Pantelis John “Demetri” Callas
June 7, 1942 – January 13, 2020
"For many Frederick residents of a certain age, January 13, 2020, will be remembered as “the day
the music died.” On that day, Demetri Callas, Frederick’s very own rock star, succumbed to
heart failure in Las Vegas, Nev. He was 77 years old. Demetri had valiantly fought off the
ravages of Parkinson’s disease for the past few years. If anyone had a robust zest for life and the
will to live, it was Demetri, whose exercise regimen and self-discipline gave him the body of a
Greek god. But in the end, his weakened heart could not beat any longer".
You can read the full Obituary here:
Following Demetri's wishes, there will be no services to mark his passing. However, as you would expect, there has been an outpouring of love and appreciation for his extraordinary talent and unfailing kindness online and a Facebook page has been set up "Remembering Demetri Callas"
A Celebration of Demetri's Life - Sunday 9 February 2020
Troy Remsburg of Frederick, Maryland tells me The Shades Band who Demetri played with for years before finally moving to Vegas are planning a celebration of Demetri's life on Sunday 9 February at The Frederick Maryland Elks Ball Room starting at 1.30 p.m. eastern time and will go on until around 6.30 p.m. There will be a slide show of pictures and Demetri's daughter is going to sing a song that her and Demetri sang together at her wedding. The Shades band will perform with some special guests. Doing all his favorite songs and also his sisters favourite song by Frankie Valli "My Eyes Adored You". Everyone is welcome to attend. Further details here:
A Celebration of Demetri's Life
Troy has also posted some videos on the The Shades Facebook page of Demetri playing guitar with them when he was healthy and very much in a happy place:
Troy, you may recall, was the guy who set up the fund to help Demetri when he was diagnosed with Parkinsons and could no longer play guitar. Thank you Troy for everything you have done and are doing.
Messages and your memories of Demetri can also be added here:
Clay Jordan, who played with Demetri when he was with the Four Seasons, told me that he was deeply saddened by the news of Demetri's passing and will miss reminiscing with him.
Bill Bozeman told me that Demetri and he had always enjoyed getting together in Vegas and swapping guitar stories. They both agreed that Roland Janes’s guitar break on Jerry Lee Lewis’s “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On” was a classic and perhaps even the best in RnR history. What they couldn’t agree on was whether he was playing a Gibson (Demetri’s opinion) or a Fender. Well fast forward a year and Bill is in Roland’s Memphis studio and tells him about the disagreement. They called Demetri right then in Vegas and Roland described how it was a modified Stratocaster. Apparently, Demetri recorded the conversation and always talked about how excited he was to talk to him!
One of my memories of Demetri which I will never forget was his impression of Frankie Valli at Raleigh in 2008 when he entered the room on his knees!! A warm, funny and larger than life character who made everyone laugh and who will be very much missed by everyone whose lives he touched.
Demetri always signed his emails “Luck and Love,” so in memory of Demetri,
Luck and Love
Lynn
By Lynn E Boleyn MBE
30 January 2020
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