190107  January 7, 2019 - 914

Lest We Forget

The Classmates of '64-'65-'66

Which We Lost in 2018

(Including some earlier ones just reported in 2018)

Thomas Lee Johnson

LHS '65

August 28, 1947 - December 17, 2017

Betty Jo Finley

LHS '66

? - February 24, 2018

Jimmy Norman

LHS '64

December 9, 1946 - July 12, 2014

John William "Billy" Byrom

LHS '65

April 28, 1946 - September 7, 2018

Johnny A Beauregard

? -  October 23, 2018

LHS '64?

 Max Schrimsher

LHS '65

? - November 6, 2018

James Albert Farr III

LHS '66

December 2, 1948 - December 7, 2018

Sharing Memories

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

"Will You Love Me Tomorrow" (1960) the Shirelles

    A couple of weeks ago my cherished friend Dianne Hughey McClure, LHS ’64, wrote about whenever she thought of Carter’s Skateland she always remembered the song “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” For the last few weeks I have been writing about my memories of songs I listened to while I was walking the track at church. This week I will deviate from that format and in honor of Dianne, will add my reflections on the song she recalled.

    "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was originally recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles, who took their single to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is also notable for being the first song by a black all-girl group to reach number one in the United States.

    When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was "too country." She relented after a string arrangement was added. However, Owens recalled some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged.

    First of all, if you are (or were) a roller skater just close your eyes and listen to the tune of the song. It is not hard to visualize skating to this song. It has that smooth left push-right push motion you would make when skating around the wooden floor of Carter’s. It has that gliding rhythm you could best experience on skates, unless of course you were at a dance party where you could actually hold the one of your dreams in your arms and feel the warmth of bodies actually touching. That was hard to do on roller skates. Of course neither could you close your eyes and skate, but I think you see my point. 

    Remember the board at Carter’s which lit up with the type of skate to be performed. When it lit up “Couples Only” I personally would scramble to find the right female companion with which to hit the floor. I recall they even dimmed the lights during the couples only skate session. In the early days it was just holding hands while we skated, but as our skills were honed we would skate side by side with the boy having his right hand on the curve of the girl’s right hip and her left hand in his. Later I would skate backwards while my partner skated forward, her right hand in my left and my right hand on her left hip or both my hands on her hips and both her hands on my shoulders.

    I copied this video from a public site on youtube and added the soundtrack of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" to show you how it looked to skate to this song. I don't know the people skating.