THE NEW CENTURY SINGERS
A VISUAL HISTORY
THE EARLY DAYS: SPRING 1964
'64–'65 YEAR: SLIDES
Sept 15, 1964
Sept 15, 1964
May 1965
Sept 15, 1964
'65–'66 YEAR: SLIDES
Sept 15, 1965
Sept 25, 1965
June 1966
Sept 15, 1965
BALCONY DEDICATION
NCS MEMORIES
From Steve
In 1967 I met Joey Welz, an old rock and roll performer, at the Baltimore studio where I recorded before Juniata and before Ray Vernon. He once played piano for Bill Haley and the Comets. I think Joey gave me a copy of his version of “Our Summer Love” at that time. I assumed he had recorded completely new versions of the song. But later, upon listening, it blew my mind when I realized what he’d done! He literally just SANG OVER OUR RECORD!!! And it’s on YouTube Music!
First Oneida performance included: "Crooked Little Man," Freedom's Star," "We Shall Overcome," and “Sinner Man."
Evidently, when we recorded the album, "Pogo" was not with us.
Soon after, Bru and I drove him and "Chauncy" back to Accokeek to
record the bass on a 2nd track. The crazy guy was DANCING while
he recorded! (Didn't flub a note.)
Our first performance in Oneida included “Crooked Little Man,” “Freedom’s Star,” “We Shall Overcome,” and “Sinner Man.”
In August of 1965 we were given permission to return to the campus a week early. Ted and Ruth Reinhart, owners of nearby Edgewater Acres Resort, were nationally known western music entertainers and were very generous supporters of our group. They wanted us to entertain at Edgewater Acres for a special yearly guest, New York City Traffic Commissioner Hank Barnes. The Reinharts thought he probably had some “connections” that could help us.
So, after rehearsing that week, Ted recorded a demo tape to give to Mr. Barnes. And we did a performance for him. It went well. Sometime later, according to Ted, Mr. Barnes took our demo tape to CBS Radio in NYC. As the tape was playing, it was overheard by Johnny Carson’s brother, Bob,
who inquired about the group. Being told it was a college group, he suggested it would be easy to get the group on the show, possibly in the fall of 1966. Unfortunately, the NCS disbanded in May, 1966 when Steve graduated. But we were left with this additional recognition of what we had accomplished
In early 1965, “Ivan” came in third in “Record Races” on WEEM Radio in DC after The Four Seasons and Leslie Gore.
Our two-hour concert earned us $350.00. In our second year, we took in about $3,000.00. We gave the college $1875.00 worth of entertainment. In
1966, the New Century Singers pressed and sold circa 1,000 albums.
At our second appearance at Lycoming College, we opened for comedian Dick Gregory.
Driving back to college one night, past Tyrone (home of a paper mill), from the back seat came the quiet, seldom-heard voice of Pogo saying, “In the beginning, God farted on Tyrone.”
Numbers not included (for various reasons) in the final concert CD:
“We’re Young All Over Again,” Softly, As I Leave You,” “California Dreamin’,” “Born Free,” and “Chivalry Is Dead.”
I wrote “What Did She Wear?” after going over to watch the Homecoming Dance. I also wrote “It’s A Wild, Wild World” the same night.
From John Russell
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My time with NCS was very special. Both the camaraderie and the music were first rate. One of my favorites was “First of July.” I used to go to a lot of meetings in DC and then go to my parents’ farm on the weekend. I drove US 15 and would think of that song every time I passed Gettysburg, and I still think of it every 4th of July. An unappreciated benefit at the time was that those road trips helped teach me time management. I got a C from Dr. Rockwell’s intro course, so I can remember taking the chordates book with me and studying early in the morning!
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From Suzanne Judy Wright (as told to Steve Engle)
After JC graduation, Jess started at Jefferson Med, and Sue wanted to start grad work at Temple. She felt her interview did not go well. I don’t know just where the interview took place, but that evening we were performing somewhere nearby. The interviewer was there! Sue went back for a second meeting, and the interviewer said something to the effect that “Well, if you can do that, I think you are a candidate for us. You’re in!”
