“Would you deposit this next time you go to the bank?”
“OK,” she replied. “What about dinner, son?”
“I’ll get something on the way. Mike said to give you his love. I just talked to him.”
“Well. That’s nice.” She was always gratified to hear that her sons talked to each other. “Do you want something to take with you? I could make you a sandwich.” She always went through the whole gamut of food she could make him.
“Really, mom, the breakfast was great and I’m still stuffed.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “See you when I get back. Love you.”
She patted his cheek and smiled. “Love you, too, son.”
After leaving Mark’s house, he arrived at The Mag a little before seven. Ruben left the acoustic in the trunk and brought in his Gretch, gym bag, and show clothes. Corky was already setting up equipment and had his little brother, Bull, with him. Bull was a big, strong kid who liked playing roady with his brother. He thought it was a good way to meet girls, and it was.
The stage was a huge wooden affair with a front that curved outward onto the dance floor, giving the Mustangs plenty of room to move around. Corky and Bull had set up the PA system and all the amplifiers. Steve, the drummer, had already arrived and was adjusting his drums. As the other members arrived, each began tuning up and running through scales and riffs.
When everyone was satisfied they were in tune with each other and the sound check was finished, Mark said, “Rube and I worked out those two songs and wrote down the chords.” Mark handed sheets of paper to Vince, the bass player, and Eddie, the organ player. That’s all they needed.
“Let’s try Unchained Melody.” The band had decided to learn it because people were always asking for it. It was the same situation with ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
Everyone knew exactly what to do. The drummer tapped his sticks together three times and they played the intro. When Mark started singing, he nailed the notes and the runs. He almost sounded better than the original.
After they finished, they played it three more times and were satisfied. They did the same thing with the other song. Ruben expressed his concern about people being able to dance to it and Eddie said they’d play it later on after people in the crowd drank the booze they snuck in. The Mag didn’t sell liquor, but security turned a blind eye to people who brought it in, which most people did.
The doors were going to open in about thirty minutes so they stopped to change, feeling they were ready. By the time the doors opened, almost four hundred people were waiting outside and more were walking up. Usually, they got one thousand to fifteen hundred people at these dances at four dollars a person, then sold soft drinks and snacks at jacked-up prices. The promoters hired local biker gangs for security. In Fresno in 1966, The Mag was the place to be on Saturday night.
Anyone who has ever played in a band knows that the first song will tell you how good you will sound that night. The first song the Mustangs played was ‘Gimme Some Lovin,’ and they knew tonight was something special. Corky usually walked around the dance floor on the first song and listened for any adjustments in volume that needed to be made. At the end of the first song the band saw him mouth the word “perfect.”
After ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Good Loving,’ and ‘Help Me Rhonda,’ the crowd was screaming, clapping, and whistling between songs. Some pushing broke out but security quickly stopped it. They played ‘Have Mercy’ and took a break per their contract. When they returned, they played ‘Kicks,’ ‘Hit the Road Jack,’ ‘Honky Tonk Woman,’ and ‘Mustang Sally.’ Then someone yelled out ‘Unchained Melody’ and Mark took the microphone.
“Did I hear somebody say ‘Unchained Melody’?” There was an immediate roar. “We can play that, and this will be the first time we play it at a gig. ARE YOU READY?” The crowd responded and Steve tapped it off. By this time, girls lined the stage, resting their elbows on the railing and whispering in each other’s ear.
If you were facing the stage, Ruben was on the far right, his normal spot. Mark always took the middle, and Vince, the bass player, took the far left. Eddie, the organ player, was behind Vince. The drummer was behind them all and controlled the tempos.
When they started playing “Unchained Melody,” Ruben saw her. She was standing at the very end of the stage, maybe ten feet from where he stood, half hidden by the curtain. He couldn’t see her clearly but there was something that drew him to her. He took a couple of steps and stopped as the soft stage light revealed the most beautiful girl he had ever seen looking straight at him. Her beauty shocked him, the way a miracle would. He finally smiled, and she smiled back. Her smile was so dazzling that he almost made a mistake. Eddie started his organ lead and Ruben switched to open chords. He had the last part of the lead and put everything he had into it.
After the lead, Mark picked it up. “I-I-I-I-I need your love. I need your love. God speed your love to-o-o-o me-e-e-e-e.” Ruben looked at her and saw her smile and mouth the word “WOW.” Ruben smiled and mouthed “thank you.”
After the song ended, someone yelled “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Mark said into the mike, “’Fun, Fun, Fun’ by the Beach Boys. This is Ruben’s song. Come on, man. It’s your turn.”
Ruben loved doing this song. He stepped up to the lead mike and Steve tapped it off. The crowd was having a great time. Every time the band sang “fun, fun, fun,” the crowd screamed it also. During the guitar lead, Ruben looked over in the corner and she was gone - his heart sank. But then he thought, Take it easy, man. She’s around. She’s probably dancing and realized he felt a twinge of jealousy.
At their next break, Ruben went looking and saw her talking to a boy, her back to Ruben. He thought, I’ve got to talk to her. He stood back a couple of seconds, trying to get up the nerve to say something. He finally thought, do it, you idiot.
He walked up behind her. In the dim light, her hair looked jet-black. It hung down to the middle of her back and was thick and curly. Ruben tapped her on the shoulder and she turned.
“Oh, hello,” she said with that dazzling smile. “My name’s Esther Rosenberg.” She extended her hand and, as he took it, something shot through him. He felt himself shaking inside and tried to calm down.
“Hi,” he said, trying his best not to look or sound stupid. “My name’s Ruben Barlow. I saw you and wanted to say hello.”
“I’m glad you did.” Her eyes looked as black as her hair. She turned to the guy she was talking to. “This is my brother, Ben. Ben, Ruben.” Ruben extended his hand but Ben shot a threatening glance that said, “You touch my sister, you’re a dead man.” Ruben didn’t care. He was just glad to know Ben wasn’t competition. Esther caught the exchange and took charge. “You, sir, are an excellent musician.’
Ben spoke with a hostile edge to his voice, “My sister has played the piano for years. She’s great.” His tone was saying that his sister was a real musician.
Esther touched Ben’s check with a perfect hand. “Thank you, dear brother, but I think we’re in the presence of true talent here. Is your family musical, Ruben?”
“My mother was singing opera with a touring company when she met Dad. She’s forever trying to get me to learn notes and play classical music.”
Esther mouth fell open. She reached out and touched his arm. “You mean you can play like that and you don’t read notes? How can you do that?”
“I never thought about it. It just happens.”
Just then, Bull opened the stage door. “Time, Ruben.”
“OK, Bull. Thanks.” The door was still open when Ruben looked back at Esther and could fully see her beauty in the new light. He took in a sharp breath.
“Are you all right, Ruben?” asked Esther.
Ruben had to tell her or he would never forgive himself.