==> “Rest in peace, or at least in tune” from The Man Version <==

Click here for Dr. Walls’s obituary on the Alex City Outlook’s website.

Click here for an article about Dr. Walls on the website of WSFA Montgomery.

Click here for Dr. Walls’s Facebook page.

Click here for Kim Curley Walls’s Facebook page.

Please note that all of the articles in The Bridge–and more–are included here on the website.

Reunion was wonderful this year! I thoroughly enjoyed listening to each era’s band! It was an honor to sing for you as well. It is always a little intimidating to realize that I am performing for men and women who have much more experience than me. I consider myself blessed to be able to carry the great tradition of the Auburn Knights Orchestra into its eighty-first year!

I would like to thank you for your decision to grant me a scholarship this year. I cannot begin to express how much my family and I appreciate your generous gift. I will endeavor to excel academically and to represent the Auburn Knights Orchestra well this year. Thank you again, and I look forward to seeing you all at next year’s reunion.

From Eric Shaw…

Thank you for the generous scholarship presented to me at this year’s reunion. It is an honor both to receive the award and to play with the band. Your gifts undoubtedly will enhance my educational experience at Auburn University. Playing with the Auburn Knights has been nothing but rewarding and I look forward to continued involvement.

From Jimmy Johnson…

I would like to offer my sincerest thanks for awarding me the AKAA scholarship this year. Your financial support over the past 5 years (whoa!) has made my academic journey much easier than it may have otherwise been. I’m growing very close to the conclusion of my degree, so hopefully this will be the last time I will have to solicit your support.

As an aside, I had an absolute blast this year at reunion. It warms my heart every year to take part in the magic of Knights Reunion, and to see how much this organization means not only to myself and current members, but also to members from years past. I hate that I have to wait 11 months to do it all again. Maybe by the time I become an alumnus, the reunion will be held biannually!

Oh, and one last tidbit. Earlier in the summer I contacted the AKAA looking for a new saxophone. As of 2 weeks ago, I am the proud owner of a new P. Mauriat System 76 (2nd edition) alto sax. The horn plays like a dream, and even better than my Selmer Serie II. It’s like going from driving a Kia to a Cadillac, and I certainly recommend the horn to any sax players out there looking for an upgrade.

Thank you all again for everything!

Upcoming Dates
February 11, 2012 – Board Meeting at the Opelika Marriott
July 17-22, 2012 – 82nd Reunion

Bass Amps, Combined Bands and More
Thanks to the Board members and the general-membership meeting attendees on July 23, 2011, we now have new board members (see Peter Blaise letter) and new scholarship recipients (see thank-yous). Members made money available for new software to publish The Bridge, and identical bass amps will be supplied in both the Lounge and the Ballroom at future reunions. As is part of the normal cycle of many era bands, leaders of the 1900s and 2000s bands have decided to combine forces for the 2012 reunion.

Keep Us Swinging!
Your dues and scholarship gifts help our alumni group and the current band stay strong. Send dues ($20/yr.) to…

Wade Johnson, AKAA Treasurer
4868 Camp Grandview Rd.
Millbrook, AL 36054

Send scholarship gifts to…

AKAA Scholarship Fund
c/o Fritz Siler
3110 Deer Chase Ct. SW
Snellville, GA 30078.

The summer of 1937, with its exhilarating tour of the Great Lakes resorts on an MCA circuit alongside the likes of the bands of Count Basie and Sammy Kaye, is well known in AKO lore as a high water mark in the band’s pre-war history. Much lesser known, but notable in its own way, was the summer tour of the next year, 1938 . . .

That spring had brought major changes in personnel. The departures of Gerald Yelverton, Mike Ellis, Lamar White, Frank Barnard, and Charlie Bradley left a major gap in the reed section, with only Joe Mitchell returning. John Ivey, Charlie Higgins, and Jim Sims were gone from the brass section, and Hilding Holmberg had graduated from the rhythm section. Yelverton, Barnard, Holmberg, and Bradley all pursued musical careers, while the others went into various professional fields. The Knights, guided by a new musical director, pianist Robin Russell, regrouped by returning to a “small” lineup of three reeds, four brass, and a three-piece rhythm section.

Hilding Holmberg scouted around in his hometown of Huntsville and recommended a promising young clarinet player named Bobby Adair during the spring of 1938. Adair later recalled that his audition with the Knights consisted of attending a reed section rehearsal directed by Yelverton. “I had played in a couple of dance bands while I was in high school, but I was in awe of the Auburn Knights. Gerald Yelverton was a great stickler for musical detail, and the blend of the section was crucial,” remembered Adair. “Allan Cowart and I were both hired that year. Allan played a strong lead alto, I took some of Yelverton’s clarinet solos, and Joe Mitchell continued on the tenor book. We three played together for several years.”

