Alan made a recording in 1965 of himself singing and playing guitar, and it included not only his own compositions but these other songs written by others.
Other Recordings (1965)
Tag: Music
OPUS – 1956-1968
The same year that I started as band director at SAHS and wrote the alma mater — 1955-56 — I was on a roll, and began writing lyrics to fight songs. I wrote the words “Go Red Dragons, go all the way” which I understand is still being sung at SAHS athletic events.
In January 1956, the school principal (Basil Liggett (an excellent school leader whom I admired greatly), advised me that the band had bene invited to attend the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in April in Washington, D.C.
I was flabbergasted. The band was barely scraping by, virtually without funds. Such an event would be costly, and it was left to me to find a way to pay for the trip.
Along with a few donations and fund raiser, I decided we would produce a music show with Proceeds targeted for the costs of the Washington trip. And we did. And we named the show “OPUS 56”. That was the first Opus, and the trip to Washington became a reality.
It only followed that the success of OPUS 56 would lead to “OPUS 57” and so on until I left St. Albans for a teaching position in Virginia in 1963. I’ll not soon forget the richly rewarding years I taught music at SAHS; it remains a treat to meet socially with former students and friends from those times.
The rest of the story
Alan brought OPUS to Andrew Lewis High School in Salem, VA in 1964, where he taught until 1968. OPUS continued under Dennis Reaser, a St. Albans HS student, and later friend and colleague, who followed in Alan’s footsteps at Andrew Lewis HS.
Andrew Lewis HS was merged with Glenvar HS in 1977 to form Salem High School, where OPUS continued under Dennis’s direction for many years. The 1977 Opus was dedicated to Alan. It was alive and well through about 2013-2014.
As of this writing, we are trying to determine just how long OPUS continued at St. Albans High School.
19 photos
Hannah (2016)
I wrote this cello piece for my granddaughter Hannah Dare Bryan in 2016.
Ridin’ the Blues (1985)
This song is about a guy who lives in a coal mine community in WV, and decides he’s hanging it up. His wife has been unfaithful and he decides — that’s it, I’m out of here. I picture him as living in Beckley.
Unfortunately there is no recording of this song.
The River Knows (1978)
This is a song about a guy having difficulty in his domestic life, and he would (sadly, to him) leave home on weekends and go to New River.
Unfortunately there is no recording of this song.
Martin in Madrid (1964)
This guitar piece, which has a bit of a Spanish feel, was written in 1964 and composed on the Martin guitar that accompanied me on so many camping trips, hence the title.
When the Hales Take Over the New (1964)
I’ve already written a good bit about my camping trips with my uncle Don Hale, his dad Henry (my grandfather) and my brother David and other members of the Hale gang. This song is my personal favorite about those times at Sandstone Falls on the New River.
This video features Alan singing this song from a recording made in 1965. The photos were all taken by Alan’s brother David in the 1950s and 1960s, all of them of Sandstone Falls; the exception is the cover photo, which features David’s Chevy on Indian Creek Road.
The Old Freight Train (1964)
This song is one of my favorites, and reflects a memory of having been there in that situation.
No Name Tune (1963)
This is a short piece that I wrote to play at the riverbank on camping trips.
The River by the C & O (1962)
The “hobo” character in the song is just a guy who never got his life together in a way he was satisfied with. That was Pat Hale. Although I didn’t consciously make the connection when I wrote it — it was happenstance — that’s how it turned out. Pat was never happy with his station; never settled as a family man; caroused some I think; just couldn’t put it all together.
The other part was that he absolutely loved New River, and Indian Creek. When he was there, he was kinda at peace. Often, I’d see him just looking into nothing, totally relaxed.
Once he said to mom, who repeated to me, “If you want to be nothing, do nothing, come with me and live in the stinking coal camp of Stickney, West Virginia. There is no one there who has any sense or any curiosity about anything.” And more. His description of Stickney: a barber shop, a company store, dirt, dust, people with no drive, no future, no ambition for themselves or their children. Through all that, Pat had a spark, and he was crazy about his parents and Audrey (and the rest of the family though not as open).
When he retired from the Chevy plant in Cleveland, he moved back to the Beckley area; then he and Joe Hale got a place on the Greenbrier River. Although his COPD was serious, his final years were probably peaceful. He and Joe were great buddies and closest brothers, and they had fun on the Greenbrier. He died in the spring of 1982, while we were still in Lewisburg. I went to his funeral in Beckley — the Hale crowd was there, along with dad and mom.
I really liked Pat. His brain was good but never challenged. His sense of beauty was a lot like mom’s.
This video features Alan singing this song from a recording made in 1965. The opening and closing photo was taken by Alan’s brother David in the 1950s and 1960s, all of them of Sandstone Falls.