Don, in 1958 I was employed by the US Navy, though I managed to pick up some weekend bar jobs in Norfolk, VA, which paid me $50 for a 4-hour job. I was getting $10 more than the guy I replaced.

My dad was a truck driver, short hauls, big rig, and made $150 a week, which was a lot of money in those days. We had neighbors that made more, and lots of them made less.

Now, the guys I was referring to were single acts - not multi-piece bands. Obviously, multi-piece bands commanded more, even way back then, but not much more. When I got married, my mother in law hired a 7 piece band that was very, very popular in our area. That was 1962 and they were paid $350 for the reception. That was top dollar for the bands back then.

So, I guess if you compared the wages back then to today's and referenced this to today's dollars they actually made out better 50 years ago.

Gary