You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Click the back arrow key to return to the post.
Every chapter in My Life Story includes information about me, my work, my family and my friends.It also includes information about events that took place locally and nationally, etc. that I thought important enough to include. You’ll also find that I’ve included films, musicians and recordings/videos, in addition to books that were released in a given year.
While I have included many personal photos, most of the graphic content included below is borrowed from the Internet. I do not claim to own this material. I am just adding it for educational purposes. If the owners of any of the content in the “My Life Story” series want their stuff removed, I am happy to oblige. My email address is jrdiaz@arizona.edu. Thanks!
My mom and dad, sometime in the 1950s.
At the time I was born, my parents and five siblings all lived together in Tucson on 22nd St. in a small three bedroom house, a red brick tract home just east of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks in a subdivision called Country Club Manor, the boundaries of which were 22nd St. to 17th Street and Plumer Ave to Country Club. We lived next to a big empty lot, and had a lot of outside space in which to play. Randolph Park was nearby too. Our church was St. Ambrose Catholic Church on Tucson Blvd, just south of Broadway and our local elementary school was Robison Elementary. There were a lot of families with kids in the neighborhood. Most were either Mexican American or Anglo. It was a mixed neighborhood, and wasn’t considered a “barrio” necessarily, until later in the 1970s and 80s.
In 1959, most of my brothers and sisters were all in school, and their ages ranged from 2 to 15, with some in grade school at Robison, others at Mansfeld Jr. High and the oldest at Tucson High. The boys in the family all played sports, and were usually busy doing things outside the house. The girls were both very attractive and popular, and always had lots of friends. Boys became their focus as they moved into their teens.
My dad worked as a miner in San Manuel and mom stayed home and took care of all of us, cooking and cleaning and making sure that everything at home was in working order. Dad and mom had been together since 1943, and, after 15 years of marriage, had developed a volatile relationship and some ‘unhealthy’ habits, unfortunately, so our home life was not always peaceful, especially in the Sixties.
I was the last of the kids, and my mom kept me at her side all the time. I was a chubby child, was considered a momma’s boy and a crybaby, and everyone called me Bobby Joe, or BJ, nicknames that I have always disliked, but have learned to accept over time. While I wasn’t athletic at all, I was a smart kid. In fact, when my mom went to see my first grade teacher, Mrs. Goldbaum for her parent-teacher meeting, Mrs. Goldbaum said to her, “where did you get this one? He’s so bright!”, or something to that effect. She had also been Charles’s, Becky’s and Rudy’s first grade teachers when they attended Robison in the 50s.
Early on, I developed a love for popular music. My parents even bought me my own record player when I was 3 years old. I impressed everyone with my ability to correctly pick out a record from a stack of 45’s after being told just once what the title was. Again, I was just 3 at the time.
As the Sixties progressed, my sisters and brothers started to leave home either to get married or on to other things such as the Navy, and our family began to grow. My three nieces Belisa, Michelle and Anadine were all born in the Sixties, and I spent a lot of time with them. They were more like my sisters than my nieces because we were so close in age.
I had several close friends as a child, including Billy “Bubba” Fass, and his brother Ricky, Ernie Carrillo, and three sisters who lived next door to our family whose names were Becky, “Tiny” and Debbie Romo. There were other kids too who we played with, of course, but these were my closest friends. We spent a lot of time playing in the alley or on 21st St, where we would play flag football a lot of the time. We also spent a lot of time at St. Ambrose’s swimming pool, and at Randolph Park where we played sports. One time I planted a little rose garden with roses that my mom bought me at the local grocery store. I also had an aquarium and parakeets at one point, but over time my interest in these hobbies dwindled.
These photos and documents provide a pictorial glimpse of my life as a child in Tucson up through the middle of 1965, or the beginning of the first grade. Most of the photos are pictures taken before I was a student at Robison Elementary School. Others were taken in such places as the local park or at family gatherings. I feel fortunate that I still have them after all these years, and humbly share these treasures here with my friends and family. These photos and documents bring back many wonderful memories, as one can imagine, and I share some of them in the captions that follow.
