The Centuries were a major group in the Oklahoma City area during the 1960’s, regularly appearing at local hops and clubs, opening for touring acts and guesting on a TV show, The Scene. Recordings taped for The Scene show exactly how well the band could cover songs of the day. They give “I’m a Believer” the light touch it should have, and really drive “Midnight Hour”, including a guitar solo that is definitely hot!

Though primarily covering songs as a live act, their two records feature all original songs by band members Irmon Gray and Alan Rush.

“I’d Cry for You”, the B-side of their first single uses a fuzztone on guitar to accent the relaxed vocals. This is one of the first recordings ever to use the Gibson Maestro fuzz tone pedal. Cut in October of 1963, not long after the Ventures used the Maestro on “The 2,000 Pound Bee”, the opening note bend is a wild sound for that time, though the song wasn’t released until 1965.

Lead guitarist Stan Stotts gives the history of the group:

Historical Perspective

Rock n’ Roll was born in the 50’s, but its formative “teen” years were the 60’s. In the Oklahoma City metro area alone there were probably two or three dozen active bands. The most popular musical instrument stores at that time (Sharps and Nichols, Woodmansee Abbot, Driver Music, etc.) saw the demand for electrical instruments increase dramatically, so much so that some had greater sales in supplying for rock bands than they had for school marching band instruments which had been their mainstay.

Teens were so desperate to dance they would settle on almost anything that resembled music. The IONE branch of the YWCA held a teen dance every Saturday evening to raise money for a new building. The first time I attended a dance they had only one guitarist named Farland Stanley (he would later play bass for the Road Runners) and a drummer who stood while he played his one snare drum. The duo performed basically the same three instrumental tunes every 45 minutes for three hours and nobody cared because the only criteria for music was, “Does it have a good beat?”

The YWCA didn’t have a bandstand so the musicians played on the floor. When The Centuries had the privilege of playing there, we “upgraded” by hauling three large wooden tables in my dad’s pickup to the IONE building and setting them up to form a temporary stage. I also remember that this was the first place I ever received applause for a song I played. It was “Rumble” by Link Ray and I can’t think of a song that was any simpler to play. The kids thought I was a great guitarist because I could play it just like the record.

The first time I ever saw a live rock n’ roll band play a dance was in May, 1961, during an all night, city wide, Junior/Senior dance at Wedgewood Village Amusement Park. The two bands (The Road Runners and The Nightbeats) alternated playing from evening to the next morning inside the Bumper Car pavilion. This was the first time I heard Jim Edger and The Road Runners play and I’ll always remember their really cool rendition of the song “Little Egypt” by The Coasters.

The Centuries – Early Years as an Instrumental Band

The band originated in Oklahoma City, OK, and all members were from there. Ron Smith and Stan Stotts started the band in 1961 while in high school and remained until the end in October, 1969.

During Stan’s junior year (1960-1961) at Northwest Classen High School, he and a friend he had known since grade school got together and played guitars. The friend had a party at his parents’ house one weekend where he and several other “musicians” played while the others watched or danced. While at the party, Stan was introduced to a drummer named Ron Smith and the three of them decided to form a band. Ron knew of a car club named The Centuries and thought that would be a good name for a band and that was what the group would be called for the next nine years.

They only knew three or four songs, all instrumentals, and their only gig was a New Year’s Eve party for Ron’s girlfriend’s uncle where each was paid $5. The friend was not as interested in devoting the amount of time it would take to develop the band so the group eventually broke up.

During the summer of 1961 Stan worked at a Humpty Dumpty super market and while there met a Putnam City student named Alan Rush who also played the guitar. Alan invited Stan over to his house one night after work to listen to a group called The Ventures. Alan came from a family of musicians and was truly a natural talent. Stan was hooked on rock and roll and although he was not blessed with the level of talent that Alan had, he was able to learn a great deal from him since they got together several times a week to learn new songs.

