On 6 March, I returned to Merrill Gardens at Renton Centre (MGRC) for the third time to perform my new one-hour trumpet show, “Happy Songs Only!” It is comprised of 26 songs, and the two which I usually cite as samples are “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life” (1899, written during the recession) and “Cheek to Cheek” (1935, written during the Great Depression). This show calls for four instruments—cornet, flugelhorn, pocket trumpet, and trumpet. I vary the sounds by using various mouthpieces and mutes.
MGRC advertises “A beautifully balanced lifestyle…Our residents love it here.” It’s quite large with 208 apartments, “like a hotel,” said a staff member. It offers studio, 1- & 2-bedroom apartments for independent living, assisted living, memory care, and transitional care. Learn more at https://www.merrillgardens.com/senior-living/wa/renton/merrill-gardens-at-renton-centre/.
There are 12 Merrill Gardens communities in Washington state, and I have performed at four of them multiple times. Merrill Gardens, the parent company, has communities in 16 states. Learn more at https://www.merrillgardens.com.
Photos are courtesy of MGRC. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Hey, I’ve been here before—my fourth appearance—but 2 March was the first time I’ve ever performed “Happy Songs Only!” for the residents here. I love coming back to Edmonds where I lived for 21 years.
The staff set me up in the dining room with the audience’s chairs arranged in theater style. And then the clock rolls around, the seats fill up, and off we go with 26 spirit-lifting songs. I use four horns—my trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn—and the people sing along or hum the tunes.
Of those 26 songs, the two samples I usually cite are “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life” (1899, written during the recession) and “Cheek to Cheek” (1935, written during the Great Depression).
And then there’s “Make Someone Happy,” sung by Jimmy Durante as the credits roll at the close of the movie, “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993). The ending lyric is “Make someone happy and you will be happy, too.” There’s a formula for ya. Sounds good…but it’s idealistic. The x-factor in the equation is that other person, right? And sometimes, the x-factor can turn negative. So, I agree with those who say that in the end, each of us is responsible for our own feelings, are we not? Still, it’s a great song, like “When I Fall In Love,” and I won’t eliminate either of these idealistic gems from my repertoire. We ought to fall in love, and we ought to contribute to another person’s happiness. Right?
Photos are courtesy of Edmonds Landing by Cogir. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Early arrivers at The Talus Room, well before my trumpet show
What a wonderful place to perform, and what a wonderful place to live! Situated in Issaquah upon the lower, eastern side of Cougar Mountain above State Highway 900, the Timber Ridge at Talus retirement community is a gem. On sloped terrain, it has 8 floors plus an underground garage on two levels.
For my first appearance there, I performed my new show, “Happy Songs Only!” on 20 February. My audience in the auditorium, named the Talus Room (see photo at left), was about 80 residents. It’s a superb venue, the staff was expertly helpful with the lights and sound equipment, and the crowd was warmly receptive. They sang along (and hummed) as I played 26 familiar songs on my four horns, trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn, and laughed as I told a few jokes. In our age group, who doesn’t remember songs such as “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life” (1899, written during the recession) and “Cheek to Cheek” (1935, written during the Great Depression)?
This is the 38th retirement community in the Greater Seattle area where I have performed one or more of my 7 shows.
The maps above and photos below are courtesy of Timber Ridge at Talus. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
It’s always fun to perform for the residents at Quail Park in Lynnwood. On 13 February 2026, I did so again, for the third time. The secluded campus is on a hilltop, so driving along the street below you’d never know it was there except for the sign pointing the way uphill along a short county road that turns into a private drive. Once there, it’s a nice surprise— it’s gated and not only is there a large, main building, but also there are cottages. Looks like an exceptionally pleasant place to live. And judging by the residents’ response to my new one-hour trumpet show, “Happy Songs Only!” that must be the case.
The show consists of 26 spirit-uplifting songs. All were written before 1978. That’s the year that Jacques Morall, Henri Belolo, and Victor Willis wrote “Y.M.C.A.,” the “youngest” song in the show’s repertoire. When I was developing this show, I was surprised by how many of the positive-message songs were written in times of trouble and stress—the recession of 1899, WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII. Maybe songwriters were offering diversion, encouragement, and hope through entertainment. Anyway, I presented the songs as if they were messages from our peers, parents, and grandparents. We heard them, and it’s good to be reminded, for example, of “Keep on the Sunny Side of Life” (1899) and “Cheek to Cheek” (1935).
