I was really impressed with the Regeneration Singers reunion at Homecoming 2022 on Sunday. I remember Kathy being in the group and hoping to be involved with them when I was old enough. Unfortunately, they disbanded after director Arnold Sherman left Rockdale around 1977 when I was in eighth grade. But I could never sing anyway and still can’t so it was probably all for the best. The last thing anyone needs is for me to sing on them.
I remember Kathy in the “small group” where both the boys and the girls wore belted jumpers which I assume were all the rage in the early 70s. And handmade by someone’s mom no doubt. Not my mom, but someone’s.
Kathy sang, “I Only Have Eyes For You” as a solo and went down into the audience with her microphone. One story she loved to tell was that one night when she was singing that song she sat down in a man’s lap and ran her fingers through his hair and then couldn’t get her hand back out. Lots of hair spray back then.
Kathy and two other girls also performed “The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B,” a 1941 hit by The Andrews Sisters, which Bette Midler had brought back into fashion in the 1970s. Wayne Bailey had turned Kathy on to Bette and then she turned me on to her and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I remember going to lots of performances at the Rockdale high School auditorium. I suppose the time was right for that sort of thing back then. It doesn’t seem like something that would go over with these kids today, but then what do I know about kids.
Anyway, to all of you singers who sang on Sunday, my hat is off to you. Thanks for bringing back so many memories. And thanks for singing a special song for those Regeneration Singers who are no longer with us, like my beloved sister. I had a great time!
I also enjoyed listening to Joan McKinney Ratliff’s talk about the history of Rainbow Courts. Her family has operated the courts for about as long as my family has run the newspaper.
I was surprised to hear that she had some famous guests stay at Rainbow Courts including Western Swing singer Bob Wills. I had no idea.
Another famous guest was one of the foremost playwrights of the 20th century, Tennessee Williams. That one was a shocker for me. I wonder if he ever wrote anything about Rockdale. Of course he could have called it something different in his plays.
I was most surprised about Liz Smith of all people. Smith was a famous gossip columnist who was once one of the highest paid journalists in the United States and her column was syndicated in over 70 newspapers. She also became famous on TV and one of her first prime time interviews was with Ivanka Trump right after she had divorced Donald Trump. I guess she came to Rockdale to get out of the limelight for a while.
When I lived in Houston there was a barber I went to for several years. He finally asked me where I was from one day and I told him Rockdale. He told me that he and a friend were traveling to Austin back in the 1940s and Texas was having a severe cold front. They stopped at Rainbow Courts to get out of the cold, but at that time the courts had no heat. He said he had never been so cold in his life so they ended up getting out of bed and back into the car to continue their trip in the cold. Small world.
Congratulations to Joan and Dan Ratliff. You have really turned your family business into something your predecessors could probably never have imagined. If there is anyone reading who doesn’t already know this, Rainbow Courts is now a Recorded Historic Landmark which is the highest historic recognition awarded by the State of Texas. Definitely something to be very proud of. kyle@rockdalereporter.com
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