Music often triggers great memories of events, times and individuals.
And that is the case of Rob Boag’s latest contribution to this column.
Said Rob: “The first time I heard Johnny Cash perform Kris Kristofferson’s classic ‘Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down’, I reckoned Kris must have spent a few weekends in downtown 1950s/60s Dundee.
“Even now, when I hear the song, I can recall Sunday mornings at that time period in Dundee.
“To say Sundays were slow would be the understatement of the decade.
“Sundays were a day of inertia.
“However, there were compensations during the six days following and leading up to another Sunday.
“In 1950s Dundee, there was little unemployment, even though the jute industry had been administered the last rites.
“New factories and commerce were moving into the city with a better work environment and better paying jobs.
“The building trade was booming and sports were aided by black and white television sets installed into Dundee homes that gave us more sport to view.
Rob, a born-and-raised Dundonian now living in Canada, continued: “There was also a sound that hit Dundee streets running — it was called ‘rock and roll’.
“Amidst all this, families were migrating from old traditional Dundee streets to galaxies far, far away.
“Well . . . at that time . . . anywhere north of the Kingsway was far, far away.”
Moving to sport, Rob went on: “The 1950s kicked off with the transfer of a football player from Derby County to Dundee FC.
“The few of us remaining who witnessed, who watched and who marvelled at the genius of Billy Steel are honoured.
“This was a talent who could comfortably line up alongside Messi and Neymar in today’s Barcelona team.
“I still remember the euphoria when Lochee Harp were on their way to Hampden, on their way to the Scottish Junior Cup Final in 1954.
“I still have shards of bitter disappointment that stay within me after I heard the final score that black Saturday (losing 2-1 to Sunnybank).
“The 1956 Melbourne Olympics placed Dundee on the sports map with a gold medal from Dick McTaggart, along with the most prestigious Val Barker Trophy — an inexplicably under-appreciated award — the only one ever presented to a UK sportsman.
“In the 1950s/60s, soon-to-be legendary amateur boxing commentator Harry Carpenter took us to international boxing competitions, ABA preliminary bouts and ABA finals.
“He introduced a Dundee lad named Wullie Bannon to Great Britain with Harry’s affectionate nickname of Wild Bill.
“A Scot caught our attention down south with his team of ‘Busby Babes’ — the nickname for Matt’s great Manchester United side of the time.
“I remember being at a worksite on a 1958 dreary February morning when the Munich air disaster hit the front pages.
“It affected Dundee sports fans — it was a sombre time as we shared our sadness with Matt and the people of Manchester.”
There was to be an upsurge in local professional football, too.
Recalled Rob: “In 1959, at the end of the decade, along came Jerry Kerry, a new manager for Dundee United, and heralded the start of a football renaissance that would take the soon-to-be-nicknamed Arabs to decades of unprecedented football glory.
“Is 1962-63 Dundee FC’s greatest season?
“If you stood on Provost Road on a midweek evening during that season when a European game was being played, reflection from the floodlights on Dens Park illuminated the dark Dundee sky.
“The roar of the crowd turned to a crescendo as Gordon Smith took off down the right wing and swung over a cross that Alan Gilzean guided into the onion bag.
“It appeared to lift the illumination up into the heavens and every window pane on Provost Road and Dens Road shook and shuddered as if the sound barrier had been broken.
“In 1965, Midlands AFA outfit NCR were victorious in the Scottish Amateur Cup Final (beating Jordanhill 6-2).
“And, if that was not enough for Dundee, the Vikings invaded.
“They pillaged and plundered every team that Dundee United played against, whether it was Barcelona or Celtic.
“Orjan Persson, Finn Seemann, Lennart Wing, Finn Dossing and Mogens Berg were outstanding — what a team, what a decade.
Rob concluded: “In the late 1950s, as a young lad, on Saturday evenings I would head with my pals to the Palais De Dance on Tay Street.
“If privileged, I would receive a request for ladies choice from one of Dundee’s many fair maidens.
“As we slowly moved around that iconic dance floor and listened to Charlie Coates croon or a Johnny Mathis hit, this was sustenance enough to face the next day — and Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.