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Northwest Music History: 2010s
It sounds like the plot of a 1950's film noir movie. It's December 1st, 1967. A man leaves a party. As he drives down the San Diego Freeway in the San Fernando Valley he sees a bright light in his rear view mirror. The light gets brighter so he pulls over on a side road. He thinks maybe it's a friend who's also left the same party. The man in the car following him walks toward the driver's car and the driver rolls down his window. As soon as he does, the man in the following car begins to beat him with something hard-probably a tire iron. He is left unconscious with a broken arm and a severely fractured skull. But the story isn't the plot of a movie. The man who was beaten was Jimmie Rodgers, a fading star from the early days of rock and roll. A man that was one of the pioneers of early pop, rockabilly and electric folk music.
A few days later the attacker comes forward. He'is an off-duty policeman named Michael Duffy. Later Duffy would claim he pulled Rodgers over for "erratic driving". Rodgers remembers the light was "real bright. Like a train light. I pulled over to stop. I thought it was Eddie Samuels who was my conductor. He was staying at my house at the time. Rodgers says that once he rolled down the window he was struck by a tire iron. "He hit me in the side of the head so hard, the left side of the skull, that it split the skull on the right side".
The off-duty policeman says once Rodgers pulled over he got out of the car and during his arrest, Rodgers fell over (backward) resulting in a fractured skull and a badly broken arm and knocking him out. Duffy says he then drove to the nearest telephone and called two of his LAPD friends that were on duty, Raymond Whisman and Ronald Wagner.
Duffy says they all converged on Rodgers' car and his unconscious body laying on the side of the road rather than inside. They decide to pull Rodgers' body back into his Cadillac,and take off. No calls for medical assistance. No report of the incident. No mention in any of their daily log reports. No test for intoxication. No record of Duffy attempting to book Rodgers for a crime.
It was Eddie Samuels who was staying with Jimmie at the time found Rodgers bleeding in his car that night. When Rodgers didn't arrive home as expected, Samuels went looking for him, retracing the route he knew Jimmie would have taken.
"He'd driven to my home says Rodgers. "I didn't show up. He knew the road that I always came home on. He found me in the car. Just as he was pulling up, he saw a police car pull away. He also saw a white Volkswagen pull away behind the police car. Then he found me lying face down in the front seat of the car. He was the one that saw the police car. The guy in the Volkswagen was an off duty policeman who had stopped me, for whatever reason".
Whisman and Wagner were charged with failing to make an arrest on arriving at the scene, and falsifying police logs. Whisman claimed that Rodgers had been gone by the time he and his partner arrived. Wagner made the same false statement in his daily field activities report. Nonetheless, Los Angeles Police Chief Thomas Reddin claimed that "investigators had been unable to establish any criminal act by the off-duty policeman (Duffy) or that he had any personal involvement with the supposed assault on Rodgers or the fractures Rodgers had sustained. Reddin added "these officers had failed to follow through with proper procedures. They know that they did wrong and admitted it"
He suspended Duffy, Whisman and Wagner for 15 days Rodgers was never formally charged for driving while intoxicated because, as Reddin said "it would not serve the causes of justice to so charge him now". Oddly enough this incident caused the third suspension of Officer Duffy within only three years of being hired by the LAPD. He had been suspended for " unnecessary use of force" when he'd used a blackjack on a juvenile suspect. His third was a "driving while intoxicated" conviction.
It's clear the LAPD wanted to cover up this story and allow it fall out of the public's consciousness as soon as possible; but it wasn't going away so easily. Rodgers spent the next year in the hospital, went through three brain surgeries, lost his ability to talk and walk and was incapable of caring for himself, even after he was released. His convalescence took decades. While Rodgers lie in a hospital bed his lawyer filed an $11 million lawsuit against the LAPD and the City of Los Angeles for his beating by officers of the LAPD. Doctors treating Rodgers had at first concluded that his injuries were the result of a beating, but by late December had changed their opinion and that Rodger's fractured skull to be the result of a fall…just as the three policemen (who'd falsified documents) had claimed. Clearly someone or something aside from medicine had changed their minds.
Amazingly the three officers involved in the incident and the LA Fire and Police Protective League filed a $13 million slander suit against Rodgers for his public statements accusing the three policeman of brutality. This suit never came to court, but Rodger's case was settled with an out of court settlement years later (in 1973) for $200,000. Los Angeles County and the LAPD knew that to continue to fight Rodger's charge would end up costing millions and Rodgers graciously accepted the meager amount of money, because he too had already spent so much pursuing his case and would probably go broke in a battle with the city of Los Angeles.
"In those days you could not sue the police department and be successful. No attorney would take the case. They just would not take a police case like that" In this case it may have been even more difficult, since the assault could have been a message from mobsters by way of the LAPD.
The entire incident-the beating and the ensuing court battles had taken a tragic toll on Rodgers physically and emotionally. Although he started to work again after two years of recuperation, it actually took about 20 years for him to completely heal. "I was lost. I was taken away from the business because I couldn't sing anymore. It took me years to relearn to walk and talk". At one point Jimmie's weight had gone down to 118 pounds.
Jimmie has said that for years it was hard for him to explain what had happened to him, but eventually became able to talk about it. He mentions his faith and the determination he'd inherited from his father as crucial to his recovery. He also mentions that his Chrisianity allows him to forgive what was done to him even though he is mystified why he was attacked so brutally.
Others are not so forgiving, and not so mystified why an attempt on Rodger's life happened. In his 2011 autobiography .Me, the Mob, and the Music Tommy James (of Crimson and Clover fame) confidently states that the attack was a mob hit choreographed by Morris Levy, the president of Roulette Records It also included corrupt officials in the LAPD and The Medical Examiner's Office. Jimmie Rodgers had recorded with Roulette between 1957 and 1960. James also recorded for Roulette and claims that Rodgers had been seeking to recoup royalties from the millions of records he'd sold-and never been paid for. It's said by the time Rodgers left Roulette he was owed about $1.5 million. That would be $12.405 million in today's money. At the time of Rodger's leaving Roulette, their books claimed they had spent $26,000 on him and paid him $20,000….leaving Rodgers owing Roulette $6000. This was the kind of outrageous way Levy ran Roulette Records. It was almost wholly a criminal enterprise. This was the mileu Jimmie Rodgers had unknowingly gotten himself into..
James Frederick Rodgers was born on September 18, 1933 in Camas Washington, a small town just north of Portland Oregon on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Both of James' parents worked for the Georgia-Pacific pulp mill that at the time dominated the working-class community. James too would work there in order to pay for his time in college. Jimmie has said that he had never taken a music lesson in his life, but if that's so, his mother would have been a very strong influence on his abilities. Aside from work at the pulp mill Jimmie's mother was an accomplished guitarist and piano player who did ocasional tutoring. She also had played organ and piano to accompany silent movies as a young woman. His mother was a devout Christian, a faith she instilled in her children. It was this faith that Jimme later said pulled him through the darkest days after his 1967 beating.
James was brought up in a typical mid-century household that seems to have been fairly happy, but one thing he lovingly remembers his father, saying;
"My dad was a tough guy, They called him "Tuffy"…he was a little Irish guy. He would never let my brothers or I complain about anything. If we went fishing and we said we were cold he wouldn't take us fishing anymore. One time I had a big decision to go on a television show or something. My dad never gave me any instruction at all. When I asked my father about what I should do in that situation, him being a fighter said keep your right hand high and your ass off the floor". He laughs. "That's the only thing my father ever told me to do"
It's been speculated that Jimmie's name became spelled with an "ie" rather than the more common "y" by his mother. Their last name was spelled as the lesser-used "Rodgers"….like Jimmie Rodgers the father of country music. Jimmie's mother was a fan of the "Yodelling Brakeman, who had died the same year her son was born. Rather than calling him the more formal "James" the family used the more easy-going "Jimmy" It's also thought that she chose the spelling "Jimmie"-after Jimmie Rodgers.
In 1951 Jimmie graduated from Camas High School and went on to spend a year studying engineering at Clark College in nearby Vancouver Washington. In 1952 Jimmie put college aside and joined the United States Air Force. Since he had been taught how to use a rifle growing up, and was fairly proficient he ended up training other recruits in shooting.
In a 2015 interview with Dr. Roman Franklin (a/k/a Doctor Doo-Wop) Jimmie talked about his time in Korea.
"I was in Korea teaching weapons just off the front line so it was pretty rough. Back in the Quonset hut at night we'd sing and drink beer because there was nothing else to do. There was a couple of kids that could sing pretty good and they'd and sing from the behind me and they really had that black rhythm feel. I wrote a song "The Woman From Liberia" from the Bible-the story about the woman at the well, but I didn't want to name it after a story in the Bible. I wrote the song and I started playing it sitting on the foot locker, playing it alone with an open chord strum on my guitar and playing it at that tempo, and they'd back me.that could sing pretty good and they' sing behind me and they really had that black rhythm feel. I started playing it sitting on the foot locker, playing it alone with an open chord strum on my guitar and playing it at that tempo, and that's tough-every time you change keys it's really tough. By the time you hit that high note at the end your tired.
"So these kids would sit with me and sing. I didn't have a recorder or anything and when I finally got back to America I lost track of them. I didn't even know their real names-just their first names, but later I recorded that song because I felt like doing it. It's a cool song. It's really fun to listen to.
As an aside; Jimmie refers to his black co-airmen as "kids" not out of disrespect, since he always referred himself and his fans as "kids" He still uses the term occasionally as a term of inclusion rather than as a veiled epithet.
Jimmie may not have ever seen his singing buddies from Korea again, but there was at least one incident of meeting a fellow black servicemen when he got back stateside. He was assigned to Sewart Air Force base at Smyrna Tennessee, Rodgers had a chance meeting with one of his black wartime buddies in the mess hall. They hugged, laughed and pounded each others backs. A Staff Sergeant snarled aloud at seeing this white airman "hugging a nigger," Rodgers pounced on him, beating the larger man into submission. Several other soldiers pulled him off the Staff Sergeant Airman 2nd Class Rodgers pulled extra duty for a month "I never did learn how to handle prejudice," he admitted to biographer Will Ruha.
Skin-based hatred made no sense to him. Ruha explains; "Such stupidity was anathema and intolerable, even if defending a friend meant month-long military reprisal. Even among the staunchest of southern racists, Rodgers signaled a message of moral courage and egalitarian defiance: beneath the skin we all bleed red. The kid with the guitar had guts".
Rodgers' reaction to discrimination fell squarely within the lessons he'd learned from his mother and the church. It also fell squarely into the ideals of the folk music he loved so much. Folk music was blind to color or ethnicity. It's roots lie in traditions from all cultures, all around the world.
While stationed at Sewart AFB he began singing in Nashville. In 2015 he said;
"I was working in bars-playing and singing in Nashville Tennessee. I was working in a little place in Printers Alley called "Club Unique". I'd work about six hours a night…ten dollars a night and free drinks. Then I'd play guitar and sing. When I was working there the people that owned the place (Bob and Bobbi Green) said 'there's a song we'd like you to hear' They had it at home so I went over there and I listened to it. It had been recorded by Georgie Shaw in 1954 and they taught me how to play it. I sat on the floor and learned it right there, and then in that little nightclub I'd play it every Friday or Saturday night during prime time…probably a dozen times and people liked it"
Although Georgie Shaw's version of "Honeycomb", the song the Greens had recommended, was largely ignored when it was released it had a good pedigree. It was written by George Merrill. Merrill wrote songs as diverse as "How Much is That Doggie in The Window" for Patti Page to "People" for.Barbra Streisand. Merrill went on to write and produce some of the most popular musicals and songs of the 1960s and '70s and garnered eight Tony Award nominations.
After being discharged from the Air Force in 1956 Jimmie returned home to Camas Washington. He found work in small clubs around his hometown, in Portland and throughout the Northwest. For awhile he was living out his 1948 Buick. Then he began to seek work up and down the west coast and eventually ended up in Los Angeles where he auditioned and appeared on CBS's Art Linkletter's House Party show in 1956. Once back home he began playing at The Fort Café in Vancouver Washington One night Chuck Miller-who'd had a big hit with Mercury Records called "The House Of Blue Lights" walked into the club. He listened to Jimmie and encouraged him to set up an audition with Roulette Records in New York City. At the time Roulette was an affiliate of Mercury. Much to Jimmie's surprise, Miller was actually able to put in a good word for him.
"When I got out of the service me and my wife drove my old car to New York thinking 'I'm gonna make it big' and of course no one in any night club would listen to me. So I went to Roulette Records, which was then a little place on 10th Avenue. I was trying to get enough money to get out of the hotel I was in, I didn't have the money to pay them" he laughs" I played that song (Honeycomb) and the Roulette guy says to me 'where did you get that song?' I told him"
They had already taken notice of Jimmie, both from Chuck Miller, but also from an appearance as a contestant on The Arthur Godfrey Show in a talent contest on the radio. Jimmie won $700 by performing "The Fox and the Go
They signed him on the spot.
"I went into a studio a couple of days later called Bell Sound" In those days Bell Sound was a small two track-four track studio, which at the time was state-of-the-art and used by many successful singers.
