Let Me Tell You About The Triumphs

If you read last week’s blog, “I Saw Old People!,” you know we attended a Lamar Consolidated High School All 60s Class Reunion and had the pleasure of listening to the music of The Triumphs and a special appearance by BJ Thomas, who used to sing with the band back in the early days. If you are about my age and  from my part of the world, the Texas Gulf Coast, you know who I am talking about. If not, read on to learn about the quintessential circuit band of that era.

1960-Tim Griffith, Denny Zatyka, BJ Thomas, Teddy Mensik, Don Drachenberg, Tom Griffith.

2009-left to right, front row-Tim Griffith, Gary Koeppen, Don Drachenberg, Tom Griffith; middle row-Jim Criswell, Steve Wendtland, Walt Wendtland; back row- Ron Petersen, Doug Griffith. This is the band as we know them today.

In the summer of 1959 the Griffith brothers’ dad came home with an electric guitar and amplifier a man had offered him as collateral on a loan. The man never returned to reclaim the guitar, so Mr. Griffith gave it to Tim, who started messing around with it, learning to play. One thing led to another and before long friends Denver Zatyka and Teddy Mensik joined in, and they decided to start a band.

By December of 1959, the band added members Don Drachenberg and BJ Thomas, and  now had a name, The Triumphs, thanks to Denny and Teddy, inspired by the car of that name and the fact that car names for groups were popular back then. Their first public performance was in January of 1960 at the Teen Canteen in Richmond, and they actually got paid for their next performance in February at a CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) dance, a whopping $5 apiece!

Don Drachenberg shared with me that Denny Zatyka’s dad, Felix, who  owned the Lone Star beer distributorship in Rosenberg, was always very generous with the boys, allowing them to practice in the warehouse, which worked out really well. They had a clean concrete floor to set up the equipment, plenty of electrical outlets, fans, and plenty of room to make as much noise as they needed without bothering neighbors like they would have in someone’s garage. Having the beer franchise made Mr. Zatyka a very comfortable living, which meant he had money to spend on the boys when they needed something in the early days, like a station wagon to drive to their gigs, gas money, and other incidentals along the way. As BJ fondly joked at the concert, having a beer warehouse in Fort Bend County was like having a license to print money, and Mr. Zatyka was happy to share with the band when they needed something.

By 1962 Tom Griffith and Gary Koeppen had joined the band, and they were making a name for themselves playing for dances in places like Riverside Hall in East Bernard, Pecan Grove in Wharton, Swiss Alp Dance Hall between La Grange and  Schulenburg. They had recorded some songs that did well in the Houston area, I Know It’s Wrong,  Lazy Man, and I’ve Got A Feeling, the last two making it to the top 10 of Houston’s top 40 list. In 1964 Fred Carney joined the band to play keyboards, and in 1965 they recorded an area favorite, Garner State Park, written by friend Mark Sharon specifically for them, reaching number.1 in Houston and number 5 in the national charts.

The band’s success with these songs and the popularity of I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, which was a national number 1 hit in 1966, was the catalyst that convinced BJ to leave the band in March of 1966 and go solo, eventually earning  five Grammies and building a solid fan base.

1967-Tim Griffith, Ron Petersen, Don Drachenberg, Fred Carney, Tom Griffith, Gary Koeppen, Teddy Mensik.

After BJ left, there were other changes in the band. Denny Zatyka left to honor his father’s wishes that he continue the family business. Ron Petersen joined in 1967 followed by the youngest Griffith brother, Doug, in the mid-70s. Fred Carney, Sam Boswell, Steve Haygood,  Albert Gonzales, Bill Pace, Jon Perry, Mike Taylor took their turns with the band for a while as well.

1976-Tim Griffith, Steve Haygood, Tom Griffith, Bill Pace, Don Drachenberg, Doug Griffith, Albert Gonzales.

1978- Tim Griffith, Jon Perry, Don Drachenberg, Doug Griffith, Tom Griffith, Sam Boswell, Mike Taylor.

By 1980 the band had enjoyed 20 years of success working the Gulf Coast circuit and covering the hits of their musical influences like Chuck Berry, Bobby Bland, Jimmy Reed, Bo Diddley, Wilson PIckett, and others from that era.  But they had also watched the world embrace disco, they missed spending time with their families, and they were tired working weekends and holidays. It just seemed like time to pack it in. So they did.

But, as Don said, once a musician, always a musician, and by 1992 the principal players were ready to give it another go, with the addition of  brothers Steve and Walt Wendtland, and Jim Criswell, but losing original drummer Teddy Mensik who was ready for a break. This time they played to their strength, good solid rock and roll, 60s hits from their heyday, popular 50s and 70s classic songs, and an occasional hit from the 80s.

Walt and Steve Wendtland both graduated from Lamar, and it just so happens that their dad, Dr. Walt Wendtland, was the band director at Lamar for many years and was my band director. I can’t help but believe that he was pleased that his sons went on to make music, and I think it is neat that they both chose to be a part of the Triumphs’ legacy.

