 16, he asked for two things-a guitar and a car. He didn't get the car. But his mother took him and his best friend-Dale Sommers-downtown to purchase the guitar.
Mr. Brandenburg taught himself to plat and he and Sommers began broadcasting music and chatter on a pirate radio station they rigged at the Brandenburg home.
"They were actually transmitting music illegally and the FCC came in and shut them down." said his brother Jesse of Cherry Grove. Neighbors complained, and one day a helicopter hovered over the family home.
"They didn't anything with them," said his mother, Titus E. Brandenburg, also of Cherry Grove. "They just talked to them. I was a nervous wreck though."
Mr. Brandenburg went on to play jazz guitar at local taverns with small bands. He played with drummer and bandleader Dee Felice and pianist Frank Vincent. He went to New York and in the 1960s played with the Hollywood Arglyes-the group that had a hit in 1960 with "Alley-Oop." But Mr. Brandenburg eventually returned to the Cincinnati scene.
He played a Sunday gig at Awakenings in Hyde Park with the Bobby Sharpe Trio until a year ago, when Mr. Brandenburg was diagnosed with cancer. He died Sunday at Mercy-Franciscan Mount Airy Hospital. The Groesbeck resident was 60.
Born Arvel Brandenburg Jr. in Cincinnati on Feb. 15, 1945, he attended Colerain High School. "When he was a baby, he was crawling around and the girl I had staying here to help take care of him said he looked like a bug," his mother said. "Bug" became "Bugsy" and the nickname stuck.
"The thing special about him was music," his mother said. "That's all he wanted to do when he was a teenager. He wanted a guitar and we went downtown and a fried of his -The Bozo- he went downtown with us to get the guitar. That was it." (Sommers was a nighttime DJ known as "The Truckin' Bozo" on WLW for many years. He now broadcasts from a radio station in Florida.)
Quiet and modest, Mr. Brandenburg lived to play. While he appeared on two CD's, he was at his best and most comfortable playing live.
"Bugsy had that thing-it's an insane sort of addiction, is probably what it is-to the love of music," said jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire of Roselawn. He had the desire to preform it whether it supports your livelihood or not."
In addition to his mother and brother, survivors include his companion, Marilou Bennett.
Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at T. P. White & Sons Funeral Home. 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington. The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Arlington Memorial Gardens.
GROESBECK-When jazz guitarist Bugsy Brandenburg turned 16, he asked for two things-a guitar and a car. He didn't get the car. But his mother took him and his best friend-Dale Sommers-downtown to purchase the guitar.
Mr. Brandenburg taught himself to plat and he and Sommers began broadcasting music and chatter on a pirate radio station they rigged at the Brandenburg home.
"They were actually transmitting music illegally and the FCC came in and shut them down." said his brother Jesse of Cherry Grove. Neighbors complained, and one day a helicopter hovered over the family home.
"They didn't anything with them," said his mother, Titus E. Brandenburg, also of Cherry Grove. "They just talked to them. I was a nervous wreck though."
Mr. Brandenburg went on to play jazz guitar at local taverns with small bands. He played with drummer and bandleader Dee Felice and pianist Frank Vincent. He went to New York and in the 1960s played with the Hollywood Arglyes-the group that had a hit in 1960 with "Alley-Oop." But Mr. Brandenburg eventually returned to the Cincinnati scene.
He played a Sunday gig at Awakenings in Hyde Park with the Bobby Sharpe Trio until a year ago, when Mr. Brandenburg was diagnosed with cancer. He died Sunday at Mercy-Franciscan Mount Airy Hospital. The Groesbeck resident was 60.
Born Arvel Brandenburg Jr. in Cincinnati on Feb. 15, 1945, he attended Colerain High School. "When he was a baby, he was crawling around and the girl I had staying here to help take care of him said he looked like a bug," his mother said. "Bug" became "Bugsy" and the nickname stuck.
"The thing special about him was music," his mother said. "That's all he wanted to do when he was a teenager. He wanted a guitar and we went downtown and a fried of his -The Bozo- he went downtown with us to get the guitar. That was it." (Sommers was a nighttime DJ known as "The Truckin' Bozo" on WLW for many years. He now broadcasts from a radio station in Florida.)
Quiet and modest, Mr. Brandenburg lived to play. While he appeared on two CD's, he was at his best and most comfortable playing live.
"Bugsy had that thing-it's an insane sort of addiction, is probably what it is-to the love of music," said jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire of Roselawn. He had the desire to preform it whether it supports your livelihood or not."
In addition to his mother and brother, survivors include his companion, Marilou Bennett.
Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at T. P. White & Sons Funeral Home. 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington. The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Arlington Memorial Gardens.
