A Blast From the Past
By Anne V. Hull
Times Staff Writer, April 23,1990
Back when music was played with real instruments and
before bands had names like Naugahyde Chihuahua or the Cramps, when back seats
were big and roomy, when men were men and women were girls, there was a local
group called The Impacs. "Life back then, it was slower, easier," said
Maxine Cabrera of Tampa, better known as "Little Queenie Maxinie" with
the Boppers, an oldies dance club. "There wasn't all the frustration."
Buoyed by a cloud of crinoline, Evelyn Kennedy thanks her partner and floats off the dance floor after Twist and Shout. She loves this kind of music. It reels her back to high school in the 1950's. "It was so good for me then," she said, her eyes sparkling under the colored lights. "It was so clean and wholesome. I was starting to raise a family." Many people in the casino are dressed in bobby socks, saddle shoes, poodle skirts, white T-shirts with rolled-up sleeves and penny loafers. Somehow these outfits seem like shields against the passage of time. The teenagers are adults now, but they did when rock 'n' roll was born. "Why grow old?" asks Bob Kosek, an accountant with a devilish smile and slicked-back hair flecked with silver. After hours of practice on the living room carpet, 9-year-old Patrick Gibson is the master of the jitterbug, twist and shag. Unlike other kids his age, he doesn't know how to moonwalk and doesn't watch MTV. He has a crew cut and loves music from the'50s and '60s. Only after some prodding will he admit a weakness for Nintendo. "We can do this as a family," said Lee Gibson, Patrick's father. A large rhinestone pin on Sandra Braddock's blouse left little room for interpretation: SHAG. This is the favorite dance of anyone under the influence of the Impacs.
From the moment they formed in the summer of 1960, the Impacs were a success. They made a record in Miami, Lost Love, and it became a Florida hit. They toured with Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and Ray Stevens. They shared the same record label with Chubby Checker and Bobby Rydell. In some towns, they got their shirts and skinny black ties pulled off by screaming girls, just like the Beatles. They were offered an appearance on national TV with Dick Clark," but we turned him down to take final exams at St. Petersburg Junior College," said Impacs leader and drummer Bobby Barnes.
Though the group never truly hit the big time, few other bands have enjoyed their longevity and loyal following. The same high schools that hired the Impacs for a senior prom 25 years ago are now hiring the group for class reunions. The band plans to start touring Florida again playing some of the old places it used to in the '60s.
"On the way to the crematorium, I'll be playin, Little Richard in my head," said Barnes speaking for the rest of the crowd in the casino.