Bob Hill, an outstanding improviser, joined Chick Hatcher and Ed Wadsworth in the trumpet section. Wadsworth also continued to play violin as well as trumpet. A little later in the year, Frank Speight turned the trombone playing duties over to a newcomer from the town of Enterprise, Jack Hutchinson. A champion weightlifter, Hutchinson frequently goaded his bandmates into group calisthenics as a way to stay in playing shape. In the rhythm section, the important role of drummer went to Gayle Riley and then Paul Maerz. Robin Russell directed rehearsals and, like Yelverton before him, served as extra-low key frontman. The band’s capable bassist, Curtis “Tobe” Griffith, continued to manage the bookings and handle logistics.

The summer started with plenty of promise. A new booking agent, O.R. Walls, lined up a series of engagements in North and South Carolina. The first leg went smoothly. The band played with success at various spots, including the University of South Carolina and Carolina Beach before striking out for a one-nighter in the mountain town of Morganton, NC. Bobby Adair later recalled that by that point the agent owed the band for two jobs, a total of about $350, and the Knights had begun to run out of any reserve funds they had. “When we returned to the bus after spending our last pocket money on lunch, ‘Tobe’ Griffith announced that the whole band had barely enough cash to get us back to Auburn, and he had decided to turn the bus around right then and there.

We knew we’d be in hot water for not showing up for the dance in Morganton, and even figured that the host might call the police to find us and force us to play. On the other hand, everyone knew we weren’t going to get any money that night, and with no place to stay and no sure prospects, why, nobody could see a good way out of the situation. Finally, Tobe just started the bus and lit out for home, driving as fast as he dared, on back roads with all of us hushed up and nervous and looking over our shoulders. We let out the damnedest cheer when we finally crossed into South Carolina, because it meant we’d escaped the law!

Sure enough, the guy had called the police after about 3 p.m. when we still weren’t there, hoping they would stop us and confiscate all our equipment. Then he sued to recover his loss. Of course, the agent was really at fault, and we wouldn’t have gotten paid even if we had played. Ed Wadsworth’s father, a lawyer, eventually settled the case with the dance host for all of $25.” Although ultimately nothing more than a close call, the “Morganton Balk” did serve to bring the Grand Tour of ‘38 to a screeching halt, and a still-wet-behind-the ears group of new Auburn Knights suddenly found themselves with two months worth of a long, hot summer to woodshed and build a schedule of paying gigs for the fall back on the Plains.

AKAA Board President Peter Blaise

Another year, another outstanding Auburn Knights reunion! How about the fantastic start to this year’s band lineup by the 40′s band? The radio show concept was stellar! My only regret was their selection of tunes ended all too soon.

As we’ve learned to expect every year, all the bands played great and, as usual, the current band superbly capped the weekend’s music with another terrific closing set. Like AU’s football Tigers, the current band is loosing several key players. So, while it may be a rebuilding year in some ways, I’m looking forward to hearing the band’s new musical chemistry.

Not to sound like a broken record but I’d like to shout out another resounding thank you to Charlie Higgins for all the work he does as our reunion coordinator! Without a doubt, his planning of our annual get together is a labor of love for Charlie. Nevertheless, it’s a labor for which I am incredibly appreciative. Let me add another shout out to our spouse volunteers Ann Phillips, Judy Bailey, Sally Byrd, Karen Blaise and Mary Siler as well as Nat Michelson and Wade Johnson for working the registration table. Nice job!

I’d also like to offer my heartfelt thank you to our departing board members and an equally heartfelt welcome to our five new board members, John Norton, Jack Dresher, Ralph Black, Woody Leonard, and Andy Duke. I am also glad to know that outgoing board member Paul McCracken will be remaining with the AKAA in his new role as co-historian with Charlie Kinzer.

Congratulations to this year’s scholarship recipients from the current band—first time recipient Eric Shaw, repeat recipient Charlie Ann Grimes and repeat recipient Jimmy Johnson, now on the downhill slide of his doctoral studies at Auburn. It’s a pretty rewarding feeling to help these incredibly talented Knights on their educational journey.

If you have any leads on possible AKO gigs, please drop a note to the current band’s business manager, Chris Rose, at rosechr@auburn.edu.

This year’s reunion had barely ended when I found myself quickly switching gears and winging my way to the west coast on a short business trip. As I changed time zones, I was still reveling in the great times enjoyed at this year’s get together. Even better, I was already anticipating the good times to be had next year when the Knights faithful once again make their annual pilgrimage to the Plains. It will be superb!

In closing, our February 2012 AKAA Board meeting is not too far around the corner. So, I encourage you to pass any thoughts or suggestions regarding the AKAA and/or our reunion to me or any other AKAA Officer or Board member (see p. 3).  We welcome your input.

Keep Swingin’,

Peter Blaise

Procat, the company that did the recordings of the 2011 reunion has posted YouTube videos of all of the bands, each playing a piece from their programs. Above is a YouTube playlist where you can see and hear them all.

Click here to go to the Procat website’s order form to purchase DVDs and CDs of the reunion concerts.