EVENT: Five Americans to headline SOSU gala
DATE: Saturday, March 15
The Five Americans are coming home. The popular rock n' roll band that hit the national charts in the late 1960s with such memorable songs as "Western Union'' and "Sound of Love,'' will provide the entertainment at Southeastern Oklahoma State University's Arts Gala. The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 15 in the Visual and Performing Arts Center at SOSU.
The group first formed as "The Mutineers'' while students at Southeastern in the mid-1960s. All five members - John Durrill, Norman Ezell, Jim Grant, Mike Rabon, and Jimmy Wright - will be returning for the concert. After four hit singles and extensive touring, the group disbanded in 1969.
This concert will mark the beginning of a comeback of sorts for the Five Americans. It will be the first public concert for the group since a 1988 reunion concert at the Hard Rock Café in Dallas. And it will be the first formal appearance by the band at Southeastern since April 20, 1966, when they performed for a sold-out audience at Montgomery Auditorium.
The Five Americans were honored with a special recognition award during SOSU homecoming activities in 2000. At that time, they played an impromptu jam session at the "Gold and Blue and Black Tie Too'' alumni association fundraiser.
"I am very pleased that we were able to get a group like the Five Americans that has such a heritage and tradition with Southeastern,'' said Dr. C.W. Mangrum, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. "It will be a great opportunity for everyone to renew old friendships and acquaintances.''
In recent months, the Five Americans have been active, returning to a Tyler (Texas) studio to re-record such songs as "Western Union,'' "Zip Code'' and "I See The Light.'' Plans for a CD of old and new songs are in the works. "Western Union, '' which was a top five hit nationally in 1967, was featured in the 2001 Tom Cruise movie, "Vanilla Sky.''
"That movie kind of got me thinking (about a comeback),'' Durrill ('63) said in an interview from his residence in Westlake Village, Calif. "There's been a renaissance of oldies groups, and, of course our name is patriotic. Mike (Rabon) and I had been talking a long time about re-recording our old hits. In the studio (last July), we just knocked them out. It'd been 30 years (since they had recorded), but it all came back - the chemistry was still there. Everybody just seemed to have this energy of wanting to get back together this year.''
Added Durrill, "We have a warm spot in our hearts for the university and we look forward to returning.''
Rabon ('80, '86), who resides and teaches in Hugo, echoed those thoughts: "I know we're all really looking forward to coming back, and I think it will be an evening of fun and memories for everybody. I truly do love Southeastern Oklahoma State University.''
Tickets for the dinner/concert are $100 per person, with proceeds going toward scholarships for students in the arts and humanities. Sponsors can purchase a table for eight at a cost of $1,500. This is the seventh annual Arts Gala, with previous performers including the Four Freshmen, Dallas Brass, the Platters, Witty World of Will Rogers and the Oklahoma Balladeer, and the Guy Lombardo Orchestra.
For more information about the gala, contact the Arts & Sciences office at (580) 745-2634.