This man knows 15,000 songs

It's true.
Not only does Dubuque's Rick Tittle know 15,000 songs, but he will play one for you if you ask politely.
I know, because I have asked him before.
Tittle has become somewhat of a Dubuque, Iowa institution, leading his country band for three decades.
He and I share a love for 1950s' honky tonk music, and Tittle routinely dedicates Faron Young songs to me.
"This is for my friend who works at the TH," he says.
This evening his band played a free gig at Dubuque's Jackson Park.
Families gathered in park, carrying coolers from their cars and lugging camp chairs to spots under the trees.
Tittle and his band played for two hours. Kids lined up to get free hot dogs and adults sipped beers as the sun went down.
There is something special about music in a park on a warm evening. It feels as if music was meant to be heard in an open space on a warm evening. Perhaps it was. Perhaps early man gathered outside a cave somewhere to share music. Perhaps such a scene has been passed from generation to generation for eons.
I bet early man didn't know Hank Thompson's "Wild Side of Life," though.
Tittle does... as well as 14,999 other songs.
Posted by Hello