LEWISTON — One of the chart-topping hits in a 1960s Billboard Magazine was “He’ll Have To Go” by Jim Reeves. The Beatles were hitting the charts in 1964 with “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” and Elvis was still up there in 1969 with “Suspicious Minds.”
Those songs are among a couple dozen pop hits in a tune-filled revue called “Welcome to The Sixties: Songs That Shaped A Generation” to be performed in concert Friday night, Feb. 13, at the Franco Center.
“It’s a fun and sometimes romantic collection,” Mitchell Clyde Thomas, executive director of the Franco Center, said.
The show is a revival of last summer’s popular musical revue held at Poland Spring Inn.
Performers are Renee Davis, Eileen M. Messina, Sharon Nightingale, Gerry Therrien and Michael James Litchfield. The band, under the direction of pianist Paul G. Caron, features guitarist Mike French, bassist Shane Davis and drummer Bruce Condit.
These local singers, actors and musicians have scores of performances to their collective credit, including numerous productions by the Lewiston-Auburn Community Little Theatre and other venues.
In a year-by-year remembrance of the great songs, the singers will swap off with solos, duets and ensemble numbers.
Among the songs are “Stand By Me,” performed by Litchfield; “I’m Sorry,” by Nightingale; “I Fall To Pieces,” by Messina; “Ballad of the Green Berets,” by Therrien; and “Will You Still Love Me” and “I Will Follow Him,” by Davis with other female singers on backup. Caron and the band will join in on vocals on a couple songs.
Some other featured tunes are “Hey Paula,” “Chapel of Love,” “Unchained Melody,” “To Sir, With Love,” “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” and “Folsom Prison Blues.”
“Welcome to The Sixties” is a presentation of the Franco Center’s Club Series. It takes place at 7:30 p.m. in the Heritage Hall at 46 Cedar St., Lewiston. The Franco Center is wheelchair-accessible.
A Valentine’s Day program of show tunes, “Love Letters: Songs of the Stage,”was announced for Saturday evening, but that concert was canceled.
Tickets for “Welcome to The Sixties: Songs That Shaped A Generation” are $12 each, and $10 for seniors 60 and over.
For more information and to purchase tickets, contact or visit the box office or purchase online at www.francocenter.org. Call (207) 689-2000. Box office hours are Monday through Friday, noon to 4 p.m.

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