"I did that song in an hour and they had three or four people I didn't know. I had no manager there. My wife was sort of sick back at the hotel and she couldn't come over. After I finished I went outside to smoke a cigarette and they closed the closed the door and I couldn't get back in. So I was knocking on the door out there and the red light was on. They thought I had gone home because I was so shy. I didn't have any money because I'd taken a cab over there, so I had to walk several miles back to the hotel at night with my guitar and little amplifier. I wanna tell you" he adds " I didn't know what I had done, but when I got to the hotel I told my wife "I did something pretty good".
"So to make a long story short we had the money to go home really soon because I'd made some money in New York. We drove my old Buick all the way back to Washington State. One day I'm outside washing the car and they played "Honeycomb" on the radio". Jimmie recalls.
It became the first of a run of hits Jimmie Rodger's cut for Roulette between 1957 and 1960. His debut single would become his biggest hit, charting at number one for seven weeks on the Billboard Top 100 in 1957. "Honeycomb" also reached number one on the R&B Best Sellers chart and number seven on the Country & Western chart. It was followed by a succession of hits. Those included "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine", "Bimbombey" and "Are You Really Mine?" Jimmies' career eventually included more than 450 songs-40 of them being top ten hits. He made hundreds of television appearances, had his own TV show and sang the theme song for 1958's "The Long Hot Summer" starring Joanne Woodward, Orson Welles and Paul Newman. Angela Lansbury and Lee Remick were also featured. The film was a huge success and garnered Paul Newman a Best Actor Oscar. Jimmie played his song from the film at that year's Academy Awards. He admits he "was scared to death"
Jimmie Rodgers with The Crystals at Mascot Airport, Sydney Australia during their 1964 tour Down Under.
Jimmie's screen debut as an actor came in 1961 with "The Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come' His next role was in 1964 in "Back Door To Hell" co-starring a young Jack Nicholson. Neither did very well at the box office, but today "Back Door To Hell" is considered a classic of it's genre-the WWII action drama.
He was also part of several Allen Freed's and Dick Clark's all-star touring shows with The Everly Brothers, LaVern Baker, Chuck Berry, Bobby Darin, Buddy Holly and others. He became good friends with Buddy Holly since they usually roomed together while on tour. Jimmie was not used to live performance and the audience reaction of screaming above his voice irritated him. He told Buddy how unhappy he was with the tours and had decided to quit. Holly told him how important it was to continue, He was persuaded by Holly to remain. After his good friend died, Jimmie committed himself to performing live in Buddy's honor.
Despite his success with fans across the world, he had to work hard selling himself to promoters.
"I was never recognized as a "pop" singer….I was a folk singer…But they (the promoters) didn't want that. I worked with Johnny Cash and people like that, but I wasn't country. It wasn't really pop so much. Dick Clark didn't know what to do with me because I really wasn't rock and roll. He really didn't like it that much"
When Jimmie signed with Roulette Records the label gave their artists a great deal of creative control. The downside was that the label hardly ever paid them. The company was run by Morris Levy who had known ties to organized crime and Roulette was a money-laundering front for the Genovese family; one of the five mobs that ran of New York's crime syndicates.. Despite the "downsides" Jimmie speaks fondly about his time in the studio while at Roulette
"Roulette Records was very smart. They had good producers (Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore) and knew how to work in the studio. They let me just sing. I'd have a small glass of black brandy to clear my throat. I never warmed up my throat. I didn't do hours of warm-up. I never had to"
"The technology then wasn't like it is now. We used to mix a little on the edge of the recording so it stayed on the edge of the vinyl. When you do that the sound comes out a little more on the top edge instead of the bass. Of course that vinyl would wear out more quickly, but now that you digitize it It'll come back with that sound. I would listen to the mix as much as I could and I would sit-in on the mix as much as I could".
"I would take a little tiny four-inch speaker and maybe a six inch speaker and set it on each side while we were working and bring the level down and put it right against your chest, right off the board so it would hit you right in the chest like your driving a car. I would mix on little car speakers and nowadays they mix on these huge speakers and I think it's wrong because you get the normal sound'
Listening to mixes on crummy speakers is a trick that's been used by producers, engineers and artists for a few decades. During the golden age of Top-10 Radio it was presumed most hits would be heard on car radios or poor quality consumer audio (hi-fi) players. It seems that Jimmie and his producers Hugo and Luigi had caught onto this technique earlier than most. These were singles created for fans, not audiophiles.
As for Morris Levy; Steve Kurutz of allmusic.com reports a contemporaneous record executive calling Morris "a notorious crook who swindled artists out of their owed royalties." Levy's birth name was Moishe and members of the record business called him that name. In a jazz-themed issue of Playboy it was written that "He is called Moishe by friends – and other one-syllable names by enemies.". Levy was both respected for his business acumen and feared because it was no secret his success was the result of working with mobsters.
Levy had been born in The Bronx but moved to Brooklyn shortly after his father Simon died of pneumonia. He quit school at the age of 13 after assaulting a teacher over what he considered an unjust order to re-do a math test that most of the class had failed-Morris himself had passed the test, but was also expected to take it again. He later said:
"She looks at me and says 'Levy, you're a troublemaker. I'm gonna get you out of this classroom if I have to take your family off home relief' And I got up-I was a big kid-and took her wig off her head, pouted and inkwell on her bald head and put her wig back on her fucking head. Walked out of school and said 'Fuck school.' Never really went back to school after that. I was sentenced to eight years to reform school by the children's court…The bitch had no fucking humanity" .
Levy says that after the incident he ran away to Florida to avoid a sentence in Juvenile detention. He ended up working in mob-owned clubs first as a hatcheck boy and later as an assistant, developing photos for professional photographers who took pictures of customers in the clubs, developed them and sold them back to the customers before they left. Both were lucrative jobs that could be done while skimming undocumented cash off the top.
After spending five months in the Navy Morris received an honorable discharge based on his mother's failing health. He returned to Miami and became more involved in the hatcheck rig which was a favorite of crime families to enter their ranks. Skimming the proceeds from jukeboxes was also popular.
Levy convinced some of his "bosses" to buy a jazz club in New York City called "Topsy's Chicken Roost"' at 1580 Broadway. It was a prime location for what he had in mind. Levy would manage the club for a "finders fee" which included a piece of the club itself as well as a cut of the lucrative hatcheck proceeds. He partnered up with a man named Ralph Watkins. Watkins had been a jazz promoter since the 1930s and had ties to a myriad of jazz artists and their managers. So Levy and Watkins changed the name to "The Royal Chicken Roost" and later dropped the "chicken" altogether. Levy took care of "business" and Watkins did the booking and promotion.
Soon the club was hosting be-bop greats such as Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. The Royal Roost became so closely associated with bop that it became known as "The Metropolitan Bopera House" and "The House that Bop Built.".
In his 2016 essay "The Royal Room; The Birthplace of Bop". Richard Carlin writes;
"Things were going very well at the Royal Roost by 1949: so well that Levy and Watkin's apparently started to look for a larger space. According to Levy, Watkins failed to cut him into the new deal which involved opening a lavish new restaurant/night club on the second floor of The Brill Building at 48th and Broadway, to be called Bop City. Although significantly larger and more expensive to operate (rent alone was quoted as being $35,000 a year), Bop City mirrored the unusual admission policies and seating arrangements of the original club".
This left Morris Levy to manage the Royal Roost, but he had bigger ambitions. In 1949 he found a small space on Broadway named The Clique. Levy rebranded it "Birdland" in honor of Charlie Parker whose nickname was "The Yardbird". Eventually Parker became known simply as "The Bird". Although the club only held about 400 patrons, it went on to become the most important jazz venues of all time. Birdland was known for astonishing performances by the word;s best jazz players. This did not mean Birdland was above open mob violence. In 1958, a man was gored to death with a piece of broken glass in the Birdland doorway. The crime went unsolved. Two weeks later Morris's older brother, Irving, was killed at Birdland while Morris was off-duty.. The murder was said to be prompted by Morris Levy's "business" connections. According to news reports, the suspects were described as a balding former convict and his wife, who has been convicted of prostitution.. The two were held without bail Saturday in the slaying of an assistant manager at Broadway's Birdland. They were charged with the knife death of Zacariah (Irving) Levy, 36, at the Birdland club last Monday night."
Kliph Nesteroff, wrote an essay on the WFMU blog called "Mobsters, Scoundrels, Comedians and Rat Finks" In it he reports
"A few years later during a heated argument with a client, Morris intimidated his opponent, lecturing, 'Do you know what I did to the bum who killed my brother? I fucking took a knife and stuck it in his fucking stomach – and I twisted it. I stuck it in his fucking stomach until his guts fell out."
Author Steve Kurutz wrote about Levy being approached by a representative of ASCAP and told he must pay the publishing company a monthly stipend for the privilege of booking live music.'
Levy himself said
"A guy comes in from ASCAP and said he wanted money every month. I thought it was a racket guy trying to shake me down. I wanted to throw him out. And then he came back again and said he's going to sue. I said, 'Get the fuck outta here.' I went to my lawyer and I says, 'What is this guy? He keeps coming down, he wants money.' My lawyer says, 'He's entitled to it. By act of Congress, you have to pay to play music.' I said, 'Everybody in the world's gotta pay? That's a hell of a business. I'm gonna open up a publishing company".
Levy may not have known about publishing at the time, but he saw it as a way to increase his profit, so soon he'd set up his own publishing business. Patricia Publishing, with a view to acquire as many copyrights as possible. It wasn't long before Levy learned how to manipulate the business to his own favor. Nesteroff adds that Levy demanded the rights to "all songs first performed in Birdland, including the venue's soon-to-be-famous Lullaby of Birdland. Morris amassed his royalty money and received a substantial loan from Thomas Eboli of the Genovese crime family. He had used the money to open Birdland. Always the confidence man, Levy's publishing company had a propensity for ludicrous claims. When Roulette artist Jimmie Rodgers recorded an album of Christmas songs, Morris Levy was listed as the composer of Silent Night."
Levy was also engaged in adding his name (or a pseudonym) as a writer's credit in order to collect some of the royalties for himself. He hung onto his false songwriting royalties while refusing to hand out what was rightly due writers and artists, and often bragged how successful he'd become because of the practice.
Since the music business was essentially run by the mob, and Roulette having direct ties it's not surprising that the label was a success out of the box. One of its first signings was Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers, in 1956. In 1955, The Teenagers (at that time calling themselves The Premiers) auditioned "Why do Birds Sing So Gay?" for producer and owner of Gee Records, George Goldner. The group's tenor, Herman Santiago, had written the song. He'd come across a letter that featured the words "Why do birds sing so gay?," which fit in with the lyrics he'd been writing. It became the working title of the song.
The harmonies were tweaked to take advantage of Frankie Lymon's high tenor/soprano voice. During the audition for Goldner, Frankie's voice stood out, so Goldner advised the band to give Frankie all lead vocals. Frankie did some of his own tweaking of the melody of Why do Birds Sing So Gay?" to match his voice and delivery.. According to Jimmy Merchant, "what happened at the recording session was a combination of Frankie's singing ability coupled with George Goldner's special ability to bring out the best in Frankie".
Although "Why Do Fools Fall in Love?" original release on Gee Records credited Frankie Lymon, Herman Santiago, and George Goldner as co-writers later releases and cover versions were attributed only to Lymon and Goldner. Morris Levy dropped Golder's credit and added his own name as a co-writer when he bought out Gee Records and re-released The Teenagers song on Roulette Records. It reached Number one on the R&B chart, Number six on Billboard's Pop Singles chart, and number one on the UK Singles Chart.. Levy made sure he controlled the publishing and himself as one of the songs writers.
Later, in 1981, after Diana Ross had a top ten hit with "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" a major controversy concerning Lymon's estate ensued. Zola Taylor, Elizabeth Waters and Emira Eagle each approached Levy as being the wife of Lymon, although Taylor had not divorced her previous husband before marrying Lymon. Lymon then married Waters, but neglected to divorce her before marrying Eagle. The saddest part of course was that Lymon had famously been found dead on the floor of his grandmother's bathroom after a heroin overdose in 1968.. He was only 25 at the time.
A lengthy court battle ensued and songwriting credits were awarded to Teenagers members Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant in December 1992. In 1996, the ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeals because the and authorship had run out due to the Statute of Limitations. Santiago and Merchant had not brought the case to court earlier This decision gave the song rights back to Lymon (who had famously died in in 1968 of a heroin overdose) and Morris Levy Since Lymon left no legal heirs 100% of the copyright reverted to Levy.
Jimmie Rodgers would also find that the royalties illegally withheld from him for his years at Roulette would also fall outside the Statute of Limitations when he sought to recover them… even though it was charged that Levy had engaged in fraud, and had even gone so far as to re-release and license Rodgers' music even after Rodgers had left the label.
After Jimmie Rodger's beating his career seemed to have ended. He went from one of the most visible people in the US to obscurity. He'd had several modest hits since leaving Roulette-most of them were for Dot Records, where he also wore the hat of producer, head of A&R and director of Folk Music Dept. He remained at Dot until the mid to late 60's. Shortly before his assault he'd signed with A&M Records and seemed to be headed toward a come-back with the release of "Child of Clay" which became his last charting hit, peaking at number 31 on Billboard's Top 100.
