Wednesday, October 18, 2006
April 1962 - The New SOC HOP
In April of 1962 the SOC HOP moved. We hated to leave the old barn, but progress wouldn't let us stay, so to Lenexa we went. The old Silver Spur Country Club had sat empty for years and was just ready to be the new home of Johnson County's greatest Rock & Roll dance hall. It definately didn't have the mystique of the old barn, but it worked good while it lasted.
There were three distinct groups of SOC HOPpers; those who went to the barn only and then moved away, those who were to young to go to the barn, but got old enough and went to new place, and those who were die hard rockers and went to both places, (like Joe & Judy Sherrick). At the old barn, you paid and got your hand stamped when you went through the front door. At the New SOC HOP, you paid when you came through the front gate, and then could go in and out of the dance hall freely. We rotated the gateshack duties between family members, usually an hour on, then an hour off. I sat at that gateshack many nights. I remember one night in particular that we had over twenty three hundred, yes, 2300, attendees over the course of the night. Of course, they were not all there at the same time, but what a night it was. KUDL Radio was simulcasting the music of Roger Calkins and The Fabulous Silver Tones who were playing there that night. I remember sitting in the gate shack listening to both the radio and the sound eminating from inside the building and thinking, "Wow, I've got live stereo here!" You know what they say about hindsight....Man, if I had only known then what I know now, I would have done a much better job at recording the Fabulous sounds of one of the great bands of those wonderful, wonderful times.
If you have a favorite SOC HOP memory (that you can share) please post a comment in the area below. And keep on rockin'
There were three distinct groups of SOC HOPpers; those who went to the barn only and then moved away, those who were to young to go to the barn, but got old enough and went to new place, and those who were die hard rockers and went to both places, (like Joe & Judy Sherrick). At the old barn, you paid and got your hand stamped when you went through the front door. At the New SOC HOP, you paid when you came through the front gate, and then could go in and out of the dance hall freely. We rotated the gateshack duties between family members, usually an hour on, then an hour off. I sat at that gateshack many nights. I remember one night in particular that we had over twenty three hundred, yes, 2300, attendees over the course of the night. Of course, they were not all there at the same time, but what a night it was. KUDL Radio was simulcasting the music of Roger Calkins and The Fabulous Silver Tones who were playing there that night. I remember sitting in the gate shack listening to both the radio and the sound eminating from inside the building and thinking, "Wow, I've got live stereo here!" You know what they say about hindsight....Man, if I had only known then what I know now, I would have done a much better job at recording the Fabulous sounds of one of the great bands of those wonderful, wonderful times.If you have a favorite SOC HOP memory (that you can share) please post a comment in the area below. And keep on rockin'