[The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), 16 Mar 2005, Wed, Page 22]
GROESBECK-When jazz guitarist Bugsy Brandenburg turned 16, he asked for two things-a guitar and a car. He didn't get the car. But his mother took him and his best friend-Dale Sommers-downtown to purchase the guitar.
Mr. Brandenburg taught himself to plat and he and Sommers began broadcasting music and chatter on a pirate radio station they rigged at the Brandenburg home.
"They were actually transmitting music illegally and the FCC came in and shut them down." said his brother Jesse of Cherry Grove. Neighbors complained, and one day a helicopter hovered over the family home.
"They didn't anything with them," said his mother, Titus E. Brandenburg, also of Cherry Grove. "They just talked to them. I was a nervous wreck though."
Mr. Brandenburg went on to play jazz guitar at local taverns with small bands. He played with drummer and bandleader Dee Felice and pianist Frank Vincent. He went to New York and in the 1960s played with the Hollywood Arglyes-the group that had a hit in 1960 with "Alley-Oop." But Mr. Brandenburg eventually returned to the Cincinnati scene.
He played a Sunday gig at Awakenings in Hyde Park with the Bobby Sharpe Trio until a year ago, when Mr. Brandenburg was diagnosed with cancer. He died Sunday at Mercy-Franciscan Mount Airy Hospital. The Groesbeck resident was 60.
Born Arvel Brandenburg Jr. in Cincinnati on Feb. 15, 1945, he attended Colerain High School. "When he was a baby, he was crawling around and the girl I had staying here to help take care of him said he looked like a bug," his mother said. "Bug" became "Bugsy" and the nickname stuck.
"The thing special about him was music," his mother said. "That's all he wanted to do when he was a teenager. He wanted a guitar and we went downtown and a fried of his -The Bozo- he went downtown with us to get the guitar. That was it." (Sommers was a nighttime DJ known as "The Truckin' Bozo" on WLW for many years. He now broadcasts from a radio station in Florida.)
Quiet and modest, Mr. Brandenburg lived to play. While he appeared on two CD's, he was at his best and most comfortable playing live.
"Bugsy had that thing-it's an insane sort of addiction, is probably what it is-to the love of music," said jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire of Roselawn. He had the desire to preform it whether it supports your livelihood or not."
In addition to his mother and brother, survivors include his companion, Marilou Bennett.
Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at T. P. White & Sons Funeral Home. 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington. The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Arlington Memorial Gardens.
GROESBECK-When jazz guitarist Bugsy Brandenburg turned 16, he asked for two things-a guitar and a car. He didn't get the car. But his mother took him and his best friend-Dale Sommers-downtown to purchase the guitar.
Mr. Brandenburg taught himself to plat and he and Sommers began broadcasting music and chatter on a pirate radio station they rigged at the Brandenburg home.
"They were actually transmitting music illegally and the FCC came in and shut them down." said his brother Jesse of Cherry Grove. Neighbors complained, and one day a helicopter hovered over the family home.
"They didn't anything with them," said his mother, Titus E. Brandenburg, also of Cherry Grove. "They just talked to them. I was a nervous wreck though."
Mr. Brandenburg went on to play jazz guitar at local taverns with small bands. He played with drummer and bandleader Dee Felice and pianist Frank Vincent. He went to New York and in the 1960s played with the Hollywood Arglyes-the group that had a hit in 1960 with "Alley-Oop." But Mr. Brandenburg eventually returned to the Cincinnati scene.
He played a Sunday gig at Awakenings in Hyde Park with the Bobby Sharpe Trio until a year ago, when Mr. Brandenburg was diagnosed with cancer. He died Sunday at Mercy-Franciscan Mount Airy Hospital. The Groesbeck resident was 60.
Born Arvel Brandenburg Jr. in Cincinnati on Feb. 15, 1945, he attended Colerain High School. "When he was a baby, he was crawling around and the girl I had staying here to help take care of him said he looked like a bug," his mother said. "Bug" became "Bugsy" and the nickname stuck.
"The thing special about him was music," his mother said. "That's all he wanted to do when he was a teenager. He wanted a guitar and we went downtown and a fried of his -The Bozo- he went downtown with us to get the guitar. That was it." (Sommers was a nighttime DJ known as "The Truckin' Bozo" on WLW for many years. He now broadcasts from a radio station in Florida.)
Quiet and modest, Mr. Brandenburg lived to play. While he appeared on two CD's, he was at his best and most comfortable playing live.
"Bugsy had that thing-it's an insane sort of addiction, is probably what it is-to the love of music," said jazz guitarist Wilbert Longmire of Roselawn. He had the desire to preform it whether it supports your livelihood or not."
In addition to his mother and brother, survivors include his companion, Marilou Bennett.
Visitation is 4-7 p.m. today at T. P. White & Sons Funeral Home. 2050 Beechmont Ave., Mt. Washington. The funeral is 10 a.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Arlington Memorial Gardens.
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