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After a year of enduring classical piano
lessons, Flint Long was happy that his piano
playing days were over because he didn’t care
one bit about playing “Sailboats on the Pond”
with that mean, old Mr. Moulet anyway.
However, three years later when Flint was
walking downtown and heard a man playing
ragtime music on that honky tonk piano, the
music grabbed his very heart and soul with
so much gusto that he’s been entertaining
audiences ever since with his beautiful piano
music!
Once Flint fell in love with ragtime music,
it was non–stop piano playing for six to eight
hours a day in practicing before school and
after school and once everyone went to bedevery
waking moment was consumed with
music! From playing to composing and soon
performing by age sixteen, Flint embraced the
rhythm of his life song.
Immersed in a musical fertile ground
from early on, Flint’s home in Santa Barbara,
California, was filled with music as his mom
loved classical music; his father loved Big
Bands and Jazz. Flint laughs, “Elvis Presley
was not allowed in our house because he had
side burns and that wiggling of his hips deal of
which mother did not approve. No rock-n-roll
was allowed. However, two doors down from
my house, my best friend and his mother,
who were from Tennessee, loved Elvis, so I’d
go down there to listen. When the Beatles
came out, I just loved the Beatles. I loved
everything!”
Such were the days when families enjoyed
music from the record player. In addition to
filling homes, music was prominent around
town and promoted on TV shows such as the
Liberace Show. Flint remembers several piano
players in his hometown such as Hub Keefer, a
big band saxophonist and pianist, who would
show Flint some tricks of the trade. When
Flint begged his mom for classical piano
lessons with Peter Yazbeck, the best teacher
in Santa Barbara, Flint studied under him
for a few years. Upon writing his first serious
composition, Flint returned to the infamous
Mr. Moulet to share his talent. Shocked at the
progress and ready to renew a relationship,
the two became friends and shared a good
laugh.
As dreams of becoming a classical concert
pianist crescendoed, the raw reality of a
driver’s license and a girlfriend became the
new elegy. Returning to his first love of the
boogie woogie, rock and roll and the blues,
Flint simply wanted to have fun with the
piano. “Those classical guys are like ballerinas
who have to live and breathe the discipline
demanded. Oh, it takes so much discipline—
more discipline than I’ve got!” shares Flint.
While immersed in classical music, the
Long home was also filled with classical
learning of grammar usage, spelling and
vocabulary and all things Latin roots as Flint’s
dad was a school teacher whose two brothers
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were both lawyers. With high expectations
for their son, the Longs expected their son to
become an attorney. Although a gifted public
speaker, great student, and natural actor, Flint
recognized that every time he sat down to play
the piano—people would go nuts! When he
played the piano at the pizza parlor, the owner
offered him a job on the spot. Flint tells, “By
the time I was a junior in high school, I was
working three nights a week at a pizza joint,
making $75 a night way back then in ’69. I
started playing piano professionally when I
was 16 years old.”
When his parents sent him away to college
to study law, Flint continued working as a
piano player. He was making money, feeling
good and finding his purpose when he quit
college and moved to Los Angeles at twenty
years old to pursue musical gigs in the hotels
and such. Lying about his age, he sneaked into
the clubs to further his passion on the piano
and to grow connections. In pursuing his
path, he ultimately found his purpose.
Consumed with playing the piano and
having fun with friends, Flint was encouraged
to make better use of his talent upon
establishing a new life with his first wife.
Rather than repeating the same stanza, Flint
got busy making the rounds to the recording
companies. While experiencing rejection after
rejection, Flint entered the Scott Joplin piano
competition in Missouri and made it happen.
Finally! Flint’s talent was awarded first place
in the 1974 competition. Flint tells, “There was
a movie called The Sting with Paul Newman
and Robert Redford that featured a song
written by Scott Joplin, a turn of the century
African-American composer from Texas. The
name Scott Joplin hadn’t been recognized
before this movie debut.” And neither had
Flint Long’s name been fully–recognized until
he was declared the winner of the Scott Joplin
competition.
Along with the first prize award, came a little
cash and some prestige among the ragtime
players of the day. Flint shares, “I recorded a
little bit, excelled to the next level and got a
lot of publicity from that competition, but I
still wasn’t happy just doing ragtime. I wanted
to play rock and jazz and classical and move
around; my career lost traction after that. The
marriage broke up, and I found myself living
alone in San Diego.”
Inspiration struck again when Flint formed
a band that included a bass, drums, guitars
and saxophone players with Flint on the
piano. Moving through that rhythm and blues
to emulate Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and
Little Richard, Flint wanted to sing rock-n-roll.
About that time, Flint met Steve Nogar whose
dad was Thorne Nogar from Hollywood Radio
Recorders, one of the main recording studios
in the 50’s, who recorded Elvis, Liberace and
Peggy Lee. As Steve and Flint became friends,
Flint was invited to become a studio musician.
“I did a little bit of arranging and played with
Tina Turner in the studio. Steve was the first
drummer in my band too,” shares Flint.
Over the next 10 years, Flint recorded 3
albums with the band and toured 326 cities
in Europe. Touring set the tempo for Flint’s
twenties and thirties as he traveled all over
Europe. From non–stop travel, to girls and
parties, the single life of the pianist celebrating
ten international tours hit a forte when two
girls, one in particular, walked into the Hilton
in Del Mar, California. Enjoying a reprieve
back home, Flint was performing when, “She
walked into the Hilton with a girlfriend, and
I’ve never seen eyes like that before!”exclaims
Flint. “I’m playing the piano with the trio on
stage when I see these two girls walk in. One
was short and one tall. The short one had
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Flint Long, Entertainer.
p.28 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 142