Calvary Perham

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Comment by Slayton Thompson on January 13, 2009 at 7:24am

Slayton Thompson came from a musical family. His father inspired him to play music by introducing him to the piano at an early age. He was taking lessons at the African American Church (AME church) when his interest in the keyboard slowly changed to a couple of clothespins his father played on the floor. That led to his early interest in drums. Thompson is a twin his twin's name is Stanley and they both played trumpet. Trumpets were made out of plastic however, from a local five and dime. The plastic trumpet turned into a real brass instrument for his brother. And the clothespins turned into drumsticks. They both participated in the Phantom Regiment Drum Corps at an early age. But before that Slayton marched in the Regals drum and bugle corps in Rockford that his older brother took him to on weekends and some weekdays. Throughout high school, Thompson continued to play and was even given the title best drummer in Illinois through a competition he entered in Springfield. Thompson never made it to the big stage but his love for music is apparent through his working with young people in Cedar Rapids and introducing music to his foster children and of course and not least his son Erick who holds a degree in Jazz Studies and who is an accomplished musician himself. Thompson says school was not easy for him but along the way, the spirit of what his father taught and what his mother prayed about has sustained him through all his lifetime and he has shared that with others.