Rock & Roll Stories and Information about
Port Arthur
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There is much buzz in the local Rock & Roll scene lately with
recent death of Dale Gothia, Class of 58, long time musician.
A local benefit was planned with many old-time musicians.
The Flyer shows a lot of old stars. Of the rest of the photos
some were sent to me awhile back, some this week, from
JK Petteway Class of 57. Some of the "kids" even look
like they might be from our class.
The Flyer about The Benefit.....
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Yes, it's that far back. |
Believe it or not, George Jones playing locally, one of the Winters in the back. |
Jivin' Gene playing locally. |
Jivin' Gene with his original guys. |
Jivin' Gene with the band that started it all for him. |
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Johnny Preston with his original band, The Shades. Not sure if the Museum has this one. |
The Winters Brothers way back when.. |
Some really Cool Cats here... |
... continued... |
More "Mug Shots".. |
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Former radio personality Steve O'Donohoe poses with The Big Bopper's statue at Museum of the Gulf Coast.
Steve-O headed back to town for Music Hall of Fame concertThe
Port Arthur News The
Port Arthur News By
Darragh Doiron
Radio
personality Steve O’Donohoe, known as Steve-O the Night Rider back in
the day, has two Janis Joplin anecdotes. He confesses that one makes him
look like a heel, the other a hero.
He
apparently had another encounter with her, but he says he can’t
remember it. He read in her sister’s book that Janis thanked him for
teaching her how to get her music on the radio.
O’Donohoe
now lives in League City and is a pastor at Baypoint Community Church in
Texas City.
The
Galveston native moved to Port Arthur in 1957 and attended Port Arthur
College, and began his musical career in 1959 at KPAC-AM. His Steve-O
the Night Rider character was a howling “Wolfman Jack, that type,”
he said.
He
said he was a teen having lots of fun meeting soon-to-be famous
musicians.
O’Donohoe
made lasting friendships and has returned to the area to speak at
funerals for friends in the music business. That’s lead to some
teasing when he does come back. Friends ask if he’s coming for their
funeral, he said.
A
former director of shows at Sea Arama Marineworld, O’Donohoe was just
33 when he had a heart attack in 1973.
After
starting his own church, O’Donohoe then moved to the staff of Grace
Community Church, a Houston mega church, where he spent 15 years. He
said that instead of retiring at 70, he started simply moved to the
Baypoint non-denominational church.
Somewhere
in the mix he married Bennie.
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Great Show, Great Show - October 2, 2009
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Program Pg 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Dixie Cups on stage |
Troy Shondell & wife |
Troy Shondell, I thanked him for coming. (Died 1-7-16) |
The Late Great Johnny Preston and Mrs. Preston |
Dixie Cups were great guests |
My Favorite Part of the Show ... Autographs
Something told me these old records would come in handy one day
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| This was No. 1 in 1964 | Their new CD, signed everything | His very first label | One of his classics | His new CD | A great performer | Johnny was as always a very nice guy | He went Gaa Gaa over this record |
How cool is this.
The Original and the picture he signed for me.
He was thrilled to come back to Port Arthur
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This is cool. Anyone recognize the picture in this article?
Seen it somewhere haven't we?
I have my tickets.....
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4-20-2008 Another superb article in the PA News by Gene Dammon. It brought back some vivid memories of my high school time and 50's Port Arthur. (Article link left large for better viewing. Reproduced here with his permission via email) |
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A great article in the PA News in October 2005 by an opinion
writer..... It's a year to remember. It is the year
that Sue and I, and many of our old school chums, reached official
retirement age - 65. It is also the year of “Katrina,” and “Rita,” and
the first time we had so many storms we ran out of letters and had to
go to the Greek (or is it Geek?) alphabet. It is the first year ever
for the World Series to come to Houston. Excitement and disappointment
- so familiar to Astros fans! I could go on and on, but you know this
is an unusual year.
So our group is gradually leaving the world of gainful employment behind us. But who are we? We are the vanguard of a generation, the leading edge of the population swell known as the “Baby Boomers,” we who were born around 1940. We were the first generation of Rock ‘n Rollers, the first generation of Americans to get TV sets before our kids were born. But we grew up before the tube was available to baby-sit us. Instead, we read books, listened to the radio, and spent a great deal of time outside, entertaining ourselves. Our parents were of the generations which had already (mostly) left the farm for jobs in town. They were the youth of the Great Depression, and it shaped them - and thus influenced us, as well - as much as The Mickey Mouse Club shaped those coming behind us. It was necessary for our parents to fight and scratch for a living, and when they found a job, they stuck with it, held on to it, got to work on time, every time, and when they called in sick they were on their way to the hospital. That was the work ethic we inherited. Ours was the last generation to go through segregated public schools, and the first generation to witness a manmade object in space, orbiting the earth. No, not Timothy O'Leary, I mean Sputnik. We made it through public school - and some of us through college - without being exposed to illegal drugs. Now, it is rumored that some teens of our generation slipped “across the river” to The Big Oaks or Lou Ann's, where they got their first taste, illegally, of beer or liquor. Some of those same teens were convinced, later, that God had watched over them and protected them, or they wouldn't have gotten back across that big bridge alive. We grew up in a society in which most families had an automobile and a telephone - but few had more than one of either. Automatic transmissions were still an optional item, and most of us learned to drive on a “stick shift.” Mom usually stayed home and kept house, cooked meals, and perhaps joined the PTA. Most houses had only one bathroom, and the kitchen was actually large enough for a couple of people to sit in to drink coffee. It was often the center of activity in the house. While we were in high school, then Thomas Jefferson, Bishop Byrne, Lincoln, or SFA, the first fast-food, take-out hamburger joint in Port Arthur was opened, out on Sixteenth Street (Gulfway Drive to some of you). It was T&F Big-A-Burger, and they advertised “a full quarter-pound of beef in every patty!” To some of our depression-era parents, however, it was considered wasteful to pay someone else to cook you meals for you. That was momma's job. We grew up without air-conditioning, as many of us have noted recently as we have taken an involuntary, sweaty, trip down memory lane that was imposed by Rita. But the houses of our youth were open, and window- or attic-fans kept fresh air circulating through the house. Maybe that's why asthma and allergies weren't so common then. Kids walking home from school could smell supper cooking from each kitchen along the way and could guess what each family was having. I especially enjoyed the tantalizing odors from the Cajun cooks, along Ninth Avenue on and 39 th Street. In the long Port Arthur summers, I remember sleeping with my nose practically pressed up against the window screen to catch any hint of breeze in the willows right outside my window. Most houses were built on piers, providing a cool retreat for the family pet - and the occasional kid. I don't know if times were better then. What was better was that we were young, we had this great adventure called life ahead of us, and who knew what might happen! We couldn't wait to get started. We just didn't know it would go by so fast . . . To the young reader who blasted me via e-mail for this type of nostalgic column: We understand you better than you think. But the world isn't going to cut you any slack just because you've had problems. Get over it and get busy. Work is very therapeutic. Gene Dammon of Port Neches is a contributing writer to the Port Arthur News. His e-mail address is: gene-san@sbcglobal.net. |
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The following article appeared recently in the PA News.
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