Under CHS football coach Buck Priester the Bulldogs had initiated the practice of entering and exiting the field under the goal post. The first half lived up to its' mediocrity and as the last seconds of the first half came to a close, one of the players asked Buck what action we should take as to exiting the field. Buck looked around and says"run through the goal post." The problem was that the B-C band was under the goal post and had extended its' formation out onto the field. We did as we were told and some members of the team knocked around members of the B-C band.
As we entered the field to start the 2nd half, we were roundly booed by all the fans.The powers that be met at the court house steps that night and fired Buck. It did not become official for a week, but Priester could have called the movers Saturday morning. This move worked out just fine because Red Lynch was hired to replace Priester.
Harvey Clarke, the Captain of the football team, had to go and apologize to the entire B-C student body the next week. However Harvey was on the field and had nothing to do with the members of the band being pushed around.
The B-C and Camden bands would meet later and for the third straight year B-C would win the championship by a single point. Their same victory total for the previous two years. One would wonder that the margin was so close that one wrong step or a hiccup caused these losses.
Bill Basden had come to Camden in 1958 and quickly turned a mediocore program into a first class program. He would maintain this degree of excellence until his retirement in the late 70's.
Bill's bands won numerous awards but his most spectatular year may have been the 63-64 school year. First, with the cheer of 'two bits, four bits, six bits a dollar- all for Camden stand up and holler' ringing in their ears, Camden won its' first state championship, by 3 points over B-C. This achievement was to be followed by winning the title of "the Greatest Band in Dixie" in New Orleans at the Mardis Gras festival in the Spring of '64. This feat is truly amazing because they edged out bands twice as large.
Bill Basden did as much as any educator in bringing prominence and pride to this community. Ray Hazelwood, who was an All American High School band member,stated that being under Mr. Basden was like taking an advanced music appreciation course. Many former band members such as Jim Ring remember practicing at band camp almost to the point of exhaustion. Former Drum Majorette Marie Strickland Sheheen says that Mr. Basden was a perfectionist and he expected you to be one also. In pre-computer days Bill would use golf tees to create formations. He was not afraid to challenge his members with hard to master new formations and marches. He was ahead of many of his peers.
Many of his former students were influenced by their band days. Robin Hough is a member of the Houston Symphony. Jerry Sheheen, Earl Rush, Johnny Rowland, and Sandy Sanders{ the band captain in 63-64} still play music in a dance band. Jerry states that Mr. Basden-former members don't call him Bill- would instill such confidence in you that you felt that you cold perform under any circumstance and in any surrounding..
A past band Captain, the former Kathy Griffeth, says " Mr. Basden was fair and firm. He gave his best and expected the same from you."
I don't know if the band community has a high school Hall of Fame, but if it does then Mr. Bill Basden should be a member.
(note: submitted by Buster Beckham)