LHS Marching Band Memories

John Drummond

LHS '65

I enjoyed the article by Terry Barnes, LHS '66, about his Drum Major experience.  For those of us who came before, our only Drum Major was the late Larry Andrews.  I would like to share a few of my own memories as a trumpet player, in no particular order.

The football players were not the only ones who prepared for the LHS football season during those hot August days.  Band members assembled several times a week in blistering heat on a dusty field to practice maneuvers (with music) to be performed during the halftime shows at games.  Back then of course there were no plastic water bottles and certainly no Gator Ade.   We were so parched, in retrospect I marvel at how we were able to blow air into our instruments.

During games played in September, while it was still bloody hot, we performed in our wool uniforms, sweating through the marching halftime performance.  But we appreciated the woolen garments during much colder night games played in November.  One frigid evening we played Emma Sansom High in Gadsden, where it was so cold my lips stuck to the metal mouthpiece of my trumpet.  The majorettes, in their short skirts, must have been shivering uncontrollably.

On top of our band hats were shakos, a white plume of fake feathers that shook with every step.  When we marched in the Christmas parades in downtown Huntsville and Guntersville, someone had a brilliant idea to attach tiny flashlights with blinking bulbs to the shaft or our shakos.   So as we marched down the streets at night, our hats blinked brightly in the dark.

During those sexist times, the band's brass sections (trumpets, trombones, baritones, tubas, etc) were virtually all-male, as was the drum section.  As an aside, drummers are universally known to be just a little bit (okay, maybe a lot in some cases) crazy.  It is unknown if this personality trait is genetic or acquired through life experience.  Exceptions to the male-only brass were Beth McNabb who played French Horn alongside the late Vern Lucas, and Phyllis Miller on cornet.  Likewise, the woodwinds (clarinet, flute/piccolo, etc.) were predominantly female.  An exception was Ken Megginson, who was our only bass clarinetist.  

 Rainer Klauss, LHS '64, has a better band memory than I and offered these comments and corrections:  "John. I remember the heat when we had to wear those uniforms during the warm weather. I can’t remember if I was still around for the trip to Gadsden, with its cold weather. The band uniforms were to be passed on to later band members, of course, so the sizing wasn’t exact. My pants were so long that I had to wear suspenders to keep them up. The top of the pants came to my nipples, I think. Mike Acree was the first chair flute.  Richard O'Bryant and Ronnie Hendrix played clarinet, and Joan McCutcheon the tenor sax."  

Rainer offered no opinion as to the reason why most drummers are crazy.  Jerry Brewer and Jack Morris may be exceptions, though the topic is open for discussion.

Learning to play the trumpet came in handy in ways outside LHS.  I was a member of the three-trumpet section, with Roger Becks and Mike Vaughn, in the 15-piece Top Hats of Dixie, until Mr. Becks suddenly and without any warning fired me.  To this day I do not know the real reason why I was coldly terminated.  But I formed my own little six-piece Dixieland band, called "John Drummond and The Outhouse Five."   We performed for the grand openings of some of the better Piggly Wigglys in Madison County.

At  Auburn, all male students were required to participate in Basic Army ROTC for the entire freshman and sophomore years.  Among other things like taking courses in Map Reading, we all had to drill outside in full uniform for one hour twice a week, rain or shine, heat or cold.  And during the winter quarter it could get VERY cold out on the drill field.  But because I could play the trumpet, the ROTC assigned me to The Drum & Bugle Corps.  We were allowed to practice inside the warm and cozy Army Quonset Hut next to the drill field, where we stayed dry and toasty.  During sophomore year I was elected the band leader (equivalent to Drum Major) at which point the guys re-christened the name of our outfit  "The Drummond Bugle Corps."

Many close friendships developed as a result of joining the LHS band, as well as many great memories.  Along with Tommy, I invite band members to share their stories in next week's edition of The Traveller.  Come on, guys and gals, write in!  We know you have tales to tell!

