The Hudson family came to Winston-Salem in April 1960, to perform at a dance given at the Moose Club.
Nancy and Dean Hudson Sr., (Mom and Dad), kept a close eye on their 4-month-old baby during the performance. It wasn’t difficult to watch the baby, Dean Hudson Jr., on this evening, because he was right on the stage with his parents, resting in a drum case.
Little Dean was born in Dallas on December 29, 1959. He spent a couple of weeks in an incubator, but had been traveling with his parents since he was released from the hospital.
His father said that during the baby’s first four months of life, Dean Jr. had traveled more than 20,000 miles and visited 18 states. He slept through the performances and woke up hundreds of miles down the road, “all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.”
During the performance for the Moose Club, the baby slept in a corner of the ballroom. According to the band members, the baby had a hard time going to sleep unless the band was playing.
Dean Jr.’s parents were based in Washington State, but traveled with the band that moved so frequently that babysitters were difficult to find and keep. On a gig in Atlanta, so many party-goers wanted to hold the baby that he had to be moved into another room so that he could sleep.
Photograph courtesy of Forsyth County Public Library Photograph Collection.