I was born on January 15, 1959 to Alfred and Josephine Diaz. I was their sixth and last child, and the only one born at Tucson Medical Center. Most of my other siblings were born at St. Mary’s Hospital. My oldest sister was born at my grandmother’s house in South Tucson.
A clipping from the January 16, 1959 edition of the Tucson Citizen . I was one of six babies born the day before at TMC.
I don’t remember Dr. Lacock, but I do remember Dr. Thompson. He was a very tall man and a well-respected local pediatrician. My mom would take me to see him when he was at the Tucson Clinic on Tucson Blvd., just north of Broadway, back in the early 60s.
I was a big, healthy newborn, but the doctor also told my mother that I had a larger than average sized head, which caused him some concern. According to my mother, it meant that I would either be very intelligent or “differently abled”, as they say nowadays. Thank heavens I turned out fine.
Irene, my oldest sibling, was 15 when I was born.
One of my very first memories was of my sister Irene’s sweet sixteen party in November, 1959. I remember being taken to the back bedroom for a nap that afternoon, just as the party got started. I didn’t fall asleep right away. I was busy listening to the music, oldies but goodies like What’s Your Name by Don and Juan and We Belong Together by Robert and Johnny. The following song was also played.
Having five older brothers and sisters exposed me to many different genres of popular music, from oldies to the Beatles to the Temptations. I’ve always loved this song. It takes me right back, believe it or not, to that party in late 1959 when I was just 10 months old.
I grew up listening to popular music on the radio. It was a constant in our home and I was attracted to it from the very beginning.
Here’s another song I’ve been listening to my whole life. The Chubby Checker version was released in 1960.
The Twist, by Chubby Checker, was released in June 1960.
Joan Baez’s first recording for Vanguard Records was released in October, 1960. It was on the charts for a long time. The following song, All My Trials, is an old favorite.
My dad, seated on the far left, with all of his brothers and sisters, Superior, Az, 1961.
At my cousin Olivia’s wedding in Superior, 1961. My cousin Sylvia is third from the left, my sister Irene is to her right, and my cousin Carmelita is second from the right.
It would be many years before I really began to appreciate Sarah Vaughan’s artistry. This gem was released in 1961. Our family acquired this album in the late 60s when my dad bought us a new console television at Flash TV. It had a record player and radio, and came with 50 free albums, including this one. I think the only person that ever played the album at the time was my sister Becky. I didn’t start listening to is until around 1979 at the age of 20. It’s one of Sarah’s best albums and it features the great Count Basie and his orchestra. The following song is gorgeous. Her voice is unmistakably unique.
This is another song my mother loved to sing when I was a little boy. She loved music, and especially Ray Charles.
I just had to include this. We had a vacuum cleaner just like it. When my mom wasn’t cooking, she was cleaning–doing laundry, making beds, dusting or vacuuming. She worked night and day.
This album was released in 1961 and was very popular in the Mexican American community. My parents owned a copy, as did my aunts and uncles. I grew up listening to it. My favorite song was “El Caballo Blanco”, which included at the very beginning of the song, the sound of a horse neighing. I got the biggest kick out of that! There was also a holiday-themed song on it called “Se Va Diciembre” that I clearly remember hearing at Christmas time every year it seemed.
Jose Alfredo Jimenez’s “El Caballo Blanco” was first recorded on the Columbia label in the 1950s.
Leonel Bravo was my sister Irene’s boyfriend for several years. He graduated from Tucson High School in 1961 and joined the marines. He and my sister planned to get married, but things didn’t work out that way. He was like an older brother to me.
My mom would sing this song to me all the time at bedtime. When she sang the words, “I couldn’t find my baby,” I would stick my head out from under the covers and say, “Here I am, mommy!” I remember it like it was yesterday. My mom sang me lots of songs when I was little.