He'd also written the song "It's Over" in 1966. It would prove to be his most covered song, with renditions by Glen Campbell, Dusty Springfield (both in 1967), Elvis Presley (1973), The Sweet Inspirations (2006) as well as a multitude of other notable stars. In fact many of his compositions have become standards that have been recorded by many artists in many diverse genres. One presumes that he receives his songwriters' royalties from these recordings.
Eventually it was fans that would come to him rather than the other way around. He began to show up on television, do live performances. The audiences weren't as large as the 84,000 he'd played for at Chicago's Soldier Field in April of 1958. They had not forgotten all of his hits, his appearances on Dick Clark's Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show (three times), Perry Como, His poignant version of "Waltzing Matilda" used in the classic film "On the Beach" his playing the theme from "Long Hot Summer" at the 1958 Academy Awards, the all-star tours and his personal appearances. So Jimmie began touring again. Because of the change in tasts of music by the mid-60s Jimmie Rodgers became less of a "pioneer of rock and roll" and thought more of an "adult-contemporary" artist-nearly a death sentence for most artists-but he continued and eventually was able to put together world-wide tours in sold-out venues. Even though he tried to avoid the "oldies circuit" claiming he didn't want audiences to think he hadn't done anything after 1960, he finally relented. It was during this period that Jimmie would face the second greatest blow to his career.Spasmodic Dysphonia, a vocal ailment that affects the nerves and muscles that control the larynx.
During a tour of Australia and New Zealand he started having difficulties with his voice. The day of his opening night in Aukland he told his wife Mary that he was having problems wheezing and coughing. He went on stage anyway. Jimmie recalls he tried to sing "Honeycomb"
"At first air would come out and then the voice would catch. I worked for an hour with that voice and I struggled all the way through. When I came off I said "I don't know what's wrong". I got up the next day and it started again. I finished the tour but it was very difficult and by the time I got home I couldn't even talk"
Though he'd completely lost his voice, but he sought an answer and went through several voice instructors. Eventually he was diagnosed, even though it was unclear what had caused it. At one time doctors and researchers thought it may have been caused by a virus. Some think it's the result of an injury. It's hard to wonder if his beating was the cause of his Spasmodic Dysphonia, but the truth is, it could have been caused by a number of things. Medicine has never found it's cause nor it's cure. Over the course of years of practice, determination and faith his voice partially returned. It ended his career as a singer, but not as a performer. In 2010 he said:
"Before I talk on the phone I have to clear my voice. If I go to talk to somebody in a crowd they can't hear me. I can't do it. I can't go to dinner and sit and carry on a conversation. I've had it ( Spasmodic Dysphonia) now for 40 years and there's no cure for it. There's a lot of people working on it now, but nobody really knows what it is or what causes it so I've had to live with that. Like I said for awhile nobody would book me. They think this guy can't sing anymore but he can perform.Well that's not true. I'm doing a great show and there's people out here who want to hear Jimmie Rodgers, and people who want to book Jimmie Rodgers. I want to work and this is the time in my life that I think I sing better than I ever have"
Now in his later years (he's 85) he still performs from time to time. He uses a twist on a technique that's become all too common in today's music business. He does a great performance but uses tapes of his voice and sings over them. The difference is that Jimmie is open about it with his audience. He tells him what he's doing, about his ailment and invites them to join in.
In many ways Jimmie Rodgers is a Renaissance Man. In his Dr. Doo-Wop interview he said
"I'm writing every day. I get up 6:30 every day and I'm writing to noon at at least to noon. I've written three animated features. I'm also writing screenplays. I read a lot..I'm really kind of a hermit. I've been married 35 years. My wife is a retired ballerina and dance instructor, and I teach golf. I'm a certified golf teacher on the side". He says in his 70s he was running 10 kilometers a day. Now he only does it every other day. Jimmie has also written his autobiography, 'Dancing On The Moon' and a screenplay for its motion picture adaptation. It's been described as
" a highly charged emotional autobiography, detailing the savagery of the recording business, his brutal beating by an off-duty Los Angeles policemen and many other answers to "What Ever Happened To Jimmie Rodgers?
Jimmie's bio calls 'Dancing On The Moon "'A true story that is uplifting and yet tragic as it describes his journey through the Mafia power of some of the music business to the high road of success that can changes lives".
For the time being Jimmie and his wife Mary stay busy around their Palm Springs home, and make regular trips back to Camas as well as Seattle where he maintains his management. In 2013 he made one of his trips to his hometown to have a street named after him. On September 13th NW 10th Avenue became Jimmie Rodgers Avenue. His hometown paper, The Columbian reported that as a kid Jimmie "would take his soapbox racer to the top of the hill and zoom down it like hell on four wheels. Even as a youngster, Rodgers knew there'd be one of two outcomes on that street.
"I'd either get killed on this street," Rodgers said with a chuckle, "or I'd have my name on it."
Morris Levy's life did not end on such a high note. After a 3 ½ year investigation by the FBI a case was levelled against Levy for the extortion of John LaMonte, a record wholesaler from Darby, Pennsylvania. LaMonte had agreed to purchase records valued at $1.25 million in a 1984 deal. He subsequently refused to pay the full price, claiming that the best titles had been removed from a 60-truck delivery. It was claimed that Levy extorted the money from him and LaMonte received a fractured eye socket along with the deal. Levy had sold Roulette Records and his publishing rights for $55 million during the investigation. The FBI knew Levy had long used Roulette Records as a front for Vincent Gigante and the Genovese family. Now they were able to prove it through covertly recorded conversations and wiretaps of Levy and of Gaetano Vastola, part owner of Roulette.
During its investigation, the FBI determined that Levy had used the Roulette as a front for the mob. Much of the trial evidence came from covertly recorded conversations taken from wiretaps and listening devices planted in the phones and business offices of Levy and Gaetano Vastola. After Gaetano's conviction for his part in the extortion of John LaMonte he became a cellmate of another notorious criminal, John Gotti. Gotti was convinced that Gaetano would turn state's witness in the case and he would be caught up in it. When Gotti was released, he pressured New Jersey's DeCavalcante family boss John Riggi to murder Gaetano. The FBI were able to catch wind of the plot.. In the end Gotti and the DeCavalcante leadership, including Riggi and Stefano Vitabile (another mobster) were tried and convicted of conspiracy to murder Vastola.
Morris Levy was convicted in December 1988 by a Federal jury of two counts of conspiring to extort the money from LaMonte. Others were convicted, along with Roulette's controller Howard Fisher and Dominick Canterino who was part of the Genovese crime family. The FBI also testified that Levy had also been a major supplier of heroin for a Philadelphia drug dealer, Roland Bartlett. Levy was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1988 and fined $200,000. Levy appealed his conviction. Canterino was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and Lamonte did indeed testify for the state. He then entered the federal witness protection program.
While he was awaiting his appeal Morris Levy was free on bail, obviously through money he'd stolen from many of the Roulette artists. In October of 1989 Levy's conviction was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals in Philadelphia. In January 1990, Levy's lawyers petitioned to have his sentence eliminated because of his failing health. It was rejected, but he was granted a 90-day stay. He was scheduled to report to prison on July 16, 1990 but died on May 20, 1990 after a long, painful battle with cancer.
For all the ups and downs in Jimmie Rodger's life there has been poetic justice. He's lived through corrupt cops, dishonest business dealings, beatings, mobsters, lean times and ill health yet it could not stop him. Instead he has lived a long life, found success, lost it, then regained it. He has worked despite the Spasmodic Dysphonia that took his voice from him. He loves his wife dearly and enjoys his life far more than he could ever have imagined as a kid in Camas Washington. It's hard to look at his life without considering the advice his father had given him years earlier:
"Keep your right hand high and your ass off the floor" his father Tuffy told him. "I don't quit"says Jimmie. "I don't know how to quit. Nobody ever told me how to quit"
-Dennis R. White; Sources-Gary James "Interview with Jimmie Rodgers (www.classicbands.com, retrieved January 6, 2018); Dr. Doo-Wop "Jimmie Rodgers Interview" (June 4, 2014); Troy Lennon "The Mystery of Jimmie Rodgers' Bashing" (The Daily Telegraph November 30, 2017); Will Ruha, "It's a Darned Good Life: The Untimely Removal and Ultimate Revival of the Great Jimmie Rodgers" (exerpt, 2011); Derek Taylor :Jimmie Rodgers, Child of Clay" (Liner Notes, A&M Records SP-4130, 1967); Katrina MacGregor/Gary Brumburgh "Jimmie Rodgers IMDb Mini Biography" IMDb, retrieved January 14, 2018); National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association video "Jimmie Rodgers-A Singer Silenced" (Youtube.com, retrieved January 14, 2018); Anthony DeCurtis "Jimmy Rodgers-Where Are They Now?" (Rolling Stone, September 11, 1986); Steven Rosen "The Rocker and The Mob" ( The Denver Post, March 2010/updated May 6, 2016); "Jimmie Rodgers-Pop Singer (wikiwand.com, retrieved January 10, 2018); Nick Thomas "Jimmie Rodgers on Singing and Surviving" (The Spectrum [USA Today] May 26, 2016); "Interview with Jimmie Rodgers" (NAAM video, naam.org, retrieved January 8, 2018); Fredric Dannen "Hit Men: Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business" (Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Sep 14, 2011); Tommy James/Martin Fitzpatrick "Me, The Mob and The Music: One Helluva Ride With Tommy James and The Shondells" LA Times News Service "Officers Suspended in Injury of Singer" (January 5, 1968, retrieved Jaumuary 14, 2018) Jimmie Rodgers: (www.jimmie-rodgers.com, retrieved January 8, 2018) "Jimmie Rodgers Biography" (TCM Archives, http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/163739%7C83014/Jimmie-Rodgers/ (retrieved January 9, 2018); Jimmie Rodgers "Dancing on the Moon; The Jimmy Rodgers Story" (Logotipas Press, 2010); Richard Carlin "Godfather of The Music Business; Morris Levy" University Press of Mississippi, March 10, 2016)
January 14, 2018 | Posted in: 1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Folk / Jazz
On September 21 2017 Iggy Pop was hosting his "Iggy Confidential" show that's become semi-regular Friday night fare on the UKs BBC 6. About three quarters through his show he dropped the needle on a song almost everyone familiar with the early 80's Seattle music scene. It was The Pudz doing "Take Me To Your (Leader)". More than a few Seattle listeners ears pricked up immediately and hopefully a few others' around the world. After the song finished Iggy related what a horrible year 1981 was-the year The Pudz single was released. Iggy mentioned "pooping out" Zombie Birdhouse and how he'd been relegated to opening for A Flock of Seagulls at New York's Peppermint Lounge; he was so humiliated he built himself a cross to drag onto stage with him. Then he went on to tell his audience what a great little band out of Seattle The Pudz were, and that they were a high point for him during that awful year. One person who heard the broadcast (via the quick thinking of a friend who was streaming it.) was Rob Morgan… the genius behind The Pudz, and for the last four decades one of most visible guys on Seattle's music scene…25 of which were spent leading The Squirrels-or one of the many iterations of the band. First he tells me about Iggy playing one of his Pudz records;
"That was mind-blowing"says Rob. "Being a bright shining spot for him in a shitty year. I just about had a heart attack, then when he actually starts singing R.B Greaves' 'Take A Letter, Maria' (the flip side of Take Me To Your ( Leader) and cracking himself up I felt like 'that kind of validates my entire career; of all the people who gave me shit for being a quote-unquote "cover band"-which we're not. If we were a cover band we'd be doing songs people actually wanted to hear, and playing in Holiday Inns for real money. We wouldn't be taking Terry Jacks' Seasons In The Sun and speeding it up faster and faster before it becomes Van McCoys' Do The Hustle.
What Rob didn't mention is that he has at least one other important and influential fan; or he did have until he died in 2004: The great British DJ, John Peel. Peel kept a box of records near his door, which has become known as The John Peel Record Box. Peel claimed if there was ever a fire in his house the box was next to the door because it was filled with 147 singles of his favorite records of all-time. The box contained everything from Anne Peeble's 'I Can't Stand The Rain' and Laurie Anderson's 'O Superman' to much rarer fare like Medicine Head's 'Coast To Coast (And Shore To Shore)' The box is an eclectic mix of jazz, rock, psychedelia and indie-pop. One of those rare 45's included is 'Oz On 45'a record by the band Morgan is more well-known for; The Squirrels. 'Oz on 45' is a piss-take on the once popular output of producers stringing one hit after another, sometimes speeding songs up to segue into the next- and sometimes slowing them down for the same reason. Most of the time the gimmick was to keep the same pitch and the same beat of top-40 songs. The best that can be said about the "Stars on 45" records was they keep people dancing (or listening) to some of the most egregious songs of the '70s…a pretty egregious decade in it's own right.
"So you wanna know how we all got to this?" Rob offers in a more and more enthusiastic coffee buzz
Rob grew up in one of Seattle's bedroom communities, Edmonds, Washington. He says he 'There was nothing' adding I was"a weirdo kid from the get-go" like a lot of the thousands and thousands of other suburban misfits biding their time before breaking out of the mold to become weirdo artists. Rob says that during his teens he was listening to people like Jethro Tull and Leon Russell and the Winter's Brothers. He points to the Beatles as his earliest love. He also talks about his sister giving him a copy of The Mothers of Invention's "Absolutely Free" while he was in the fifth grade. He didn't know it then but he'd just set out on a journey that what would be Seattle's next great era in music. He remembers a girl in school noticing Rob had a picture of Ziggy Stardust in his locker. Rob was being hassled by the jocks who were listening to Elton John "I find that really funny" he says. Then one day someone gave him a copy of the Seattle fanzine Chatterrbox. The fanzine was put out by Lee Lumsden and Jim Basnight. The cover was a photo of Lou Reed.