Stan brought Alan and Ron together and they decided to form the second incarnation of The Centuries. Even though Ron and Stan had ability, Alan was the one who really knew music and how all the different instruments fit into the mix. For instance, when Alan suggested they needed a bass man to complete the group, Ron and Stan debated the need for another “guitar.” Fortunately, Alan won out. He thought a friend of his would be a good match for this position so Irmon Gray became the first bass player and thus, The Centuries became a true rock band. Since Alan had the musical prowess, he was instrumental in giving musical direction, but Ron, always the businessman, became the de facto “leader” of the band. The foursome played wherever they could and practiced continually. One of the highlights was being hired ($40) to play for a Northwest Classen assembly.

In early 1962 Alan mentioned he knew a really good sax player from Putnam City named Greer Gambill. So, they added a fifth member to the band. This added a new dimension to the band’s sound and immediately expanded their repertoire of songs. But how could a band that played nothing but instrumentals continue to be booked? First of all, Rock n’ Roll was really starting to snowball and the teens wanted more of it and would, quite literally, dance to just about anything that had a beat. Secondly, the dance craze was intensified due to the release of “The Twist” by Chubby Checker. Many other groups jumped on the Twist bandwagon causing the phenomenon to continue much longer than most fads do.

One such group was Joey Dee and the Starliters. Their house song, “Peppermint Twist (Part 1)”, became the number one song in the United States for three weeks in January 1962. Ron and Stan got to see The Starliters perform when they came to Oklahoma City on February 14, 1962. The point is, like most things, the ability for The Centuries to continue as a band while they grew and “honed” their musical skills in the early years was, in addition to a lot of hard work and steadfast determination, a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

Adding Vocals – Ron Petty Joins

A band called the Catalinas had a lead singer named Ron Petty who could sing just like Elvis and Roy Orbison. They had released a recording called “Cha Cha Joe” / “Echo One”. The Catalinas were known for having a female guitar player, which was unique at the time, but they hired Wesley Reynolds to play the lead guitar and a local group called the Kimberley’s to supply background vocals during the recording session of “Echo One”.

Petty tried out for The Centuries and was immediately hired during the spring of 1963. This addition brought the band full circle because now they could play any song on the charts, not just instrumentals, and besides he had a sound system. The first new song they learned with Petty as the lead singer was “Rhythm of the Falling Rain” by The Cascades. Also, while “Cha Cha Joe” was still on the charts the band would play it at dances with Alan on drums and Ron Smith on the bongos.

With so many members and so much equipment, the band decided to get a vehicle and trailer to travel in. They bought a used, black 1954 Chrysler limousine from a local funeral home, had the band name painted in silver on the sides and purchased an enclosed trailer also painted silver. They didn’t know it at the time, but that rig became somewhat of an icon across the state since most of the other bands drove their personal vehicles to a dance.

Ron Smith could sing with the best of the soul music entertainers of the day and Alan, even though his voice was softer, could sing high harmony. Also, Petty could play the trumpet well enough to assist Greer when a “big band” sound was needed. This meant they could hold their own with any band in the state when it came to reproducing the sound of the Beatles, Orbison, most soul music, and especially the Righteous Brothers. By the way, the one thing that made The Centuries different than most bands was the intentional effort to mimic a song as closely as possible to the original. They had such a mix of talent it was possible to do so most of the time.

They needed a tune to play while announcing that they were going to take a break or that the gig was over. A song titled “Hold It” by Bill Doggett was chosen and it eventually became kind of a theme associated with the group.

The Centuries Play The Scene

The main events during this time, at least in Oklahoma, were the teen hops sponsored by WKY radio and their KOMA competitor. The Centuries played mostly for WKY hops hosted by various dee jays, but primarily with Don Wallace and Ronnie Kaye. Ronnie Kaye had a local version of American Bandstand called The Scene, produced at the WKY-TV studios. It was taped at 11:00 am on Saturday mornings and then aired that same day at 1:00 pm.

