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The band the "Prophets" are coming out of hiatus to preform at the Paradise School Reunion.
As usual there will be a DJ. After the DJ is done, the Prophets will play.
There will be Prophet T-shirts for sale. These collector T-shirts will be on sale at the reunion for 18.00 dollars. They are shown at the bottom of this post.
Here is a little history of the Prophets.
History of
"The Prophets" Band
In 1962 Gene Angel and Dan
Hoisington of Paradise, along with a couple of other friends, decided to take
guitar lessons from a musician in Russell, Kansas. After a few months they
decided to start their own band and, while kicking around names, heard a band on the radio called "Sam
the Sham and the Pharoes" which inspired the name "The
Prophets".
To complete the band, Gene and Dan
asked Ronnie Hendershott of Natoma if he would be interested in joining them
and he agreed to play the guitar. Still
needing a bass player, they talked to Dennis Finch of Natoma who agreed to play
the bass guitar. Dan then switched to
drums.
In the summer of 1963, after several
weeks of practicing, the group decided to enter a talent contest in Plainville,
Kansas where they took second place.
Encouraged by this, they booked the American Legion in Lucas, Kansas and
put up posters advertising their first public dance. The first dance was a success and, while
there was a good crowd of teenagers in attendance, there were also a few older
folks who thought "The Prophets" was a religious group. It didn't take long for these older people to
leave!
"The Prophets" continued
to practice and book more dances. Their popularity continued to grow and they
soon found themselves playing most Saturday evenings in central Kansas. About 1965 they added a trumpet player and
sax player who continued to play off and on for a few years. Soon they expanded
their horizons and started playing for dances all over Kansas and in a few
Nebraska towns. They built a band
trailer to haul their equipment and started playing on both Friday and Saturday
nights.
"The Prophets" continued
to make music throughout their time in high school. In 1967 Gene Angel left for
college so this brought a temporary halt to the band. However, from time to time they would still
play few dances in the area. Ronnie Hendershott and Dan Hoisington played
together in a band in Manhattan, Kansas during 1968 and Dennis Finch graduated
from high school so the band members went their separate ways.
Eventually, the band members moved
back to the Russell area and opened their own Honky Tonk in Paradise,
Kansas. This would have been around 1973
and the name of their band was changed to "Paradise". The dances in Paradise became quite large
with kids from far and near coming to town.
Most Saturday nights found Main Street full of cars and kids. In one stretch "The Prophets"
played 63 consecutive Saturdays. They also played numerous wedding dances and
at clubs in the area. As Dennis Finch
was an artist, the band sold many t-shirts and sweatshirts that he
designed. These shirts are still
somewhat popular today as, from time to time, Dennis is still asked if he has
any "Prophets" shirts for sale.
As most members were raising
families it was decided to close the Honky Tonk in 1977. In 1988 the Natoma, Kansas Labor Day
committee asked the "Prophets" to get together and play once more at
their Labor Day celebration. They agreed to play one more time together so the
dance was billed the "One Stop World Tour".
Gene Angel now owns a ranch and has
an accounting business in Natoma, Kansas. Ronnie Hendershott lives in Hays,
Kansas and is now retired from the music business . Dennis Finch is a minister in Beloit and Dan
Hoisington is retired. All that can be
said is " You are never too old to Rock & Roll."
Check out their pictures here on the blog.
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THE PROPHETS - Photos
Be sure and get your t-shirts at the reunion. They will be $18.00.
Contact Dan Hoisington for advanced orders. post@gorhamtel.com