"By that time I was doing the back pages of Hit Parader so I was already familiar with the underground thing, but nobody I knew out in Edmonds even knew about that, so I called up Lee Lumsted on the phone because his number was in Chatterbox and we just started yackin' back and forth. Then they invited me to a party so I went down there (to Seattle) and met those kids and the next thing you know I was hanging out with that crowd but I'm still living at my folks. I'd pack a sack of clothes and a can of soup and hitchhike the 20 miles to the University District and I'd be there two or three days-staying on Jeff Cades' floor. Eventually my folks are like "you gotta go" so me and my other buddy from Edmonds fished around and found this place on 55th and University and rented it. It was $210 a month, all utilities paid and furnished, so we got me and my other buddy, Gary Womack, and the late Gregor Gayden and whoever. Everybody living in there paying fifty buck a guy. Eventually the U-Men moved in there…or Tom and Charlie moved in there, and the U-Men were formed in the basement. Anyway, we were in that house six or seven years. We got up the first time some guy knocked on the door, and went to bed after we threw the last guy out.
Those were the days before the U-District's main thoroughfare became a dangerous place. In the late 80s University Avenue became a more depressing place full of drugs, runaways and homelessness. The scene before that it was vibrant, and a great place to hook up wth the altenative music scene. It was also before there was any social media to bond with other musicians, artists and fans. There were similar stirrings coming out of Seattle's Capitol Hill, and by some sort of cultural osmosis among a large crowd of kids coming out of Seattle's Roosevelt High School. In the end many of them would meet up, resulting in a city-wide movement. Lee Lumsden would go on to be a multi-talented presence in Seattle, Jim Basnight founded the power-pop band The Moberlys, Rich Riggins and Gary Minkler would found Red Dress, and Rich would later go on to co-found Chinas Comidas. The kid who seemed to be everywhere in the early to mid-80s' Duff McKagen, also went to Roosevelt High School, though a bit later. Two other important alumni are Tom Price, one of the founding members of The U-Men and Bill Reiflin who played drums with The Telepaths, then went on to The Blackouts, Pigface, Ministry and R.E.M. Now Bill plays in the re-constituted King Crimson.
By 1979 Rob was also ready to jump into the fray. Since he'd been a kid he'd been a huge fan of just about anything great in pop music. He'd collected a large amount of promo and fan memorabilia (a collection that continues to grow even now) and the sly ability to combine pop music genres and show a great deal of wit in executing it.
"I just started playing. Me and Eric Erickson (who's passed on) who was my buddy from High School..we were hanging out with this other friend of ours from High School named Kevin played at a party The Enemy were having and we called ourselves The Fishsticks. The Enemy and everybody thought that we were super-funny. We did "Herman's Hermits "I'm Into Something Good" and "Do You Believe in Magic' by The Lovin' Spoonful and a bunch of 60s covers that no one was doing at that time, because they were only about five years old or something. Later we got asked to do another gig with The Girls, The Radios and Little Magnets at IOGG Hall. We pretty much stole the whole show and pissed everybody off".
The band was also asked to play a couple of house parties and they went over well, but it wasn't 'til one night during a party at the "Madhouse" (an infamous party house near University Ave.) that The Pudz were actually born and christened. The entire process was witnessed by about 300 music weirdos, punks, artists and fans. Everyone went bananas and then ran all over town and told everybody there was this new band called The Pudz so we said "oh well, I guess we're called The Pudz". The next day hundred of people were running around talking about The Pudz. I guess I was a rock singer guy cuz I'd go out there and jump around and have a good time…it just kind of happened."
"How I wound up in The Pudz, was kind of an accident. Dave Locksley, the guitarist, was trying to start a band with Dave Drewry the drummer (who's also passed on now) and they would practice in my friend Bill Larsen's basement. I was hanging out over there so I'd go down there and we'd start doing some dumb covers just for the hell of it.
After The Pudz were formed they had a successful career as one of Seattle's favorite bands.
"In 1982 when The Pudz fell apart I did a fanzine called "Pop Lust" for a couple of years", Rob tells me. "Then I got sick of doing that and I said I want to get back into playing. So I went and saw one of the Young Fresh Fellows first shows and I cornered Scott and said you guys have got the kind of 60s garage-y thing I'm kinda looking for so why not let me be your front man? And he said "well, I'm gonna be a front man because I'm writing all the songs, but how about if we back you up under a different name doing covers? And I said "GOLDEN!" So the first year The Squirrels was essentially me fronting The Young Fresh Fellows, except Scott would play bass and Jim would play guitar".
"So they go up to Bellingham and play a show at The 3B's and they take me with them. Then they put on wigs qnd basically open for themselves and half the time the audience wouldn't even figure out it was the same band cuz the guy from The Pudz was jumpin' around. So that's how we did it first, and it was a bit straighter then, as far as the magic-y kind of thing. But then they started taking off and they were too busy to keep doing it, but Tad (the drummer) being a wierdo, he wanted to keep doing it.
In 1985 me and Tad brought Eric Erickson back in, got Craig Ferguson on bass (a buddy from Tower Records where I worked), and drafted Joey Kline on a recomendation after checking him out in Boy Toast. He was really funny and talented. Thats when it really started rolling.. Jimmy Thomas (JT) came into the band in 1989 and Joey has been my co-pilot 23 out of the 25 years The Squirrels (or one of their pseudonyms) have been together. The name eventually ended up simply as The Squirrels, but any term with the word "squirrel" in it has probably been linked to them.
"So how did we get to this point?" he asks himself again.
"He begins to answer himself. "Like I said I remember The Beatles…and that prime-era stuff that was on the radio. This was where I got all my information. I was just some lonely kid living out in Edmonds, growing up. What the hell? And then I find Aladdin Sane or something, and I'm like, whoa! there's a whole world out there that seems to be interesting".
"It made me realize that either they're lying to us…all kinds of music is the same and it doesn't matter and you can smash through rock into jazz into that and the other thing, and it doesn't freaking matter. This world of ours tried it ourselves and that; along with NRBQ and other things, and there's so many bands that think that way. I don't mean to offend Country people but I just don't understand why you would say "I do this and paint myself into this little box. I can't step outside of this box…and it makes me a thousand times more authentic'. That makes no sense to me".
"The whole tribute band thing also cracks me up cuz in 1986 on our first album one entire side was Johnny Kidd and The Pirates songs (an early British R&R band known for "Shakin' All Over"-a song not included on their first record). The other Everybody thought that was completely stupid and that we were insane, and now if you have an original band you can't get a show, but if you have a band where you dress up and pretend you were Guns N' Roses you could play every day. So for our next show since we're going to do a lot of covers and we're just going to say "For this next song we are a tribute band to (whatever band we're supposed to do)" and then we will become a tribute band for whatever the next song is, and then people will like it better".
"Like I said" says Rob "The Squirrels just kept going and going and going and by 2009 we couldn't do it any more" says Rob. "I looked at the calendar one day and said "if I make it to the next Christmas show that will be twenty Christmas shows and twenty-five years under the name of The Squirrels, so that was a good time to just step away". I made a bunch of t-shirts with Death With Dignity Retirement Tour on 'em and that was that. Until recently we hadn't done a show since that "farewell tour" that ended Christmas Eve 2009. I mean we kinda did a one-off for a friend of mine's 60th birthday in his living room. I kinda jumped up with the fellas and did a Mighty Squirrels set, but we haven't done a fully authorized, sanctioned Squirrels show until last year (2017) and nobody thought it would happen. The first show was in April and then in May and then in September".
'Last year", says Rob, "we brought The Squirrels back together. We had to cheer people up cuz of the whole Trump thing and I had to find something different to do". He adds "I swore for years and years and years and years there's no way we would ever do that. It sounds ridiculous but one of the main reasons we did that was because of Cheeto-face and everybody I know is losing their minds and just not having any fun…just losing their minds. I thought to myself It's 'boots on the ground time' and it's us against them and everybody has to do what they can do. I'm too old and physically beat-up to go on a march and too broke to give money that would be worth it to anybody, but I can sure as hell go out there and entertain people and distract them and make fun of this freaking idiot (Trump). So I called up the rest of the band and they just said yuh-huh.
The first two shows we railed heavily. We did "Lump" by The Presidents of The United State, but we changed it to "Trump". We did "Draggin' The Line". We changed it to "Drainin' The Swamp". We did "Carrie Anne" by The Hollies and changed it to "Kellyanne". People were peein' their pants laughing, but by the time we got to the third show we said "You know, we don't wanna talk about it anymore'. People know why we came back, and it's getting to the point that it isn't funny anymore, so we dumped all the Trump stuff. Now we're playing sporadically…I'm not actively trying to get out there and compete and get rollin' again, but we're doing a show every few months. We have the best band now that we have EVER had. It's ridiculous.
We've got me and Joey back in, who as I said was in The Squirrels for 23 of the 25 years we've been together. J.T. is back on lead guitar. who was in the band for 15 years at least. Bruce Laven is back in on keyboards who did it for eight or nine years. Then, we've got an all-new rhythm section. We got this guy named Bill Ray on drums who recently moved to town who's fantastic. He also works with Leroy Bell right now, but he used to play with Ike Turner for years. He's a technical monster, but he just happens to be a big goofball who "gets it". Then we brought in Keith Lowe on bass. He's another monster who's been just kinda laying in wait. Certain people we just consider members of The Squirrels whether they've ever played with us or not. Basically Keith Lowe has been in The Squirrels for 20 years but only played the last three shows. Keith plays with everybody. He even plays with Wayne Horvitz. Keith's a world-class bass player, so we've got a world-class rhythm section and all the best loved guys we ever had…that's what the current line-up is. It's pretty ferocious.
"We could have spun the next show as our fifth one, but it's really our fourth and a half show. There was just me and Joey and a drummer from 20 years ago playin' in a pot store for their third anniversary, so that was kind of The Squirrels. But we were thrilled to death because we had no idea…well we knew people would remember us, but we had no idea what would happen. Our first show back, last April, we had more people in Darells Tavern by 9:00 than any other band who's played there. The door guy was "what the hell is going on?" They came from miles around and went freakin' bananas, We couldn't believe it. We were totally touched. And we went down to Tacoma a month later and it happened again. Then we played at The High Dive and it pretty much happened again, except the crowd was a little lighter that time cuz it was Labor Day Weekend and Bumbershoot was going on, but we held our own, even against that. It's been going really good and people seem genuinely happy and genuinely grateful. It's a kick in the pants to look out there and just see a room full of people with shit-eatin' grins on their face"
"The Squirrels have been through about 35 guys. We were the aforementioned Mighty Squirrels for about a year, and then everybody quit except Tad…they just couldn't do it anymore. Then me and Tad got guys together as The New Age Urban Squirrels (also mentioned before) and that's what we were for a couple of years. Then the first album was two split EPs "Five Virgins" by and The New Age Urban Squirrels and Ernest Anyway and The Mighty Mighty Squirrels doing "Sings The Hits of Johnny Kidd and The Pirates. Then Tad quit and we got another drummer, and when Craig quit and we got Kevin Crosby on bass and changed the name to Crosby, Squirrels and Nay because we had brought in Jon Nay who used to be in The Frazz. Nay quit, and then we brought in Nate Johnson from the fastbacks on drums…so we just changed our name to Crosby, Squirrels and Nate.
"Anyway we'd get into the gradual process of replacing people as they dropped out; and the style would kind of change depending on who else was in it. Now when Eric Erickson was with us he could play anything. When I was about 16 years old in High School I remember him playing the entire The Who Live at Leeds album on his SGN…like OK! So that's when we started getting a little all over the map stylistically because we could take on anything. We were doing what they call mash-ups now decades ago. We called them Mudleys cuz a Medley is a whole bunch of songs in a row. We figured a Mudley was a whole bunch of songs stacked up. We'd have one bit where half of the band was doing a country version of "Ben" by Michael Jackson and the other half were playing "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane. Five musicians would be laughing while everyone else scratched their heads. We had another thing "Hawaii Take Five-O"…stuff like that".
I ask him why people believe The Squirrels are a cover band. He nearly bristles at the question, so I ask him how he would describe the band.
"The Squirrels were never really a cover band. They took multiple hooks and melodies from one band and mooshed them up with another unlikely band or two…or three, etc. The formula was exactly what made The Squirrels shows fun and entertaining. Then he enigmatically says
"Well we're not a cover band but we are a cover band".
"I would call us "the great rock and roll equalizers" he says. We take really shitty songs and we elevate them. Then we take really great songs and we grind them through the skewer and we pound it all together into a dough. Basically we take the entire history of pop music, smash it together into a ball and throw it back in your face.. Some people understand it, and some people don't. There's not a lot of middle ground. There's the people who generally like The Squirrels . They say "They're genuine and I love that band" or "I don't understand what's going on, make them stop". You don't meet somebody who says "oh I have one of their albums…they're pretty good". They're either in or their out".
