Talking About . . . My Generation   by Jeff Reid

To say that Wilmington’s pop music scene in the ‘60s was a small one would be an understatement.  New Hanover High School – the only white high school in the county – was consequently a melting pot of students from all social and cultural backgrounds.  Not only were these teenagers dealing with raging hormones, their lives were being influenced by an unprecedented musical revolution.  The musical explosion of the ‘60s significantly impacted our culture, fashion, and lifestyle.  Kids embraced Beatlemania and the associated changes in Wilmington, as they did throughout the world - with a passion – reading teen magazines, changing their hair style and clothing, listening to their transistor radios for the newest hit, and buying the current Top 40 records.

Over the next few months, the Beat will bring to the attention of this generation - the local bands, their music, the venues, and the radio stations of my generation.  Most of the players are still with us, and though we miss those that are not, it is each of them to whom this series is dedicated.  The intention is not to live in the past or to discount the efforts of so many in the present day local musical community.  Instead, it is to highlight the importance of the people, places, and things that made up Wilmington’s music scene in the not-to-distant past.  In this way, we all may recognize – as if we didn’t before - our region’s rich musical history.

The Soul Six

The Generation

This band featured the Miller brothers (Bobby on bass and Eddie on vocals) from Carolina Beach, along with Chuck Shipton on keys, Randy Luther on drums, and Robert Bordeaux on guitars.  What is amazing about The Soul Six and The Generation is that these guys were all in high school, except for Luther, who according to Eddie was “a little bit older”.  This band was guitar/keyboard driven with a repertoire of Beatles, Stones, and Doors, etc.  Starting up in the fall of ‘66, the band played dances, parties, and the like until they signed with Bowmar Productions and started to travel.  During the summer of 1967, they toured with Strawberry Alarm Clock (“Incense and Peppermint”) and future Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King in Florida where they found another band with the same name.  They returned home after the tour, changed their name to the 5^th Generation, and eventually replaced Luther and Bordeaux with Mickey Watson on drums and Stacy Jackson on guitar(see photo page 20).  The band broke up late ‘68, early ‘69.  They recorded several songs at Dr. Johnson studio in Forrest Hills - “Hold On” and “Lonely Sea”, of which many 45’s still exist today.

Jamie

Sometime in early 1969, Eddie Miller remembers Stacy Jackson telling him about the Wagon Wheel, a bar at Carolina Beach in need of a band for the weekends.  So they recruited ex- 5^th Generation drummer and CB resident Mickey Watson, and a bass player named Bobby Stover and became Jamie.  The material was the harder rock of the day – The Who, Led Zeppelin, and Grand Funk Railroad.  Soon they became one of the premier bands in the area and began traveling from Washington, DC to all points south.  “Back then, you had to travel if you wanted to make any money,” recalls Miller.  “Wilmington could not support bands very well.”  The band lasted for about a year and half until it disbanded in the late 1970’s.  Miller and Jackson reformed the group in 1973 or so and lived and worked for several years in Florida.  They still perform locally today.