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Larry Zarletti passed away suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack on July 8. He was a Kid in '71-72. Larry was a memorable performer and solo singer with the KIDS, remembered for the Tom Jones medley he sang. People in our audiences still ask about Larry! Condolences and prayers to the Zarletti family from all KIDS, past and present.
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Steve Simpson (1969)
Good guy, great set of pipes. God's choir has a new 1st chair. RIP.
Gary Nugent (1970)
Larry was my dear friend for more than a half century.
We'd ride bikes just to ride them or play catch in my mother's yard. We played sandlot ball, then little league baseball, sang in Rich Dixon's choir, and later for Kurt Chalgren. In that "Wild Thing" and "Hanky Panky" summer of '66 we bought our first cheap guitars and stalked fellow KID Mike Sorenson to play drums in our garage band, the Cord L's. During the summer of 8th grade, our little band was on WGN's Bozo Circus skyrocketing us to celebrity status (for about 3 blocks around our neighborhood).
We played football together. Larry liked to recall our "Zar-Gent" play, fullback (me) off right tackle (him). In sports he was my wingman...in music I was his.
In our Senior year at Tremper I penned a very crude arrangement of some Tom Jones songs that he sang at our Variety Show. Col. Azzolina saw that show, and invited Larry into The KIDS from Wisconsin. Uncle Nick wrote a real Tom Jones arrangement, and during that summer of '71, with a killer band behind him (remember, the KIDS opened for headliners on the GrandStand in those days, often 2 shows a night), I estimate that Larry performed for nearly 200,000 Wisconsinites. You wonder why KIDS fans still ask about him? His influence was enormous.
Sure, we grumbled while we loaded the truck with equipment and Larry signed autographs, but still... (laughing).
3,000,000 frequent flier miles ago I made my first plane flight. It was Chicago to Redding, PA, to see Larry with the Kirby Stone Group. He picked me up in Redding, hosted me at the resort and I watched the shows for two packed nights. He was a proud entertainer, coast to coast.
We married classmates, each had 3 children, and while time and distance stretched us a little thin, I loved him like a brother.
To my mind Larry was among the best singers I ever heard, certainly the best from Wisconsin. That changed two weeks ago today at the memorial service when his son Vinnie spoke without hesitation about the joy of being Larry's son, then sung an unaccompanied Lords Prayer. Before we could catch our breath, Vinnie's wife and sisters joined him for a stunning gospel number that rose, then soared, then....what's the word...ascended. It was stunning.
Even now, I can barely describe what I saw and heard, except to say that the torch was passed from father to son.
My pal, so often in the wings and ready for an encore was late that day. No spotlight. No curtain call. Just a teary eyed wing man to witness the amazing legacy Larry and Becky created in Vinnie and Gina and Mandy.
Musician, entertainer, entrepreneur, public servant, brother, son, father, husband. Friend.
He will be missed.