"As far as CDs go, Popllama Products recently went out of business and it's owner, Conrad Uno retired. He sold his house and he's moving away. He's done more than enough. So when he was clearing out his basement he found a few boxes of CD's he didn't know he still had. He found copies of one of our CDs 'Harsh Toke of Reality' from 1993. The band also have a bunch of copies of 'The Not So Bright Side of The Moon'. Those two are available at our shows and at our next show we're hopefully going to be putting in two or three more of the Pink Floyd covers into the live shows" says Rob.
"Harsh Toke of Reality" is probably representative of what we do; about a third originals and the rest random covers. And then, "The Not so Bright Side of The Moon"- it's our undisputed masterpiece.
"There's actually an entire album that is unreleased". he tells me "It was the follow-up to "The Not So Bright Side of The Moon". We recorded it in 2002 and called it "Rock Polisher". It's the mother of ALL Squirrels albums, but we have never found a label to release it cuz rather than doing it at Uno's studio (where we had to pay for the studio time) we did it at J.T.'s on his computer. We could spend as much time as we wanted The Not So Bright Side of The Moon" took us ten days total, mixed and everything. For this album ("Rock Polisher") we got together every Wednesday for a year, and by the time we made it, it took "Let's Dance" three days to mix because it had 50 tracks on it. We did "Let's Dance" and Wish You Were Here" at the same time. Anyway, all the Squirrels fans wanted it because it has all the medleys, It has the Mandy medley on it and all that stuff that was never on any other album because we didn't have time to do it right. But by doing what we did on Rock Polisher no one could pay the royalties for it. They'd have to pay for 27 songs for a half hour album and every single song is like five songs at the same time. So we sent it to all these labels and they said
"That is the greatest thing you've ever made. But I gotta hire a team of scientists to figure out how to pay for it. Good luck".
Rob ends up with a final message:
"I'd also like to say that we're super-excited that in 2034 the comprehensive boxed set called Fart Party is gonna come out. However, we have no idea what label it's going to come out on because the kid who's going to re-discover us in a pile of crap isn't even born yet. But this stuff's all gonna happen. We've left a big enough pile of weird crap laying around for somebody to find in 20 years and say "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! If there is someone out there who wants to release it we have all the master tapes.
THE SQUIRRELS WILL BE DOING A MATINEE SHOW, SUNDAY JANUARY 7, 2018
DARRELLS TAVERN
18041 AURORA AVE. NORTH, SEATTLE, WA, 98133
SHOWTIME 2:30 PM
TWO SETS
-Dennis R. White. Sources; Rob Morgan interview with the author (November 25, 2017); Stephen Tow; "Addendum: Pop Lust For Life, Rob Morgan and The Squirrels" (The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge, Sasquatch Books, 2011); Rich Webb "The Greatest Bands You've Never Heard Of" (The Outsider, January 20, 1999); Ned Raggett "The Squirrels: USA (O Canadarm-Fine Musical Trash from Canada and Beyond, September 5, 2009); Michael Krugman "Capt. Morgan's revenge: In a scene that takes itself too seriously, The Squirrels lighten the Mood" (The Seattle Weekly, October 9, 2006); Scott Schinder / Ira Robbins "The Young Fresh Fellows [The Squirrels
January 3, 2018 | Posted in: 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Punk / Punk/New Wave / Rock
STAN BORESON
"Zero dacus, mucho cracus hallaballu-za bub That's the secret password that we use down at the club Zero-dacus, mucho-cracus hallaballu-za fan Means now you are a member of: KING's TV club with Stan."
Every baby-boomer who grew up within the broadcast signal of Seattle's KING-TV knows the song. From 1954 until 1967, it was the theme for "King's TV Club With Stan Boreson" and later simply "The Stan Boreson Show". Boreson was only one of many kid-show hosts in the early days of Northwest. television. Others included the Ivar Haglund inspired "Captain Puget" (Don McCune), the railwayman "Brakeman Bill"( Bill McLain), Wunda Wunda-a sort-of Pixie Harlequin played by Ruth Prins and of course the most beloved of all; J.P. Patches played by the incredibly resourceful and hilarious Chris Wedes.
Although all local kids show hosts played a character, and focused on their kiddie audience in 1998 Boreson told April Chandler of the Kitsap Sun;
"We used to joke that the reason we're not on (television) anymore is we were entertaining the parents instead of the kids," he said. "I never talked down to the kids; we were just carrying on a normal conversation."
The statement about the adults is probably true. Even though Boreson ran a cartoon or two during his daily broadcast,the bulk of his unscripted routine was a series of subtle "Scandahoovian" jokes and characters that were sure to go over the heads of most kids-especially the majority of his audience who had no first or second generation familiarity with the Scandinavian experience back home, or in the immigrant community. Not only that, Boreson was the master of cornball parodies of popular songs, sung in an addled English-Scandinavian dialect. The dialect itself was a large part of the joke, and even the parody must have seemed a bit too dense for small children.
This was the early days of television and cheap broadcasts of local artists allowed broadcasters across the country to fill time. In fact, it's probable that not a single broadcaster across the nation didn't have a kiddie show to fill in an afternoon time slot, or at least a comedy show that could please both the stay-at-home mom and her rowdy kids just home from school. Unlike most kiddie program hosts who had come from radio as announcers, weatherpeople or disc jockeys, Boreson had a leg up on all of them. He'd started his career as an entertainer and by the time he was hired he'd already performed his corny take on Scandanavian life and his accordian playing in front of thousands upon thousands of audience members. The start of his career goes back to his early days in Everett WA.
Boreson was born into a second generation family. His grandfather-a carpenter- had jumped ship from a Norwegian lumber hauler near Utsalady on Camano Island. After hiding out for several days the angry captian and crew of the gave up looking for him, he made his way out of the forest and eventually filed a land claim on Camano Island. Next he sent word to his wife to join him. By 1925, when Stan was born, his mother and father had settled in Everett WA, where a large Scandanavian population had congregated. It's unclear if his grandparents remained on Camano Island, although later it would be a welcome destination for Stan and his wife to re-charge their batteries.
Stan grew up around first and second generation Norwegian immigrants who were stuck somewhere between stubbornly holding onto the ways of "the old country" and being bemused and a bit confused by the new American culture they'd found themselves in. In fact Boreson would use a running joke throughout his life that "this is a song my uncle Torvald taught me" before launching into one of his thick-accented parodies. It was both humorous to Scandinavian audience, but it also showed a sign of Stan's well-meaning, genial attitude toward his audience and their backgrounds. Scandinavians who had immigrated were no less frowned-upon and subject to bias than any other ethnic group that has come to America in large numbers.
In the 2010 documentary ""Off The Air But Still In Our Hearts" Boreson recounted a story that's become familiar with almost every one of his fans. He remembered that at age 12 his mother had decided it was time for Stan to start music lessons. The instrument originally assigned to him was the guitar. She sent him to a tutor, Mel Odegard who worked out of Buell's Music on Hewitt Avenue in Everett. Odegard told him Stan "I'll teach you some chords on the guitar and then you can sing the melody.' Stan was too shy to sing at the time and objected. " I was very bashful, so I sez 'No way am I going to sing.' So he said: 'Well, then why don't you trade-in the guitar on an accordion? — you play the melody on one side and chord on the other. That's how I became an accordian player" Stan recalls.
He also recalls the accordion being so heavy that he hauled it from home to Beull's and back in his wagon. Of course Stan often repeated this story and each time he was sure to insert the names and addresses-including his home address in Everett at the time. Even though he repeated the story often each time it sounded like the first time he'd told it. Apparently Stan was fighting his reluctance to sing when a cousin, Myrtle Lee, dared him to take part in a skit at one of Everett High School's pep rallies. Stan would play accordion and sing the lyrics to the song "Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh", an old, somewhat hackneyed standard written by Abe Olman and Ed Rose in 1917. The idea was for Stan to play and sing the song's lyrics as written in English and Myrtle would "translate" the lyrics in an over-the-top, Norwegian display of comedic melodrama. The performance was a hit, and Boreson-and presumably his cousin Myrtle-would never be stage-shy again. In fact, Boreson clearly reveled in his ability to perform and entertain audiences. This revelry would continue throughout his entire life.
When US involvement in the Pacific and Europe broke out into war h tried to enlist in the Army but was rejected because of an arm injury that had kept him hospitalized for a year as a child. So having been turned down by the Army he chose to do his service by joining the USO. His USO deployment led him to Italy, where he sang on makeshift stages with musical greats The Andrews Sisters, Arthur Tracy, Allan Jones and more. This experience would lead Boreson to gain even more confidence performing in front of audiences. After the war ended Boreson returned to Everett and enrolled as a student Everett Community College…in those days "community" colleges were known as "junior colleges", so Stan spent two years at Everett "Junior" College, before transferring to the University of Washington. His studies included accounting and personnel management. But study seemed to come second to his aspirations of becoming a comedian and porodist. It was at the University of Washington that his true ambitions as a performer blossomed. Boreson started out with amateur student comedy troupes, mostly among the University's student entertainment groups. It was here that he honed his "Scandahoovian" persona.
In 1948 Dorothy Bullit purchased KRSC-TV , which had been the first television station to broadcast in the Northwest. The station was re-branded to KING TV shortly afterward to match the call letters of it's sister station KING Radio. Bullit who was President of KING at the time hired Lee Schulman-a former NBC program director-to look for talent to fill the airwaves of KING TV. One of the targets of Schulman's search for talent was the University of Washington. It was there that Schulman first saw Boreson and soon afterward he offered Stan a role co-starring with fellow U of W student Art Barduhn. The show debuted as a 15 minute slot each Thursday called "Campus Capers" Later, when the show found a sponsor-Clipper Oil-and the name of the program was changed to "Clipper Capers".The show included music, comedy skits and occasional interviews. Still later Boreson and Burduhn were offered a half-hour show called "Two B's at the Keys" (Boreson and Barduhn being the two "B's. the keys being Stan's accordion and Burrdun's piano.) The show, like the previous "Clipper Capers" included comedy sletches, but Stan went even further into Scandanavian parodies of popular songs. It is on "Two B's at the Keys" that Boreson debuted what would become one of his most beloved parodies "Valkin' In My Vinter Undervear" set to the tune "Walking In a Winter Wonderland". The show was a hit with the audiences as well as the sponsors. Boreson and Barduhn did their television show as well as work as featured and opening acts around the Puget Sound region.
Boreson also had a personal connection to band leader Lawrence Welk, another immigrant who's accent was shaped by the adults he grew up around. Although Welk was born in Strasburg, North Dakota. His family were of German Catholic descent who'd fled Odessa, a city in what was at the time The Russian Empire. (Odessa is now in Ukraine).. Although they did not share a Scandinavian background it's clear that Boreson had a special place in his heart for Welk and his orchestra throughout his life. Another tie was that Welk's family had stubbornly held onto their traditions and accents during Welk's early life. Welk's accent became as much a part of his persona as the "Champagne Music" he conducted.
"When my cousin and I ran the 7 Cedars Dance Hall in Mount Vernon, we were able to hire him, his whole 16-piece band, and even the Champagne Lady for $750. And his wife sent us baked cookies. He wasn't famous then, but I knew of him because he'd made some polka records. Later, when he got famous, he had me on his show (in 1957) in Los Angeles. I could never hire him again, though. His price had gone up to $30,000. Same band!"
During the early 1950's Stan also became aware of comedian/singer/parodist from Tacoma, Harry Edward Skarbo (aka by his adopted name, Harry Stewart) and his alter-ego Yogi Yorgesson. Boreson had been doing his Scandinavian schtick for years, but Skarbo/Stewart/Yogi was far more successful. Boreson's musical act emphasized comic Scandinavian dialect parodies. Skarbo/Stewart had created a somewhat dim-witted character (Yogi Yorgesson) portraying a naïve Swedish "Hindu yogi" who handed out absurd advice and divination in a thick Swedish accent. Aside form a successful nightclub act, Skarbo/Stewart (as Yogi Yorgesson) had charmed audiences across the country with his own parodies of the ever-confused Scandanavian immigrant and his somewhat backward ways. His first recording "My Clam Digger Sweetheart"b/w"I Don't Give a Hoot had proved popular enough to land him a contract with Columbia Records. According to his bio Skarbo/Stewart/Yorgesson's second recording (the first that debuted on Capitol) "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" backed by The Johnny Duffy Trio) was promoted as a special Christmas release. Advance orders came from all around the country, and sales soared.
Capitol realized they had a bona fide hit . The song debuted on the Billboard charts at number 24 on December 10th, 1949 , and by the next week, both "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas, and it's B-side "Yingle Bells" were both in the Top Twenty. By Christmas that year both were top ten hits. The song "I Yust Go Nuts" proved it's legs at Christmas" and even reached number five even after the holiday. The single became one of Capitol's permanent hits—being reissued virtually every year in one form or another since it's debut in 1949.. Right after Christmas, "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" reached number five, and the single became one of Capitol's permanent hits—being reissued or covered by other artists since it's debut. It remains a seasonal hit on the Dr. Dememto show. As the 1950's continued along Skarbo/Yorgesson continued to perform under his stage name, but largely abandoned his "Hindu mystic" character in favor of his act as a Swedish-American parodist and comedian taking advantage of an exaggerated accent. Sadly Skarbo died in an automobile accident in 1956 near Tonapah NV, on his way from a gig in Ely Nevada to his home in Los Angeles.