The Road Runners performed live on the first show; however, the sound engineer didn’t have a clue how to properly mike a rock n’ roll band. Consequently, the quality of the sound was less than adequate and that was a shame because they were one of the best, if not the best, hard rock band in the state. From that point on, most, if not all, bands pre-recorded their music and lip-synched.

The photo [at top] was taken from the control room thus showing the band, camera’s and teen dancers and the host. It’s a great representation of 1960’s Americana and shows our signature, collarless red blazers, black felt Beatle Boots and the clothing and hair styles of that period.

We are wearing our signature collarless red blazers, black suede “Beatles” boots and, as you will see, from the way the kids are dressed, its quintessential 1960’s. Also, in those days, the main attraction in Oklahoma were dee jay sponsored teen hops held in various towns across the state. By far, Oklahoma City based WKY was considered the best with the top dee jays being Ronnie Kaye and Don Wallace during the mid 60’s. We were fortunate to be one of the few bands that Ronnie, Don and the other dee jays used regularly.

Recorded at WKY radio station, Oklahoma City, 1963 to be used on The Scene:

Slippin’ and a Slidin’ – The WKY radio station recording studio was mainly used to record ads and promos. We were there was to record some tunes for Ronnie Kaye to be used as background and lead in music for his various promos. I guess we decided to take the opportunity to record some of our music as well. I do know that “Slippin’ and a Slidin'” was the first song I tried the Fuzz Tone.

Night Train – The only recording I know of that has Greer Gambill playing the sax.

A Fool Is What I Am – Our first attempt to record a song Alan and Irmon wrote. Although this was not a commercial sounding tune it’s what motivated us to seriously try to create tunes we could release which led to “Lonely Girl” / “I’d Cry For You”.

Even though The Scene was recorded, due to cost constraints Ronnie was forced to start reusing the tapes so, unfortunately, there are no videos available except for the last season or two which went into the early seventies. Ronnie Kaye is still a dee jay for our “oldies” station, KOMA. They had two reunions of all of the 60’s bands in 1994 and 1995 and that was the first thing I asked him about.

Our Look and Musical Equipment

Our very first “uniforms” were white shirts that had “The Centuries” and our first name embroidered on the pocket. When we became a five-man group, we worked out a deal with Sir Knight Formal Wear to provide tuxedo pants, shirts and bright red coats. After that, we wore black pants, white shirt, black tie and collarless red blazers with candy-apple red patent leather shoes.

After the Beatles came out, we dropped the red shoes for black suede boots like they wore. We then got shiny green suits with black velvet collars like the Beatles and wore those until Alan and Irmon left. After that for the most part, we stayed with the white shirts, black tie, black pants and the collarless red blazer when it wasn’t too hot wear it. When the band ended, the Nehru jacket look was in so our final uniforms were yellow jackets with a Nehru collar and black pants.

At one time all of the guitarists in the group had matching Fender Band-Master amplifiers and Fender guitars. However, after the Beatles came, Alan decided to try something different and got a Hofner guitar and Irmon purchased a Hofner bass exactly like the one Paul McCartney used. They got an okay sound, but the quality was much less than what a Fender or a Gibson could produce. Breaking a string while playing was simply a hazard of the business, but on occasion, Alan’s Hofner would appear to explode when one of his tuners (used to tighten a string) would come apart from the tension and parts would fly across the stage.

I, on the other hand, was a Fender man all the way. During the first years of the band I owned almost every model of guitar that Fender offered at the time except for my favorite, the Stratocaster. I don’t remember why I never bought one. I owned and played a Duosonic, JazzMaster, Jaguar and finally a Telecaster. My final guitar was the Telecaster which I eventually customized by reshaping the body to fit like a Stratocaster, changed the color from the standard cream to a metallic blue, replaced the standard chrome bass pickup with another Telecaster lead pickup, had a customized pick guard made with my name on it and replaced the standard Telecaster neck with a Jaguar neck that had a rosewood fret board. I used a Fender Band-Master amp with two 12” Jensen speakers for a while and then changed to a Fender Super Reverb with four 10” Jensen speakers. When it finally quit working, I upgraded to another Super Reverb with four 10” Lansing (silver cone) speakers.

