My family moved to Plainview, TX when I was a sophomore in high school. I attended Plainview High School and played French Horn in the high school band. Music was my passion and I was very serious about my French Horn playing. I had played in numerous state-wide music contests and won gold medals and first prizes. I had been asked at age 14 to go to New York and train to be in the New York Philharmonic, but my father had refused, saying I was to young to leave home.

The band director at Plainview High (Chief Davidson) was a very bigoted man. He would not have me coming into his band and taking the first chair out from under his star French Horn player whom he was grooming for All-State Band. He would not give me the type of horn that I played or music in the key I was used to reading. Therefore, I had to play a horn in a different key and transpose the music as I played. I was in the process of quitting the band and dusting off my viola so I could transfer out of band and find myself a spot in the school orchestra.

So, I was making the adjustment to being in a new school and playing in a new band. I was approached by Charles J. Edmiston on behalf of Keith McCormack and his band, the Rock 'n Rollers. They had lost their lead guitar player and they needed a new lead guitarist. Edminston asked me to audition for the band.

Charles said "I hear you're a hell of a guitar player. I said, "No, I'm a hell of a French Horn player. I play classical music. I only play guitar for my own pleasure and entertainment." I turned him down. But Charles didn't give up and approached me again. After the second approach, I agreed to audition. He brought me some Chuck Berry and Gene Vincent records and told me to learn to play those songs. I learned the songs and went to my audition. They seemed pleased that I could play the songs and immediately accepted me into the band.

We practiced every night. Keith and I worked after school, so we couldn't get together until about 8 at night. Then we would practice until the wee hours. Most nights, after I got home I was still excited and not ready to go to bed, so I would practice more at home. I developed a way of muffling the strings on the guitar so I wouldn't wake up my family. I later used that technique in the songs we recorded.

We had only been playing together for a little while when Richard Stephens decided to come back to the band. Then the band was made up of Keith McCormack on rhythm guitar and vocals, Richard Stephens on second lead guitar, me on lead guitar, Aubrey DeCordova on bass and Charles J. Edmiston on drums.

After playing a high school assembly where the girls stood up and screamed, I was amazed, baffled and mystified. That made me decide to keep the guitar strap around my neck and let the classical music go for a while. I wanted to see what this rock 'n' roll music deal would bring.

Later, Don Allen replaced Charles J. Edmiston as the drummer because Charles J.'s mother felt rock 'n roll music was a bad influence on her son. The group metamorphized to be the "Leen Teens" since we were all tall, skinny, and energetic.

Keith's Uncle Johnny had played in honkey tonk bands and other venues. He played steel guitar and bass. He used to play with us sometimes. I was the only one who could play with him because he had no sense of meter and would change tempo and skip or add beats to a measure or phrase when and wherever he chose. I had perfect meter and pitch, so I could somehow anticipate his changes and stay with him.

Uncle Johnny worked in the meat business, so he could set us up to play at supermarket openings and other food-related events. Soon, we were playing at all kinds of local and regional events--dances, the Legion, the food-related events and anything else that Uncle Johnny or we could set up for ourselves.

In 1956, we went to Amarillo to the studio of a local radio station that actually cut acetate masters, recording what was to be the mother for records to be pressed on vinyl. At that station, we recorded our first record. The songs were "I Think It's Really Love" and "My Heart's for You," both vocals, which were composed by Keith and his mother, Jessie Glen Thames. Travis Vennable was responsible for the recording session and the record. He worked at the radio station, the call letters of which I cannot recall.

Travis formed the label, Ven Records. Our record played in west Texas, but went nowhere as it had no promotion or follow-up. It had always been my dream to hear myself played on the radio even thought it had originally been classical that I wanted to hear myself playing. Now, it was happening, but with rock 'n roll music. That was a very exciting time for me.

I made several trips over to Clovis, New Mexico to visit the Norman Petty Studio just to see how the music business was conducted and what went on there. I met Norman Petty on my first trip over and played him several tunes. Petty liked my tunes, but he said that there wasn't enough melody line to make it understandable to the public--which I found out later just wasn't true.

Those were the days before the Civil Rights Act and Texas was very segregated. I was not "white." Anyone who was not "white" was very aware of it and understood that they were not considered smart enough or good enough to accomplish anything on their own. My friends and the band did not treat me any different than anyone else, but I was acutely aware of the treatment of "non-whites" in the world "out there."

