Baby the Bulldog's 50's Page

Papa was lucky to have an older brother who allowed his kid brother to tag along with him and his older friends. Because of this great guy, Papa got to be right in the action of the 1950's and ride in cars like this one!

Another thing Papa got to do was to play drums in a rock 'n roll band back when rock was really rock! Here's a photo of the Velveteens, taken in 1959 when Papa was 14 years old. Others in the group were Papa's older brother, Mike (left), Skip Upton (right) and Willy Redden (front). Papa cut his teeth on Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis music.

Papa's mama made him take piano lessons from the time he could crawl up onto the piano bench, but the first instrument he really took interest in was the guitar. Here's an image of him at age 13, with a Fender Statocaster . Papa regrets ever selling that guitar! He also regrets not learning how to play the piano, better. How wise our parents become, as we grow older.

But then, a quirk of fate changed Papa's musical career. His older brother's band got word that their drummer had left town and joined the Army. The band was in trouble, because they had to play a gig only two weeks later (rock musicians were rare in the late 50's). But the drummer left his drums at the folk's house, so Papa gave it a try. It was frustrating and painful at first, but two weeks later, and about eight hours of practice every day, Papa played the gig! Papa is a "third-generation Jerry (Ivan) Allison." That is, Jerry (Buddy Holly's drummer) taught Ernie Hall how to play all of his hot licks, which were passed on to Papa from Ernie. Thanks, Ernie! Here's an image of Papa that was taken when he was 19 years old, and he was hot when he grabbed some sticks and mounted his "tractor!"

Here's a photo of Buddy's band, the Crickets. From left to right: Nicky Sullivan (guitar and the "forgotten Cricket"), Joe B. Mauldin (bass), Buddy Holly and Jerry Ivan Allison. Papa got to meet and socialize with all of these guys, except for Buddy Holly, who was killed in a plane crash in Iowa. Papa even got to meet the real Peggy Sue (Ivan's lovely wife)!

© by Rita Box Peek and used with her permission.
This was David Box, one of the best singers I ever met. He came to the folk's home one evening and jammed with us, and he blew me away. David was on his way to great recording fame with RCA Victor, but he was killed in a plane crash prior to making his first recording with them. David died in October, 1964. He was only 21 years old when he died. We still miss you, David.

In 1965, Papa's band cut their first record. It was very exciting for a bunch of youngsters, especially when we discovered that the record jacket had our photograph on it! That was "really downtown" for a bunch of Lubbock boys. From left to right is David Wright (bass), Tim Atcheson (rhythm and lead singer), Papa (drums) and Mike Atcheson (lead guitar). <<To hear the first record we cut, click on the Record below to Download the MP3 file>>

In 1966, Papa's band changed its name to The Traveling Salesman, after they had a record released by a major recording company, RCA Victor. The band also had contract offers from Mercury, Dot and Kama Sutra records. Here's what the record looked like:
<< Click on the Record to Download the MP3 file>>

And this is what the band looked like. From left to right is Papa (bass), Rick Carnrick (drums), Tim Atcheson (lead singer and rhythm guitar), John Scarbrough (keyboard) and Mike Atcheson (lead guitar).

Here's an Album that was released in 2005 by Koos Terwisscha van Scheltinga of Hip Shake Records in the Netherlands. We were one of 17 groups featured on the album. One of the big thrills was seeing the photograph of our band on the album cover. It is also gratifying to know that one of our songs is still a part of Rock and Roll History.

Kids were "cool" back then. A lot of people wore sunglasses and drove big heavy tanks, but gas was cheap, so no one cared. Everyone could chip in a quarter, and that was good for an afternoon drive about town. Here's Papa "Satch" with his younger brother Tim "T. J." (left) and great friend, Wally "Wal-bear" Davidson. That's Tim's MG and the folk's Cadillacs in the background.

The following are current images of famous bands and singing stars, taken by friends.

And my favorite DJ, Thayrone of the Bone Conduction Radio Show on Coolarity Radio.

Any kid living in the 50's will remember Walt Disney's Mouseketeers. We're honored to have one of these stars as a Baby fan. Her name is Sherry Alberoni, and she was kind enough to send us an autographed photograph!

The Korean War was fought during the 50's. This is what I would have liked to have flown, had I served in that war--an F-86F Saber Jet:

And there was the worry and probable threat of a nuclear war with the U.S.S.R

I want to express my deep appreciation for Kent Grubb's help in producing this page. The man is a genius! Please return to this page, again. We will continue to add to this page, so be a cool cat, and boogie on back, again.

This page is dedicated to T.J. (Jim) McFarland, a very dear friend and old rock 'n roll pal musician from the 60's.

Here are some old Rock n' Roll images out of the Lubbock, Texas are a taken in the 50's, 60's and 70's
Nite Owls	Velveteens	Jamming in Juarez
Dan at Practice Session	Wally at Hayloft Theater	Atcheson Brothers
At Village Swinger
The Palm Room	Dan With Blakley's

	Click on the cars to view larger images!