At various times I had several teen crushes. James Darren as Moondoggie in the Gidget movies. I was too young to have a crush when the movie came out but when I saw it on TV in the '60s, I was in love! George Harrison, my favorite Beattle, and Herman from Herman's Hermits.
We lived in a small town in 1967 and I remember begging my parents to let me and a girlfriend go a Herman's Hermits concert in the city. I might as well have asked to go to the moon.
Instead I had to settle for listening to their records, over and over again. I knew all the lyrics, and I used my babysitting money to buy Tiger Beat magazine so I could pour over all the tantalizing details of Herman's life.
Last year, almost forty-five years after surviving the disappointment of missing the Herman's Hermits concert, my mother and I went to see Peter Noone (Herman) perform.
It wasn't the concert I so desperately wanted to see in the '60s but it was fun, and I even got my old LPs autographed.
I haven't played these records in years, but I did have a look inside the covers before I went to the concert. I'm so glad I did, because look what I found.
Two drawings I made of Herman when I was about thirteen.
They were drawn on looseleaf paper, no doubt while I supposed to be doing homework. Peter/Herman was a good sport and signed them for me, asking if I'd become any better at drawing over the years. Sadly, no! But I did discover that while I got over my crush, I'll always be a fan.
Okay, now it's confession time. Who was your teen crush?
Until next time,
Lee
www.leemckenzie.com
The Christmas Secret ~ available now
A Christmas present with a hidden past
The Daddy Project ~ December 2012
