Villagers Ed and Irene Baran seemed to find a way home Saturday thanks to the Mid Atlantic Club.
The couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary in the company of friends from Maryland who tuned in and turned on to the music of the Fabulous Hubcaps.
“It’s almost like being home,” Ed Baran said of the sell out show at the Savannah Center.
Instead of the state song “Maryland My Maryland,” the Hubcaps blasted away on such classics as “I Get Around,” “All Right Now,” “It’s My Party,” “My Boyfriend’s Back” and “Summertime Blues.”
The oldies band entertained a packed house for the Mid Atlantic Club. Proceeds benefitted Combat Veterans To Careers.
The club includes Villagers who hail from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Washington D.C. and the surrounding area.
“These are our people and this is our crowd,” said Denny Cook, lead singer of the Hubcaps. “And this is our music. We all grew up with it.”
The tight and entertaining band dressed in various costumes and acted out musical scenes, while covering the music from the 1950s to the Beach Boys to Whitney Houston and beyond.
Ed Baran, 83, and Irene, 82, fondly remember the old days and the old songs.
“The people here are so friendly,– just like back home,” Irene said.
The music added to the festivities of their 60th year of marriage.
“It’s a long time, but who’s counting,” Ed said. “These songs bring back a lot of good memories.”
Villagers LaVerne and Mort Holtz, who came here from the Baltimore area, felt a sense of community.
“We’ve lived in The Villages for 12 years but tonight being here with all our friends, we feel right back home,” LaVerne said.
The Mid-Atlantic Club brought the Fabulous Hubcaps here for the past three years. During that time, the club has raised over $20,000 to help veterans.
“We feel good about that and we want to do more,” said Diane Rich, longtime club president who is now vice-president. She said in the past seven years, the club has grown from about 35 members to nearly 400.
“We have a lot of social activities and get together once a month,” said Rich who attended the event with her husband, Dennis.
David Booth, president and CEO of “Combat Veterans To Careers,” appreciated the donations.
“It means a lot to us,” he said. “It’s not just the money, but increasing the awareness to help veterans. Many of the people here tonight are veterans, or they have children or grandchildren who are veterans. We want to help as many as we can.”
The Hubcaps know how to put on a rollicking show. The group has been together nearly four decades and kept up a frantic pace all night long.
They opened with a couple of chestnuts, “Let the Good Times Roll” and “Pretty Woman.” Then Lorraine Allen showed her serious side on a gorgeous cover of “At Last.” The band got back to rocking with singers Denny Cook and Jay Cleaver leading the way on a Beach Boys’ medley that included, “Surfin’ Safari,” and “I Get Around.”
Lead guitarist Michael Shipley showed off his chops on the Ventures’ “Walk Don’t Run.” He then played some hot licks while singing “All Right Now,” by Free, and Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.”
Things turned goofy during the second set when Cook and Cleaver dressed as 50’s girls as they teamed with Lorraine Allen on “Leader of the Pack” and “My Boyfriend’s Back.”
Cleaver regained his composure on a stirring instrumental, “Stranger on the Shore.” Allen offered the highlight of the evening, singing a powerful version of “Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”