These photos were taken some time in 1962. My sister’s boyfriend Sonny Bravo had just taken me to get a haircut, one of my very first. That’s him on the ground with the monkey. I’m shown here sitting on his car with the monkey he had just bought for my sister.
This great song was released in January, 1953, but it was very popular through the next decade.
This song was another one of the earliest I remember hearing. It was recorded way back in 1953, and unlike this version, the original features Patti singing in harmony with herself. My friend Billy Fass had the record. I just adore Patti Page. She has one of the loveliest voices I’ve ever heard. People who remember her for just this one little tune and equate her music with 50s slick pop hit parade garbage are missing the mark completely. She could swing as well as anyone, and her tone was clear as a bell.
This song was a number one hit on the R & B charts in April and May, 1962. I just loved it.
Here’s another song my mom would sing to me at bedtime. She had a beautiful voice.
This is a close-up of a photo that was also taken in 1962, but later in the year in Nogales, Sonora . I’m sitting on my mom’s lap.
This is what’s left of the original photo. Included in it are my sister Irene, my brother Fred and our neighbor Mary Ruiz and her daughter.
This was Little Eva’s only top hit. It was number one on the charts for a few weeks, beginning in late August, 1962. I used to love this song.
I just had to include this song. Girls used to sing this to me. I don’t even remember who they were, but it made me embarrassed and happy at the same time. The song was released in late August, 1962.
This was Marcie Blane’s only big hit. It was released on September 28, 1962.
Bobby’s Girl was released on September 28, 1962. My sister and her friends used to tease me and sing this to me when I was a kid. I was embarrassed, but loved the attention at the same time.
Released January 16, 1963. My brother Charles probably took Fred and me to see this. He did that a lot.
I just loved this song, much to my brother Fred’s consternation. He realized that I was “different” when I told him I liked this song. Released in January, 1963.
My bother Freddie in 1963.
April 7, 1963, Arizona Daily Star. My brother Charles was a star athlete at Tucson High School.
My brother Charles is 2nd from the right in the top row. He was known as “Fingertips Charlie”. This was his junior year, 1963.
For as long as I can remember, this movie would come out on t.v. every Easter Sunday. The witch and her gargoyles really scared the heck out of me.
What a beautiful song.
The recorded single came out in 1939, although the song was recorded for the movie in 1938.
My sister Becky in 1963.
I started watching cartoons at a very young age. These are a few of the ones I used to like.
Bob Dylan’s second album was released on May 27, 1963. His song Blowin’ In The Wind became one of the anthems of the civil rights era.
Nuff said…
My record player looked exactly like this. My parents took me to a second hand store one day and bought it for me. They used to trip out because I was be able to “read” the titles of the records when I was just 3. I think what really happened was that I had a photographic memory and only needed to have someone tell me the name of the record once, and I would remember it.
Meanwhile, across the country, the civil rights movement witnessed another casualty.
I didn’t discover this until I was in high school. It was recorded at the height of the civil rights movement, just a couple of months before the March on Washington. Listen to Seeger sing Tom Paxton’s Ramblin’ Boy.
Civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
Photo of my grandmother, Josefa Rascon, on our front lawn on 22nd St, Summer, 1963. I’m on the left.
June, 1963. My brother Rudy had just graduated from Mansfeld Jr. High School and we had a little family gathering on this day. This is a close up of me from the photo above. I’m standing in the front doorway of our house, holding a bunch of 45 records. My parents had bought me my very own record player the year before.
Belisa, my sister Irene’s daughter, around 6 months old.
Rudy’s 8th grade graduation. That’s my mom, with Rudy and Fred. In the background you can see my dad’s jaguar in the driveway. It was usually parked in the back yard, along with several other cars that didn’t work.
My mom, my grandmother, and my Aunt Mary.
Another senseless tragedy in the South…
Posed pitching shot of Sandy Koufax as Los Angeles Dodger c1963. My brother Rudy had this photo of Koufax in his bedroom. He was a huge fan.
Rudy, Becky and Charles in 1963.
