Page A6 • March 7, 2013 • Inland Empire Community Newspapers

Thelma Camacho was there for Kenny Rogers &The First Edition; helped propel the superstar

By Harvey Kahn

It was 19-year-old Thelma Ca-macho who bravely took thestage for Kenny Rogers and

the First Edition in their first livetelevision performance in 1967 onthe Smothers Brothers ComedyShow. With Kenny Rogers stand-ing in the background playing bassguitar and singing harmony, theyoung Camacho stood solo as shebelted out the song, "I Get AFunny Feeling." It was a very dif-ficult song, more of a Julie An-drews number opposed to thepsychedelic sound the viewing au-dience expected. The fact of thematter was that Camacho was theonly member of The First Editionwho was equipped to stand alonebefore millions of television view-ers.Camacho spent four years with

Kenny Rogers before KennyRogers was Kenny Rogers. He fi-nanced The First Edition when itsplit from the New Christy Min-strels, beginning his own career inthe entertainment industry thateventually rivaled the best. Al-though going on to earn a success-ful life for herself and family,Camacho would not be around forRogers' greater fame and fortune.Talking by phone from her jewelrymanufacturing headquarters inChula Vista, Camacho said shestill owns one-fourth of The FirstEdition. She penned about six ofthe group's songs but said shecould not comment further. Cama-cho appeared on the first three al-bums by The First Edition. SeeYoutube: I get a funny feeling/thefirst edition.Camacho was not included with

other members of The First Edi-tion in a 2012 television tribute toKenny Rogers for his 50 years inthe recording business. Camachosaid she "probably will not attend"a Kenny Rogers show near herhome on March 21, when Rogersappears at the Belly Up Tavern inSolana Beach. She last saw Rogers22-years ago when he visited sheand her husband, executive pro-ducer Robert Ivie when they livedin Dusseldorf, Germany. "Did Ithink Kenny Rogers would grow

into such a superstar. Yes!" saidCamacho."When we started The First Edi-

tion, Kenny was 30 and the rest ofus (Mike Settle, Terry Williams)were much younger. We were allto share the lead vocals. It was notto be just Kenny. But Kenny wasambitious. Pushy. A good talker.He was the promoter and we wereyoung and didn't realize the thingsthat he knew. We thought, OK, ifhe wants to do all the talking. Lethim talk. Hey, I was actually get-ting paid to sing," said Camacho.

Her years spent as a operasinger showed in her polished pre-sentations. At 14, Camacho wasalready fronting the San DiegoCivic Light Opera and by 16, shewas singing in Italian on numberswritten by Mozart, Verdi andBellini. Since she was 3, her par-ents groomed her to tackle the op-eratic classics, not the classics ofJanis Joplin or Mick Jagger."Needless to say, my parents were

terribly disappointed when I joineda pop band. Especially since Iturned down a scholarship to studyopera in Milan," said Camacho.

With Kenny Rogers and TheFirst Edition, Camacho was able tofulfill her childhood dream of ap-pearing on the Ed Sullivan Show,once the top TV variety show inthe world. She also appeared withthe group on the shows of RedSkelton, Johnny Cash, AndyWilliams and Mike Douglas. Butwith all the adulation and popular-ity of The First Edition, Camachostarted feeling the stage shrinking.Rogers needed more room. Sheknew she was doomed immedi-ately after the 1968 Ed SullivanShow date. "Ed Sullivan intro-duced us as Thelma and the Boysand then Sullivan asked me to singa solo. The curtain dropped behindme and the band was behind thecurtain. I knew I was through," ex-plained Camacho.Camacho said she never was late

to gigs or missed rehearsals asclaimed by former band memberMickey Jones, who said that Ca-macho was fired. In his book,With Luck or Something Like It,Rogers wrote that Camacho waslet go because she had fallen inlove, was tired of touring and per-haps didn't agree with certain de-cisions. Rogers said the split"didn't come as a shock or disap-pointment to her."

