Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane

Ain’t got time to take a fast train

If you are of a certain age, you know (or should know) that these are the opening lyrics to “The Letter,” a No. 1 hit in 1967 for The Box Tops.

The Memphis, Tenn.-based group also had hits with “Neon Rainbow.” (1967), “Cry Like a Baby” (which went to No. 2 in 1968) and “Soul Deep.”

The Box Tops open for Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone, 7:30 p.m. April 25, State Theatre Center for the Arts, Easton.

Herman’s Hermits’ hits include the No. 1 hits, “I’m Henry VIII, I Am” (1965) and “Mrs. Brown, You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” (1965), as well as “I’m Into Something Good,” “Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat,” “Silhouettes,” “Wonderful World,” “A Must to Avoid” and “There’s a Kind of Hush.

Rick Levy, Lehigh Valley native who is guitarist and singer with The Box Tops, was music director for Peter Noone.

Levy met The Box Tops during the mid-1980s when he put together a band for Allentown-based Jay Proctor of Jay and the Techniques, who had the million-seller hit, “Apple, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie” (1967) and its follow-up, “Keep the Ball Rollin.”

“I met Gary when he was in the audience for a TV show I was doing with Jay in Nashville in 1996,” Levy says in a phone interview from his home in St. Augustine, Fla.

Guitarist and singer Gary Talley, along with bassist and singer Bill Cunningham, were founding members of The Box Tops and are still touring with the group.

“I managed them from 1996 until Alex died in 2010,” says Levy, who knew all five original members of The Box Tops, including lead singer Alex Chilton.

“I was still getting calls to book the band, and in 2015 we were ready to put it back together,” Levy says.

The Box Tops did concerts at Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks in 2016 and Musikfest Cafe, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, in 2017.

Since then, The Box Tops has toured continuously but less frequently over time.

“Everybody is doing different things where they don’t have to travel, including a lot of session work,” says Levy. Much of their touring is as part of package shows and on cruise ships with other 1960s’ pop and rock music stars.

Along with their hits, Levy says that in live shows, The Box Tops do deeper album cuts and songs related to Memphis and connected with the band.

Each song has a video. The horn section has been expanded to three: tenor saxophone, trumpet and trombone. Band members include Mike Stewart, keyboards, and Ron Kraninski, drums.

At one time, Noone’s Herman’s Hermits was made up of all Lehigh Valley musicians. Drummer Dave Ferrara is still with Noone, after 26 years. Says Levy:

“When I was touring with Jay in Hong Kong in 1999, I was talking with Peter, who said his band had too heavy of a sound.”

Rock music had become influenced by Led Zeppelin and heavy metal.

“He wanted it to sound like the old Herman’s Hermits. I said if he needed help he could call me. I knew musicians who loved the authentic sound.

“I was with Peter for three years. He still does almost 100 shows a year,” Levy says.

Levy grew up in Allentown, graduated from William Allen High School and received a degree in sociology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Levy was a member of The Limits, a top Lehigh Valley rock band from 1965 to 1968 that re-formed from 1983 to 1988. The Limits included Hub Willson, Irwin Goldberg, Rook Jones and Chris Jones.

“Allentown and Bethlehem were the greatest places to grow up in the sixties. There were six or eight ‘under 21’ nightclubs. We performed after high school football games, and our parents let us play for college fraternities,” says Levy.

The Limits did reunion concerts over the years. The group’s songs have been re-released on vinyl and one song received 200,000 hits on Spotify.

Levy admits that the audiences are getting older, and he now performs sitting on a stool because of back problems.

“This music is never going to die out. Kids are hearing this stuff in commercials and movies,” Levy says.

“There were so many good songs back then. Every week, great songs would come out. They related to people spiritually, in fashion, and in politics.”

Levy wrote about his music experiences in his book, “High in the Mid-60s: How to Have a Fabulous Life in Music Without Being Famous.”

Levy is grateful for his career: “We had a pretty good ride. And we are lucky to still be doing this.”

Herman’s Hermits Starring Peter Noone, The Box Tops,” 7:30 p.m. April 25, State Theatre Center for the Arts, 453 Northampton St., Easton, Tickets: at the door; 610-252-3132; https://www.statetheatre.org/event/hermans-hermits/