Fans still follow the Triumphs and pack the house. The Summer Reunion Tour of 1992 became the start of a revival for the band, and now they enjoy an average of 18 bookings a year. Expanding from the original five members to nine over the years (most of them still having ties with Lamar) and adding instruments has given the band the versatility to expand their playlist, including big band hits such as In The Mood, which they do quite well and is fun for them and the fans. Many fans have a long history following the band and the band enjoys seeing those familiar faces over the years and talking to people who still enjoy the music.

While the Triumphs were enjoying their own brand of fame, BJ, meanwhile, was making a name for himself as well. After I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry came hits such as Eyes of a New York Woman, Hooked on a Feeling, Rock and Roll Lullaby, and I Just Can”t Help Believing. He has enjoyed success not only in rock and roll and pop, but also on the country charts as well as some Christian music. He earned his fourth gold record for Hey Won’t You Play Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song, which holds the distinction of being the longest titled number 1 hit on the Hot 100, just so you know for your next trivia game. That song happens to be one of my personal favorites and was a real crowd-pleaser at the Lamar reunion when he invited the crowd to sing along, and boy, did we!

Don and BJ at the Fort Bend Country Fair in 2008.

BJ at the Lamar All 60s reunion August 11, 2012.

The Triumphs and BJ have teamed up more than once since the old days and plans are afoot to do it more in the future. Even though he left the band, they are all still friends. When that all happened people wondered why the Triumphs didn’t go with him. To some it looked sort of like the high school quarterback who gets recruited while the line who defended him gets to stay home and take regular jobs.  According to Don, they were all happy for his success and were equally happy to stay right where they were, doing their own thing. I suggest that their relationship was a two-way street, each helping the other find their place in the musical world. And we, the fans, benefit on both sides.

Being a circuit band was what has made it fun for the Triumphs all these years. Don said they tried, very briefly, their hand at the club scene, a situation where a club hires a different band to play each night of the week on a regular basis. They didn’t like the smoky stale smell of the bars, the drunks, the attitude in general. That lasted about three weeks, and they gave it up. Playing favorite dance halls, county fairs, reunions, weddings, birthdays, and  festivals was much more fun and personable for the guys, and actually made them more money than the club scene. But the money was not the issue; it was enjoying the music and the people that kept them in the game.

So if you need a band for a special event or want to enjoy some great music that is good for listening or dancing, google the Original Triumphs, check out their upcoming performances,  and knock yourself out!

 

Thank you to Doug Griffith and Ron Petersen for helping with this article. 

A very special thanks to Don Drachenberg, who was so generous with his time to answer my phone calls, emails, and to share pictures with me.

 

I Saw Old People!

That’s what class reunions are all about, right? What, you were expecting people to be walking around in some mystical reincarnation of their senior year portrait? Maybe at a five-year reunion, but not at an all 60’s reunion, like I attended last Saturday. This reunion marks the fifth time former students of Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Texas, have pooled their resources and hard work and pulled off a combined reunion for the classes of 1960 through 69, although I see on the program that the classes of ‘59 and ‘70 managed to tack themselves on to this get-together as well. The main attraction this year was the reappearance of BJ Thomas with the Triumphs, and that may have prompted these two bookend classes to tag along. For my class, the class of 1964, this marked our 48th year of life after high school.

BJ Thomas and the Triumphs were a huge drawing card in the Rosenberg area during the 60s, playing at dances held at Knights of Columbus halls and such on many a Saturday night, and I can remember going to these dances. BJ was the singer for the band, and  If you are as old as I am, you might know who BJ Thomas is and that he went on to fame and fortune with his hit song “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. If this means nothing to you, go ask your mother, smarty pants.

But I digress. More about BJ and the Triumphs next week. The topic this week is the reunion.

And I had a great time. Some people, for reasons known only to them, never go to their class reunions. Others, like me, seem to always show up for the party and enjoy seeing old friends and seeing how everyone turned out. I suspect we all see people we didn’t know well or run around with in high school who seem like really nice people now, and we wonder why we didn’t hang around with them at the time. Amazing what a little maturity does for a person’s perspective.

Time is also the great equalizer. Often the ugly ducklings grow up to be the best looking, the shy ones become the extroverts, the quiet people wind up with really cool jobs, and the most beautiful/handsome lose their looks or their hair. And there are those who turned out pretty much the way you expected them to. But aside from seeing who everyone grew up to be, it is mostly just fun to visit and share stories and relive memories. Or just talk.

Danny Slavinski grew up to be a CPA. I never knew he liked numbers that much. He and his wife Sharon (Klasel), who grew up to be a teacher and is also class of ‘64, make all the reunions, so we see each other from time time. He asked me this time, '”Are you still at Cut and Shoot?” Cut and Shoot? Really? Even though geographically Muleshoe and Cut and Shoot are miles and miles apart, in totally different areas of the state, Muleshoe being West Texas, and Cut and Shoot being East Texas, about forty miles north of Houston, they are both small towns with sort of unusual Western names, so I said, “Well, no, I’m still in Muleshoe, but thematically, I guess they are kind of close…” to which Sharon laughed and said,  “Thematically? Does that sound like a teacher or what?”