Some Band Observations

From a Non-Band Member

Tommy Towery

LHS '64

While working on these last two issues of Lee's Traveller featuring stories about the Lee High School bands. I found a few things I had not noticed about the makeup of the bands. In looking at the photo of the band in the 1964 Silver Sabre, I was surprised to see that it appears the group John named as "The majorettes, in their short skirts" did more than dance around in those skirts. In the photo below which was taken from the 1964 Silver Sabre, all the majorettes are not only wearing those skirts for the stage concert, they are also playing instruments. I was unaware of this. 

I had not thought about it before, but I do not recall any group of band members being recognized as the "Pep Band" in our time. Perhaps some of you former band members can correct me on this if I am wrong. 

In a final note, I found the two-minute video below on Facebook showing the current Lee High School Pep Band performing at the Women's Basketball Championship playoff. I am not sure if the females are still called majorettes, but their outfits make our vintage ones modest in comparison. It is quite a different experience than we remember. Perhaps our surviving majorettes can copy this routine and perform it at our next reunion? On the Lee High School website I found the following information: "The Lee High School Marching Band Auxiliary is devoted to developing character, leadership, and individual responsibility in every member, while maintaining high academic performance. The Silver Stars and Lady Silks are a highly motivated, school spirited, talented and respectful Lee High School students who perform with the band during football and basketball games, pep-rallies, school events, parades and competitions."

Thanks John Drummond for this week's story and to those who commented on last week's issue. I love to hear from you.

This week John has a proposal for us (see below) and there is a special form to reply to it. The form immediately below is for the normal weekly comments, answers and questions. Please use it for your weekly comments rather than sending me an email. I get so many emails things sometimes get lost in the load.

Comments on Last Week's Issue

Spencer Thompson, LHS '64, "Thanks T for the reminder about the glass room that was my homeroom in 9th grade. My teacher was Mrs. Riley Carroll and she created an interest in me for literature."

William Dale Meyer, LHS ‘66, "So great to see my good and great friend Terry Barnes. We spent a lot of time on the lake in Lakewood. Hope we can see each other if we have a reunion this year."

Curt Lewis, LHS ‘66, "I don't recollect the Dubious Distinction Award described by Terry Barnes, but I can certainly imagine being amused and delighted when my friend Ed Reynolds was named as the "honoree"!"

Joel Weinbaum, LHS ‘64, "I don't recall any building wings' names, but the windows for me were a definite view to an imaginary world. As I recall."

Ready for a Mini-Reunion?

John Drummond

LHS '65

As the pandemic is winding down, could we consider having a scaled-down version of a reunion in October or late September, when the weather is temperate?  Rather than a live band, we could just have a DJ and maybe a simple buffet dinner, and maybe skip the elaborate decorations and class photo shoots. Tommy Towery has volunteered to provide the music with his extensive collection of Oldie-Goldies. After all, the real point of the reunion is for us to see each other face-to-face, catch up on each other's lives and wonder how everybody else got so old.

The Marriott site seems perfect, with its indoor/outdoor venue and reasonable pricing.

Below is a poll to see how many LHS grads would be interested in attending.  My guess is that a majority would welcome the event.  As we are now in our mid-70s, more classmates will be lost in the next couple of years, so as they say "time is a-wasting."

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

Mark Dinning - Teen angel (1960)

In February 1960, the song "Teen Angel",  by Max Edward Dinning (August 17, 1933 — March 22, 1986), known by his stage name Mark Dinning, an American pop music singer. It was written by his sister Jean (Eugenia) and her husband Red Surrey, and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. 

The record was not an instant success, with some radio stations in the U.S. banning the song, considering it too sad. Nevertheless, despite the reluctance of radio stations, the song continued to climb the charts. In the last week of 1959, the single jumped from #100 to #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It went on to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1960) and #37 in the UK Singles Chart (even though it was banned from being played by the BBC). Billboard ranked it as the #5 song of 1960.

"Teen Angel" and its two predecessors at the Hot 100's top spot, "El Paso" by Marty Robbins and "Running Bear" by Johnny Preston, continued a string of pop tunes in which someone dies tragically.

The Identites of the Classmates in the Pictures Above