1964  An Eventful Year

OUR FIRST DATE In March 2003, I had a long conversation with Sandy Little Hocutt and Dot Little about mine and Susie's first date.  None of us could remember exactly when it was.  The story of our first date is a long story within itself.  Feel free to  CLICK HERE  and read it if you wish.  Our first date took place  before  I got my driver's license in '64. 1964-FEB Susie turned 15 and I turned 17 years old that February.  I had waited two full years to trade in my learner's permit and finally convinced my mother to take me to get my driver's license.  Our first date was about November 1064.  The date we went on in the photo below was February 1965, in other words 3 months after our first date.  It was a "Sweetheart Ball" held at Susie's Church in February 1964. This photo was taken in Coot and Dot's living room just before we left.  The young man standing next to Jodie Little was the neighbor across the road from the Littles.  The young man in the white coat was the brother of Susie's best friend.  He lived across the road from Arthur Butt's house. A closeup of Ron & Susie is below it. L to R: Ron Vincent, Sue Little (1949-2003), Robert Hollis (1952-2009), Jodie Little, Sandy Little,  and Bobby Crawford (1950-2008) all Hardy Rd. Neighbors. A closeup of Ron & Susie - Feb 1965.  Gotta love those 1960s glasses, clothes, thin tie, and hair styles!

1964-Sep I began my senior (3rd) year in Hueytown High School, the 12th grade. 1964-Oct After a football game our fellow classmates drove to a local burger joint for a snack.  We sat in the parking lot of Kelly's Hamburgers on U.S. Highway 11 which we called the “Bessemer Super Highway.”  While sitting on someone’s car hood, I told a classmate I was convinced that God did not exist. I told him, “I’ll prove it to ya”, and said loudly, "God, if you're up there, go ahead and hit me with a lightning bolt!"  There was no lightning.  I turned to him and said, “See! That proves it.” After we joined the church, Susie said, “God just didn’t want to waste a good lightning bolt.” Kelly's Hamburgers on U.S. Hwy 11 (Bessemer Super Highway) 9th Ave. in Bessemer, AL.

1964-Fall Steven Hamilton introduced me to Robert Owen and Rick Jackson who were fellow classmates of his at Hueytown High School.  He invited me over to Rick’s basement garage to play guitars.  They had formed a rock band but none of them could play lead guitar.  Steve knew I could play lead but I told Steve that I didn’t know all the chords.  I had never seen an "orchestra" chord before (bar chord) so Steve taught me as I learned the songs. It was in Rick Jackson's basement I also learned how to play blues harmonica called "cross harp."  A friend of Rick's came over to hear us practice who knew how.  He kept showing me what he was doing until I learned how to bend notes and learned which key of harmonica I should use. Steve Hamilton - 1963 Robert Owen - 1965 Rick Jackson - 1966 They invited me to join the group that we named "Strangers."  After they found out there was a band already by that name Robert and I renamed the group the "Huns." There was a dispute between Robert and Steve about who was the band leader.  Robert and Rick then kicked Steve out of the band. This garage band was the first regular “job” for which I was paid.  The pay was very infrequent.  I remember one gig we only earned $40.  Another gig we played two days over New Year’s Eve, 4 hours the first night and 5 hours the next. We only earned $140 for that one.  If you split that between five guys, that’s a little over $3 an hour. At the time, that wasn't bad for a regular 40 hour work week but we were rarely paid and we had hundreds invested in music gear. The photo below is from one of those free engagements where we won first prize at a talent show held by Robert and Rick's old Elementary School. "The Strangers" 1964 L to R: MikeJackson, Robert Owen, Rick Jackson, Phillip Lacy, Ron Vincent, Steve Hamilton. Photo taken by the Birmingham News / Post Herald.  The photographer did not realize that only Robert, Rick, Ron, and Steve were band members.  The other guys were "roadies" there to help.

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