NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Some events in our lives are just so special or unique that it forever bonds us to the people who lived it too. A group of people are celebrating that bond right now in middle Tennessee. It's a story spanning decades and thousands of miles.
A band rehearsed at Hotel Preston in Nashville. The last time any of these guys made music together, it was 50-years-ago.
"My memories of joining a band was I wasn't going to be able to play fullback on the football team," laughed Bob Passarelli.
"We became a real spirit of the high school," added David Bach. "That's how I saw it."
"We had a bond, and it's still there," added Bill Thayer.
It's a musical connection that started more than 4,500 miles away from Nashville.
Frankfurt American High School was teaching the children of the American military and government living in Germany.
"It was 1970," Bob said, remembering his high school experience.
Around that time, Nashville, like many cities, was in the middle of debates about the integration of schools. Mayoral candidate Casey Jenkins ran on a platform opposing the use of busing to try to achieve a racial balance in the city.
Frankfurt American High was a very different place in those same years.
"We were in our military compounds and going to our DoD schools," Bill remembered.
"We were totally integrated," David added. "That's just sorta how the military was."
"We didn't have the exposure of all the problems going on in the United States," said school alum Lara Batey. "By our parents being in the military, that kinda exempted us from anything happening in what we called 'the world.'"
"We rode the bus," Bob said. "We played football. We did everything together. That was never an issue."
What you find in the pages of the yearbooks is a whole lot of counter culture.
"We rebelled," David smiled. "We rebelled against our parents."
"Maaan, we used to have way too much fun," Bob laughed.
Frankfurt American High closed in 1995, meaning the people in the yearbooks could never walk those halls again. Then came an opportunity for some of the guys to get back to making music together.
"Hell yeah!" Bob said. "Why would I not want to do that?"
The Frankfurt American High reunions happen every year, picking a city to meet up. This time, they picked the Hotel Preston in Nashville. Bob, David, and Bill were part of the band playing for the crowd.
"Goosebumps. I love it," Bob said. "Gimme a microphone and let me go cause I'm gonna do it!"
"Oh, we're groovin'," Bill added. "It's a gas, it really is."
"The friendships, they've lasted for decades," David said.
"We missed each other!" Bob said about the crowd. "We don't get to see the people that meant so much to us."
