Classmates form band: It was 1963. Lynn Morris heard that two of his Stanley High School classmates were starting a band, and he wanted in. Morris talked to Jim Potts and Jack Rhyne about jamming with them. From there The Knights were born.
Morris played drums while Potts sang and strummed the guitar. Rhyne played keyboard and provided vocals. Their group was rounded out by Mike Hoffman on bass. At first, the foursome practiced in Rhyne’s garage. There was no air conditioning, but they kept the door shut while they fine tuned their songs. Once they got more confident, the group would open the door and rock out.
“After we got a little bold, we opened it up,” Morris said. “We’d have all the neighbors come down because we were making a lot of noise.” Practices eventually shifted to Potts’ basement, then to Quality Shoe Store, a business owned by Potts’ parents. “I think they got a little tired of us practicing in the basement because they couldn’t listen to the TV,” Morris said.
Rehearsing in the shoe store had its perks, Morris said. Sure, they had to move furniture, but at least there was heat and air conditioning, he said. “We’d just lock up at quitting time and turn the front lights off,” Morris said.
Band disbands: Jimmy Lowe joined the band a couple of years later. Morris cut his fingers his senior year of high school while working part time in the dye mill. After Lowe took to the drum set, the group agreed he was a good fit, and Morris ultimately switched to guitar.
“He was just so darn good, we decided that he was our drummer from then on,” said Morris. Then a five-piece band, the group played different venues across four counties. They would perform at the community center and the annual Pharr Yarns Fourth of July celebration. The young men recorded a single and entertained the idea of making an album, but the dream got derailed when one of the band members got mono.
During their five-year adventure, the group sang cover tunes and wrote some original songs. Morris said they mainly played English rock, later adding in top 40 and rhythm and blues. Potts and Rhyne were the primary composers, but the group collaborated on a few songs. Eventually, making time for rehearsals and performances became too tough.
Two of the band members were married, and all of them were headed in different directions. “We were all in college at that time, and we were all going for careers and it just wasn’t feasible,” said Morris. “We decided about that time it was just too much.”
Final reunion: Morris and Hoffman still live in Stanley. Morris works in heating and air; Hoffman in engineering as a draftsman. Potts is now a Baptist minister in Deep Gap, and Rhyne lives in Chesterfield, S.C., where he is a family counselor. Lowe works for Freightliner and lives in Gastonia.
Some of the former band mates talk more than others. But they were all reunited earlier this year by one of their fans from high school, Gary Rushing. Rushing owns Rushing Winds Music Production in Dallas.
He encouraged the men to come to his studio and record a CD. With little coaxing they met in February for a dry run. “It didn’t sound too good. Everyone was a little disappointed,” said Morris. “But we decided to get back together again and try it one more time.” Things fell into place during their second rehearsal.
“We got back together, and the songs came back to us,” said Morris. “The biggest challenge was because our voices changed.”
Hometown performance: The Knights approached the Stanley Recreation Department about putting on a performance. “Since we all started in Stanley, we decided to sing our last time in Stanley,” said Morris. The upcoming Country Fest in October seemed to be the perfect fit, Morris said.
The group got a warm reception to the idea. Stanley has arranged to sponsor a street dance the night before the festival, featuring The Knights. The band’s CD, “Back in Time,” will be for sale during the street dance and the next day during the festival. Proceeds will go toward the development of Harper Park in Stanley. When the plan was being formed, band members said the festival would be their final performance.
Now, they’re not so sure, Morris said. “The guys are saying, ‘Are we doing all this for one time?’” Morris said. “I promised my wife that we wouldn’t buy a bus and hit the road.” Morris and the guys are now in their 60s. They don’t have to practice in garages, and it’s not likely they’ll be buying a tour bus. But getting together again to make music feels right, Morris said. He described the reunion like going home again. And he’s not sure it’s something they’re ready to let go of just yet.
“It was like we hadn’t even been separated,” he said. “We’re all too old to be traveling, but for two or three times here and there, it might be worth doing.”
You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.
When: 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and 2:45 p.m. Oct. 5.
Where: Country Fest in Stanley.
CD sales: “Back in Time,” will be sold for $20 each.
Proceeds: Benefit Harper Park in Stanley.