01/07/08

Tropicalia opened a songwriting contest this past summer. We had no idea what we would get. Now we do. And now we have a winner, which we announced last week.

First prize goes to Estero resident Harry Boyle's "Greetings from Fort Myers Beach."

Entries were judged by Joseph Caulkins, associate conductor of the Southwest Florida Symphony. Tropicalia lugged a bulging folder filled with envelopes, CDs and cassettes to his office. He placed the entries on a table in a conference room.

Some impromptu rules immediately eliminated several of the 14 entrants, those who sent in only lyrics and/or sheet music. Caulkins felt he needed to hear the songs to judge them. Some participants sent in more than one song, which was fine.

After about 90 minutes of reading lyrics and listening, he announced the winner.

The winning song was submitted by a friend of Boyle's, Fort Myers resident La Verne Symonds, 72.

"Oh, I'm so thrilled," Symonds said. "We've kept our fingers crossed and waited patiently."

Then Boyle found out.

"I'm overwhelmed," Boyle said.

He performs the winning song at the Fort Myers Beach American Legion Post 274 Hall, where he's played for nine years. His award-winning song is part of the show every weekend.

Boyle, 63, has been a musician his entire adult life.

"I'm not a wealthy man," Boyle said. "I've got no regrets. I've had no regrets. I'm living in one of the best places in the country."

And he plays music for a living.

Boyle moved here from New York City in 1996. His friends back home were puzzled and worried. Could he find a decent pizza or bagel in this faraway, subtropical backwater burg on the Gulf of Mexico?

His response was writing "Greetings from Fort Myers Beach," which evokes Bruce Springsteen's "Greetings from Asbury Park."

Boyle's song is a tribute to the Florida lifestyle, to the beach and golf, sunshine and warmth.

"I was brand-new to the area," Boyle said. "I wanted to make a big splash. Originally I had written the song as a Christmas carol and sent cassettes back to my friends."

What made "Greetings From Fort Myers Beach" stand out?

"It mentions all the themes of leisure which is such a part of Southwest Florida that we all love," Caulkins said, "The fishing and swimming and going to parties, going to the beach and all those things."

That's not all.

"The other thing I like about it it has a very catchy tune, which I think if you listen to it later you might be humming that tune because it's very catchy," Caulkins said. "He has a sort of Jimmy Buffett style to the way he sings it. ... The other thing I like about it is it has a sort of party feel to it. You listen to it and you think people are having a good time while they're listening to it."

Boyle knows something about making hits.

In 1961, when he was a student at Brooklyn Technical High School, he was a member of the Echoes, a doo-wop group. They hit No. 12 on the Billboard charts in 1961 with "Baby Blue."

It was the Echoes' only big hit.

"Better to be a one-hit wonder than a no-hit wonder," Boyle said, according to a music Web site, www.destinationdoowop.com

Now, he's got another hit, No. 1 on the Tropicalia charts.

He raised two sons while working as a musician.

"Rock 'n' roll has been very good to me," Boyle said.

And he's done it all without getting what the rest of the world might consider a real job.

"That's what my father used to say to me," Boyle said. "When are you going to get a real job?"

Not yet.