16th Avenue

A lot of lives were changed
down on that little one-way street

I enjoyed being able to sit down at the reunion, this time. But just when I got comfortable, I heard the M.C. introduce Bergen White. Bergen White is, arguably, the most illustrious member of our class, bar none. His accomplishments are huge. I admire him greatly.

So, when I heard his name mentioned and saw him walk forth into the light, I began the process of rising from my chair, anticipating the inevitable ovation. About midway into my rise, I became aware that there wasn't any ovation. Just average crowd noise. It's not easy for an old man to change direction when he's into his rise, but I managed to sit back down before anybody noticed.

But I tell you what: that was pitiful. We should have given that man the ovation he was due. Why? Because he went down to the other end of 16th Avenue and got his life changed.

There were others, too, that we knew: Buzz Cason (remember the "Casuals"?) and Bobby Russell. Even Vance Bulla got his face on a record album.

Bobby was probably the best known. In the fall of 1958, word started going around that he and some others were getting a record deal. I didn't believe it, but I checked it out and there it was:

I bought the record. It was pretty good. But after that, I didn't hear anything more about him. I guess, like everybody else in that part of town, he wanted to write songs. There's thirteen-hundred and fifty-two guitar pickers in Nashville, but there's about a zillion song writers. Even John Robins and I went down there one day with a tape. But Bobby really did it. He earned everybody's respect.

He was a member of the Felsted Class of 1958. The other artists recorded by Felsted that year were:

Steve Schulte
Jiv-A-Tones
Andy Anderson
Mickey Michaels
David Orrell
LaVerne Stovall
Harley Botts

Bobby was the Valedictorian of that class. Flat out.

. . . .

Then one night in some empty room
Where no curtains ever hung,
like a miracle, some golden words rolled
Off of someone's tongue...