“[Bob] was the anchor of our group, The Expressions. I was the last addition as the drummer and didn’t even have a drum set. He had just seen me practicing on his studio drum set and decided to take a chance. I was a well-known bass player in Dallas but seemed to have the ability to pick up other instruments.

    “We were actually a 5-piece group. Frank Cole was the most musically talented on all the saxes and had a beautiful voice.

    “I started out singing and songwriting and had a hit in 1963 called ‘Summer’s Comin’.’ I did get on *American Bandstand* in June of 1963. Dick [Clark] interviewed me live and immediately got his tour manager to invite me to join the *Caravan of Stars* tour.

    “Things were moving fast. William Morris wanted to sign me, and I signed a management contract with Stan Allan, who managed the Four Seasons.

     “But it was 1963 and we know what happened next. The Beatles pushed a lot of us to ‘One Hit Wonders.’”

    [EDITOR’S NOTE: Kirby and I are about the same age, and I, along with a number of U.S. rock-and-roll bands, suffered the same fate. In my case, my group, King Richard and the Knights, had a number one hit on Albuquerque’s top 40 A.M. radio station KQEO in 1963 with an instrumental titled *Precision*, which resulted in an offer by L.A.’s Dot Records to release it worldwide. But a month later, we got a dear-John letter that stated that the teens have fallen in love with the Beatles and have put the U.S. rock-and-roll bands in the back seat, including the instrumental-rock bands. Therefore, we’re sorry to say that we will have to pass. I hated the Beatles and all the other British acts that followed. The U.K. bands are now the rock-and-roll kings of the world.]

    “I was from Dallas and spent a lot of time at KLIF, the number-one station and the home of the owners of my record label, Inette Records. This all took place before payola was outlawed and disc jockeys could not own record companies.

    “There I was, caught in the Perfect Storm. My career eventually became a comedian working on cruise ships for at least thirty years. Now I’m retired and living in Granbury, Texas and NOT married to a wonderful woman like you are. I tried four times. Eighty-one years old and still looking for a gig. I know how to do that.”

    [Dick Stewart and his wife Judi celebrated their 61st anniversary last July 15, tax day.]

    “I really enjoyed your book and am still amazed how I got it. Guess I was meant to have it so I can see how much we all go through to simply entertain others. I hope you’re alive and well and as healthy as all of us eight-somethings can possibly be.

    “Your Friend (You don’t know it yet), 

Kirby.”

EDITOR’S QUESTIONS:

DS: What an amazing, well-written autobiography. Did you do well with the BMI and record label royalties of *Summer’s Comin’*?

KSR: I got a decent return from BMI, but not one red cent of royalties. This is because Inette had sold distribution rights (no doubt for a nice chunk of money) to Diamond Records in NY, owned by Joe Kolsky, who became very angry that I had signed a management contract with Stan Allan, who also had the Four Seasons. Suddenly, I began to disappear from the charts, and Stan wouldn’t even answer my phone calls. He had been threatened by Kolsky. Say goodbye to Inette and Kirby St. Romain.

DS: How high did *Summer’s Comin’* get on Billboard’s top 40 chart?

KDR: Number 32.

DS: How many releases did you have with Inette Records and how did you come up with that name?

KDR: I don’t know how many releases there were, but it was enough to get national attention. Two KLIF DJs started the label. One had a wife named Inez . . . hence “Inette.”

DS: What was the worst gig you performed with the band and the best?

KDR: Our band with Bob Kelly was called the Expressions and was very popular in the Nevada lounge scene. Before those years, we were a road band, sometimes having to drive across the country (San Francisco to Richmond, VA!). Any horror stories would be travel stories.

Enough for now . . . good luck with your song, 

And good luck to Kamala.

Give the instrumental a listen, and if you believe Dick and Ritch’s tune would work for the Harris/Walz campaign, you’re free to download and share THE HEATBEAT OF A FREEDOM ADVOCATE, KAMALA HARRIS.

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