As far as the other members are concerned, the only thing I know is that Ron Smith preferred Ludwig drums and Bob and Greer preferred Selmar saxophones.

I can only speak for myself, but the major influence for me, musically speaking, was Alan Rush. Although I had taken lessons for several years from a local guitarist (Julian Akins), if it had not been for Alan’s willingness to teach me how to really play the guitar, I doubt I would have ever touched it again. The artists that influenced my style the most were The Ventures, Freddy King and a local player named Wesley Reynolds. Wesley knew how to play a Fender Stratocaster to its fullest and had a style all his own that I admired and could immediately identify just by hearing. One of my favorite songs to play was Wesley’s “219 84th Street”, which, in case you didn’t know, was the home address at that time of the WKY Dee Jay Don Wallace.

Live Highlights

Another venue was teen hops every weekend at Wedgewood Village Amusement Park on Northwest Highway. Many big named acts (Paul Revere and The Raiders, Hermans Hermits, Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels, etc.) came there as well.

We were the lead-on band for Herman’s Hermits on April 27, 1965 at Wedgewood. It didn’t have a stage area that would accommodate the estimated 8,000 people who came to see the two shows (7:30 pm and 9:30 pm), so we were put on top of the swimming pool building, which looked down over the park. We were so far away and the sound was so bad it took the audience a few minutes to figure out we were not the Hermits. I still have the two tickets we were given to gain entrance to the park with the autographs of all the Hermits, including Peter Noone.

At Wedgewood Village we backed up Del Shannon for his show on August 8-9, 1964 and for a new singer called Sandy Posey on June 9-11, 1967. Sandy was a real trial for me because it was the first time I had to go it alone working with a non-band member without Alan.

We were the lead-on group for Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels when they performed at Wedgewood Village on July 22 1966. I must admit this was the first time I really felt intimidated because his guitarist (Jim McCarty) was so good that I was actually embarrassed to go back on stage after they played each set. Fortunately he was very gracious and actually complemented me on my guitar style. I knew he was just being nice but it helped regain my confidence just the same. Mitch Ryder was a class act the whole time he was there. For instance, his drummer used Ron’s drums and played so hard that he busted the snare drum head. When the concert was over Mitch told the drummer to pay Ron for the drum head and he said he would do it before they left. Mitch said “pay him now” knowing that otherwise the drummer would “forget” to do it.

The Centuries’ First Single

During the summer of 1963 Alan and Irmon started writing songs and the group decided to record some of them. They were not pleased with the recording facilities available in OKC and couldn’t afford the ones in Dallas so it was decided to record at an up and coming studio in Hot Springs, Arkansas called United Southern Recording Studio. In the Fall of 1963, the group recorded five songs co-written by Alan and Irmon and were working on releasing two of the tunes (“Lonely Girl” and “I’d Cry For You”) through the RICH record label sometime in late 1963 or early 1964.

However, the owner, Jack Rich, held back releasing it because he said “something bigger than Elvis was about to hit the music industry”. Ron Smith remembered thinking he was stalling for some other reason because “nothing could be bigger than Elvis”! The “something” turned out to be a group called the Beatles. It wasn’t until the summer of 1965, after the initial British Invasion had begun to subside, that it was decided to release the record.

The record did well in the local market, but the music scene had shifted greatly by this time and, although the song was well written and produced, it’s pre-Beatle doo-wap sound probably sounded a little dated thus there was no interest in releasing it nationally. The record may not have made it to number one but it probably would have been very successful if it could have been released nationally 3 to 4 months before the Beatles. How it happened we don’t know, but “I’d Cry For You”, the B side to “Lonely Girl”, made it to #42 in Flint, Michigan in 1965.