I had come up with many tunes during my childhood. The one that became "Wheels" came to me, inspired by the march king, John Phillip Souza. As a small child, my father gave me a little flute made of the first composite plastic. It was white and had a red mouth piece. My father showed me how to play it and I used to play this flute constantly. When I got proficient at playing, I started making up tunes on it. I used to march down the corn rows playing my flute. Tunes had always come to me as I played or worked. I had these tunes which I wanted to hear played. But I was afraid that if I brought the tunes forward myself, no one would be interested because I was not "white." So I played my tunes for Petty. When he brought them forward as "his" tunes, I accepted that since my passion was to hear my tunes played on the radio--whether they were credited to me or not.

After I had met with Petty alone, later the band went over together to meet Petty. We just talked about recording and Petty said he needed $150 to record us.

Eventually, Keith's mother paid the $150 for us to do the first recording sessions at Norman Petty's Studion in 1959. I don't remember the first tunes we recorded with Petty, only that they were vocals with Keith doing the singing. During our visits to the studio, Norman Petty talked to us about him managing us. He signed us to a management and recording contract. We were too young to sign, so our parents had to co-sign the contracts for us.

At first with Petty, we recorded vocals--songs written by Keith and his mother, Jessie Glenn Thames. But one day, Keith had laryngitis and was unable to sing, so Petty decided we would record without the vocal, just instrumental.

Petty put his name on my tunes and the titles got changed. My tune inspired by John Phillip Souza wound up being called "Wheels." "Wheels" had started out being called "Tell the World," and "Tell the World" was "Wheels," a total faux pas. "Wheels" was claimed by Petty has his own. It was very confusing to everyone involved, but Petty, in 1964, wound up giving me the rights to "Wheels" and all the rest of my tunes and acknowledged my authorship so the royalties came to me.

When "Wheels" was released, it hit the charts hard. Our recording of "Wheels" went to number 3 and stayed there for quite a while. Meanwhile, other groups and artists were recording it. Billie Vaughn took it to number 1. Petty told me in the mid-1960s that "Wheels" had sold over 16 1/2 million records and more than 150 different artists had recorded it. I don't think the other band members ever realized the play that "Wheels" really got. The song got heavy play in Japan, Germany, Argentina and places as remote as Zimbabwe through the 1990s.

After the success of "Wheels," we recorded other instrumentals. "Minah Bird," "Twist Watch," and "Take a Minute." Those songs were hits. They got big airplay, but didn't sell many records. Our career as a rock 'n roll band took off. We appeared on several major TV shows, including American Bandstand. I was always the quiet one and didn't want to participate in the autographing and interviewing. We toured or played with well-known artists and bands of the time, including Del Shannon, The Shirrells, The Everly Brothers, Marty Robins, Roy Orbison and many, many others.

The tours were often what I refer to as "dart board tours," meaning the places played were arranged as though someone had thrown darts at a map. Driving long distances in a short time to get from one gig to the next, we dried our clothes by hanging them out the car windows. We travelled with a make-up artist and a beautician who did our hair. In the early days, Don Allen's father was our driver/chaperone. Some of the touring was glamorous, but lots of it was not.

Once, we got caught in a blizzard in New England and had to leave the car. We had to wrap our feet in our clothes bags for warmth while we walked miles through the snow to the next town.

There was the time in Iowa when we had been on the road for a long time and were very homesick. We wanted to celebrate New Year's Day in the traditional Texas manner by eating black eyed peas with hog jowls. It felt so lonely and strange to find that there were no black eyed Peas to eat in Iowa. The Iowans told us that was cattle feed.

After Don's father stopped being our driver. I took over being the chaperone for the group. I did most of the driving, made sure the band members were fed, clothed and sheltered. It got really gruelling. I remember a time when I was totally exhausted after performing and driving long distances. I had been without sleep for five days straight. There was a long drive to the next show. I drove while the others slept. When we arrived, they had to pry my hands off the steering wheel and get me out of the car. I had no memory of the drive.

Once, we were back in Texas--the "returning heros." All of us in the band went out to eat breakfast at the restaurant at the motel. We all ordered and everyone's food came quickly, except mine. Finally, I asked where my food was. I was told, "We don't serve 'non-whites' here." Even though my grandparents'last names are Leiba (a German-Swiss name) and O'Hara (which everyone knows is Irish,)I couldn't eat with the group. Interestingly enough, I didn't encounter that kind of discrimination elsewhere as we travelled in the northern USA.

Another memorably terrible time was when we were booked to play in Atlantic City. When we arrived, we found that our hotel rooms had been given away, so we wound up with one room for the entire group and our entourage. We ended up sleeping piled up on the floor and leaning against the walls.

Norman Petty was the force that got us into the national spotlight. But Petty, for all his genius, was a very corrupt person in many ways. He put his name on all the tunes, including Buddy Holly's. He switched names on the tunes, and diverted to himself money and perks that were intended for the bands he managed. When "Wheels" was a hit, he accepted a Mercedes Benz from German distributers on behalf of "The String-A-Longs" and kept it for himself.