Camacho responded that shedid not agree with Roger's expla-nation. "I have no animosity or ha-tred. I got married and had a youngson. I didn't want that lifestyle. It'scut throat and full of back stab-bing. I received enormous adula-tion from The First Edition. Ialways wish Kenny well. We hadour differences but I think allmembers of bands do."She later moved to Europe where

she and Ivie collaborated on com-mercials, sound tracks, and videos.She designed fashion and jewelry

for Bavaria Film Studios in Ger-many. Thelma Camacho Jewelryis currently distributed in Spain,Beverly Hills and throughout SanDiego County. Her cousin is cur-rently compiling 60 years worth ofher songs on CD. She said that shehas not performed since 1991, butdid not rule out singing smoothjazz in the future. Camacho wasalso signed to Casablanca Recordsin 1980-81 at the same time asDonna Summer. Camacho admitsthat she has forgotten a lot of herpast.

If Camacho had a downside, itwas that she was too finished forthe pop music scene. As a folksinger she was on par with JoanBaez and much smoother thanJanis Joplin or Grace Slick. Whilethe 74-year-old Kenny Rogersreached unquestioned milestones,it's still not too late for an operati-cally trained singer in her mid-60's.

PHOTO COURTESY/REPRISE RECORDS

Kenny Rogers and The First Edition in 1968. From (L) Mike Settle, Terry Williams, Thelma Camacho, and Kenny Rogers.

Scouts can earn badges at CountyMuseum workshops

If Frank Grouard is not the TheSan Bernardino County Mu-seum offers badge workshops

for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts andBrownie Girl Scouts. This spring,scouts have a variety of opportuni-ties to earn a badge while havingfun at the museum. All of the mu-seums’ scout badge workshops in-clude take home projects, engagingactivities, and everything needed tocomplete all the requirements toearn a badge.“We have retooled our programs

and are excited to offer a new set ofworkshops to the scouting commu-nity,” said Jolene Redvale, curatorof education. “Scouts enjoy ourworkshops because they are laidback but still engaging. When theylearn with real artifacts and speci-mens, the subject comes alive andthey remember more of what theydid while they were here.”

Boy Scouts can earn MammalStudy, Bird Study, Geology and In-dian Lore Merit Badges. The In-dian Lore Merit badge workshop isscheduled for March 9th. Museumstaff members leading the MeritBadge workshops are qualified tosign the required Blue Card.Cub Scouts can earn a variety of

badges, from history to animals togeology. The Bears Indian Lifebadge workshop will be offered onMarch 9th. Brownie girl scouts canearn their Bugs Badge during thepopular spring Insectival event,coming on April 13.Parents are encouraged to print a

workshop registration form fromthe museum’s website,http://www.sbcounty.gov/mu-seum/discover/divisions/educa-tion/scout.htm. For moreinformation, contact Jolene Red-vale at

jredvale@sbcm.sbcounty.gov.The San Bernardino County Mu-

seum is at the California Street exitfrom Interstate 10 in Redlands. Themuseum is open Tuesdays throughSundays from 9 am to 5pm. Gen-eral admission is $8 (adult), $6(military or senior), $5 (student),and $4 (child aged 5 to 12). Chil-dren under five and Museum Asso-ciation members are admitted free.Parking is free. For more informa-tion, visit www.sb countymu-seum.org. The museum isaccessible to persons with disabili-ties. If assistive listening devices orother auxiliary aids areneeded inorder to participate in museum ex-hibits or programs, requests shouldbe made through Museum VisitorServices at least three business daysprior to your visit. Visitor Services’telephone number is 909-307-2669ext. 229 or (TDD) 909-792-1462.

WORK FROMHOME

Open your heart and yourhome as a care provider and receive payment forservices. If you have an extra bedroom and wouldlike to care for an adult with Developmental Dis-

abilities Please call Maria Mora (909) 948-7554.

Giant rummage sale this Saturday, March 9th, from 7am to 4pm

at Grace Lutheran Church

539 N. Acacia Ave. Rialto Relay for Life Fundraiser hosted by Grace

Lutheran Church and our local Scouts pack,troop, and crew. All proceeds will go to the

American Cancer Society.