LAST OAKLAND
LIVING LEGEND PASSES – ROD DIBBLE DELIGHTED GENERATIONS FOR 57 YEARS AT LAST
PIANO BAR
Not everyone finds his or her place in life but Rod Dibble
sure did. Even when he was fired for growing a mustache in the ‘60s he found
his way back to the Alley, where he would be a fixture for 57 years. He said he
wanted to perform there until he was 98. He made it to 85, which isn’t bad. I just
read this morning that Rod Dibble passed Monday, December 20, 2017. Name me
another who has played at the same establishment for
57 years.
While Oakland has gone through a
renaissance in recent years with famous old Oakland haunts falling left and
right, the Alley on Grand Avenue has somehow survived the
test of time. Credit one Rod Dibble. Enter the Alley and it looks almost
exactly as it did when Dibble began playing in 1960 in all it’s original glory.
While everywhere else those old places that remain are getting trendy remodels.
It probably wasn’t more than 15 or 20 years
ago that I really discovered and came to appreciate this old relic with it’s ‘relic’ of a piano player. I was so impressed how a
place like this could remain – and unchanged – through so many decades of
changing times. And Dibble’s music selection even stayed the same; he disdained
playing any music later than 1963. (I’ve, too, always felt that the best popular
music was created and played prior to the Kennedy Assassination. ) And, that’s
another reason I enjoyed visiting the Alley. You knew what you were going to
get – and not the latest trends.
In recent months I would stop by the
Alley but it wasn’t the same without Rod. There were some younger players but
nobody who knew all the old tunes or had the same charisma as Rod. I knew Rod had not been well and every time I
would drive by the Alley I would check to make sure the legendary sign was
still out front advertising ‘Rod Dibble at the piano, since 1960.’ It was reassuring to know that at least Rod
Dibble was still around, or so I would assume by the sign. Who knows, it wouldn’t
be a bad tribute to leave the sign up forever in tribute. After all, with Dibble’s 57 years during which he outlived the original
owner, Jody Kerr, and numerous bartenders, his spirit should live long at the
Alley.
There once were many piano bars in
Oakland- Clancy’s on Broadway near Jack
London Square , Oscar’s on Lakeshore and others. But, there was nothing like
the Alley in all it’s original glory. Yet, somehow the Alley only began getting deserved recognition
nationally in recent years as piano bars have all but
become nostalgia. Even a video was
filmed a few years ago at the Alley of which I am proud to have a copy
somewhere in my house.
We will miss Rod . H opefully the Alley
will live on as a tribute to the man who stuck by the Alley and brought much
joy to several generations. Without Rod Dibble lasting all these years the
Alley would probably not have survived as long as it did.
Go visit the Alley while it’s still
there and toast one for Rod. I will be doing exactly that tonight.
