Say Hey! The Willie Mays Song and Mobile (Alabama) History

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, two out of my three new book proposals have been approved. There is a “slight” hiccup on the Everyone’s Gone to the Moon contract, but that’s being ironed out.

As for the second title, the research is already beginning. Now, I know that my friends and followers from outside of Alabama and the Mobile area will probably say “ho-hum” with this title, but believe me, it’s a fascinating look at the 300+ year history of the Port City – Mobile – and it’s little known, hidden history. Hence the title, Hidden History of Mobile.

There is so much to the city’s history that has rarely, if ever, been told but I'll be combing the dusty city archives and the bowels of the Mobile Library to pull them out and bring them back to life. I think it will be a title you will all enjoy.

One aspect of the city’s history I will focus on is its musical side. Yes, we’ve had some notable musicians and singers from the Alabama Gulf Coast, everyone from Metropolitan Opera star Linda Zoghby to big band trumpeter Cootie Williams to Jimmy Buffet. There is one group from Mobile, however, that doesn’t get much recognition – the Treniers, or as they were originally billed, the “Rockin’ Rollin’ Treniers”.

The group was started by twins Clifton and Claude Trenier. After stints with Jimmy Lunceford's big band in the 40s, the twins struck out on their own and made a mark in the early history of Rock ‘n Roll influencing others like Bill Haley, England’s The Shadows, and more. They appeared in several early rock movies like Alan Freed’s Don’t Knock the Rock and The Girl Can’t Help It.

The Treniers in Don’t Knock the Rock

One recording by the Treniers brought my understanding of Mobile’s musical history and its baseball legacy (as seen in my book Baseball in Mobile) full circle. It was in 1955 when they recorded a classic song celebrating Alabama’s own Willie Mays – the song was Say Hey (the Willie Mays Song). What’s interesting is that the 45-rpm single that was released credits the tune to Willie Mays with the Treniers, although Willie only says 10 words in the song.

The Treniers: Say Hey (the Willie Mays Song)

Just some of the fun, sometimes tragic, but always remarkable history I’ll be uncovering and bringing back to life within the pages of Hidden History of Mobile.

The adventure is just beginning.