Between 1956 and 1979 Stan and his musical collaborator Doug Setterberg would record and release 18 songs that had been written by Skarbo/Stewart. In 1980 Stan recorded another 11 of his songs on the tribute album "Yust 'Tinkin' of Yogi" . Before. during and after Stan's television career Boreson had worked closely with his collaborator Doug Setterberg writing and performing parodies together. They appeared onstage as a duo and recorded albums under the name and "Stan and Doug", although it's clear that it was Stan who held the spotlight. In all. Boreson (either as a solo artist or alongside Setterberg) recorded 16 albums during his career. Setterberg also collaborated on Boreson's television show as characters "Foghorn Peterson", "Phineus The Frog" and various sketch characters. Aside from Setterberg regulars included the voice of Mike Rhodes as the heard but never seen "Old Timer", Boreson as "Grandma Torvald (his drag persona) a 1962 World's Fair visitor from outer space, Space-Nick, played by Jerry Sando. The menagerie of animals (real and imagined) scattered the set that included Victor Rola, Pepita the Flea, Phineas the Frog , and "The Swedish Answerman" but none so predominant as the perpertually inert Basset Hound, No-Mo-shun, often shortened to simply "No-Mo" The name stems from a contest to name the mascot of Boreson's show. The name is a pun on speed record holder (at the time) of" Slo-Mo-Shun" a local favorite in hydroplane-mad Seattle. Later No-Mo-Shun would be paired with the equally immovable Basset Hound, Talulah Blankhead. I n 1967 Stan Boreson's show became victim of changes in children's afternoon programing and an emphasis of afternoon news, talk shows, syndicated sit-coms and soap operas. In fact Boreson's show was replaced by the gothic themed "Dark Shadows" Sadly, Stan's sidekick and collaborator, Doug Setterberg died shortly after the show's cancellation. Still this didn't keep Boreson from travelling the country or appearing locally to his fans and admirers who had dubbed him "The King of Scandanavian Humor". His fame was so widespread among pockets of Scandinavians across the country, in Canada, and in Scandinavia itself that his albums, especially his Christmas albums, are regularly pulled out and listened to at large gatherings of Scandinavian friends and family. As corny as they are, they still bring a laugh, and maybe a cringe at their corniness.
Stan continued to record and tour during the 1960s and 1970s and continued to appear on television in the form of "The Stan Boreson Christmas Reunion" that ran every Christmas from 1991 to 2003. He also continued to work live all over the country as well as in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark. In 2006 Rick Anderson of the Seattle Weekly wrote:
"Boreson has been on an accordion world tour since, from the Norsk Hostfest in Minot, N.D., to the Little Norway Festival in Petersburg, Alaska, and every lutefisk fight in between. He appears regularly at local events; he's also done six gigs on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Wherever he goes, they ache to hear the Klubhouse theme song, "Zero Dacus" ("mucho cracus, hullaballoozabub "
While Stan kept performing the honors and accolades started to pile up. He was summoned by King Olav V of Norway to perform for him and hundreds of guests. In 2005 Olav V's successor King Harald V awarded Boreson the St. Olav Medal of Honor, an award Boreson shares with only eight others. The Ballard Chamber of Commerce began giving out annual Stan Boreson Awards to various esteemed members of the community, and in 2007, Boreson was honored with two of the first Distinguished Alumni awards ever offered by Everett Community College. He also was dubbed the "Prime Minister of Sea-Fair" Seattle's annual festival of concerts, parades and special events culminating in the anuual hydroplane races. The largest honor, of course, is the place in the hearts of his fans. Although his TV shows are long gone he'll always be remembered for his genial mood and gentle humor. It's important to remember that Stan spent more than 20 on television (12 of them as the host of "KING's Klubhouse" and "The Stan Boreson Show) But the bulk of his nearly 70 year career was as a live performer, a recording artist and comic. was as a recording artist and live entertainer. Videos from the early days of television broadcasts video was re-used, so very little footage of the Stan Boreson Show, KING Klubhouse, Campus Capers amd Clipper Capers are left, but most folks outaside the Northwest know Stan through his revcordings and live routines. Consequently, there is a great deal of recorded music available.
In 2007 Boreson and his wife formed "Stan Boreson and Barbara Tours". They took tourists across the US, Canada and Europe for several years by bus; Barbara was the gracious host and Stan, always with his accordian on hand, worked as the commentor, tour guide, and musical entertainment. Always self-deprecated and kind though extremely funny in his trademarked cornball banter. It was clear Stan had no desire to continue being the cut-up he'd been for decades. Stan and Barbara's tour business lasted 25 years, and each tour provided an captive (but willing) audience for Stan to charm.
Stan's final foray into recorded music came in 2007 with a cover of Sheb Wooley's "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore" A self-deprecating, corny video of the song is available on you tube.
On January 27th 2017 Stan Boreson suffered a massive stroke in the presence of Barbara, his wife of over six decades. His obituary in the Seattle Times wrapped up his career and status as a Northwest icon. The obituary then goes on to say:
"In true Stan Boreson style, he would have wanted to end with a joke…so here goes".
Lena calls the newspaper and asked to speak to the obituaries.
"This is the obituaries, what can I do for you?"
"I would like to put an ad in your obituaries."
"What would you like to say?" "
I'd like to say, "Ole died."
"Just two words… "Ole died?"
"Yeah, well he did."
"We have a special this week…five words for a dollar. For the same amount you can have three more words. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"
"In that case," Lena said, "I would like to say, "Ole died boat for sale."
Years ago Barbara Boreson said that she and Stan had made a pact that when one of them died the other would go on with life and promised to remarry. Sadly Barbara Boreson never got the change. She died August 20, 2017 just six days short of her 86th birthday. Although both Stan and Barbara and Doug Setterberg are no longer with us, it's certain that Stan's corny "Scandahoovian" comedy will last for generations.
-Dennis R; White. Sources; Peter Blecha "Borsen, Stan (1925-2017)" (HistoryLink.org Essay 8553); Barbara Boreson "Stan Boreson. The King of Scandinavian Humor" (http://www.stanboreson.com/index.htm); By Kaitlin Manry "Stan Boreson Can't Stop Singing" (Everett Herald, December 23 2007); Rick Anderson "Most Resistant to Makeovers" (Seattle Weekly, October 9, 2006); Roger George "My Memoir of Growing Up in Seattle With Television" (Images of Television, September 3, 2014); "Stan Boreson 1925-2017" (Seattle Times Obituaries, January 27, 2017); "78's fRom HeLL – – Listening in on Phone Chatter: Janette Davis – Hold The Phone, (and on line two) Stan Boreson & Doug Setterberg – The Telephone" (I'm Learning To Share, May 26, 2007); April Chandler "Stan Boreson: Fans Still Going Nuts Over Funny Norwegian" (The Kitsap Sun, January 7, 1998); Dawn Broughton "Remembering Stan Boreson of KING's Klubhouse" (King TV, February 1, 2017); "How Was He Different?" Seattle Television History); Sherry Strickling "Yust the two of us: Stan and Barbara Boreson Have Kept Each Other Laughing For Nearly 50 Years" (The Seattle Times, July 15, 2001); Kari Bray "Stan Boreson, 'King of Scandinavian Humor Dies at 91 (The Everett Herald, February 1, 2017); Melinda Bargreen "The Klubhouse Is Open Again" (The Seattle Times, December 15, 1991); "Barbara Jean Boreson" (Obituary, The Seattle Times, August 20, 2017); John Louis Anderson "Scandinavian Humor and Other Myths" Nordbook, 1986); Will Jones "Yorgesson? Yust A Phoney" ('After The Last Night' The Minneapolis Tribune, April 18, 1950); Will Jones "Smart Swede Fails To Click" ('After Last Night', The Minneapolis Tribune, June 22, 1950); " 'Yogi Yorgesson Killed In Car Crash" (The Minneapolis Star, May 21, 1956); Susan Paynter "Boreson's Living Proof That Silliness is Good For Your Health" (Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 5, 2005
November 15, 2017 | Posted in: 1940s / 1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Misc
THE F-HOLES
The F-Holes formed out of a jam session on Nov 21, 1984 at The Central Tavern near Seattle's Pioneer Square. The original members were "Lucky" Tony Mathews, Douglas "Stringtie" Creson and John "Moondog" Mooney. The jam consisted of three songs. The booker was impressed enough to ask them to open for his band, The Alleged Perpetrators on Dec 14, 1984, and a band was born. Since that night The F-Holes have consistently been part of the Seattle music scene.
One night while Stringtie was playing pinball at a tavern with Kevin Heaven (a local musician and well-known scenester)' Kevin said;"You gotta check out my new f-hole guitar!" Stringtie went home that night and made a poster. He brought it to rehearsal the next day. "We are the F-Holes" he told them. The newly-named outfit's drummer, John "Moondog" Mooney asked;"What am I gonna tell my Mom?"
1985 brought a solid stream of bookings. The bookings continued. The first few years The F-holes played more shows than they rehearsed. Doug Creson recalls;
"We'd rehearse on Wednesdays and play shows Thursday , Friday and Saturday".
Things changed in 1986 when the F=Holes added Otis P. Otis on lead guitar. He was a huge Johnny Thunders fan and brought a heavier sound that lead the band into the pre-grunge era. The original F-holes sound included generous heaps of Psychobilly, Cowpunk, Garage Rock, Punk, Acid Blues and 60s Psychedelia. They add they also play Country music, though they add
"we're not sure which country".
Along with Otis came a sound that brought the band to a new level and wider audience. They still played the same music as before-only heavier. Their look was still psychobilly with the big pompadours and cowboy boots and bolo ties. That would change in later years, but for the earlier part of their career the band was known for their appearance as much as their music. Both were fun, over the edge and a little bit retro as far as their dedication to punk.
"Promoters always had a hard time pegging our sound but we played with all kinds of bands. Punk, Alt Country, Grunge, Power Pop" says Creson.
The biggest misconception may be that the F-Holes are a rockabilly band. It's a claim the band adamantly deny. Since the beginning they've always played a few rockabilly-tinged numbers, and they often dressed in a style associated with rockabilly. Still, it's hard to listen to them without thinking they're nothing less than a great punk-pop band with the talent to pull off just about anything they throw out to their audience.
Th band is also known for wicked sense of humor. In 2011 when the magazine Seattle Sinner asked them what their fondest Christmas memory was Creson told the interviewer;
"We played a Buzz Scooter Club party in an abandoned building with 64 Spiders. On the way to the gig we bought a sheet of windowpane acid, 100 hits. At the party we dissolved the acid into the punch bowl. People were drinking kegger cups full of this shit. By the time we finished our set everyone was just flying, wandering around lost on the upper floors like wide eyed zombies. I wonder how many bodies they found when they tore that place down. This was in 1984, back when you hipsters were still crappin' in your diapers and sucking breakfast out of your mama's knockers".
By the mid '90s band members drifted into other bands, failed marriages, rehab and dead-end corporate jobs. They played a few uninspired shows, now and again…not really breaking up, just not playing with the same passion and frequency as before.
In 2006 The F-Holes were invited to play Geezerfest at Seattle's legendary Crocodile Cafe. It was a
showcase of bands that helped create the alternative sound and so-called "grunge" Seattle had become known for in the 1990's. These were long-time workhorse bands that had actually developed the sound, others had built their success on, but despite their talent were overlooked getting signed to a big record deals. Along with The F-Holes, the line up included bands like Catbutt, Coffin Break, Swallow, Snow Bud and The Flower People, Blood Circus, Love Battery, and other worthy bands.
The F-Holes showcase was so well-received that it led to their playing steady ever since. Now in their 33rd year of rocking their fans remain rabidly loyal, and friends are bringing their kids (and grandkids?) to their shows.
The F-Holes recorded output over the years has been sporadic…in fact there's been only a few recordings available; but the good news is that they'll be entering into the studio with Jack Endino in 2018. They've also found a newer and younger audience while keeping the old-timers. An Endino-produced album looks promising.
The Stranger magazine's Mike Nipper observed that after so many years;
"The F-Holes are, dare I say, a smart and (ahem) "songwriterly," kickass punk group, and live they're driving as a mofo".
Even more fitting, on their website the F-Holes simply say "Totally Skankin' since 1984".
-Dennis R. White-Sources; Doug "Stringtie" Creason; The F-Holes (home page, http://fholesrock-blog.tumblr.com); Mike Nipper (The Stranger, February 23, 2016); The F-Holes (thatsdadastic.com, 2010); Chuck Foster ("The F-Holes Unmasked: F-Holes Celebrate 28 Years of Being Misunderstood" Seattle Sinner, December 2011)
October 23, 2017 | Posted in: 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Garage Rock / Proto-Grunge / Punk / Rock
Tacoma's Ventures. They've lasted almost 60 years in one form or another. They've released over 250 albums. They've sold over 120 million records….more than any other instrumental band in history. Those records are unlikely to ever be topped by an instrumental band of any genre. During their career they've covered just about every kind of music there is. Most of their albums are largely covers of popular songs, but surprisingly they write about one third of their music. They helped develop the "surf sound" although they point out they didn't invent it, and don't consider themselves a "surf band" at all. In a 2015 interview with Forbes magazine co-founder Don Wilson told interviewer Jim Clash;
"One of our biggest sellers was a surfing album. I guess we got tagged with that – Pipeline and Wipe Out we are associated with – so suddenly we are a surf rock band! I see that written a lot. But I don't care. I'm used to it. We're not just surf".
