Happy trails, Jonas Bros

I've watched the Disney Channel original movies Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2 about 10 times each over the years.

Of course, I watched them with my kids. I'm not that weird.

Starring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers, the films followed the adventures of a bunch of kids at a summer camp for budding musicians.

There were rivalries between the campers, and then between Camp Rock and a competing camp down the road.

Disputes were settled with music battles - by far the best sort of battles known to man.

Since we're dealing with teens, there was also plenty of gooey romance, emo epiphanies and silly hijinks. By the end, lessons were most assuredly learnt.

It's hard to believe that the first film came out just five years ago, in 2008, and it's sad that the Jonas Brothers are already kaput.

The US pop trio announced their break-up recently, and I, for one, feel badly about it.

Anyone my age will have seen countless teen acts come and go over the decades.

While most sensible citizens won't bother caring, it always strikes me as rather sad.

My recollection of bubblegum pop extends all the way back to the mid-70s with the Bay City Rollers.

When I was eight, a girl working at an Orange Julius stand told me I looked like the buck-toothed bassist Woody. To this day, it remains the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

There are now of course countless millions of kids out there who will remember the Jonas Brothers the way I remember the Bay City Rollers.

For a lot of young humans, the Jonas Brothers will have been their introduction to music.

Very, very big deal

That's not a small deal, that's a very, very big deal.

Songs such as Burnin' Up, SOS and Year 3000 will be there forever in their minds, and their memories of the boys will be among the happiest they will have. The band will represent for them a time of innocence, energy and fun.

While it is a bit of a shame that the Jonas Brothers could not find a way to make themselves relevant as a grown-up entity, it's also sort of nice.

Unlike Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, who's gone Freddy Krueger on her teen image, the Jonas Brothers will remain forever pure.

We will be spared the sight of Nick, Joe and Kevin twerking all up on Robin Thicke.

The Jonas Brothers will represent a springtime in the lives of countless girls, and also of course some boys, a few of whom will have been told they resemble one of the brothers.

They made some great bubblegum pop, but the bubble must inevitably burst.

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