Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Stephen Foster song "Hard Times Come Again No More"  has become the signature song for our series on how people are surviving the recession. Today's version comes to us from an ex-Oregonian, who now lives in California.

'Bingo' also known as Kevin Richey

Kevin Richey: "My name is Bingo... my driver's license name is Kevin Richey, but pretty much everybody even my folks call me Bingo."

Bingo now runs a hotel in Pioneer Town -- an old movie set converted into a tourist attraction.  But he also is a producer and a guitar player and keeps his hands in the music business.

He says that he first took note of "Hard Times" when he heard it on the radio.

Kevin Richey: "It gave me goosebumps all over, and brought a lump to my throat. I care about people and I think anybody that does and sees people in hardships or have had those times themselves they feel empathy and compassion and I think that's what it really is. I don't think it's a condescending... I don't think it's a condescending sentiment to feel compassion for those that are hit with hard times. I think it's that kind of mercy that can be sorely lacking in the majority of operations, especially let alone the entertainment industry."

Bingo recorded this version with Portland-area musicians in about nine years ago. He has his own theory about why this song has been revived so many times, by so many generations.

Kevin Richey: "I think the song's long life is because it tells a story that is timeless, not to mention that Stephen Foster was a melodic genius and could really turn a tune. But as a poet and as a realist, it touched on the core of something that is a part of the human condition and always has been and always will be. I think that's the earmark of anything that's going to last."

That's Kevin Richey -- known most everyone as Bingo.

Listen to 'Bingo's' version