Once upon a June 48 years ago, some high school seniors from Irvington, New Jersey went to their prom. According to Wikipedia, a prom, in the United States, is short for a promenade dance. It is a semi-formal or formal dance for high school students.

It was appropriate that the band at our prom was The Happenings.  Members of the original group that started in 1961 were initially called “The Four Graduates” because all four of them had just graduated from high school in nearby Paterson, New Jersey,

Their biggest hit was “See You in September.” That’s a pretty perfect song for prom, as it is all about saying goodbye to your love when the school year ends.
“Here we are saying goodbye at the station. Summer vacation is taking you away.”
Proms are rather notorious for also being last dates and occasions for breakups. So, The Happenings sing, “Will I see you in September or lose you to a summer love?”
Seniors are off to college or jobs. Of course, some grads do stay together, and some even got married.

The Happenings – like most of us – are still out there (at least the original lead singer Bob Miranda) and they are still performing their 1966 hit “See You in September”  (which was originally recorded by The Tempos in 1959).

I wasn’t at our prom, but I assume they did their other hits, such as their Gershwin cover of  “I Got Rhythm.” The group had 9 Billboard Hot 100 Singles hits from 1966 to 1968, including versions of “Go Away Little Girl,” “My Mammy” and, surprisingly, a version of a song from the Broadway musical Hair,  “Hare Krishna,” which was their last Hot 100 hit.

Summer is ending. maybe we’ll see some of you in September?

Bye-bye, so long, farewell
Bye-bye, so long
See you in September
See you when the summer’s through

• From Back in the Day