Recorded at United Southern Recording Studio, Hot Springs, Arkansas. Fall, 1963:

Lonely Girl – written by Alan Rush and Irmon Gray

Ron Petty – Lead vocal
Alan Rush – Background vocal, rhythm guitar (acoustic)
Ron Smith – Background vocal, Drums (Ludwig)
Stan Stotts – Lead guitar (Fender Jazzmaster)
Irmon Gray – Bass Bass (Fender Precision Bass)
Greer Gambill – Sax (Selmer but not on recording)

I’d Cry For You – written by Alan Rush and Irmon Gray

Ron Petty – Lead vocal
Alan Rush – Background vocal, rhythm guitar
Ron Smith – Drums (Ludwig)
Stan Stotts – Lead guitar (Fender Jazzmaster using a Maestro Fuzz-Tone)
Irmon Gray – Bass (Fender Precision Bass)
Greer Gambill – Sax (Selmer but not on recording)

Actually, over the years, many people who heard the record, whether they knew the group or not, usually said they preferred “I’d Cry For You”. It was a little unique since it was decided that Stan should use the new FuzzTone he had just purchased to give it more of an edgy sound. Although it will never be known for sure, perhaps, the wrong side was released.

But, on the bright side, as a local band, the arrival of The Beatles was a real boon for the group because they could mimic them and most of the other English groups to a tee. From that point on they played nearly every weekend during the school year and probably around 80% to 90% of the days during the summer breaks.

The only time I know of that the Roadrunners and The Centuries were on the same stage at the same time was for an event called the WKY Go-Go show held at the State Fairgrounds race track on September 28, 29 and 30th, 1965. The radio personalities emceeing the show were Danny Williams and Don Wallace. I remember one of the stunts performed during the show was to set fire to a rag put inside Greer’s sax just before he would take the lead in a song. I’m sure we said something “cool” like “that is really one hot sax” while he performed.

Greer Gambill had to leave for military service around the beginning of 1966 and was replaced by Bob Mills who was a music major at Southwestern State College in Weatherford, OK. Bob was a talented saxophonist and, as it was discovered later, pretty good on the piano as well. He was somewhat shy at first, but a hard worker and it didn’t take long at all for him to fit in.

The Second 45

Alan and Irmon continued to write songs and became friends with a couple of guys in Del City who converted their garage into a fairly sophisticated recording studio (A&W Recording Studio) where the group recorded two more of their songs that had a commercial sound – “Don’t Let It Fade Away” and “Just Today”. We were much more of a rock band than our recordings show.

Recorded at A&W Recording Studio, Del City, OK. Spring, 1966:

Just Today – written by Alan Rush and Irmon Gray

Ron Petty – Lead vocal, Trumpet
Alan Rush – Background vocal, Acoustic guitar
Ron Smith – Drums (Ludwig)
Stan Stotts – Acoustic guitar (Echo with an electric pickup)
Irmon Gray – Bass
Bob Mills – Sax (Selmer)

Don’t Let It Fade Away – Written by Alan Rush and Irmon Gray

Ron Petty – Lead vocal
Alan Rush – Background vocal, acoustic guitar
Ron Smith – Drums (Ludwig)
Stan Stotts – Acoustic guitar
Irmon Gray – Bass
Bob Mills – Piano

1966 and After – New Members and Styles

After these recordings Alan and Irmon decided they wanted to go in a different direction than the other members. So, on June 11, 1966, Alan and Irmon played their last dance with The Centuries and soon after formed a band called “The AIR”. However, the two songs were released as a single right after they left, so it became a little awkward having a record being played on air but the people who wrote and played on it were no longer in the group.

This was a very stressful time for Stan because he was now the lead guitarist and primarily responsible for figuring out the chord progressions. He wasn’t sure he could do it but, fortunately, he had learned a lot more from Alan than he realized, thus he was usually able to produce when needed. Alan and Irmon were replaced by Clay Mangum (guitar) and Tom Killup (bass).

