The Squires

Original drummer "Box" remembers how the Squires started: "I go back with Gene to 1964. Together with Larry Apple, Doug Yoder, George Benham, and Johnny McDonald we formed a blue eyed soul band, The Squires. I was the first drummer in the group. My nickname was Box (not to be explained here). In October 1965 I went into the Marines. After that Eddie Bayers took my place. Playing with Gene and the guys was the most fun I have ever had. I still have my set of Rogers blue onyx drums. Eddie used them for several years after I left. I just can't seem let go of the memories attached to them. We played all over the Nashville area, Vandy, Don's Den, Pirates Cove, other high schools, once in a while on Jefferson Street and at Fort Campbell. Gene was the driving musical force in the group. Back then he played a Farfisi compact. He was a natural who could play anything he heard or chose to. We stuck to a playlist of soul music, hits by James Brown, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding, to name a few. We practiced a lot over at Gene's old house on McGavock Pike in Donelson where Mr. and Mrs. Golden treated us like their own. What great people! It's easy to see where Gene got his good qualities. He was such a fun, easy going guy but when it came to music he could be very serious and always professional. Frankie was around back then and Kaye sometimes stopped in when we were practicing. It was just a very special time in my life that I have always treasured. And, Gene was at the center of it all. Laughing, singing, playing, joking around and being the cool guy that he was. "

After the Squires, Gene Golden later took over from the singer Robert Knight when he joined The Fairlanes in 1966 as a vocalist and organist.  He then became a member of the variety band The Graduates. He won an Emmy for a TV Theme, co-wrote a Cleo winning commercial for the Special Olympics. In 1972, Gene co-founded the R&B group, The Turning Point, which would then become the backing band for Kenny Rogers in 1978. He performed with Kenny Rogers backing band for over two decades. He passed away April 24, 2021.

https://www.feenotes.com/database/artists/golden-gene/

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/old-hickory-tn/eugene-golden-10167078