Band members have always denied their music being founded in the surf sound, but it's certain The Ventures had a profound affect on it. It could be they've always refused to be labeled surf just as much out of deference to the artists who truly are surf bands as much as the facts. It's also true that The Ventures went far beyond any one genre-expect being instrumental. They've also maintained keeping current with putting their sound to current music. Aside from their top-knotch playing it is these two other factors that have kept them in the world' public eye for decades.
The story of The Ventures goes back to the day that Bob Bogle first met Don Wilson in 1958. Bogle was looking to buy a used car from a dealership in Seattle. The car lot was owned by Wilson's father. Don was the salesman. During their conversation, they found out they both had an interest in music. They became fast friends, and soon Wilson began working with Bogle in the masonry field. Obviously carrying mortar and bricks was more lucrative than hawking used cars for small commissions. In 2009 Bob Bogle told The Seattle Times:
"And then we found out that we each knew a few chords on the guitar, you know, and we had a lot of free time on our hands. But neither of us owned a guitar."
So off they went to a Tacoma pawnshop where both of them bought very cheap guitars. They say the guitars were less than $10 each. Over the next few months the two practiced every moment they had between jobs…and they were frequently out of work. Soon the two were making the rounds of local bars, house parties and any other gig they could find.
Meanwhile bassist Nokie Edwards had begun playing around Tacoma with Buck Owens's band The Bar-K Gang. Owens also hosted the KTNT "Bar-K Ranch" TV show that gave Owens (and Nokie) even more local exposure. Sometime in 1960 Wilson and Bogle saw Edwards playing in a Tacoma club (possibly Steve's Gay 90s where Owens's band had a residency). After about a year Nokie left Buck's band behind to join Wilson and Bogle This move had unknowingly helped spawn two superstar bands. Owens soon switched fiddler Don Rich to guitar in his newly formed band, The Buckaroos, while Nokie helped fill out The Ventures– a band that would later be dubbed as "The Band That Launched A Thousand Bands", The Ventures."
By the time Nokie had joined Owens band he was already a known as a regional virtuoso guitar player. He'd played professionally since he was 17 and managed to make a very good living with many gigs paying up the $350 a week. By the time Bob Bogle and Don Wilson lured him into with them he was certainly taking a big financial hit.
Originally Bogle and Wilson had chosen the name The Versatones, but as Don Wilson put it;
"We started out calling ourselves 'The Versatones'. When we went to register the name, we found out that it was already taken. We were disappointed then, and my mom said, 'You are venturing into something new, so why don't you call yourselves The Ventures'?" I thought it sounded pretty corny, but anyway it stuck!'
This wouldn't be Wilson's mothers' only contribution to the band. After The Ventures had shopped around for a recording contract (and failed) Josie Williams founded Blue Horizon Records, and arranged studio time at Joe Boles legendary West Seattle studio Custom Recorders. The Ventures recorded their first single "The Real McCoy b/w Cookies and Coke" with Boles. Josie wrote the lyrics to Cookies and Coke and produced both sides. The single was a flop, but it wasn't long before Josie booked more time at Custom Recorders and Walk-Don't Run" was recorded. Bogle played lead guitar with Wilson on rhythm, Edwards on bass, and Skip Moore on drums . The tiny label pressed up only 300 copies, and distributed them locally. Unfortunately for Moore, he had decided to leave the band and work for his father's gas station. He agreed to be paid $25 for his work on the recording instead of a royalty sharing deal…a mistake that would deprive him of royalties even after a lawsuit a few years later. Moore was replaced by drummer George T. Babbitt, Jr., but at 16 he was too young to play bars and taverns The Ventures were often hired to perform in. Finally the band hired Howie Johnson in order to go out on tour in support of their major hit and new-found popularity. In the fall of 1961 he was involved in a car crash, causing him irreversible spinal damage. Johnson managed to play drums while wearing a neck brace. Beside touring he drummed on the first four Ventures albums and half of the tracks on the fifth LP. He ended up quitting in order to spend more time with his family and occasionally played locally throughout the rest of his life.
Josie Wilson pushed Walk-Don't Run day and night to anyone who would listen. Out of the blue local entrepreneur, DJ and radio station owner Pat O'Day started using a portion of Walk-Don't Run as a "kicker" (intro) to his newscasts on his wildly popular radio station KJR. Listeners wanted to hear more, so KJR put the entire song into rotation. Soon legendary Seattle label Dolton Records were beating a path to Josie's door to pick up The Ventures' contract. The irony was not lost on Josie and the band that they had previously auditioned for Dolton, but had been turned down. Though Dolton heads being a bit embarrased theywent on to re-release Walk-Don't Run on their label. At the time Liberty Records was their distributor so Dolton licensed the rights to the much bigger and more powerful national label.
It's well known that the band had been introduced to Walk-Don't Run through Chet Atkin's 1956 version of the song included on one of Bob's favorite albums; "Hi-Fi In Focus". Yet the song had originally been written and recorded by jazz-great Johnny Smith in 1954. The Atkins version is more syncopated than the very jazzy Smith version. Both are fine renditions, but The Ventures would put their own Imprint on it- as they did on other recordings-creating yet a third dynamic version of the song. Both Chet's and Johnny Smiths are worth a listen. Both are as individual and inspiring as The Ventures' forward-looking interpretation. In 2011 Don admitted
"He (Chet Atkins) played it in a classical jazzy style and we couldn't play it like that. We weren't good enough. So we decided to make our own arrangement of it and simplify it and that's how that happened.
Having found a local label with national distribution propelled "Walk, Don't Run" to number two on the Billboard pop chart and sold over a million copies. When the Ventures relocated from Seattle to Los Angeles in 1963, Josie Wilson remained the band's co-producer in tandem with Dolton owner Bob Reisdorf. Years later she was also instrumental in getting fans to demand The Ventures be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. During her life she became a savvy business person, a respected producer and one of the first to kick down the doors of the music industry to women. Surprisingly it was another woman-Bonnie Guitar-who grew up just a few miles north of Tacoma-who would also be instrumental in gaining respect for women in music circles. Josie Wilson remained a trusted insider of The Ventures until her death at the age of 91 in 2007.
Their second release was a re-working for a 1940 Xavier Cugat hit called Perfidia. It only reached number 15 in the charts, and was followed by a steady flow of singles that stalled in the nether end of the charts; but album sales were always a more important money-maker than singles. The band would never see such spectacular single's success aside from their 1964 re-make of Walk-Don't Run (it reached number 15 in the US charts) and 1969's "Theme From Hawaii 5-0" which reached number 8 in the charts. Oddly enough the theme for "Hawaii 5-0" had been written by director Morton Stevens as a short opener for the show. It wasn't until The Ventures full recording of the song that it became a fully-formed song. The addition of horns to the song may have seemed an odd move for the band, but they utilized brass sections on and off during their career…and fans love "Hawaii 5-0″. It also didn't hurt that they'd get a short listen to it once a week on television.
Although The Ventures would have few hit singles, they made up that by releasing hit after hit albums. They may be the world's first band that relied on album sales rather than singles. This was unusual for the 1960s and would only become more common in the 1970s with the advent of FM radio. When Dolton Records re-located their main offices to Los Angeles in 1963 it was to the detriment of Northwest artists, but an incredibly valuable move for The Ventures. It meant better studio facilities and closer contact with Liberty Records and their distribution executives.
The Ventures set the stage for a guitar line-up that has now become the typical formula; Lead, rhythm and bass guitars backed by a great drummer. The formula was not unheard of before but the band did a lot to popularize it. They'd also created "the big guitar sound" and although instrumentals were at the core of the late-50s/early 60s Northwest Sound, The Ventures were introducing a new approach that did not heavily rely on R&B and the ever-present organ. They were interested in technical advancements as well as new sounds. Over the years they would be pioneers in distortion, reversing tapes, bringing the Theramin to rock and heavy use of vibrato as well as a myriad of other effects.
Soon after Bob Bogle's death in 2009, fellow guitarist Don Wilson told The Los Angeles Times;
"Any guitar player would tell you, Bob is the most unique-sounding guitar player ever. The way he used to do the whammy bar — that vibrato bar. He kept his little finger on it while he played it all the time. He'd make it sound, like at the end of a chord, Wow-wow.
Soon after the success of Walk-Don't Run drummer Howie Johnson (a guitarist in his own right) suggested that Bob Bogle and Nokie Edwards trade places resulting in Bogle as bassist Edwards as lead guitarist. The formula worked, and the transition was amicable. It made the band more of an overall talented unit.
Howie Johnson left the band in 1962 he was replaced by Mel Taylor who had been a house drummer at the well-known Los Angeles club The Palamino. Taylor had already made his mark as a drummer for Herb Alpert and as a member of Bobby (Boris) Pickett's band who had recorded the seasonally perennial hit "The Monster Mash". On a side note, Mel's younger brother, Larry, became the bassist for Canned Heat and before that had been a session bass player for Jerry Lee Lewis and The Monkees among others.
One of the reasons The Ventures deserve the moniker "The Band That Launched a Thousand Bands" was their release of several volumes of the "Learn To Play The Ventures" series. The learning process came to be known as "guitar phonics". This was a completely new approach to learning guitar and bass. There had been written "how to…" books before The Ventures. There were also a few recorded tutorials. But there had never been a series of lessons by the bands players themselves to teach kids (and adults) to play specific parts of their own songs. There's many a modern artist that proudly admit to having learned to play with The Ventures' series. The first volume of the "Learn to Play….even showed up on the popular music charts.
The Ventures were also one of the first bands to take advantage of fuzztone. Ventures afficianado's can't seem to agree how the fuzz was first created. Some claim it was the Mosrite guitars' pickups they were using at the time, the Mosrite Fuzz-Rite or The Maestro FZ-1 Fuzz-Tone. No matter the source, it would become one of The Ventures signature sounds. Musicians and fans have cited their 1962 single "2,000 Pound Bee" as the first use of the fuzz guitar, but it's clear it had been used by Ike Truner as early as 1951, on the Memphis recordings of Howlin' Wolf (1951-52), Johnny Burnette's "Train Kept a-Rollin" (1956) and Link Wray's "Rumble" (1958).
In 1963 the band had entered into a deal Mosrite to play live with a series of Mosrite guitars that were specially designed for The Ventures. Before the Mosrite period all three guitarists had played production models of the Jazzmaster, the Stratocaster and a Precision Bass. Mosrite founder, Semie Moseley had built a guitar that he lent to Nokie Edwards for some recording sessions. Soon Edwards had bought his own Mosrite and within a year The Ventures had an endorsement and co-distribution deal that made Mosrite a common name among guitarists. The deal lasted until 1968, and aside from the use of Mosrite guitars, there are some archival photos of the band using the Mosrite Award solid-state amps from the Ventures' Mosrite Distributing Company. Despite their popularity with musicians this particular model would never go into mass production.
It was probably Nokie Edwards who had been the most instrumental in popularizing the well-crafted series. Along with the endorsement and use of the Mosrites the guitar manufacturer sold the series to consumers with a label "The Ventures" on the headstock. It began a mini-craze for the model that remains to this day. Guitarists from Jimi Hendrix to Arthur Lee to Kurt Cobain have all played Mosrite's. Bands like the MC5 and The Ramones have used them. According to Mosrite's promotional material, the company claims"Jimi Hendrix had two Mosrites. Jimi would commonly smash and burn his easily replaceable Fenders but the Mosrite's were treasured and well taken care of. The doubleneck used on Spanish Castle Magic is today on display at the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame" They go on to say " Virtually everyone who is anyone has owned a Mosrite at some time in their life". This is probably closer to truth than hyperbole. Despite the quality of the instruments once the endorsement deal ended all three guitarists returned to the use of Fenders Years later, n 1996 Fender released a limited edition Ventures Signature Series of guitars consisting of their original Jazzmaster, Stratocaster, and a Fender Jazz Bass. This time the band had a hand in their design and specifications. When Nokie Edwards left the band in 1968 he reverted to his Mosrite During this hiatus Edwards was replaced by Gerry McGee and Edwards reverted to his Mosrite guitar for solo projects during this period. When he returned to The Ventures in 1973 he again played a Fender, though occasionally pulled out his Mosrite.
The Ventures had also made a very savvy move in licensing their music to Japanese labels that would include Toshiba/EMI. Japan is the world's second largest market for recorded music-The Ventures popular appeal in Japan came just as electric guitars were first being marketed in Japan- Soon The Ventures and their use of the electric guitar were in such popular demand that they began to tour extensively in Japan. Throughout their career they have been a huge draw in Japan. The move to satisfy the Japanese market would provide a boon when The Ventures became less popular in the US during the 1970s. They also recorded and released about 50 albums specifically for the Japanese market, while continuing to tour Japan on a regular basis. After the 60's their US output did modest sales and a dedicated fan base did not diminish in Japan. The very fact that the band had never been dropped by a major label until late in their career allowed them to record and release the vast number of albums they're known for. . They also licensed their recording to labels all around the world. The Ventures were consistent sellers no matter what label was issuing or distributing. Even poor promotion would not detract from their strong fan base. But great deals with the Japanese and European markets brought in good royalties and a savvy approach to contracts and their huge audience outside the US (even to this day) was a large part of The Ventures success even as music fans at home were turning their backs on what was becoming considered dated artists.
