[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 7 (Thursday, January 17, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E46]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     A TRIBUTE TO THE MONITORS CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF MAKING MUSIC

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                         HON. G. K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 17, 2008

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, I rise and ask my colleagues to join 
me in paying tribute to the Monitors, one of eastern North Carolina's 
most noted bands. On January 25, 2008, members of this band will come 
together at the Boykin Center in Wilson, NC, to celebrate 50 years of 
making music.
  Madam Speaker, Bill Myers and Cleveland Flowe came together and 
organized the band in 1957 setting the Monitors in motion over the next 
50 years. And they are still grooving today. I want to say that Bill 
Myers is married to my very special cousin, Diana Davis Myers, and 
Cleveland Flowe was my band teacher when I was in high school many 
years ago.
  Bill Myers is the only original member of the band who performs once 
or twice per month. Cleveland Flowe and his wife, Cathy, now live in 
Charlotte, NC. The Monitors' music varies according to the crowd. The 
band is very versatile and can take an audience back on a journey to 
the World War II era, or can have them doing the twist, jerk, or mashed 
potatoes into the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s or even break dancing to the 80s 
or ``leaning back'' to those songs that you may hear on the radio 
today. Although the band has kept up with the time, the members have 
been able to savor its original flavor and can kick it into gear on 
command.
  Madam Speaker, all one has to do is just name the occasion--a 
concert, Mardi Gras, Hawaiian luau, wedding reception, prom, cabaret, 
or a street festival, and the Monitors will have you springing to your 
feet and dancing to the beat.
  The Monitors' claim to fame is their noted performances as back-up 
band with such greats as Otis Redding, Millie Jackson, Major Lance, 
Faye Adams and Joyce Thorne, and as the opening act with Ray Charles 
and Roberta Flack. Further, a little known history fact is that in the 
early stages of her career, Roberta Flack was lead singer for the 
Monitors.
  Madam Speaker, this celebration is not only a time of reminiscence 
for the members of the Monitors which include Bill Myers, Cleveland 
Flowe, Jerome Morgan, Willie Dupree, Dick Knight, Fred Moye, Donald 
Tuckson, Sam Lathan, Clark Mills, Jr., Mollie Hunter and Gerald Hunter, 
but it is a charitable occasion where proceeds of the concert will be 
divided between the Arts Council of Wilson and the Charles H. Darden 
High School Alumni Association.
  Madam Speaker, I applaud the Monitors for the joy that they have 
brought into the lives of people across the Nation through their 
musical talents. I ask my colleagues to join me in extending to this 
renowned band our heartfelt wishes and God's continued blessings.

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