Lynda Denise Johnson Darnell

LHS '66

April 12, 1948 - July 25, 2024

Lynda J Darnell, 76, of Hazel Green, Alabama passed away July 25, 2024.

Lynda graduated from Lee High School in 1966. She attended and graduated from what was Lipscomb College in 1969. She began her teaching career at Montview Elementary School in 1969 where she taught 1St and 2nd grade until 1974. The court ordered busing moved her to Calvary Hill Elementary School where she taught from 1975-1985. She came back to Montview in 1986 and taught there until her retirement in 2000. After her retirement, she worked as a bookkeeper at Peggy’s Log Cabin. Lynda was a member and served at Plainview Church of Christ in Hazel Green, AL.

She is survived by her husband, David Darnell; bonus children Matthew and Morgan Mitchell; bonus grandchildren, Benjaman, Charley, William Mitchell; brother, Gary (Fredda) Johnson; brother-in-law, Greg (Denise) Darnell and their children, Katie, Alex, Rebecca, Matthew, and their families.

Services have been entrusted to Spry Funeral Home of Huntsville with Ben Bailey officiating

Cindy Powell Miller

LHS '65

? - April 2024

Paula Spencer Kephart Smith, LHS ‘65, sent the following comment: 

"Cindy Powell Miller, LHS '65, passed away in April 2024. She was 77 years old. She graduated from UNA in 1969. The majority of her work was with Procter & Gamble. She had one son, Jeremy Birdwell of Tampa, Fl. She shared children with her late husband, Duke Miller. They lived in and around Anna Maria Island and she was living in Bradenton when she passed away. 

The Wayback Machine

"BORN TO BE WILD" - STEPPENWOLF 

Cecilia LeVan Watson, LHS ‘68, sent in the comment, "I would gladly say our class song would be "BORN TO BE WILD!"  We shall be remembered as a class of crazy students who loved to have fun. We knew that after we graduated the world would change."

"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. Although the lyrics do not specifically mention motorcycles, the song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude since being featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Sometimes, "Born to Be Wild" is described as the first heavy metal song, and the second-verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style but rather a motorcycle).

"Born to Be Wild" was Steppenwolf's third single off their self-titled debut album and became their signature song, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. It was kept from the No. 1 spot by "People Got to Be Free" by the Rascals. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Born to Be Wild" at No. 129 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

For those who don’t know, Larry Byrom from Lee eventually became a legend in the music industry.  According to information found on the web, Larry was born in Huntsville in 1948 but spent a lot of his childhood in South Bend, Indiana. He dropped out of Lee High School with a dream of reaching rock stardom. In the mid-Sixties, he joined a band called the Precious Few and went to professional status by performing on Dick Clark's Caravan of Stars.

 Larry’s next step was to head to California where he joined the group Hard Times, and appeared on the television show Where the Action Is! The Hard Times group called it quits before long and Larry got together with Nick St. Nicholas and formed another band, T.I.M.E., which stood for Trust in Men Everywhere. T.I.M.E. transformed into a new rock band named Steppenwolf and had hits like “Born to be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride.” Later in his life Larry Byrom returned to the South, and became a fixture in the Nashville country music scene. He was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

I have really been under the weather this past two weeks so I will keep my comments short. I hope you are all having a great summer and are enjoying life to the fullest.

Last Week's Questions, Answers, 

And Comments

Curt Lewis, LHS ‘66, "I heard the Kingsmen at the Madison County Coliseum while still at LHS (1965?) and again that summer at the fairgrounds in Louisville, KY.  Later I heard them at New Mexico State in Las Cruces, NM during my freshman college year.  I talked to them after the concert and they told me their bus had caught fire on the way in.  Their original bass player had been drafted and they had some new personnel, but put on a pretty good show."