The Lancers

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Starting when the members were from different high schools, four Vanderbilt University engineering students became ‘Nashville’s Most Popular Combo.’ The band dissolved after they all graduated (BE’65 in civil engineering).

Lancers80s.jpg

History[edit | edit source]

While they went to different high schools, all four members were in the same high school fraternity, as sophomores in 1958. Gene Kirby, who became the drummer, was close friends with Harry Moore who owned a guitar and a knowledge of music gleaned from WMAK, the Nashville radio station.

In an interview with Vincent Troia for the VU Engineering website, Moore recalls “While our classmates were happily listening to Elvis (Presley), we were listening to Mississippi Delta and Chicago blues of the day...I think we were smitten with that sound and emotion, and later, as the Lancers, blues music was our passion.” When Phil Hendrickson joined the two-piece they formed a short-lived trio called 'BH and the Betas.' Gene Kirby, by default the group’s leader/promoter/manager, remembers spotting Logan Hickerson in the audience at a Belle Meade gig where 'BH and the Betas' was playing. Before the fraternity, the two had met years earlier at a Lipscomb University day camp. “I knew he played saxophone, so at the Belle Meade party, I saw him in the crowd and recruited him,” Kirby said.

As a four piece they adopted a car-tagged name similar to other local favorites, the Fairlanes, Impalas, and the Monarchs., becoming the Lancers named after a popular Dodge car of the day.


Rooted in the blues of the day, the band also took inspiration from the early rock'n'roll sound and even jazz. As Hickerson recalled to Vincent Troia, “It is hard to describe how that can work so seamlessly but it did. Call it chemistry, or synergy, or whatever it is, we had that,” he added. “As engineers, we experimented I guess, but we still can’t figure out how we did it.” ‘Fun’ was the component that solidified the combo from the beginning. Hickerson says academics always were the priority; the band was a way to have some fun and earn some spending money. According to Kirby, the band was earning $100 a show when they started out, but sometimes The Lancers would just play and not worry about the money. “We played a hop in Gallatin and got paid $30 after driving all the way up there,” Kirby said. “Most of that went for gas. But we had a lot of fun; there were a lot of girls up there.” According to writer Vincent Troia, "He was quick to point out that the Lancers did a lot of improvising in their shows. There was a synergism that tied them together, with each musician unconsciously knowing where the others were going, so Hickerson thinks even a recording or two wouldn’t give an accurate measure of the band. And he remembers why:

“Harry once said that we had one true distinction in that we never played the same song the same way twice.”


During their heyday, the group competed regularly in Battle of the Bands competitions, including a 1962 competition at War Memorial Auditorium. While they claimed ‘Nashville’s Most Popular Combo’ honors, a title that thereafter adorned the band’s business cards, Harry Moore believed the win “was only due to our (then) girlfriends stuffing the ballot box at the contest,” according to an interview with VU Engineering magazine. Their sets at the time included a possible 90-song playlist and included up to 4 hours o live music, as seen in a Tennessean write-up from 1961.

1961.jpg


Pat Patrick, in conversation with Jonathan Marx, remarked how even decades later, he "still marvels at the rumbling sound of the Lancers, whose drummer, Gene Kirby, miked his kick drum for explosive effect."


After graduation in 1965, the members shelved the showmanship to pursue further academics pursuits, master and doctorate degrees, plus marriage and family. Hendrickson earned a Ph.D. in optical physics; Moore a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from Vanderbilt.

Band Members[edit | edit source]

Logan Hickerson - saxophone

Gene Kirby - drums

Harry Moore - lead guitar

Phil Hendrickson - bass, keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals

External references[edit | edit source]

https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/news/2013/lancers%E2%80%99-legend-lives-on-for-%E2%80%9860s-hometown-graduates/

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/rock-in-a-hard-place/article_ec4e8fd8-74f6-517a-8066-98909d02a2d5.html