The following great photos are courtesy of Lenny Green EN3. Lenny was a proud crew member of the "Jolly J" from 1957 to 1961 and he worked in the Boat Shop. While Lenny was aboard the "J" he was part of a small band called The Silver Strands. Lenny played lead guitar, Dave Wilson played the drums and Art Eastlick was on rhythm guitar. These guys played up a storm at many gigs around the San Diego area. After the boys left the Navy, the name of the group changed to The Thundernotes and they continued to gain in popularity in the area. Soon after that, Lenny left the group to pursue a career in country music. Lenny was and still is a talented and accomplished songwriter and has been nominated for a CMA award. After Lenny's departure, the group changed it's name to The Cascades. They recorded a song called "Rhythm of the Rain" which became a worldwide monster hit and would soon became part of rock legend.

My sincere thanks and gratitude go to Lenny for providing us with his great Jason photos. It's very much appreciated by me and all other fellow Jason sailors. I also congratulate Lenny on his post Navy music career and his fine contributions to the music world. Well done, Jason sailor, well done!

To hear a great music clip of the Silver Strands that was recorded at a radio station in Hiroshima, Japan in 1958,

click here.

To check out Lenny's fine website and hear some more Silver Strands tunes, click on the following link:

LENNY GREEN

 

For the complete story of The Cascades, click on the following link:

STORY OF THE CASCADES

 

If any of Lenny's shipmates would like to contact him and talk over old times, here is his e-mail address:

lennygreen@sbcglobal.net