Ron Caves’ musical talent has been utilised across the globe since the 1970s when he dealt with major musical acts and acquisitions for one of the world’s largest record companies.
Now he plays to a much smaller, but no less beguiled, audience in St Patrick’s church in Sydney’s inner west.
Serving as their one and only organist, Ron plays faithfully for the parishioners in Summer Hill and is one of their treasured community members. So much so that they threw a party for the spirited musician on his 97th birthday this year.
The multi-instrumentalist’s history with music is legendary. How many other Sydneysiders can boast photos of themselves with the Jackson 5 and other top-named artists?
Back in his heyday Ron was a globe-trotting executive with record company EMI, starting out in Brisbane before moving to England to join its Artists and Repertoire (A&R) division in the 1970s.
The A&R division was how foreign music acts such as the Beatles or the Jackson 5, reached Australian shores, Ron told The Catholic Weekly.
His specialty was musical copyright and the last contract he worked on with EMI was with the Rolling Stones.
“I used to look after all the third-party material, in other words, all the material that they didn’t actually own, they leased,” explained.
“We were always having meetings with the record companies,” he said.
“They’d be telling us how good their artists were and convincing us to buy a share of this or that artist.”
Later, Ron became a salesman for Hammond organs, a role which took him across Australia and Southeast Asia.
Overall, Ron’s love of music allowed him to travel to many countries, including most of Asia and Europe as well as many cities in the United States.
“All you would do is get on an aeroplane, go up, and have a meeting,” he said.
“It was a very hectic life but it was important to do. In England for example, I couldn’t believe how naïve they were in the way they managed their artists.”
He first took up the mantle at St Patrick’s during the COVID pandemic following the departure of the previous organist, and now has no plans of stopping.
Ron said his service to the parish’s music ministry is enjoyed by those who attend Mass at the small historic church.
“I think it’s important that they have something going and it’s been quite good,” he said.
“Music is so terribly important to a community like this,” he said.