The Invergordon Archive

Poor cousin Jim, he tried very hard to teach me the piano but with no luck.

Jim MacLennan was a music teacher at Invergordon Academy. He also took private pupils in violin, cello and piano. The period at the end of the war saw the age of the Big Band and Jim formed a band called "Jim MacLennan and his Moonlight Serenaders", no doubt named after the hit tune of Glen Millar. They played at the weekly dances held on Wednesdays in the Town Hall and frequented by the various service men stationed locally. The dances were discontinued as demobilisation took effect.

Gordon, thanks for the info on my GreatUncle Jim's band. I knew he had a band but not the name of it or where they played. Do you know the names of any of the band members and how many there were in it?

Sorry Jackie, I am not able to supply much information on Jim's band. I was hardly of an age to go to dances at that time but I enjoyed listening to the music and watching the dancers. We used to sit on the garden wall beside the Picture-house Lane and, as the curtains were not drawn, we had a grandstand view of the proceedings. I think that some of the band members may have been service-men. To the best of my recollection there was a trumpeter, a saxophone player, a clarinet player, a drummer and Jim on the piano. The dances were usually well attended and the dancers very enthusiastic. This was the start of the "jive" era and some of the routines were quite acrobatic. I played in a little evening-class orchestra run by Mr Kerr, a teacher who lived a Rosskeen. Jim played the piano, Mr Kerr, Frank Simpson, Jock MacKenzie (a telephone linesman) and myself played the violin. A young RAF man named Hubble played the clarinet and another service-man, the trumpet. Sorry to be so vague but this was more than sixty years ago!

Jim Maclennan did his best to teach me how to play the piano every week. I enjoyed playing "by ear" more especially from the "Top Twenty" on the wireless. I think he thought I was a lost cause! However whenever I did play a tune well he would get his mother in to listen to me play. Praise indeed.

Please add your comments about this picture using the form below.

Comments


Your Name


Your email address - this will be shown on the page and will allow the system to notify you of further comments added to this picture.