Author Profile: Larry Nestor
Nestor began writing songs while taking piano lessons as a child. This caused his teacher to comment that he might want to be a songwriter instead of a musician.
In high school, Nestor accompanied and wrote for a singing group that received much acclaim (including a hit record) and won the Arthur Godfrey talent contest on CBS television.
After college, Nestor began writing for a variety of groups, performing and recording with many top acts including Bobby Goldsboro, Ella Jenkins, Jackie Wilson, Dells, Pete Cetera, Otis Clay, Alvin Cash, and The Buckingham’s.
Writing for the musical stage became the next step in his creative journey. In 1980, Nestor wrote the words and music to Tim Kelly's Seven Brides For Dracula, published by Pioneer Drama Service, Inc. More shows with Kelly followed and the fruits of their collaboration have been produced across the USA and Canada (and as far away as Australia and New Zealand).
Nestor enjoys writing for all age groups, but his specialty is writing for children. Television shows on the Nickelodeon Network (and even CBS's Captain Kangaroo) have featured Nestor's work.
Nestor is the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including the Moondance Seahorse Award for libretto for Tangerine Dusk, co-written with playwright Ted May. He has written jingles and theme/fight songs for many professional sports teams, and has written two novels: The Music Of The Waterfall and A Song For Karen. He recently recorded and released the following CDs: Irresistible with Richard Schoen; Mafia Princess — The Musical with Richard Schoen and Laurie Marchese; Summer Shower with Richard Schoen, Laurie Marchese and Art Davis; The Lord Looks Into Your Heart, Josie Falbo with Sweetening; The Music Brings you Close to Me; We All Start Small with Sandy Caulfield; and Deep Into Your Heart with Josie Falbo.
In 2001 Sleeping Bear Press published his children’s story entitled Foursome The Spider. It tells of a spider that lived in the 18th hole of a golf course. For his safety the spider is moved to a nature center, where, with a small twig and seed, he begins to emulate the golfers he had seen, eventually bringing together all the insects and butterflies in the center.
Nestor also wrote Santa Doesn’t Smoke Anymore, an anti-tobacco song which has received many accolades, including being featured on NBC-TV’s Weekend Today, Soledad O’Brien commenting on how much she loved the song.
Additionally, Nestor wrote The Kettle (theme song of Salvation Army’s Christmas campaign), which has aired internationally on radio and television and was written up in American Federation of Musicians’ International Musician.
Good King Wenceslas, co-written with Gary Peterson, has been published by Heuer Publishing LLC. It is the tandem’s ninth published musical.
Nestor also writes articles and children's stories. These have been published in Keenage Newspaper and Good Old Days. He even co-wrote a cartoon entitled Maxwell — Keeper of the Karts that appeared in Golf Chicago.
In 2011, the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming in Laramie accepted Nestor's collection of works.
Most recently, Nestor has published Olivia aka Ollie, a children’s book based on a true story of bullying. Another of his children's book The Rat Who Was Into Art about a Paris rodent that happens by the Louvre and falls in love with painting, is available from amazon.com. He also has a new piano method book (also available from amazon) titled To Tickle The Keys With Ease. Nestor produced his song Rockford Rain with Viola, winner of Poland's American Idol. He is also recording a song, Ribbons of Red, that will be used to help raise funds for HIV/AIDS groups.
Nestor has two children, Tom and Anne, and resides just outside Chicago, Illinois where he enjoys golf on a regular basis (having made six holes-in-one, two on the same day, one hole apart!).
