GNP dedicates 47th annual concert to ‘Fuzzy’
James “Fuzzy” Randolph, a former Waynesburg University music professor who died in November, performs with Jeannie Clark Fisher during GNP’s 2015 concert at the university.
James “Fuzzy” Randolph, a former Waynesburg University music professor who died in November, performs during GNP’s 2015 concert at the university.
Photo courtesy of Bill Ingalls
Gross National Product performs during its 2015 concert at Waynesburg University.
WAYNESBURG – The annual GNP concert at Waynesburg University will be missing one of its brightest stars both on stage and behind the scenes this year, but “Fuzzy” will be there in spirit.
It will be the first time in 47 annual shows that Gross National Product has performed without James “Fuzzy” Randolph, longtime music professor at Waynesburg and supporter of the band who died in November at 88 years old.
The concert, which will start at 7:30 p.m. April 22 in the Goodwin Performing Arts Center, will be dedicated to Randolph, according to Bill Molzon, founder of the band. He also said the James D. Randolph Kiltie Band will perform a song tribute.
“The relationship between Fuzzy and the band goes back almost 40 years,” Molzon said. “The earlier shows – early to mid-70s – he was gracious to the band.”
Molzon said the band started out as his New Jersey high school band. When he moved to Waynesburg to attend Waynesburg University in 1969, the band continued to evolve into what it is today: more than 20 musicians, both local and from around the nation, performing together once a year for three hours.
Molzon called the evolution of the band one of those “right place, right time stories.”
“Looking at it now, and especially with that perspective you have on life now, you just realize how fortunate and blessed you are that one you’re still alive, and you still get to do this,” he said.
The band performs a mix of music styles, including rock, country, bluegrass, folk and jazz.
“That’s part of what’s made the show work all these years is the variety of music that is performed,” Molzon said.
Randolph also contributed to the band’s success. He attended Waynesburg University in 1948, became a music teacher there in 1959 and was named curator of the university’s Paul R. Stewart Museum in 1990.
When Molzon needed a place for GNP to practice, Randolph offered rehearsal space for the band to hold its usual two days of practice before the show.
“At some point, he got involved as one of the performers playing his bagpipes,” Molzon said. “He would also sing a duet with our original singer, Jeannie Clark Fisher, usually a show tune.”
Molzon, who’s been employed with the university for 44 years and is the director of TV operations for the communication department, said he was at one point a student of Randolph’s and called him an “enthusiastic” teacher.
“In the classroom, he was happy, cheerful, full of life, and he loved working with the students,” Molzon said. “He’s one of those rare phenomenons you get at a small school. His presence was well-known on campus. There’s no doubt he enjoyed performing in front of people.”
Molzon said this year’s show, which typically attracts more than 200 concertgoers, will feature five of the original band members, including himself, Scott Buttfield, Tom Minson, Charlie Behrend and Fisher. It also will have five university student performers.
Molzon said the show has a positive reputation throughout Greene County.
“If we didn’t have those loyal audience members coming back each year, it wouldn’t be what it is,” he said.
Admission for the show is free, and reservations are not required.