C. Vaughn Leslie & Boys' Night Out

Boys' Night Out (BNO) was organized in 1983, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, with the goal of recreating the authentic performances of the rhythm and blues (R&B) music that had been extremely popular with teenagers in the south during the late 1960s. Boys' Night Out's first public performance was at the Oak Ridge Azalea Festival on May 5, 1984, and they have played a busy schedule ever since. Between 1984 and 1987, several band members came and went until a stable configuration of personalities and artistic focus could be established. During those formative years, the band adopted three simple operational constraints: BNO is strictly an R&B/Beach band; they don't play country, they don't play Top 40, they don't play disco. Despite owning a vast amount of equipment needed to deliver professional-quality performances, BNO is a hobby band. Band members, who all have full-time day jobs, include business owners, engineers, physicists, lawyers, college professors, and consultants. Many of the band's bookings are for special community events or charity fund raisers. To ensure that it doesn't become a full-time job, the band limits performances to twice a month. Membership is primarily contingent on a personal commitment to R&B and Beach music and getting onboard with the BNO philosophy (i.e., "We're doing this for fun, and we play because we love the music.").Band members include C. Vaughn Leslie on lead vocals, Rick Carl and Hugh Nichols on trumpet, Don Batchelor on trombone, Ed Winebarger and Larry Bray on tenor sax, Bruce Giles on baritone sax, Clint Eskew on keyboards, Jeff Ginsburg on guitar, Jake Alexander on bass guitar, and Rich Neubert on drums. Over the years BNO has been invited to share the stage with numerous well-known professional acts. The band has provided musical back-up for R&B greats Percy Sledge (When a Man Loves a Woman), Archie Bell (Do the Tighten-Up), Barbara Lewis (Baby I'm Yours), and Clifford Curry (She Shot a Hole in My Soul); and has opened shows for The Judds, Nell Carter, The Oak Ridge Boys, Jan and Dean, The Platters, The Impressions, Eddie Rabbitt, Marcia Ball, B.J. Thomas, THE CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD, The Tams, and Lee Greenwood. BNO's current repertoire of over 140 classic R&B or Beach selections has been formally archived into musical arrangements in 20 separate medleys. The band's charts are prepared by Don Batchelor, Clint Eskew, Rick Carl, and Jake Alexander. Hugh Nichols serves as Business Manager, and his wife Jackie schedules performances up to a year in advance. Mark Wright is BNO's equipment manager and sound engineer. Jeff "Jeffrey O." Moser serves as the band's emcee and as DJ for the popular disco dance programs that are featured during the band's breaks. The band's official web site is http://www.boysnightoutband.com/.