What can I say about Mr. Floyd Livingston Donald? He was my first band director. Before that, I knew him as a member of the house band at the Riverboat Restaurant on Rainbow Drive. He was a fiercely talented musician, song writer, arranger, and showman. I remember some of us asking him one day during concert season if we could play Rhythm Heritage (the theme from S.W.A.T.). He showed up the next day with several pages of handwritten sheet music. Indeed, he had written out all the parts for our junior high concert band. He worked us through the few days leading up to the Spring Concert, reminding us every day that WE wanted to play that song. He brought out the best in all of us, so much so that spectators at band contests couldnt believe we were not a high school band.
Whether in the bleachers at a football game, or in the band room rehearsing, I have never since seen someone who could conduct whilst holding a lit cigarette and manage to not get ashes all over the place. I never learned how to read music despite marching in one band or another for twelve years, but I learned so much about respect, courtesy, and truthfulness from this man.
He was so rough around the edges very rough. But there was a heart of gold inside, and a strong dedication to his students, his craft, and the teaching profession. Im gonna miss you, FLD. Gonna miss that smooth voice on your late-night radio programme, and all those times I would run into you in town. Rest in peace, my friend! Mark du Pont, Secretary at First Presbyterian Church of Jacksonville, Alabama