Sometime in January, an idea captured my imagination—how about doing a one-hour trumpet show comprised of nothing but happy songs? So, I developed it and began to offer “Happy Songs Only!” to several retirement communities. The first to bite was a gem—Revel Issaquah. And thus came the premier performance on 7 February.
The beauty of it is that the residents know all 26 songs and can sing (or hum) along as I play. I use four horns—trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, and flugelhorn. The oldest song was composed by an Englishman, Harry Dacre, in 1892. “A Bicycle Built for Two” is 134 years old!
We’re old, but not that old, yet we all remember that song from our childhoods. The memories swam back and the hearts swelled as the residents sing, “Dasie, Dasie, give me your answer do…” And so it continues, song after song, for a whole hour.
Revel Issaquah is the 37th retirement community in the Greater Seattle area where I have performed my trumpet shows. It is a first class facility (https://www.revelcommunities.com/communities/issaquah). There are 146 units, offering independent living for people 55 and over.
It is part of The Wolff Company, a fully-integrated real estate investment company headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona (https://www.awolff.com). The firm is invested in several senior living communities in the western states and New York. It has a branch office in Seattle, and there are also Revel communities in Lacey and Spokane, Washington.
Photos are courtesy of Revel Issaquah. Please click on any photo to enlarge it and in some cases, read captions.
On Saturday, 13 December 2025, some 150 people gathered in north Seattle at Evergreen-Washelli’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery to honor the 5,000 veterans, including six Medal of Honor recipients, who rest in peace there. The Veterans Memorial Wreath Foundation (www.VMWF.org) sponsors the annual ceremony, its 17th. Jim Kellett and I sounded “Echo Taps” together for the second time, and that set me wondering about how many times I’ve performed at this event. So, I looked it up here on my blog (see Archives column to the left). My first was on 16 December 2011—a little personal history trivia. And I’ve posted articles here about almost all of them. They’re easy to find by using the search box in the upper right corner of this page.
Besides my sounding “Echo Taps” with Jim, what was unique about this year’s event?
Chaplain Leon Buchanan’s brief invocation and benediction were elegant expressions of praise, humility and gratitude.
Vocalist Phil Onishi sang the national anthem with conviction and took many beautiful photos for WMWF, including all those used here in this post.
Lorraine Zimmerman’s leadership in conducting the program was masterful.
The Washington State Color Guard was precise and sharp.
The Honor Guard of VFW Post 1040 in Lynnwood fired their rifles inspiringly.
Boy Scouts from Troop 419 in Marysville distributed the printed programs.
Cub Scout Pack 331 furnished the scout, Ethan Crane, who led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The 8 men who represented the branches of the military did a superb job of dedicating their respective wreaths with dignity by placing the American flag and rendering a hand salute.
And, afterwards, the audience became the volunteers who reverently placed approximately 2,000 wreaths on gravestones in the cemetery.
The ceremony was Called to Order when I sounded “Assembly.’ I used my Getzen bugle, and Jim Kellett used his trumpet when we sounded “Echo Taps.”
Photos by Phil Onishi. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Fifteen years ago in 2011, I sounded “Taps” for my first time on Veterans Day, 11 November, at the annual 11:00 a.m. ceremony, hosted by VFW Post 1040, at Veterans Park in downtown Lynnwood. And several years ago, we started sounding “Echo Taps” instead. Originally, I used some of my own private trumpet students to sound the “Echo” part. Then I recruited a few trumpeters from Inglemoor High School—I used to work for the band director there, Charlie Fix, when we were both at Skyview Middle School in Bothell. Recently, I’ve used trumpeters from Lynnwood High School, and this year, that’s where I found Liam O’Dell, a referral by his band director, Phil Onishi.
The weather was perfect, the crowd was large, and as usual, I sounded the bugle call, “Assembly,” to start the ceremony. Liam and I sounded “Echo Taps” at the close. He used his trumpet, and I used my Getzen bugle. That afternoon, I drove to Mountlake Terrace to perform my patriotic, one-hour trumpet show, “I Stand for the Flag,” at Mountlake Terrace Plaza, a retirement community.
My mother-in-law lived at Fairwinds Brighton Court (FBC) in Lynnwood for a couple of years, and that permanently endeared me to this vibrant retirement community. So, I was delighted to return there on 10 November 2025 for another performance, my seventh. FBC is the current leader for my total appearances among the 36 communities where I’ve presented at least one of my six one-hour trumpet shows. This time it was “I Stand for the Flag” because the next day was Veterans Day.
