Toledo, Ohio, musicians Ron Rasberry and Bob May share memories of the ‘American Idol’ favorite. By Gil Kaufman Photo: Ray Mickshaw / FOX TOLEDO, Ohio — Ron Rasberry has been playing music his whole life and has seen plenty of good players come and go. But when the amiable, redheaded guitar strummer with the glint in his eye spotted a 13-year-old Crystal Bowersox more than 10 years ago, he knew he was seeing a rare talent. “I was hosting an open mic night, and she was there already … sitting at the table with her ma, and I asked the bartender, the owner, ‘Who’s that?’ ” recalled Rasberry last week of the season-nine “American Idol” front-runner. He learned soon enough who she was when Bowersox got up and sang Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me.” “Of course, she got up there and played and then sang and … she was amazing,” he said. “She was a showstopper then.” Bowersox followed up that performance with an original, one of several she’d already written at that tender age. Thus began a musical friendship that endures until this day. Rasberry — who has been playing local bars for most of his adult life — has seen his young prot
