Music And Memories Make For Book Of An 'Interesting Life' Of 90 Years

BLUE BELL, PA —Vern Richardson is living history.

From surviving through the Great Depression to flying B-47 bombers in the Air Force and later making music with the likes of Roy Orbison and Connie Francis, Richardson says he's lived an "interesting life," one that he knows is winding down.

And the 90-year-old, who lives in Blue Bell Place, a senior living community in Blue Bell, is just fine with that.

"I'm very healthy," Richardson said in a phone call to Patch Wednesday afternoon. "Death is a part of life. It could happen any day. But if it happens to be another 10 years, I won't complain."

Richardson still has a sharp mind as we walked down memory lane, recalling chapters of his life. He decided, though, a few years ago to write those chapters down. And those writings turned into an autobiography.

His book, "Far... Beyond the Starry Sky: Second Edition," is being sold on Amazon and various outlets. Richardson hopes to put out a third edition to clear up "some typos," he joked. He was even holding a book signing Friday. His story was told on Action News recently as well.

He shares experiences of living through the Great Depression and suffering severe burns from a washing machine where he spent three weeks in a hospital at age 10.

But it is his career as a trained violinist that is really memorable.

Richardson said he started playing the fiddle but "would sneak in his sister's room" to play it. His father sent him for private lessons. He wound up playing on a local television station before studying in Indiana University's music department, cutting his teeth on Brahms' concertos.

He met his future wife and then joined the Atlanta Symphony.

After moving to Nashville, one day he got a call about doing a recording session. Richardson said it was for Roy Orbison.

It was for "Only the Lonely."

"I thought this was awful music and that it would sell a dozen copies," Richardson said. "It sold a million copies and it now has sold 40 million copies. I still get royalties now and then from it."

Richardson, who also taught at several colleges, performed on numerous Orbison songs and also joined sessions for Connie Francis, Eddy Arnold and Patsy Cline. He thinks he also did sessions for Carl Perkins and maybe Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly too. But he said it's difficult to remember all the performers.

Richardson does remember that he played violin on 725 sessions and over 2,200 songs.

It's a career worth remembering. And that's why he wrote about it.

"I wrote each chapter and hardly had to change a word," he said.