Petty and the record labels treated other artists in a similar manner. After Buddy Holly was killed, I went to see Norman to express my sympathy over Buddy's death. I knew that Buddy had recently filed suit against Norman (presumably for putting his name on Buddy's songs, just as he did with "The String-A- Longs' songs.) When I told Petty that I really felt bad about Buddy's death, Petty told me, ". . . thank goodness, my prayers have been answered."

We had a lot of fun, but we worked ourselves half to death. We were very successful and were selling lots of records and showing well on the charts, but we were not getting paid. By the time were were 20 years old, we were owed more than $700,000 (which today would be more like $7,000,000,) which we were never able to collect. Warwick Records collected our money and then took bankruptcy. We brought suit in New York to recover it, but the suit eventually got dismissed by the New York Appellate court. I understood at the time from the lawyers that it was too "petty," so the court dismissed it. It was probably dismissed because of Warwick's bankruptcy. Our money had just disappeared.

Not getting paid put a real damper on our enthusiam. After the fiasco in Atlantic City, some of the guys just wanted to go home and live like normal people. Not getting paid and then having mess-ups like that one just put us over the edge. The snafu in Atlantic City was the straw that broke the camel's back for the group. After that, the band members went their separate ways. I went to Canada where I lived for several years, performed as a solo and with other groups, and where my son was born.

Eventually, I returned to Texas, and Keith and I performed together, but the String-A-Longs never reunited.

Never, that is, until now. Aubrey now lives in San Angelo, TX and still plays bass. Keith lives in Portland, TX and still plays. Rich Stephens lives in Littleton, Colorado and still plays and Don Allen lives in Plainview, TX. I still have an old Magnatone amp and Richard found his old Magnatone at the Norman Petty Recording Studio after 35 years! The group members have recently renewed connections and plan a reunion. Of the original rock 'n' roll groups of the late 1950s, we don't know of any other that has all its members still living.

Watch here for updates on "The String-A-Longs" reunion, photos and maybe even some old, but previously unreleased "String-A-Longs" music.

Some of "The String-A-Longs" tunes (especially "Wheels") became huge hits. "Wheels" sold over 16 million copies and was recorded by more than 150 different artists. Before they were 20 years old, "The String-A-Longs" had been "cheated out" of more than $700,000. Despite earning huge money for the studio and the record labels, the boys were not getting paid. Remember in those days $700,000 was a huge fortune. "The String-A-Longs" filed suit in New York against the record label to recover the money they were supposed to have been paid. The lawsuit languished for years in the New York court system, finally being dismissed as being "too Petty" (was that a play on words for Norman Petty?)

Petty and the record labels had treated other artists in a similar manner. After Buddy Holly was killed, Jimmy talked to Petty to express his sympathy for Buddy's death. Petty told Jimmy that Buddy had recently filed suit against him (presumably for stealing his songs and money, just as he did with "The String-A-Longs). Petty told Jimmy that Buddy's death ". . . was the answer to my [Petty's] prayers."

"The String-A-Longs" recorded several hit records at the Norman Petty Studio, including "Take a Minute" (composed by Jimmy), "Minah Bird (composed by Jimmy), "Twist Watch (composed by Jimmy), "Brass Buttons" (composed by Norman Petty), and "Wheels" (composed by Jimmy) as well as old songs like "Sentimental Journey", and as vocals. Keith McCormack was the vocalist.

The snafu in Atlantic City was the straw that broke the camel's back for the group. After that hardship and frustration, some of the guys wanted to go home to Texas and just live like human beings. The band members went their separate ways. Jimmy went to Canada where he lived for several years and where his son was born.

Eventually, Jimmy returned to Texas where he and Keith performed together, but the group never reunited.

Never, that is, until now. Aubrey now lives in San Angelo, TX and still plays bass. Keith lives in Portland, TX and still plays. Rich Stephens lives in Littleton, Colorado and still plays and Don Allen lives in Plainview, TX. Jimmy still has his old Magnatone amp and Richard found his old Magnatone amp at the Norman Petty Recording Studio after 35 years! The group members have recently renewed their connections and plan a reunion. Of the original rock 'n' roll groups of the early 1960s, the "boys" know of no other that has all its members still living.

Watch here for updates on "The String-A-Longs" reunion, photos and maybe even some old, but previously unreleased "String-A-Longs" music.

I am very interested in whether the fans out there want to hear the old, unreleased music. Let me know what you think!

Sincerely,

Jimmy Torres