Riverside Country

Tom Lanza: Eternally Grateful
By Diamond Dawson

Life began for Tom Lanza in humble surroundings. His parents and grandparents were both immigrant coal miners. Hard work and survival is entwined in the roots of Tom’s family tree. As with most families in that day, music was the means of lifting your voice and your heart and forgetting hardships through song. Tom states, “some of my most memorable times were when Dad and Mom along with Aunts, Uncles and friends would gather around the piano and begin to sing those good ole’ Gospel songs. It was a time of joy and laughter as the entire family used their individual talents, to join together in corporate family harmony. Those memories are forever etched in my mind. The first song I sang as a child was sitting on that old piano bench. My sister began to play… ‘Come Home, Come Home It’s Supper Time.’ Several of my Uncles who used to play for Perry Como when he sang on the `Wheeling West Virginia Radio Show` would join in with her as I sang. It was at that moment I knew way down inside, even though I was a child; singing would be one thing I wanted to do with my life. One day I’ll hear that song echo from the other side of heaven, and we’ll all go home because it will be Supper Time. I’ll join in and sing it with the first one I ever hears sing the song, ole’ Red Foley. Read the rest of this entry »