1966 Classic Shames Pictures: Jo, Val and I met at the Youth Center in Elmhurst one Friday night when the Shames were still The Travelers. After that night we were hooked on this great band with great harmony and decided to follow them as much as we could. Hundreds of miles were put on Val's car as we traveled at least one night a weekend. We loved the way the band entertained the crowds, especially Tom. Out of the blue he would start talking with a British accent, or Jim was start playing a few chords of a popular song and everyone would think they were going to play that song. At least once Jim played the bagpipes on stage! Hooke would throw his tambourine in the air and catch it without missing a beat. Gerry and Dave Purple would come into the crowd during breaks and talk with us. Boy, we thought we were very special to be talking to the band! Denny always looked over his right shoulder and one time we gave him a picture to put on the wall over his right shoulder to look at. The band always had a good time on stage and on occasion would change the words in the songs, i.e. "Paperbag writer" instead of "Paperback writer". When we found out they were doing the Beatles Appreciation day we planned for a long time about going into Chicago to see them. They were the Cryan Shames by then. We left very early in the morning so that we could get right up front. They gained a lot of new fans that day. We still enjoy listening to their CD's, as we have worn out the LP's from long, long ago.