Those Oldies but Goodies Reminds Me of You

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

The songs of the past bring back memories of you

I always remember the first night we met

The songs they were playing I never will forget

I always will treasure them so close to my heart

They always will haunt me although we're apart

Each time that I hear them a tear's bound to fall

For I love those memories that I, I-I recall

Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

The songs of the past bring back memories of you

Forever they will haunt me but what can I do?

Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

(Oldies but goodies reminds me of you)

"Yes, dear, they are playin' our songs. And they will always remain our songs. And each time you hear them, I hope you, too, will cherish the wonderful memories that our love once knew. For these songs are just a symbol of the love that I had for you."

Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

The songs of the past bring back memories of you

Forever they will haunt me but what can I do?

Those oldies but goodies reminds me of you

(Oldies but goodies reminds me of you)

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays of each week I take a mile and a half walk around the track at our church while Sue participates in her stretch classes. While I am walking I always listen to Oldie Goldies songs from the Pandora app on my iPhone. I have become aware of the fact that certain songs always make me relate the tune to a particular time, place, or person from the era in which the songs were popular. That era is also always those days I spent in Huntsville and more precisely my Lee High School days.

This week I am writing about the songs that remind me of people I knew. It will surprise many of you to see your name and to learn that you might be the one I think about when a song comes on, and probably you will not even remember why I do so. Of course, every song does not make me relate to an individual, but some of them do. I cannot expand every reason they do, but I have a few special ones which I would like to share with you readers. A couple of them are related for obvious reasons.

For example, the Four Season’s “Sherry” from 1962 always makes me remember Sherry Adcock, and the same group’s “Dawn (Go Away)” in 1963 has always been associated with the memory of Dawn Larson. Of course, both girls were fellow 1964 classmates with whom I shared many classes at Lee. Those connections are simple to understand I am sure.

“Five Hundred Miles” by The Kingston Trio was always a favorite folk song of mine. And when I think back to the local folk song era I cannot help but think of our school’s own little popular group, “The General’s Three.” And when I think of the group today, I associate the song with Robert Anthony “Bob” Pierce. Though we were not run-around buddies back then, I always admired and envied him for being in a folk trio.

The Beach Boy’s “I Get Around” fills my thoughts of the hundreds (or thousands) of trips I made on the Parkway between Jerry’s and Shoney’s with another 1964 classmate, Bob Walker.” We were best friends back then and we “got around” a lot. I still miss him today.

Lewis Brewer was also a participant in many of those rides, but there is another song that will always remind me of him. That song is Sam Cook’s “Chain Gang.” No, Lewis was not a member of a chain gang, but one night when he was working at Mug’s Up I was visiting him and the jukebox which played over the speakers at the one on South Parkway malfunctioned and the song played over and over for the whole time I was there. I must have heard it play and replay for over an hour…”Don’t you know that’s the sound…?”

“Way Down Yonder in New Orleans” by Freddy “Boom-Boom” Cannon was released in 1959 and quickly became a popular song played for the “Two-Step” session at Carter’s Skateland. I never knew why it was called the Two-Step, since it was done on roller skates. The Two-Step was one of the few songs to feature fast tempos and my favorite skate partner for those sessions was always Carol Jean Williams. My feet still go into the motions of the skates whenever it comes on. 

My great friend Dianne Hughey also has a song I associate with her, but I doubt if she will even remember the incident which linked it to her. I was making one of my routine visits to her house one evening when we were visited by a fellow who was a drummer I had met at one of the VFW dances. He had wanted to meet Dianne who I had talked so much about and somehow he turned up at her house one night. It turned out he was one major league liar and we quickly broke off any association with him as we became aware of it. That night he brought a friend with him who he claimed was Tommy Roe who had just hit the pop charts with his song “Shelia.” We rode around a little and the fake Tommy Roe played his guitar and sang Shelia. It was obvious he was not who he claimed to be, so it confirmed our thoughts about the liar.  

    Even though I had known Dianne since the third grade, she and I really became friends when we got together at the local bowling alleys with her sister and my mother bowled in the same league. Ginger Cagle’s parents also bowled in the same league and when we started dating Sonny James’ hit song “Young Love” became our song. I am sure many of you have “Our Song” memories. It makes me think about the young lovers today. I, for one, think they must have a hard time finding a song to be “their song” with the popular music of today. I would think they would have to look at a soundtrack from a Disney movie or something on the Country charts to find a song with any romantic meaning these days. I’m sure my friend Jim McBride could write a hit song like “People Don’t Write “Our Song” Love Songs Anymore.” He could throw in references to the old songs we grew up with compared to the RAP music people listen to today.

