Dee Jays

All the members of the Dee Jays were at the prom in 1964. William was a sophomore but was the date of an upper classman. After the band hired for the occasion had stunk up the gym for a couple of sets, the next time they took a break the Dee Jays brought out their instruments & took the stage. The hired band never got it back.

Mike Lawrence, William Watson, David Hinton, Robert Perry, & Harmon Drew. Probably doing "Wine, Wine, Wine" or "What I Say." How would you like to appear in court & find out the sitting judge is the wild man on the far right in this photo.

Larry Mays

This may be a Quade Photograph

The Disciples of Jazz: William Watson, David Hinton, Robert Perry, Mike Lawrence, & Harmon Drew.

The DeeJays went their separate ways after graduation in 1964. Harmon later played with the Monks & the Ivy Peebles Medicine Show at LSU & for many years has had the Harmon Drew Super Group & still plays gigs every weekend. A few years ago the LA legislature passed an exception to a law forbidding elected officials from working for the casinos so that Harry Connick, Sr., the Orleans Parish DA, & Harmon, an elected judge, could play at the riverboats.

We were a little rock and roll band. They were formed in the spring of 1962. I joined in October of 1962. The band broke up in 1964 when all of them graduated but me. I then formed a band called The Tear Drops. (If you could have heard us, you'd agree that was an appropriate name.)

I wrote an article about The Dee Jays that is somewhere in Minden Memories with some pictures that were furnished by Larry Mays. We consisted of Harmon Drew (piano), Mike Lawrence (drums), Robert Perry (guitar), David Hinton (trombone), Tommy Carey (trumpet), and me on sax. Soon after I joined in October of 1962, David and Tommy left the band. David and Tommy were both very smart and talented guys. David (son of Mr. and Mrs. Don Hinton-- of "Hinton's Dairy" and Sanitary Dairy milk) was killed in 1966 in a car accident one morning while driving to Centenary. (Like Tommy, he would likely have gone on to be a physician. His interest was neurosurgery.) In about 1995 Minden dedicated a park with a nature trail as David Hinton Park. I was honored to be asked to speak at the dedication alongside David's brother, Donnie. David and I were camping buddies and had gone on trips together to Upper Caney lake, South Oklahoma, and South Texas. He really had a great appreciation for the outdoors.

This is a preview of what you will see as you first enter the Herman Drew website...