It doesn’t seem that long ago, but 1968 is over 50 years long and the sound and sight of The Triumphs still ring in my ear. Well, the ringing in my ear could’ve come from standing right next to huge speakers stacked on one another when The Triumphs took to the stage. I started entering early manhood and rock and roll with the band that would be forever in my mind.
The Triumphs were many Rock and Roll teenager’s band of choice, playing rock and roll and killing their moral soul. But this may be the era in which our music died and the last train left for the coast. The Triumphs have officially announced that the band is retiring after a few more gigs.
The regional band began in 1959 as a trio featuring Denver Zatyka, Teddy Mensik and Tim Griffith. Tim got his first guitar from his father, who received the guitar and amplifier as a loan that went into default. By 1960, The Tri- umphs had their first professional paying gig.
Starting in a small warehouse in Rosenburg, Texas and sponsored by the Lone Star Beer Distributing Company in Rosenburg, gave the boys in the band a practice site. The beer distributor whose warehouse they practiced in also furnished the young group money to pay for incidentals as they traveled to their shows. Denver Zatyka’s dad, Felix, owned the distributorship.
The Triumphs, derived from the car’s brand name by the same name, played on a circuit that included Riverside Hall in East Bernard, Swiss Alps Hall in Swiss Alps and New Bielau Hall in New Bielau and the Wharton and Houston area. The band’s music centered on the 60s and 70s Rock and Roll.
Members Tom Griffith who played guitar; Don Drachenberg played sax and vocals; Gary Koeppen (possibly an original member) played trumpet and vocals; and BJ Thomas, vocals, quickly joined the group. By 1962, the band had written several songs to the Top 10 of Houston’s Top 40 list. In addition, local hits such as
Lazy Man, I Know It’s Wrong, I’ve Got A Feeling, and Garner State Park put the group on the music radar.
In 1964, Fred Carney joined the band, and in 1965-66, the very successful song, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, became a national number-one hit. Unfortunately for The Triumphs, this hit spelled the first member BJ Thomas to leave the band and go solo. As enticing as it was to follow BJ, the band went solo without Thomas. They felt their hometown calling them to stay regional and several members’ personal responsibilities kept the group alive, knocking out cover tunes to the halls filled with their loyal following.
The group first decided to hang it up in 1980 with over 20 years of being on the road. Weekends and holidays were filled with playing dates, but the band ran out of steam … temporarily. Twelve years later, in 1992, the original band returned for the Summer Reunion Tour of 1992, with over 2,500 Triumph fans packing the Riverside Hall in East Bernard. The group decided to continue with newer members and replacements for those hanging it up.
But now it’s time to say goodbye as The Triumphs wind down with their fi nal tour dates for 2023.
The band will be rocking the oldies for the last time at Riverside Hall in East Bernard on Saturday, Jan. 28 and at Swiss Alps, between Schulenburg and La Grange, on Saturday, Feb. 18.
And to think it all started with a guitar used as collateral from a bad debt, a boy who didn’t take guitar lessons and a lust for living.
Resources: Reverb Nation and Alice Liles. Photo credit unknown
