George Horsford /Daily Sun and submitted photo
Above: RickeyAnn Rickey, left and Taylor Caron of The Rosetones are shown May 18. The duo enjoy playing a wide variety of songs from the 1950's on up. The duo are shown in the home of The Rosetones in the Village of Santo Domingo.
The Rosetones were supposed to be retired. For Village of Santo Domingo residents (and Rosetones founders) RickeyAnn Rickey and Taylor Caron, the days spent traveling in a motor home and playing classic hits for events were over --- until they moved to The Villages two years ago. Watching their new friends and neighbors excelling at their talents at retirement age invigorated the former Rosetones. Rickey and Caron were amazed to see seniors playing sports, putting on theater productions and, most importantly, performing music. "We just feel an overall sense throughout The Villages of this rejuvenation of youth," Rickey said. "People can do things they normally wouldn't do at this age. You just turned back the clock." Rickey and Caron hadn't put on a show as the Rosetones for eight years. The more time they spent in The Villages, however, the more they felt the itch to play music again. They felt it was time to get back on stage. Rickey and Caron both have been musical most of their lives. In the early 1990's they teamed up to start The Rosetones, a two piece group with a full band sound. With Rickey on percussion and Caron on guitar and banjo, the Rosetones covered it all. They played some of the most popular hits from the 1950's on up. A Rosetones set list could consist of the songs from Dixieland jazz artists to the Judds, to the Everly Brothers. "Everybody considered us the Everly Sisters," Caron said with a laugh. The girls performed at all sorts of functions and venues around Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. They usually traveled in a 34-foot motor home to get to gigs. The Rosetones consist of only two people, but Rickey said they have a six piece band sound. They don't use prerecorded music during shows. This allows them to have more control over the songs. "If a song is really going over, and we're really having a ball with it, we lengthen it," Rickey said.
As the musicians got older, they found it was hard to maintain the energy required to be in a musical band. Rickey and Caron had to set up their equipment, travel long distances, arrange different musical sets for each performance and much more. It was time to take a break Rickey said. "Performing is a lot of work," she added. Today however the Rosetones are jamming together once again. They've had a few shows already for various Villages clubs. Caron said it wasn't a challenge to dust off her performing skills."It's like riding a bike," she said. "It just comes back to you naturally." Rickey agreed that it felt like a " rush to watch " to watch a crowd dance to the Rosetones again, but she said this won't be exactly the same as the Rosetones last run. Nowadays, they wouldn't be able to handle such a hectic schedule. "We're going to limit ourselves. We want to do it for a long time," Rickey said. "We're doing it for the love of it. It's just something we're glad is back in our lives."
The Rosetones as shown from 1994.
The Rosetones are available for performances. For more information call 352-561-4001
