It’s not just stars of popular culture who are the subject of “worship sites.” An on-line tribute to the late American composer and pianist Robert Helps (1928-2001) is nothing less than pious veneration. While including the required list of compositions plus a timeline and discography, the site is an interactive, dynamic progression – obviously the work of loving care. It was conceived by Andrea Infamosa and designed by Manuel Coita, who seem to be from France. The appreciation of Bob Helps, apparently, is universal.
The Helps Web Monument also includes loads of pictures from all phases of his life, lots of notes and quotes written in his own hand, a Helps quiz (test your knowledge!) and a delightful section titled “Bob’s Legendary Humor.” A subsection of limericks & jokes has the following cautionary introduction:
The poems on the pages which follow, cherished by Helps the defender and purveyor of ribald humor, were nonetheless NOT composed by him and do not in ANY way represent his public persona as composer or pianist. Readers more interested in his professional achievements may choose to skip this section, intended for his many friends as a remembrance of his immortal (and immoral) wit.
It all makes me wish I’d cherished my interactions with Bob a little more than a did. We worked together on a number of projects during my days at CRI in the 1990s. He would ring me up at the office rather frequently and I can still hear his deep, good humored voice rolling out my name: “Jooodeeee?” (I wonder if there’s a sound clip of him speaking somewhere on the site?)
When I approached Bob about being on the disc “Gay American Composers,” he responded that he knew the day was coming when he would be asked to come out publicly in such a way. He wanted time to think about it.
Now, 15 years later, I sometimes go through the same routine, asking artists about being out and appearing on this site (if they’re not already identified somewhere as being gay or lesbian). “Let me get back to you” can still result in an annoying (and cowardly) non-response response. But Bob called me back the very next day and agreed. He did say that he had some discomfort with it all, wondering if some future interview might go along the lines of: “Well now Mr. Helps, do you prefer to suck cock in the morning or the afternoon?” (I swear those were his words!) We laughed it off and, as far as I know, no journalist ever posed such a question to him.
Actually Bob got so on board with the project that he even flew to New York for the release party in June 1996 at the rather hip little nightclub known as Fez, located under Time Cafe in Greenwich Village. After I made a speech, he and David Del Tredici gave a brief piano concert. David played his “Fantasy Pieces,” an early serialist effort that he can knock out at the keyboard with amazing accuracy and vigor. Bob played one of his lush “Hommages,” though I can’t remember which one. They then sat together on the piano bench, the former teacher and student, and played a duet of “Tico Tico.” That was their idea, saying the event needed something gayer. It was a great night.
I went to University of South Florida in the mid 80s and was lucky enough to know him. I created a memorial group on facebook Robert Helps, I created a video with a soundbite of him speaking that was given to me by one of his colleagues along with many images of him. If you wish to join type in Robert Helps on facebook.