Clay decided that attending college full time along with practicing and learning three to five new songs each week was too much so his last night with the band was October 3, 1966. John Whitehead replaced Clay and his first night was October 6, 1966. He was nicknamed “the kid” because the current members were in college and he was still in high school. John was a good rhythm guitarist and could sing some as well. After this point though, things started changing quickly and, in hindsight, it was evident that the band’s days were numbered.

Tom had to leave for military service, which meant that, once again, a replacement had to be found to play the bass. His last night was December 31, 1966. One of the people auditioned was Randy Jenkins who was playing for a group that Bob Mills had also played with called The Marauders. Randy was a pre-med student who was quiet, studious and just an all-around sharp guy. He eventually graduated and became a doctor. At the audition, Randy pulled a Gibson EBO bass out of his case. An EBO was considerably smaller than the Fenders Ron and Stan were used to hearing so they wondered if it could match the big sound of a Fender. It didn’t take Randy long to prove the Gibson could and then some. His first night was January 6, 1967 at a Ronnie Kaye teen hop in Seminole.

The primary recording studio in the 60’s was Gene Sullivan’s on Commerce (25th) Street in Capitol Hill. Three songs were recorded at Sullivan Recording Studio between 1/1/1967 and 3/15/1967:

Midnight Hour – Used during a performance on The Scene TV show and for possible release. This song is more representative of our rock roots and much more like what we played early on. When Petty left at the end of March and Bob at the end of August, we moved more toward the soul sound which what Smith was best at and we had a Hammond B3 organ by then.

Ron Smith – Lead Vocal, Drums
Stan Stotts – Lead Guitar
Randy Jenkins – Bass
John Whitehead – Rhythm Guitar
Bob Mills – Sax
Ron Petty – Trumpet

I’m A Believer – Used during a performance on The Scene TV show. We chose this song because one it was number one the Billboard Hot 100 on December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks.

Ron Smith – Background Vocal, Drums
Stan Stotts – Lead Guitar
Randy Jenkins – Bass
John Whitehead – Background Vocal; Rhythm Guitar
Bob Mills – Sax
Ron Petty – Lead Vocal

Please Listen – The one and only song ever written by Stan Stotts had a gritty, catchy intro and a strong follow through. But, we never could find the 3 part harmony it needed in the bridge to sustain the overall sound, which caused it to lose “the sound” at that point. Otherwise, it would have been considered for release. Unfortunately, it was the last of these 3 songs being recorded that day and we ran out of time and recording money. So, we let it go with the intent to work on it later but Petty had to quit the band a few weeks later and it was never pursued again).

Ron Smith – Background Vocal, Drums
Stan Stotts – Echo 12 string electric box guitar; customized Fender Telecaster through a Maestro Fuzz Tone
Randy Jenkins – Bass
John Whitehead – Background Vocal
Bob Mills – Tambourine
Ron Petty – Lead Vocal

By 1967 Ron Petty was married and working a full time job at a local steel company and although he needed the extra money, the hours were wearing him down so his last night was March 25, 1967 at a Don Wallace teen hop in Kiowa, Kansas. Actually, this wasn’t as big a hit as the group thought it would be because the musical style was changing to more soul and this was right up Ron Smith’s alley. But it did impact the group’s versatility when it came to performing tunes requiring combined harmonies like the Righteous Brothers, Sam and Dave, The Mamas and The Papas, etc.John Whitehead was an avid flyer and wanted to make that his career. After playing his last dance at Southwestern State College in Weatherford, OK on June 20, 1967, he left to pursue his love of aviation. The last they heard he was a pilot for UPS.

