The lives of Boomers can be defined by chapters of music. In the first chapter, just after the war, America wasn’t sure in which direction music should proceed. There were crooners like Sinatra and Bennett as well the remnants of the Big Band Era. Country stars like Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Teresa Brewer had frequent hit songs as chart toppers, so it was a mixed bag of musical tricks.
Then, rock and roll, with stars like Bill Haley, Little Richard, Elvis Pressley, and Buddy Holly took the stage. Chubby Checker interrupted that run with his Twist-type music, followed by the All-American sounds of the Beach Boys, then folk music and finally the British Invasion. Just when Americans had their fill of English boys in Nehru jackets, a wonderful, new sound hit the airways.
It was music influenced by a blend of gospel, jazz, and rhythm & blues. There were saxophones and trombones pushing the beat, bass guitars and drums pounding the rhythm, while keyboards and lead guitars accompanied the singers, all bearing their souls. This was soul music and no sweeter sounds have ever been recorded than those of Otis Redding, the Temptations, the Four Tops, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Smoky Robinson, Percy Sledge and Stevie Wonder. It was Motown Madness.
When Soul Music began its run, people danced. Soul Music presented an irresistible call to the dance floor. Even white people could dance to Soul Music. We looked good. We felt great. It was fun.
When Wilson Pickett sang “In The Midnight Hour”, you had no choice. You had to get up and dance.
In 1966 – during the height of Soul Music’s popularity – my fellow entrepreneur, Johnny Arbuckle, and I decided to take advantage of the popularity of Soul Music, the upcoming Christmas holidays and kids coming in from college to make a few bucks. We rented the Ronceverte Armory for $100, and we booked a band called The Showman from Charleston to play our gig. I believe they charged $350, so Johnny and I figured that if we sold as few as 60 tickets at $10 apiece, we’d make a little money and have a party for the ages.
We put up flyers and talked up The Showmen and the day of our event finally arrived. And so did the snow. That day it snowed non-stop. Eighteen inches in all. So, it looked like we would be stuck with the $100 Armory fee, but since the Showmen could never make it through 18 inches of snow from Charleston, we’d still draw a few people and have a fun party. All would have been well except The Showman did show up! They drove 100 miles through the blizzard, and we owed them $350. I think our net take from a handful of paying customers was $120, so we lost our collective Boomer behinds, but The Showmen were as advertised. They were fantastic. It was helluva party. The band sang and played all the great songs, and everyone danced. It was, after all, Soul Music.