Three civil rights workers were reported missing on 6/21/64. Their bodies were recovered seven weeks later in a swamp outside of Philadelphia, Mississippi. The local KKK, Sheriff, and members of the local police department were involved in the murder.
When I was a small child, we would go to Ben Lee’s Market on the southwest corner of 22nd and Tucson Blvd all the time to buy saladitos and other stuff like comic books and candy. On July 7, 1964, a fire broke out inside the store and did a lot of damage. The store ended up closing. I can still remember going in there. It was our neighborhood Chinese market.
From the Arizona Daily Star, July 8, 1964.
This was another film we saw as kids at the drive-in. Released on August 14, 1963. There was a tv series by the same name that followed later that I would watch all the time.
Martin Luther King Jr. at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. An estimated 250,000 people showed up to support the fight for civil rights.
Here’s an excerpt of the speech Martin Luther King, Jr. gave at the March on Washington.
Sherry, by the 4 Seasons, was one of my very first 45’s. It was my favorite too. My brother’s friend Bob Stelburg gave it to me. It had been a number one hit in October, 1962.
Bewitched premiered on September 17, 1964. I clearly remember watching the very first episode.
Released on October 1, 1963, this film was shot in Tucson. I didn’t see it until later, when it came out on tv, but I loved it. I try to catch it every time it was on tv, just as I would the Singing Nun a few years later.
I was almost 5 years old when this happened. I was in one of the bedrooms at home listening to the radio when the announcer broke in and informed the world that Kennedy had been shot. I ran into the kitchen to tell my mom and others. Nobody believed me…
This premiered on 12/11/63. My brother Charles took me and Freddie to see it at the 22nd St. Drive In.
My dad broke his leg in a mining accident sometime around Christmas in 1963. He stayed in the hospital for nearly a year.
One day, I went shopping with my mom to Southgate, and she bought a 45 by Lucha Villa that had the following song on one side, and on the other was a song called “Asi Perdi Tu Amor”. Both tunes were written by the great Mexican composer Cuco Sanchez. I still have the 45.
Who doesn’t remember this? These guys changed the pop world. Released in the U.S. on 12-26-63
Released on January 20, 1964.
I remember this like it was yesterday. A memorable occasion for sure!
My friend Bubba’s mom would drop us off at the Fox on Saturday mornings, and we’d cross the street and wait in front of the Plaza Theater to take the 22nd street bus home. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Summer, 1964. My brother Fred, my mom and me, standing in front of the orange tree in our front yard. This was the day of my brother Fred’s first holy communion.
That’s me standing in back of my cousin David. Summer, 1964. His sister Gloria also had her first holy communion that day.
My cousins John and David and me, Summer 1964. The 22nd Street overpass is under construction in the background. We were all born the same year, but I was the oldest. Our siblings, Fred, Turi and Gloria were also the same age, and had all just had their first holy communions on this day.
Sometime in early 1964, my two front teeth got knocked out when I ran in back of my friend Bubba in the back yard, just as he was about to take a swing at a golf ball with a big wooden golf club. The golf club hit me right in the mouth and my teeth fell out. My mother thought I looked very cute without my two front teeth, so she had my sister Irene take me to have my portrait taken at the Olan Mills studio on Broadway. My sister bought me the jacket just for the occasion.
We always had a tv at home, and I started watching it from the time I was a toddler. This is but a sampling of the shows I watched. I spent hours in front of the television after school every day and on the weekends. Saturday mornings were my favorite time of the week, because that’s when cartoons were shown. I continued to watch tv up until my junior year of high school. Once I started working at Fry’s, I stopped.
We had this 45 record at home in the mid-60s. It was recorded by Shirlely Bassey on August 20, 1964 for the movie Goldfinger. It was a top 10 hit in the U.S. I’ve never really liked anything else by Shirley Bassey. She has a big, brassy voice, not something I care for too much, but I really liked this song for some reason.
My mom and dad in the mid-60s.
This was one of my mom’s very favorite songs. She had the 45 and would play it all the time.
