I want to thank Dave Lambert, Sheryl Gary Lambert and the folks at Dulles High School who uncovered these gems. They are two acetate recordings of the Sugar Land High School Band performing in 1957. I'm not sure if these are contest recordings, but I think they probably are. I haven't identified the songs, the date of the performance or the location.
Naturally, the are scratchy, but the quality of their playing comes through.
I sent a note to Jackie James ('57), asking if she had a program or any memorabilia to contribute. She told me she dropped out of band her senior year to concentrate on her grades. She had this funny story about her days in the band.
Actually, I was not in the band my senior year which was '57. I started high school band in 7th grade on clarinet, played it thru my sophomore year, and then changed to bassoon my junior year because orthodontist didn't want me playing clarinet after braces were removed. I decided to leave the band and concentrate completely on my studies my senior year as I really wanted to get in a good school. And that I did as I was accepted at Trinity University which is still one of Texas' highest regarded schools academically.Have to tell you one funny story about playing the bassoon in a marching band! Mr. Gary did this only to keep me in the band as I started to quit after I couldn't play clarinet anymore. He told me, "You can't quit the band as you are the only real musician I have besides H.G. (Bossley)"! I didn't believe that then and I still don't but I guess he liked me as much as I liked him.
So, we used to practice for parades marching up and down Lakeview Dr. The first time I and my bassoon hit the street (elementary school kids were already out playing in their yards) I had a following!!! They all started walking beside me (I was on the outside near the sidewalk) and before long there were probably 12 or 15 kids! They had never seen a bassoon before and couldn't believe what they were seeing! Mr. Gary started calling me " The Pied Piper"!
