John
DuVal ~ Guitar
Leon
Etlinger ~ Bass
John
Goldman ~ Saxophone
Lanny
Hunt ~ Keyboards, Vocals
Dick
Peterson ~ Drums
Garfield
West ~ Saxophone
Shirley
~ Vocals
Others
??
Guest Musician
Dave
Maitland ~ Guitar
We made one record for Sure Star records in '64, entitled " I Just Can't Say I Don't Love You"Lanny formed the band in Jan 1964 . He was passing by a house where some of us were jamming and came in and asked if we wanted to form a band. He knew Leon but none of the other people there... so we got this band together
Lanny's original band was called the Majestics. For some reason he wanted something different so he formed the Themes. When we broke up he went back to the Majestic for awhile before moving to Ogden Utah in the 70's.
The ironic part is that a few years before when i was a Sophomore, I was in a band called the Majestics and we were in this battle of the bands thing and one of the other bands there was Lanny Hunt with his band, The Majestics. One of us had to modify the band name to avoid confusion. Two years later I wound up playing with the guy. Lanny was a special person.
The Themes were the first integrated band I'm sure Portland had ever seen at the time. I was one of only four white guys in a 10 piece soul band. It was a great honor and privilege to play with these guys. It was truly on of the high points in my musical experience.
John DuVal, December 2001
In
Memory of
Garfield
West, USMC
Garfield West, Jr. was born on February 20, 1947 and joined the United States Marine Corps while in Portland, Oregon. On August 19, 1967, at the age of 20, Garfield West, Jr. perished in the service of our country in South Vietnam, Quang Nam Province. When you visit the Vietnam Memorial, you can find Garfield West, Jr. honored on Panel 25E, Row 18.
Last
Update: 14 April 2002
Credits:
Don
Rogers, John DuVal