Almost A Hometown Boy

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Nov 27, 2099 Source: The Birmingham News, City Scene, Nov. 19 Submitted By: Tabitha Area Relatives give Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough a link to Magic City (by Mary Colurso News Staff Writer) Please don't show up on their doorsteps begging for autographs. And no, they can't get you tickets. The Dorough family, who live in the Birmingham area, are just ordinary, genial folks who are proud to be related to Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough. That makes them local notables right now, just four days before the Backstreet Boys blast into town for a sold-out concert at the BJCC Arena. "This is a new experience for us," said James H. Dorough of Homewood, first cousin of Hoke Dwayne Dorough, Howie's father. "We don't know Howie all that well, because he lives in Orlando, but he claims us to his clan. With everything that has happened to him and how well he's done...we think it's really something." The Alabama Doroughs are the first and second cousins of Howie D., 26, a millionare singer/dancer who's part of one of the most successful pop troupes in recent memory. Over the past four years, Backstreet Boys have sold almost 40 million copies of their two albums --"Backstreet Boys" and "Millennium"-- and have skipped to the top of the charts with sizzling singles such as "Quit Playing Games (With My Heart)" and "As Long As You Love Me." Howie's Homewood and Hoover relatives, plus a group of cousins from Huntsville and Nashville, heard his group perform these songs live in 1998 at an outdoor show in Atlanta. Waving backstage passes, they breezed past security guards and spent quality time with all of the Boys-- paying special attention, of course, to the Backstreeter who bears the Dorough name. "We got pictures and autographs and all," James Dorough recalled. "Everyone was real nice. Some of my granddaughters are big fans, and they were thrilled. "When the show started, we were sitting on blankets on the hillside, and when Howie got on stage, he said he wanted all of his relatives to stand. We became instant celebrities to the people around us." VISITING FAMILY The Backstreeters were less popular a year ago, James Dorough said, and their management company wasn't really worried about security. When a Dorough who lived in Atlanta invited Howie to her house for fried chicken, it took no coaxing or negotiation; he simply came and sat at the table. However, Joan Dorough, James' wife, isn't firing up her skillet for a home-cooked Birmingham dinner; Howie and his superstar crew are scheduled to make a low profile here that prohibits them from making any visits. "It's amazing how far they've come in a year," said David Dorough, James' son, who lives with his wife, Lynn, and daughter Julie, 15, in Homewood. "Now security is so tight we might not be able to see him." "There are several (cousins) who would like to play basketball with him and have a barbecue," said Lynn Dorough, laughing. "We're ready to do it if he is." About 17 Alabama Doroughs, from toddlers to seniors, plan to cheer loudly for Howie at the BJCC, even if they have to share their affection from a distance. Although friends and neighbors were reluctant to believe it, the Doroughs weren't sure they had tickets until this week, when Howie's father called James Dorough to verify it. Backstage passes, they said, are still iffy. "Howie's obviously getting bombarded with requests," said John Dorough of Homewood, another of James' sons, who'll attend with his wife, Mary, and son, John Lawton, 4. "And it's not like we're tight or anything." FEELING THE AWE Ah, but the family tied are binding enough to inspire awe in Bacsktreet fans who find out about the Dorough connection-- particularly students at Hoover's Ira F. Simmons Middle School, who want to rub elbows with Anne Noble Carlton, 13, James' granddaughter. "I'm famous at my school," Anne Noble admits. "A girl was running for secretary and her compaign was that I'd get the Backstreet Boys to play at out school dance. She didn't ask me about it first, though. And she didn't win with it. A German exchange student and Backstreet admirer fared better when she lived across the street from James and Joan Dorough. Much to the couple's amusement, this young woman begged to be introduced to them while she was in the United States, mainly so she could touch James. The Doroughs (pronounced Dur-ahs) said such requests come as a pleasant surprise, but they're amazed at how fast and far the news has spread of their relationship with Howie. For example, Lynn and Mary Dorough, who work in elementary schools, have been besieged with pleas from excited pupils who want to meet the Backstreet Boys or have them slip in for classroom visits. Kyle Carlton, 16, Anne Noble's brother and the son of Bonnie Dorough Carlton, recently earned the everlasting gratitude of a classmate at Hoover High when he surrendered a precious Backstreet autograph. And if the Doroughs had a nickel for every autograph and ticket request they've fielded-- well, they'd probably be able to build their own ampitheater. Of course, Howie D. is the Dorough raking in the big bucks these days, with two multiplatinum CDs on his resume and several more albums, videos and concert tours in the offing. The Doroughs weren't willing to speculate on their kin's net worth, but said that they were surprised and happy to hear the Backstreet Boys have signed a new, $60 million deal with the Jive record label. The family added that they wouldn't presume to tell a world-wide entertainer how to manage his cash flow, but James Dorough, for one, hopes his cousin is saving a few pennies for the future. "We think Howie's got his head on right, and we think he conducts himself real well," James Dorough said. "But we know that (pop groups) don't usually last that long. When it's done, we just hope he'll have a little something put by to show for it." Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnansaz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: johnansaz http://t-links.org/EZjAi12N real sex dating near you! Submitted by: washington dc cbd LrWQ1O I welcome all comments, but i am possessing problems undering anything you could be seeking to say Submitted by: suba suba Wow! Thank you! I always needed to write on my website something like that. Can I implement a part of your post to my blog? Submitted by: editor photo 5BxqdF I think this is a real great article.Much thanks again. Much obliged. Submitted by: crork fiverr VWjncr Thankyou for this marvelous post, I am glad I found this website on yahoo. 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