As long as I can remember, my parents shopped at this grocery store, and I tagged along. At one point or another, we went to every one of them, except the one on N. Grande, every other Friday on payday. Mom would get a cart, and Dad would get a cart, and they each went their separate ways in the store, but converged about an hour later, each with a basket full of food and other household stuff.
Wow.
My mom did her daytime shopping either at Food Giant on 22nd and Country Club or at Lucky’s which was on the corner of 22nd and Cherry in the Pueblo Plaza shopping center. It’s former name was Goodman’s. Next door to it was a drugstore called Jones Drug. There was also a liquor store and a laundromat, as well as a few other businesses in the shopping center. We were fortunate to have so many places to shop near our house.
Mr. Lonely was released in October, 1964. I loved this song.
This was originally released in 1962, but was big hit in Fall, 1964.
I started Kindergarten at St. Ambrose School in September, 1964 and this photo was taken while I was there.
My kindergarten class photo. Fall, 1964. Included in this photo are my cousin David and my friends Linda Gray and Hugo Ruthling, among others. I didn’t complete kindergarten, unfortunately, because I got sick in early 1965. I stayed home with my mom from January 1965 until September, when I started the first grade at Robison Elementary School.
Here’s another very sad ranchera, again, one of my mom’s favorites. I still have the 45. This song is titled, “Cancion de un Preso”, or “Song of a Prisoner”, and it’s by the great Irma Serrano, one of Mexico’s most flamboyant and expressive singers.
I used to love this song. It was released in late 1964, and by early ’65 it was a top Billboard hit. I still have the 45.
This premiered on television on 12/6/64. I was there…
This is an amazing movie. Lucha Villa and Ignacio Lopez Tarso are both fantastic. The song, La Culebra Pollera, from the movie, follows.
It was a great year for music! The following year would be just as good, if not better!
My Girl, by the Temptations, was released on December 21, 1964. By March of the following year, it was at the top of the charts. This was my brother Charles’s favorite song.
This was another big Motown hit and was released on February 8, 1965, less than two months from the release of My Girl. Everybody loved the Supremes.
Malcolm X was assassinated on February 21, 1965. He was a radical Muslim activist who told the truth about race relations in this country. I had no idea who he was or what he stood for, as I was just a child. It wasn’t until college that I read his autobiography.
This was another tv movie that captured everyone’s attention. It premiered on February 22, 1965.
My brother Charles left home in early 1965. He joined the Navy and was gone for four years.
While in the Navy from 65-69, the ship my brother Charles was assigned to initially was the USS Ashtabula. He also served on the USS Romulus and the USS Mattaponi. While he didn’t see battle, his ship was docked off the coast of Vietnam more than once and he and his shipmates were all exposed to Agent Orange.
Here are some photos our brother sent to us from boot camp. He was promoted to chief petty officer.
This concert by Joan Baez was recorded on June 5, 1965 in London, England at the BBC studios in front of a live studio audience. Ms. Baez is at her vocal peak here, in my opinion. Wish I had been there! I didn’t even know about her at this point in my life. I started listening to her in earnest my freshman year at Salpointe in 1974. I love her music. She’s one of my heroes. What a brave, passionate woman.
One of my favorite Beatles albums. Released on June 14, 1965, right before I was to start the first grade.
This tune was on Beatles VI.
Bad Boy was first released on the album “Beatles VI”. It rocks!
Bob Dylan released “Like a Rollings Stone on July 20, 1965. Suddenly, things got more serious.
My brother Rudy had this album. So did a lot of other people. Dylan rocked the whole world with Highway 61 Revisited.
One of the longest singles ever to get radio airplay.
My brother Charles’ US Naval Training Center Yearbook.
This film, starring Lucha Villa and Cuco Sanchez, was released in Mexico on August 5, 1965. It includes performances by Ms. Villa that never made it on to an album. I love these rare instances where one can here her sing with such passion and emotion. The following tune, Arrieros Somos, is a case in point.
My mom loved Lucha Villa. This song is a heartbreaker.