Janis Reimer Manuel and I spent lots of time together as younger kids and then  played volleyball together all through junior high and high school. I credit her with helping me come up with butchered English phrases that to this day I have to think about before speaking; otherwise short and fat becomes fart and shat; clever and witty turns into clevey and witter. This penchant for misplaced syllables carried over to my teaching career when twins Amber and Wendy Green finally gave up and learned to answer to my new names for them-Andy and Wember.

Eugene Reichle is one who got one of the cool jobs-airline pilot for Continental. But no one would know him by Eugene; we always called him Bookie. And as I write this, I realize I have no clue as to why we called him Bookie. So that should be our first conversation at our 50th reunion coming up in 2014.

Then there is Lonnie Zwernemann, the quiet kid turned wild child who has recently moved back to Texas from Alaska where he worked for many years on pipeline construction, I believe, and even if I do have the job wrong, it is cool to say you worked and lived in Alaska for a while. His dress code was considerably different to the rest of the crowd, what with his sleeveless Harley t-shirt, shorts, head gear, tennis shoes, and flamboyant  display of tattoos. I think he enjoyed himself all night.

It was great to see Sue Ginsberg Perlo and Carol Sue Koenig Hausler. When Sue would come to my house Daddy would always make her smile when he would say, “Sue Who?’ just because he liked the rhyme. Carol and I like to say we have known each other from the womb because our mothers were friends before we were born, and we grew up as part of each other’s family. When I would spend the night with her we would shut the doors to the living room, turn the air conditioner down to freezing and curl up in a comforter on a pallet on the floor under the piano and giggle all night.

Diane Hundl Smith has been all over the world with her husband as he moved with his job. Lee Briscoe went to work for NASA when he graduated from Texas A&M and went on to be the voice of Mission Control for many of the manned flights. How great is that to travel that much, and not many people get to say they talked to the astronauts.

Kathleen Hopmann McMahon was my back door neighbor. We made many a mud pie with gravel frosting and built lean-tos in the corner of the chain link fence with bamboo shoots where we shared many secrets. Kathleen is the class of ‘66, but she brought back memories of home that I just wanted to include.

Lloyd Hartmann was even there, the first reunion he has attended in a long time. From first grade all through grade school I had a mad crush on Lloyd, so naturally I was just thrilled when in first or second grade we had the heady experience of walking from school to the Cole Theater to see Disney’s Living Desert, and I got to walk with Lloyd, which mean we got to hold hands, as the teachers thought they could keep up with us better if we walked in twos. By junior high I was over him, but we were always friends. Lloyd became a dentist.

LInda Owens Carroll and Danny Gerken are our hard-working classmates who have seen to it that we have even had reunions all these years. I know I appreciate all their time and trouble and I hope by the time the reunion takes place, they are able to relax and just enjoy it.

Every year the list of those who have passed on grows longer. I counted 186 names on our graduation program (yes, I still have one; it's in the scrapbook) and 28 on the memorial list. So that means that 158 of us are still around, even though they don’t all make the reunions.

Lupe Rodriguez is one that we lost early to cancer. I can remember her entrance to one of the early reunions. She was an attractive, slender girl, and when she walked in, all eyes turned to her in her slinky long red dress and pretty flowing hair. She was a detective with the Houston Police Department, which I thought was pretty neat. I mean, really, how many of us actually know a police detective? To me it was like rubbing shoulders with a rock star.

And speaking of rock stars, the band and BJ were a big hit. After the registration, visiting, and picture-taking, after the catered meal and more visiting, the Triumphs played songs that put us all back in Riverside Hall in East Bernard or Pecan Grove in Wharton or just back to our teenage years. And then BJ came out and did his hits. The dancing seemed to stop at that point as all eyes and cameras were on him. Afterward, he and the band patiently and graciously signed autographs. Many in the crowd had brought their ancient LP albums to be signed and others grabbed whatever was handy. Tom Griffith was nice enough to share one of the playlists they use on stage, so I had BJ sign that.

Since the All 60s reunions involve a lot of people and have the Triumphs, they usually make money after expenses. This year was no exception. Total attendance this year was 930 former students and spouses.  The reunion committee chose to donate $1000 to the Lamar band for their big out-of-state trip coming up in the fall, which is a nice way for us to give back to our alma mater.

I see that this piece is running a bit long, so if your picture is missing from the story, and I am sorry if yours is not included, then I guess you will just have to make it a point to come to our 50th reunion in 2014 and find your picture in my scrapbook that Linda and Sharon Vallet Wollingford are checking out. I finally dug out the Sakowitz box that I had carried school pictures around in for all these years and decided that they and all the reunion pictures I had collected weren’t of much use the way they were, so it all went into a Lamar scrapbook.

So in two years drag out the old walker, put in your false teeth, change the batteries in your hearing aids, clean off the bifocals,  and come join us to relive those thrilling days of yesteryear. It really will be fun.

 

Thank you to Danny Gerken and Linda Carroll for their continued work in planning and executing these reunions, and a special thanks to Linda for helping me with details and information for this article.

Thanks to Don Drachenberg for the group pictures of the Triumphs and to Tom Griffith for sharing the playlist with me.