Eddie Connors

May 6, 1932 – December 10, 2021

Our dear friend mandolin virtuoso Eddie Connors has passed into Eternity. Eddie was an entertainer’s entertainer that exuded joy and happiness wherever and whenever he played. He truly was able to light up the room when he stepped out in front of a microphone. He will be solely missed by all of us that make up this family of musicians and fans in this area of New Jersey.

Our condolences go out to his wife Joyce, his son Edward F. Connors III and daughter-in-law Dr. Marilyn Connors, as well as to his long-time musical partner John Shuster.

 

Eddie Connors Obituary:

Edward Francis Connors, Jr., 89, of Lakewood peacefully passed away at home surrounded by his family on Friday, December 10, 2021. He was born in Long Branch and raised in Oakhurst.

He was master plumber and owned and operated Proctor Company Electrical and Mechanical Contractors, Belmar.

He was a well-known country music performer. He often played with Jimmy Starr and John Shuster at Albert Hall, Waretown and in many nursing homes in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Ed was a communicant of St. Mary of the Lake R.C. Church, Lakewood where he served as an usher-a position he held at all the parishes he attended.

He is survived by his wife of 64 and a half years, Joyce Rac Connors whom he first met at Rac’s Hut in Jackson Township; his son and friend, Edward F. Connors, III and daughter-in-law, Dr. Marilyn Connors; and many loving nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was loved by all those he met, both family and friends.

The viewing will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Monday from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary of the Lake Church, Lakewood on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. followed by interment at Woodbine Cemetery, Oceanport.

 

 

Mike Edgerton remembers Eddie:

I first encountered Eddie Connors up close and personal when I attended my first BOTMA Pickin’ in the Park many years ago. It was right after Jimmy Starr (who I never had the pleasure of meeting) had passed. I was sitting off to the side of the jam tuning up my guitar when this impeccably dressed gentleman walked up holding a mandolin and asked if he could pick some songs with me. He asked me to do a song and he played along and then he asked me to do another and he played along. And then he asked if I minded if he did one? He played, I followed and was immediately aware that this guy was something special. I knew the song he was playing, I’d just never heard them played like that. When Eddie played and sang a song it was rarely like the original artist had done it but it was the way it should have been done. He was the master of phrasing and putting the right notes in the right places. We played a few hours with folks kind of gravitating over to the table from the main jam. He eventually excused himself and went off to get something to eat. My wife asked me if I knew who he was and I said no. She said "That’s Eddie Connors, his picture is up on the wall in the Picking Shed at Albert Hall!"

The next time I played with Eddie was when Gene Rosenow asked me to play at Jimmy Starr’s memorial picnic in Manasquan. I was honored but when Eddie stepped forward and did a song I wasn’t familiar with called "Invitation to the Blues" there was a part of me that heard the harmony that belonged there. I didn’t know the words so I couldn’t sing it but afterwards we had a conversation and that song became something he and I shared. On the occasions that we ended up on stage together it was always a contest as to who could hold the last word longer in the song, him or me. He won a few, I won a few. It is one of my favorite parts of his memory and I’m thankful he allowed to share that song with him.

I took up the mandolin because he and Al Suiter used to amaze me with the way they interacted musically. Eddie was a unique player. Half the time you’d ask him what key the next song was in and he’d say he didn’t know and launch into it and you’d have to find him. One night he explained to my wife and I that his secret to playing the mandolin was that he learned one song, Flop Eared Mule, and that was all he needed to know. The rest just came out of that. I tried it. It didn’t work for me but it worked for Ed. I met a man that knew Eddie that was also a mandolin player and he referenced Eddie as "The New Jersey Jethro", likening his playing to that of the mandolin great Jethro Burns. I once introduced Ed on stage as the mandolin player Bill Monroe always wanted to be. He was that good.

I have missed seeing Ed for the last few years. The last time I watched him play was when he and John Shuster played a set at John Cleveland’s Memorial Jam. There was another mandolin player there that I only knew from online encounters on the MandolinCafe website. When Eddie and John were getting setup I told him to watch the guy with the mandolin. Afterwards he asked Eddie if he could take lessons from him. I’ll note he was a darned good mandolin player but he recognized greatness when it stood in front of him.

I could continue to ramble but I’ll try to wrap it up with a goodbye to my friend and a thank you for what you taught me, inadvertently or on purpose.

Thanks for sending something I can’t use,
I received your invitation to the blues.