“I Stand for the Flag” calls for five horns—trumpet, pocket trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, and bugle. I play 24 patriotic marches, songs, and bugle calls, and I invite the audience to sing along (or hum). Who doesn’t know “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Over There,” “God Bless America” and many more such?
FBC’s staff, led by Colleen Loveridge, Program Supervisor, are always expert in setting up the room and equipment that help make the shows successful. The audience is always sizeable, engaged, and responsive. They know and like each other. In short, it’s fun for them and fun for me. “See ya next time.”
Photos are courtesy of Fairwinds, Brighton Court. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.
Vineyard Park at North Creek (VPNC) in Bothell just opened last January, and it’s now the 36th retirement community where I have performed one of my six one-hour trumpet shows. It was my first appearance there (on 8 November), and the show was “Where were you, Back Then?” This new place is lovely. As I played before the fireplace in the large dining room, the crowd grew, as it often does when people begin to hear tunes they remember well and like.
In this show, we recall songs from selected years from 1947-2008. I invite the residents to sing along (or hum), and they do! Here’s the format: I name a year and cite a few significant events that happened that year; then I ask them to remember where they were and what they were doing; I might tell them something about my own life at that time; and finally, I play a hit song from that year. I use four horns: trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, and pocket trumpet, four mouthpieces, and three mutes.
For example, in 1968, the Apollo 8 crew of three American men became the first humans to orbit the moon (10 times), the first humans to see the dark side of the moon, and the first to see the whole earth. And for that year, I played “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” written during the Great Depression in 1931 but made popular for the residents’ generation in 1968 when the Mamas and the Papas recorded it with Cass Elliot the lead singer. Did you ever sing that song about your lover? “Say nightie-night and kiss me….” Bet you can hear it as you read this!
Glenn Ledbetter busks again at Veterans Plaza on Saturday’s Market Day, Edmonds
Last Saturday, 23 August, I got out there again, using my horns to raise money for VFW Posts 8870 (Edmonds) and 1040 (Lynnwood). The yellow sign reads, “All Donations go to VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars),” and people gave generously, as usual. I started busking here in 2017, but I missed a few years, starting with Covid-19 in 2020. My last appearance was in June 2022.
I played for more than one and half hours. My busking book contains some 100 songs, and I played about half of them, some more than once, as the large crowd kept changing in and out, mingling, sitting, eating, coming and going. I always play in the Veterans Plaza in downtown Edmonds, adjacent to the Edmonds Museum Summer Market (please see https://historicedmonds.org/summer-market). The warm, clear summer day was perfect.
The crowd responses are always great fun. For example, parents give their little kids a few dollars to toss in the trumpet case. They approach carefully, one eye on the open case and one eye on me, quickly drop the money onto the pile, and run back to their parents! Other kids will dance to the music, and both kids and adults will talk to me. Remember being taught to donate to charities? Remember teaching your kids the same? Often, people just say, “Thank you for your service,” and I reply, “You’re welcome.” (I’m a Navy vet who served on three ships in the Pacific and taught NROTC at the University of Washington.)
After I played “Summertime,” a woman came up and told me that’s her favorite song. After “Wand’rin’ Star,” one man shouted “Lee Marvin!” [the actor (and a Marine) who sang it in the movie, “Paint Your Wagon.”] We waved to each other. An elderly lady in a motorized wheelchair came up and asked me if I have seen the movie, “The Legend of 1900.” I have not. She said there’s a great trumpeter in that movie. “That’s when I fell in love with the trumpet and that trumpet player,” she said.
I brought only two of my five horns this time–my cornet and flugelhorn. One song got stuck in my mind, and so I played “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows” three times. It was written in 1917, shortly before WWI ended. I always loved the tune but never paid attention to the words. So, I looked up the lyrics. It’s about a depressed person who always dreams about success and happiness but is just a natural-born loser who always fails. But I remember it from the MGM musical, “Ziegfeld Girls,” in 1941, early during WWII. Judy Garland sings the song, but eventually her character does become the top showgirl in the Ziegfeld Follies.
As is my custom as VFW Post 1040 Bugler, I split the donations in two and gave half to each VFW Post (please see https://vfw1040.org and https://vfw8870.org).
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 