The beginning...

The rock band that came to be known as The Crystal Image had it’s beginning over the Christmas break in 1966.  The membership of the band at that time was Kenny Milam (guitar and vocals), Larry Hall (drums), Donnie Dake (guitar), and me (bass guitar and vocals).  In actual fact, only Kenny and Larry were together from day one, until the band finally dissolved in 1971.  The original name, adopted that Christmas was The Specifications.

None of us, except Larry, really knew how to play our respective instrument, so we were learning to play by learning a few specific songs (including The House of the Rising Sun and Gloria).  Somebody (I think it was Donnie) got us a “gig” within two weeks of our very first practice!  We were to play at Wesley Methodist Church on South 13th Street for $10 (that would have been in January of 1967).  By the time the date arrived, we knew 10 songs ($1 per song?) and we were, frankly, not very good.  In retrospect, that performance was a two-edged sword for our future.  It gained The Specifications a reputation as an awful rock band.  But, it also got us going.  How many bands who "get together" have ever worked up enough confidence to feel comfortable playing in public?  It is likely that we would never have, had we had not been forced to do so prematurely!

At some point in the early development of our band, Donnie left (I think he moved away from McAlester) and Birnie Whitlow (electric organ) joined.  I don’t remember which occurred first.  Sometime after Donnie left, Dewayne Kennon joined as a guitar player.  Dewayne was Larry Hall’s cousin, and we knew him and knew he was becoming a very good guitarist, so his addition was a real step forward.

A little later, Birnie decided to quit.  I really don’t remember why, I think he was just getting tired of it.  Believe it or not, this was a very time-consuming activity.  During the school year, we would meet for practice every day after school and work until around 9 o’clock (homework???).  Even more so in the summer, we’d start at 10 or 11 in the morning and work all day.  We tried to book at least two dances a week (Friday and Saturday) and would frequently play during the week for small clubs during the summer.  It really took a huge commitment!

Changes...

After the band had been whittled down to the four of us – Kenny, Larry, Dewayne, and me – we decided to change our name.  This is when we became The Crystal Image.  We were still somewhat burdened by the reputation that The Specifications were “awful”.  We weren’t awful anymore, we were actually sounding pretty good!  The name change became our fresh start.

This band of the four of us has to be considered, historically, the “real” Crystal Image.  This group is the one that performed on local television shows (including a teen show in Dallas, Texas, and the “Dance Party” show in Tulsa), for dances all over eastern Oklahoma, for collage parties, and for Junior-Senior proms including Ardmore and McAlester*.  This is the band that recorded some demos and went out looking for recording contract.  This is the iteration of the band which competed (and, unfortunately, came in second) in the “Battle of the Bands” to select the opening band for Tommy James and the Shondells.  This band might have been on the brink of becoming a minor “hit”.

Endings...

In the spring of 1970, I had to leave the band.  Ronnie Christian took my place on the bass guitar.  The band had a number more major performances, including the 1970 Junior Senior Prom at McAlester (I really wish I had played for that).  Ronnie was actually quite good, and their loss of my talent was really no obstacle to the band’s further success.  In 1971, Kenny also had to quit the band, and that left the band with a bleak future.  Kenny, while not the most talented guitarist, was the most creative member of the band.  He was also the “glue” that held those often volatile teen-agers together. 

* The McAlester prom was played with Ronnie Christian on Bass after I left the band.

The majority of the information on this page was provided to the McAlester High School Museum in November, 2000.