There were probably a number of long-haired musicians in the late 1960s and early 1970s who were told, “You’ll never amount to anything.”

Stephen Howard and his fellow friends and musicians heard that a time or two.

“I can’t say I was a student who stayed out of trouble,” said Howard, now 67 and the principal of Brooks High School in Killen. “There were some issues with the hairstyles at that time; it was the hippie style.”

Howard was the keyboard player for the Rocking Reactions, a Lauderdale County-based band that cut a 45-rpm record at a recording studio in Athens in 1969. Other members included Mike Parker, trumpet; Tommy Burgess, bass guitar; Roger Bailey, drums; Ray McCafferty, guitar; Rennie Belue, guitar; and Scotty Smith, vocals.

A copy of the group’s record was recently found at an Athens store by record collector Paul Sharritt. He issued a public call for information about the record, and an article about his discovery appeared in the Jan. 31 edition of The News Courier.

Howard said after he revealed he was a member of the band, he had received “quite a few questions.” His students were unaware of his rock star ambitions.

“That was my goal at the time — to be a rock star,” he said with a chuckle. “There were a lot of other (bands) around at that time. It was very competitive.”

The band went through a number of incarnations before and after The Rocking Reactions. Howard recalls the group practiced in an old chicken shed in Anderson.

“There were still chicken houses all around it,” he said.

Howard played a Wurlitzer electric piano and eventually bought a Fender Rhodes.

“That’s where we put all the money — in equipment,” he said.

The Rocking Reactions played at the recreation center in Rogersville and at Brooks High School’s prom. Howard said the band was influenced by a number of 1960s rock groups, like Creedence Clearwater Revival. He added the A-side of the 45 cut by the group, “I Was Wrong,” was heavily influenced by CCR.

Howard verified the song was cut at an Athens studio owned and operated by Gilbert Greenhaw in the late 1960s and 1970s. Greenhaw’s daughter, Janet Nix, was one of those who wrote to Sharritt about the studio. She said her father owned both Crown Publishing and Star Records. The Rocking Reactions’ 45 carries a Star Records label.

Sharritt also heard from James Thomas, who said Greenhaw’s studio was located on Hobbs Street, next to the railroad tracks. The studio recorded vocalists and bands from the Athens area and a variety of genres.

“There is a parking lot there now,” he said. “As you might expect, recordings were paused many times due to trains coming through.”

Thomas said Greenhaw was the producer, recording engineer and also steel guitar player. He also explained Greenhaw had contacts with RCA Records in Nashville, who may have helped press the records.

After music

The Rocking Reactions eventually morphed into the Anderson Creek Band, which Howard said remained together for four or five years.

“It was constantly changing,” he said of the band.

He played weekend gigs with the band through college, which is how he earned money.

After he graduated, however, he decided to get a “real job.”

“It’s a 180 from (the band years), but I can look back and say, ‘That was fun,’” he said.

Howard doesn’t play in public any more, but he still tickles the ivories at home when the mood strikes him. He’s also kept in touch with most of his former bandmates, two of whom — McCafferty and Belue — have performed together recently.

When asked if he’d be willing to perform with The Rocking Reactions again, Howard said he’s open to the idea.

“A reunion would be fun,” he said.