I come from a long line of professional musicians! My father was a working musician and on my mother's side (the Seamans side) I would be the 5th generation!
My Great Great Grandpa John Seamans and his Brother Ed Seamans
Son of Silas Seamans
John Seamans began playing bass violin (contrabass/double bass) at age 14. He took music very seriously, sometimes practicing 10 hours a day. He became a prolific sight reader and an accomplished player. He started playing with the B. A. Rose Orchestra throughout the Midwest. While attending a show by Thomas Q. Seabrook, a celebrated producer of musical comedies, John wandered on stage, saw a double bass, and played a few bars, Thomas hired him on the spot, and he spent years trooping with the Seabrook Opera Company.
Later John would take up brass instruments and join the National Guard 7th Regiment Band as a Bariton Horn player. He served in the Spanish American war before falling ill and returning to Minnesota.
Throughout all of that, John somehow found time to also become a tenor vocalist of some reputation. First singing with the Andrews Opera Company and then in 1893 joining the Ideal Opera Company and set out on a tour to the east coast. As they returned to the Midwest (after a long stint in Salt Lake City) preparing to perform in Nebraska, John got excited to see the Andrews Opera Company coming through town, to which his brother Ed was the tenor vocalist. Although, upon arrival he found that Ed (who was well known in most US cities for his roles in Operas) had left to run his own Opera Company, the Merrie Belle Opera Company. George Andrews had greeted John and offered him the Tenor role his brother had left. John would stay with Ideal (he didn’t want to leave them on short notice) and would continue to sing with them until the late 1890’s when Vaudeville Started taking over as the popular form of entertainment. He later settled back in Excelsior with his wife Sarah and continued to raise his family. He passed (on my birthdate) Feb 8th, 1940, and was remembered as a Loving family man and lover of music!
My great grandma and grandpa pearl and ade seamans
ade is the son of John
Ade Seamans started his professional music career singing and playing guitar with his brothers, Phil, and John Seamans. The Seaman's Brothers entertained and performed around the Hennepin County area for a number of years.
In 1919 Ade met Pearl Husted while picking Raspberries and later that year they got married. The couple settled down in Excelsior to raise a family. As the radio became more popular and accessible, Ade became fascinated with it and the music coming out of it. In 1931 Phil and Ade would land a radio show on WDGY. After a little more than a year Phil took a job that would no longer allow him to perform on the radio (Fireman) and Ade was left without a partner.
After his short radio career with Phil, Pearl and Ade decided to enter a talent contest for WCCO and ended up winning the $25 1st prize. WDGY and the Town Market Furniture Company wasted no time and signed them to a contract. Pearl and Ade continued with WDGY Radio for quite a while (12 years), becoming one of the more popular morning shows in the area, earning them quite a bit of regional success and they were said to have a 5000-song repertoire! After that they did a short stint as "Hank and Martha" on WTCN radio before changing to their given names "Pearl and Ade" when signed by KSTP.
Pearl and Ade moved to KSTP radio and TV station in 1945 and continued to grow their fan base throughout the upper Midwest. The move to KSTP would allow the couple's sons (Bill and John Seamans) to join them on the radio when possible and it also landed them a spot on the KSTP Sunset Valley Barn Dance, a popular TV show of the time focusing on Hillbilly music (now known as “Country Music”). The show ran until 1960 when, much like Vaudeville singled the end for Opera, Rock N Roll put an end to all the Hillbilly programs, (except the Grand Ole Opry, the only one that made it through), and the Barn Dance was no Different. Pearl and Ade retired in 1955 and Ade would continue to play and sing in church until his death in 1965.
Pearl, while looking back in a later interview admitted Ade loved the music life, but it was a grind for her, being away from home sometimes Thursday-Sunday and up at 4:30 for a 6:30 radio call time took its toll. In retirement she remained an avid music lover, she really enjoyed Johnny Cash and Eddy Arnold, and took great pride in her 3 sons, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren until she passed in 1977.
My grandpa Bill Seamans and his Brother John seamans
Both sons of ade
My Uncle Steve "Stymie" Seamans
Son of Bill