Another song by Tommy Roe reminds me of Sarajane Steigerwald, who was not only an athletic cheerleader, but also an academic student and a member of the Lee’s Traveller newspaper staff.  I have a song to remind me of her, even though it will surprise her that I do. The Traveller staff attended The Alabama High School Press Association seminar in 1963 while Sarajane and I were on the staff. Tommy Roe had just released his hit song “Everybody” with its haunting beat and it was being played constantly on the radio during that trip. The planners had organized a dance for the last night of the seminar and the Traveller staff attended en masse. When we arrived the place looked like the opening scene of the senior prom segment in Footloose. No one was dancing and everyone was just sitting around the room looking bored. Obviously the other newspaper staffs were not as social as we were. Our group lived for Friday and Saturday night dances, so we hit the floor. It did not take long for the rest to join in. Sarajane and I spent a lot of time dancing together in Huntsville and did so on this occasion as well. “Everybody” was one of the songs the band played that night and for some odd reason I associated the music and the trip with Sarajane.

One of Sarajane’s fellow cheerleaders (who I shall not name, but she knows who she is) always comes to mind when I hear Brian Hyland’s “Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini.” It’s a fun story behind that one. WAAY radio was having a live broadcast at a newly opened Hardy’s Drive-In on the South Parkway, and the DJ offered a prize to the first female who showed up wearing (you guessed it) an Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. Being an average teenage boy I could not pass up an opportunity to witness something like that so I rushed to Hardy’s in my 1953 Ford “Bomb” to see who showed up. Not long after I got there my cheerleader classmate showed up, but just set in her car. She saw me and motioned me over to her car. There she was in the bikini but was afraid to come out of “the car” and not “the water.” While she was seeking encouragement from me another car pulled up and out got a young lady with a baby wearing the prize-winning bikini in her arms. Our cheerleader friend was not upset, but seemed pleased to escape the exposure.

Duane Eddy’s 1958 hit “Rebel Rouser” brings back a collective memory of the members of the Lee High School Band. Although we were “The Generals” and Butler High School students were “The Rebels”, we somehow adopted “Rebel Rouser” as our school song. Although the title of the song probably isn’t politically correct these days, I still associate it with our band. It has been used in many movies such as “Forrest Gump.”

Another band of a different genre was of course “The Continentals” and one of their signature songs at all the dances at the Armory, Bradley Cafeteria, and other venues was “Oh Charlena.” And the one who comes to mind when I hear it today is another Class of ’64 classmate, Jerry Brewer who was the drummer for the group. They produced a limited number of 45rpm records and I bought one from Jerry for one dollar. Unfortunately, it disappeared during one of my many moves in the Air Force. Even after the band changed their name to “The Tics” this continued to be a favorite song they played.

Finally, to wrap this up, another song featured by The Continentals was Rufus Thomas’ most naughty dance song “The Dog.” I learned the associated dance when I was on one of my trips to Memphis. Returning to Huntsville, I danced this “dirty dancing” song with many partners, but the one who comes to mind these days when I hear this song is Carol Stevens. Carol moved to Texas so she did not graduate with us, but she was a friend to many and I loved dancing with her. Even though we never dated we spent a lot of time at dances together.

So, those are a few of the songs I can tell people that “remind me of you.” I know I cannot be the only one who associates some of the songs of our times with old friends or acquaintances. Does anyone wish to share some of their own memories of similar nature? Please don't make me feel like a fool for being the only one who does this.

This week I once again open up my not-so-private world to reveal some of my personal thoughts. I hope none of my memories embarrass or offend anyone mentioned in my writings. I also hope some of the things I reveal with kindle a spark of your own memories and perhaps bring a smile to your face. In this crazy world in which we are now forced to exist, I often retreat to the better times I spent with many of you in my youth and pray you might enjoy these trips back down Memory Lane as well.

Many thanks go out to the classmates who took the time to post a comment on last week's issue. I always hope someone will take the time to do so.

