before the bands

[MikeA]

I recall the "marching bands" of that era also (early 60's). I was a drummer in one of those high school bands. The emphasis was on teaching technique but mostly it was with classical music and reading music.

The popular music of that day was Folk Music and Country with a little Rockabilly and no one of our parent's generation gave much serious thought to it. They were a lot more interested in Ball Games on radio and at least with all the adults I knew back then, NONE had Pop music recordings....some very few did have some 78 rpm platters of Jazz or Classical but that was uncommon.

I can certainly not fault the Band Director Glenn had for trying to talk him out of leaving the band to concentrate on Rock. Remember, The Beatles were just starting the revolution of popular music and culture in the early 60's.

[Brooke]

Loved your story, yrsago. Yeah, I bet Glenn has regretted his decision many times since then! Not! lol

And welcome to the board! We're glad you found us. And we'd love to hear more stories like that!

[sodascouts]

not so bizarre, sodascouts. Glenn played several instruments and was in the orchestra as well. He was quitting band to focus on guitar, which was not a popular instrument with Midwest band directors of the early 60's and certainly not one Mr. Parker considered a talented student to have a future with. He was also an important member and his spot needed to be filled. Dondero's marching band at that time was almost a professional endeavor, well known and played halftime annually at a Lions game, for which we practiced all season, starting in summer.

I understand - I didn't mean to sound dismissive. If I were Mr. Parker, I'd have done my level best to keep Glenn in the band and orchestra as well!

[Peekaboo]

Neat story, yrsago. Thanks for sharing it with us and welcome to The Border.

[yrsago]

I tried to post to this thread a couple hours ago. It was a long one. When I submitted it I went directly to the sign in page and lost the post. I was signed in. Waazup w/dat?

[sodascouts]

If you take a long time composing, the board signs you out automatically because it sees you as "idle." The next time it happens, hit "back" and you'll be able to retrieve your post by copying it and pasting it into a new post.

I'm so sorry you lost your long post - how frustrating!

[yrsago]

Thanks to all who have welcomed me with replies. I wish I had more experiences to relate, but it has been nearly 50 yrs and I don't think I would have recalled Glenn if it hadn't been for what I've described as striking me in a funny way that was relevant to my curiosity about my own future and the excitement of those beginnings. I did wonder how it might work out for him and if Mr. Parker was right, as he was talented enough for people to recognize it and the only kids I knew then that went their own way were those in difficult circumstances, which did not seem to fit him. Also, the older brother of a friend talked about Glenn's quitting the band as an opportunity to move up a "chair" in their section-though I don't recall the section (a grouping of instruments). I rediscovered all this years later when, somewhere along the line, I heard that Glenn Frey of the Eagles was from Royal Oak and realized that I knew "that guy". Realizing that was a minor epiphany for me as it closed a circle-connecting the child of that time with the person of many years later. It led me back to the 1st thoughts I remember about doing what feels right and believing in yourself, despite what others might think. I suspect that Glenn was in touch with those concepts from an early age, more so than most people. That his musical talent was nurtured from early childhood must have been a driving force, as he seemed to know what he wanted to do with it. I have read some of the biographical info out there and tried to connect memory with it. I am pretty sure that we went to the same Boy's Club, which was important to the boys in the neighborhood. The elementary school he went to was was one over from my neighborhood school. I have seen nothing that states that he also went to Clara Barton Jr. High School in Royal Oak in '60, '61. He was a pretty popular kid and surely went to the weekly evening dances we called "rec". For the record, Mr. Parker's given name was Joseph and he was a hard driving perfectionist. He died in April 2010 and I will insert a link to the funeral home page that has many comments about his life. My impression of Glenn was that he was ahead of the curve in many respects, particularly with music and I suspect that Mr. Parker had some impact on his musical development, as he did on that of many kids in Royal Oak schools, going way back. I'm thinking that you guys may get a kick out of this. Maybe with this information someone can discover more! I'll bet that if you could find a 1961 yearbook from Barton online, you'd get a picture of a 12 yr old Glenn. Same with a 1966 Dondero yearbook-they are out there. To MikeA: my parents jitterbugged and played pop albums, i. e. Sinatra, Martin, Como, as well as dixieland jazz and instrumentals-Al Hirt was very big back then. I think it depended on where you were brought up. My mother played 45's by Elvis and Buddy Holly. Right after the Beatles hit in '63, some kids were listening to the Stones, but it was the rare adult (or kid) who could appreciate that just then. The kids in Detroit were quick to adopt the music and dances from the coasts and Glenn would have been Twisting and doing the Mashedpotaoes and Madison for sure at the weekly rec's. To Allnighter: I guess you could say he was a good looking kid, but I don't know-I was lookin' at the girls! Here is the link for Mr. Parker: www.tributes.com/condolences/view_memories/88306521#1473165

[tequila girl]

Thanks for you memories Yrsago very enlightening! and Welcome from me too!
I'm afraid your link for Mr Parker doesn't work for me

[MikeA]

I hear what you are saying.

Oh, WELCOME to the forum!

I think it does matter "where you were raised up" as well as when. When I was a kid, the "popular" music was hymns sang by the local Baptist or Methodist church.

That changed when I got into my early teens. The kids started getting interested in music even if their parents didn't approve. The more promiscuous Moms and Dads bought their kids record players and indulged them with whatever kind of music the kid wanted to buy. Those were the really popular guys! It was either Rock or Country for most of the kids....especially rock after the Beatles and probably Ricky Nelson or Elvis Presley next. That was early Sixties. By the mid-sixties, MoTown had come along and there were a few other RnR bands showing up. For me though, it was either Folk or Blues. I wasn't one of the really popular kids.

[Ive always been a dreamer]

First of all, welcome to the board, yrsago. Glad you found us and hope you enjoy it here on The Border. Of course, we love your stories about young Glenn here. Your link to Mr. Parker's obituary wouldn't work for me either, so I copied it into a browser and it worked. I'm going to post the link again to see if it works ...

http://www.tributes.com/condolences/...306521#1473165

There are actually several pictures of young Glenn in the photo gallery on GlennFreyOnline. Here is the link to the pictures from his early years:

http://www.glennfreyonline.com/photos/earlyera.htm

I thought I'd post a couple of them here that are from some of his yearbooks. I think the first one here is from a yearbook that Soda has, but she'll have to tell you the year. The second one is from his senior yearbook that you mentioned (Royal Oaks High School '66). I bought this one off of ebay a few years back.