It was an ordinary day. Looking back over the recent "Black Excellence in the Arts" show that was held at the Lancaster Historical Society which is located at 230 North President Ave. in Lancaster, PA. LancasterHistory paid tribute to a handful of Black artists who brought pride to Lancaster County in the early to mid-20th century. "Black Excellence in the Arts" featured music, film and archival items and documents that told the stories of local artists. A few of the black artists that were featured were The Hamboners, Jake Parks, The Crystalaires and The Tranells. As a junior high school student in the mid-'50s, the Hamboners were one of my favorites and were one of the most popular musical groups in Lancaster. The quartet featured Charles Simms, Joseph Jackson, Warren Hyson and Louis Wilson, all teenagers themselves at the time who appeared on the nationally televised Ted Mack's "Original Amateur Hour" program in 1954 and won the talent competition three weeks in a row. Jackson later was one of the first Lancastrains to die in the Vietnam War. He was honored in Lancaster by naming a park after him at the corner of Christian and Dauphin Streets. Another Lancaster favorite was The Crystalaires who were a doo-wop band based in Lancaster with members ranging in age from 16 to 18 and formed in the late 1950s. They were most remembered for their single "Nobody Nowhere." On May 26, 1959, on their way back from a show in Reading, PA, the group was involved in a car crash that killed three of its members. In 1960, Stan Selfon, the founder of Stan's Record Bar in downtown Lancaster, re-released "Nobody Nowhere" to help raise funds for headstones for the deceased. I purchased one of the records, but later gave it to my friend Ken Long who had a large collection of 45s. The final group of black artists from Lancaster was The Tranells who all were Lancaster McCaskey High School students. They were an R&B vocal group in the style of early Motown groups. Chet Steward founded the group in 1962. Members of the band were Chet's sister Joanie, Budy Gantz, Howard Washington, Al Gates, Harry Wilkerson, Harold Sheets and David McPhail. Two years after they were formed they traveled to Philadelphia to record their one hit, "Come On and Tell Me" for Chelten Records. The 7" single is quite rare and a copy of it recently sold for $227. I still remember some of the old-time groups from Lancaster that were part of the music world when I was a teenager in high school. Would love to live those years over again so I could enjoy the music of that era once more. They just don't make records anymore like they did back in the 1960s. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - If you get a chance, check out "The Hamboners" from Lancaster, Pennsylvania who were on the Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour. https://youtu.be/HbsitrMfAHY
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