Comments on Last Week's Issue

Joel Weinbaum, LHS ‘64, "Considering the latest expose on Marilyn Monroe and her tragic end,  those early editions of Playboy mags are worth a fortune. In the class of Micky Mantle and Willie Mays baseball cards. Tell us about the Lee experience with the notorious Mad magazine."

Joy Rubins Morris, LHS ‘64, "Tommy, we are all blessed that you are in our lives.  Thank you so much for all you do to keep us connected."

Edward Zachary, LHS ‘69, "WT Grands was my favorite downtown store but Goodson's at 5 points was my favorite."

Barb Biggs Knott, LHS ‘66, "It wasn't located downtown but Hornbuckle Record Shop was one that I definitely remember spending time at."

Curt Lewis, LHS ‘66, "The hobby shop you referred to in your article was actually the O.T. Catha shop.  It was run by the Catha family, including the matriarch, son, daughter, and their spouses.  I rarely saw OT himself.  I had an interest in model airplanes and spent many hours in the shop when it was downtown.  It later relocated to Heart of Huntsville Mall, but closed a few years after that. My mother usually took me to Belk Hudson when I needed clothes or shoes.  She also liked Becker's a block away on Jefferson St, but I never much cared for it. Later on in the early-to-mid seventies, I worked downtown and frequently ate at the Ritz Cafe, which was owned and run by Junior and Inez Taylor with assistance from a few hired helpers.  Junior was the consummate short-order cook; he seemed to have eight arms going at once with a spatula in each, all the while puffing from the pipe in his mouth.  There was a large glass display case on the wall, which they touted as being the world's largest display of different cigarettes.  Eventually, the Ritz closed its doors and someone told me that Junior had gone to work for the post office.

Dianne Hughey McClure, LHS ‘64, "I really liked Woolworth Five and Dime. There was so much to look at. I still have some pictures I took in the booth there. When I was a little girl I loved going down the big wide steps to the toy department downstairs. When I was a teenager my favorite place was the Fountain Room - not a food store but sort of I guess it was a restaurant. My daddy owned it so I spent a lot of time there. It also had big wide stairs going down to it from the pharmacy."

Toby Scott Neal, LHS ‘67, "Interesting, delightful, refreshing reading. THANKS."

Barbara Diamond, LHS ‘66, "In junior high years my sister, Susan,  and I would spend our allowance on a bus to town, see a movie and visit Grant and the other dime store (Woolworths?) to check out their lipsticks and perfumes or buy a gift for our mom or dad’s birthday. Then we would treat ourselves to a cherry smash at Grant's and take the bus home. Such freedom and independence was delicious. BTW we didn’t particularly mind if we arrived at the movie after it started; we would just sit through the beginning of the next run or maybe the whole thing again. I seem to recall that most of the movies were B horror movies starring Vincent Price such as Bucket of Blood. 

Bob Pierce, LHS ‘64, "At the Grand News Stand we would pick up The New York Times and The Chicago Tribune Sunday newspapers every weekend and sometimes the Mirror and the Tennessean. We had the Huntsville Times and Birmingham News delivered if we weren't paperboys, all 4 of us boys were at times. We were stationed in Germany 1950-1953 and the US newspapers gave us a taste of home...good habit"

Carolyn Burgess Featheringill, LHS ‘65, "I think the girls in our classes will have especially fond memories of the Mary Shoppe downtown, just a few doors north of the elegant Dunnavant’s department store, and the Town and Country Shoppe on the north side of the square.  Your "Baby Boomer’s Guide To Growing Up In The Rocket City" includes a funny experience of mine at the Mary Shoppe which is timely, given the inflation we’re experiencing right now.  Thanks as always for keeping us in touch with our youth - - and each other!"

Photographic Memories - Who Are They?

Each week I plan to share a group of photos from the 1960 "The General" yearbook without disclosing the names of the individuals. You may stop and try to identify them here, and when you are through you may scroll to the bottom of this page to see the identities of your classmates in the photos.

Slow Song Selections

You Picked in the Past

Blue Velvet – Bobby Vinton

"Blue Velvet" is a popular song written and composed in 1950 by Bernie Wayne and Lee Morris. A top 20 hit for Tony Bennett in its original 1951 version, the song has since been re-recorded many times, with a 1963 version by Bobby Vinton reaching No. 1.

The Identites of the Classmates in the Pictures Above