To replace John the group decided to take a different path. Bob had made friends with another music student at Southwestern, a keyboardist, named Mark Schwartz. The group agreed that bringing in a keyboard player instead of another guitar was a good idea because, again, the music style was changing. His first night was at the Bandito Club in OKC on June 30, 1967. Mark was younger than the “old guys” and remembered attending several of The Centuries’ teen hops in his hometown of Watonga. It wasn’t too long before Mark purchased a Hammond B3 organ with two Leslie speakers. It was a real hassle transporting that monster but it was worth it because it totally redefined their music style and sound.

Bob left the group just before the Fall semester of 1967 to finish school resulting in The Centuries becoming what it had been in the beginning, a four member group.

Nightclub Years, Breakup and Reunions

By the late 1960’s the teen hop scenario was starting to diminish. Getting jobs consistently was getting more difficult, so the group began considering the nightclub scene as a venue. However, getting into a good club was not that easy since most built their clientele by promoting one band. The group started playing on a semi-regular basis at a night club (more of a low end “fight club” actually) called the IWANA in Seminole, Oklahoma. Even though it could have been steady income this was not what the group wanted and they were tiring of the constant traveling and the setting up and taking down equipment every night. So in September, 1968 they accepted an offer to play every Thursday, Friday and Saturday as the house band at a relatively new club called the Take Five located on the N.E. corner of 10th & MacArthur in Oklahoma City, OK.

Although playing at the club was easy money, by the summer of 1969 it was becoming evident that the band was getting close to the end. Stan had gotten married and he and Ron were working full time jobs, plus they had been with the group since the beginning (8+ years) and playing was becoming more of a chore than the joy it used to be.

In addition, Randy was married and working hard to get into medical school and Mark, who was just beginning his musical career, was eager to start his own group (he would eventually start a group called The Mark IV and then later one called Starflight). Thus, it was mutually agreed that the time had come to end the band. In August of 1969 they sold the Chrysler limousine that had served them so well over the years. So, on October 26, 1969, at the Take Five Club, The Centuries played their last job. In attendance were Ron Smith, Stan Stotts, Mark Schwartz, Randy Jenkins, Alan Rush, Irmon Gray, Bob Mills and Ron Petty. All participated at some time during The Centuries finale.

The next time they got together as a band was twenty-five years later for the KOMA Rock n’ Roll Reunion held at the State Fairgrounds, Made In Oklahoma building on August 13, 1994. Ron Smith, Stan Stotts, Mark Schwartz, Randy Jenkins, Bob Mills and Ron Petty participated plus they added a trumpet player and three female background singers, one of which was Ron Smith’s daughter. The last time they were together as a band was a year later for the KOMA Rock n’ Roll Reunion held June 10, 1995 at the State Fairgrounds arena as a benefit for the Murrah Building bombing victims. This was even more of a family affair since not only was Ron’s daughter a background singer, but so was Randy’s.

After leaving the Centuries, Alan, Irmon along with a very talented local musician named Randy Cullers (drummer) formed a group called “The AIR”. Eventually, Alan and Randy took the “big leap” and went to Nashville to pursue a truly professional music career.

Alan started working in the industry as a writer, studio/road musician and recording engineer and is still there today. Also, he, Randy and several other musician/songwriters formed a group (JUBAL) and released at least one album that I know of. Alan co-wrote “Till You Opened My Eyes” on John Denver’s Some Days Are Diamonds album released in 1981.

After the band days I started a semi-professional photography endeavor. My main niche, and the most fun, was taking promo photographs for local bands/performers. This all started when Mark Schwartz was displeased with the results he got of his group from local photo studios. They usually just lined the people up as if it was for a mug shot at the local police department. Since I came from a rock group I had good idea of what they were looking for.

The Oklahoma Historical Center started an exhibit in May, 2009, called “Another Hot Oklahoma Night”. I got involved with them early on and many of The Centuries artifacts got displayed. I think that makes us official museum relics. The photo from the exhibit shows our red jacket, a photo of when were a totally instrumental group and the Maestro Fuzz-Tone I used on “I’d Cry for You” and a few other songs.

Stan Stotts