At the advent of the 80s the Surf Sound, along with Rockabilly began to pique the interest of musicians and fans on the outer fringes of popular music. At first the interest was largely a novelty (who can forget the silly "poodle skirt" era of the 80s?) The Ventures became associated with post-modernism-a slightly jaded form of kitsch that was meant to be shared by folks supposedly "in-the-know" But as the popularity of bands like The Cramps and The Stray Cats became more serious, musicians and fans followed suit. An entire genre of "surf punk" music arose with bands like Agent Orange, The Forgotten Rebels, and of course The Surf Punks at the forefront. Many other bands would pepper their output with a surf or rockabilly song or two. Later film directors used surf music in their film soundtracks. Quentin Tarantino was instrumental in this by including classic surf tracks in his movie 1994 film Pulp Fiction. Although their profile had been rising during the 80's The Ventures were once again on top.
A new generation had found The Ventures…and took them seriously as masters of American pop culture. Sales of their old (and new) albums picked up. More and more live dates in the US and in Europe were being booked…at first in smaller clubs, but they were finding the venues were getting bigger. By the time the huge corporate-sponsored era of festivals became fashionable the band was playing in front of crowds in the tens of thousands…or even hundreds of thousands.
Finally in 2008 one of the band's dreams would come true. It was also the dream of Josie Wilson, who had died a year earlier. The Ventures finally were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Artists become eligible only after the first 25 years of their careers. The Ventures had passed that mark by 22 more years. The night of their induction by John Fogarty (Creedence Clearwater Revival) two of the "classic era" members of The Ventures were on hand; Nokie Edwards and Don Wilson. Bob Bogle and Gerry McGee were unable to attend. Being ignored by the Hall of Fame so long had been a bitter pill for Don Wilson, but when asked "Why so long?" Wilson simply said "All we did was quietly sell millions of records." In 2010 The members of The Ventures were also awarded The Order of the Rising Sun by the Emperor of Japan. The medal originated in 1875 and symbolizes "energy as powerful as the rising sun." The ceremony took place at the Queen Anne consulate. During the ceremony Japan Consul General Kiyokazu Ota said"
"The Ventures' unique 'teke-teke sound' … grabbed the heart of many Japanese young men and women. These young fans in turn formed groups of their own, thus creating a huge boom of electric-guitar sales in Japan."
So what of the players that have been part of The Ventures?
In 1972 drummer Mel Taylor left the band to pursue a career because he felt The Ventures had become a "nostalgia act"in and was replaced by drummer Joe Barile. Taylor returned in 1979 and remained with The Ventures until his death in 1996 of cancer and heart failure. After his death his son, Leon Taylor took over his duties as drummer.
Gerry McGee also left the band only to return. He walked away in 1978 to work as a solo artist as well as recording and touring with Dwight Yoakum, John Mayall, Kris Kristofferson and others. He returned to The Ventures in 1985 and is the only active remaining member left from any of the 1960's line-ups. During a subsequent tour of Japan McGee suffered a heart attack, but recovered and continues to play with the band.
Bob Bogle had belonged to the recording and touring outfit until his health began to deteriorate. He retired from touring in December 2004 and was replaced by Bob Spalding. He had lived in Vancouver, Washington, for years and died there on June 14, 2009, at 75 of non-Hodgkin lymphoma;
Howie Johnson, the neck-braced drummer that stayed with The Ventures for their first few tours and albums passed away in January of 1988.
Skip Moore who had been the actual drummer that had played on Walk Don't Run had died in 1988. Some musicologists have argued that it was Johnson who played on Walk-Don't Run using the pseudonym "Skip Moore", but the evidence points a different direction.
Nokie Edwards left the band a second time in 1984 to work in Nashville with Country and Western artists including lead guitar on Lefty Frizell's final album. Edwards re-upped with The Ventures for a short time in the late 80's but soon returned to Nashville and began a very successful career with producer and fellow musician Art Greenshaw. The critically acclaimed collaboration of Edwards and artist-producer Greenhaw has resulted in Edwards being nominated for "Grammy Award for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album of the Year" with 2005's "20th Century Gospel" andSouthern Meets Soul"in 2006.
Bob Spalding has remained part of The Ventures while pursuing his own solo projects. In 2016 Bob's son, Ian Spalding' became The Venture's bass guitarist. Bob now lives in San Bernardino CA.
In 2015 Don Wilson retired from touring and recording with The Ventures. Since then he continues to keep the memory of the original outfit in public view. He now lives in Sammamish WA.
And what of the young George T. Babbit Jr., who, at 16, was too young to play with The Ventures? Soon after his departure from the band he went to college and joined the ROTC. He then enlisted in the US Air Force and rose to the commission of 4-Star General. Between 1997 to 2000 he served as Commander of the Air Force Materiel Command (COMAFMC). On March 1, 1998, (while on active duty as 4-star general), he joined The Ventures onstage in uniform on drums. He is now living in retirement in Bremerton WA.
The current touring line-up of the Ventures is:
Gerry McGee – Lead Guitar (joined in 1968)
Bob Spalding – Lead & Rhythm Guitar (joined in 1981)
Leon Taylor – Drums (joined in 1996)
Ian Spalding – Bass (joined in 2016)
-Dennis R. White. Sources: Del Hartleman"Walk Don't Run-The History of The Ventures ( Del Hartlman, 2011); Jame Bush. "Encyclopedia of Northwest Music" (Sasquatch Books, 1999); Jim Clash "The Ventures' Don Wilson On His Big Hit Single Hawaii Five-O, More" (Forbes Magazine, August 9th, 2015): The Ventures (www.theventures.com); Don Walker "The Ventures: King of the Instrumentals" (http://www.donwalker.net/musicventures.htm); "Interview with Don Wilson of The Ventures" (40 Year Itch, June 16, 2011); Ernest A. Jasmin " Bob Bogle, Ventures' guitarist, dead at age 75″ (The Seattle Times, June 15, 2009); "Ventures Star Bob Bogle Dies" (BBC News, June 15, 2009); Robin Murray "The Ventures Guitarist Dies" (Clash Magazine, June 17th, 2009); talbalt 11 " Mel Taylor vs. Joe Barile!" (Fans of The Ventures, December 29th 2011); John Bush "The Ventures (allmusic.com); "The Quintessential Instrumental Rock and Roll Band" (The Rock Hall Library and Archive, 2008); "Nokie Edwards US Fan Club" (www.nokieedwards.c(om/biography/page_biography.htm); Gene Stout "Josie Wilson, 1915-2007: Pioneer produced Ventures' first hits" (The Seattle Times, February 23, 2007); Erik Lacitis "The Ventures finally arrive at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" (The Seattle Times March 10, 2008. "Rich Kienzle "About Buck Owens"); Bigwave ("Mosrite Ventures model timeline and ID. March 22, 2010. mosriteforum.com); Erik Lacitis "Tacoma band The Ventures receives award from emperor of Japan (The Seattle Times, June 28, 2010); Photo: Gerald J. Trafficanda
October 14, 2017 | Posted in: 1950s / 1960s / 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Garage Rock / Instrumental / Surf
PAT WRIGHT & THE TOTAL EXPERIENCE GOSPEL CHOIR
Since it's formation in 1973 the Total Experience Gospel Choir has travelled the nation and across the globe, from the Far East to Europe to Russia and a lot of places in between. Under the tutelage of Pastor Pat Wright, the Total Experience Gospel Choir has journeyed to Japan where they not only presented their ministry through song, but also delivered supplies to victims of the Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami who had taken refuge in Ishinomaki, Japan. In 2006 the Total Experience Gospel Choir also travelled to Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to help victims of Hurricane Katrina and to rebuild and refurbish homes for hurricane victims in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Pat Wright was honored for her and the choir's efforts by ABC News World News Tonight. In May of 2007 she was named one of that month's Person of the Week, and later in a broadcast on December 27 2007, Pat was declared one of 2007's "Persons of the Year". It's clear that the choir is not only one of the Northwest's greatest musical assets, they spread their ministry through music, and actual, on-the-ground help.
Aside from performing for President Bill Clinton and President Obama, the Total Experience Gospel Choir have been featured at prestigious venues from the Sydney Opera House to The Mormon Tabernacle. Even though they've been ambassadors around the world, and won many prestigious awards, it's clear the Pastor Wright's greatest mission is to the uplifting of her own community, here in Seattle.
Pat Wright was born Patrinell Staten in Odessa Texas as one of eight children. Her father was a Baptist preacher and her mother taught school. Both parents urged her to pursue a career in gospel music. Having started to sing at an early age, Pat performed her first solo at the age of 3 and by the time she was 14 Pat had taught herself to play piano and was directing two choirs in her father's church. Her parents saw to it Pat grew up in the church, but education also played an important part in her upbringing. Pat graduated as valedictorian of her high school class (Turner High School, 1961) and later attended Prairie View A&M College just north of Houston TX.
Pat first arrived in Seattle in October of 1964 to help her sister, who was then going through a divorce. Her intention was to be of assistance to her sister, and then move back home. She later explained her plan to return to Carthage, but then discovered she could make $7 a week in Seattle compared to $3 back home. She chose to throw her lot in and remain.
At the time Pat moved to Seattle, the nation was embroiled in the Civil Rights struggle. Pat had felt the sting of segregation and discrimination back in Texas, and on her bus trip from Carthage to Seattle. In 2014 Pat told local Seattle (and PBS) TV presenter Enrique Cerna:
"The bus ride took about four days. Being the only African American and the only female on the bus for the last 2500 miles was quite an experience. When she finally got to Seattle, after having survived just about every abuse on that long ride, she wanted to get back on the bus and go home. "But I've always had a bulldog tendency," she admitted. "I decided to stay. The lessons I needed to survive…gave me a backbone that won't quit.", they've always told me that. And I decided that I was going to stay. But it was a very hard time for me because it was at the height of the civil rights movement, and I had participated in the civil rights movement personally, because I was in college at the time. A small college, A&M, now university…"
Having decided to stay in Seattle, Pat naturally gravitated toward the church and to gospel music in general. Her sister lived in Renton, but regularly visited a church in Seattle. On one of their trips into Seattle to attend church one Sunday Pat says she heard music coming from a church across the street. The church she was sitting in must have bored her and she was drawn to the other church. She walked across the street and entered the church. "I remember stumbling over somebody's feet trying to get a seat because the place was pretty packed. And that somebody happened to end up being my husband" Benny Wright who became a preacher in his own right, has always been critical in Pat's Total Experience Gospel Choir and her other endeavors. Benny also became teacher and football coach at Seattle's Franklin High School and also served as head chaplain for the King County Youth Detention Facility in Seattle. Both his and Pat's ministry have always revolved around helping at-risk youth.
Pat says she always knew the ministry was her calling, but for a brief period she walked away in order to pursue a more secular side of her life. She says she briefly gave up gospel back in the late '60s. "Actually decided I was tired of gospel, so I was going to try my hand at soul music."
As music historian and author Peter Blecha wrote in 2013:
"In 1969 Wright was discovered singing in church by a recent Louisiana transplant, LaVera Clark, who took Wright under her wing, telling the songbird, as Wright recalled years later, "A voice like yours — the world needs to hear it and they're not gonna hear it in church. They are not going to church to hear it! … Especially in Seattle"
The two began composing songs together and then making test recordings in Clark's little home studio (2407 E Boston Avenue). Clark then matched the singer with a previously existing group, the Blenders, and they re-emerged as Patrinell and the Casanovas. Clark, who wanted to promote rhythm and blues music locally, then formed her own Sepia Records company to do so. After a trip to Vancouver, B.C., to record a few songs, Sepia released a single — "I Let a Good Man Go"b/w"Little Love Affair" (Sepia Records No. 8201). By September, Seattle's soul station, KYAC, began pumping it up to hit status locally".
The pressing on Sepia Records was small, but that didn't stop it from being a regional R&B hit…but the story of Pat's foray into R&B and soul goes much deeper. We'll leave that story to a seprate, future post.
By 1970 Pat had been hired by the Seattle School district to lead a class in gospel music at Roosevelt High in the north end of the city. Pat initially led what was known as The Franklin High School Gospel Choir. It was later known as The Black Experience Gospel Choir The Seattle School District hired Wright to teach and conduct gospel music. She also began work at radio station KYAC as a DJ playing a gospel music program that lasted 13 years. She had begun her own gospel group, Patrinell Wright's Inspirational Seven. The Inspirational Seven were guests of churches around town as well as taking part in organized events in support of the still simmering racial divide in the US and as a way to support self-determination among the black community at large, drives to fight sickle-cell anemia and to help raise funds for KYAC among other causes.
After two years teaching gospel choir at Roosevelt High, funds for her program dried up and Pat was left without a day job. But this set-back proved to be the birth of Pat's Total Experience Gospel Choir. She began taking the lessons she'd learned in her gospel background, her secular experience and her ministry to young people through music. In the process she created one of Seattle's longest-running musical outfits, based on Pastor Wright's determination to help kids in her community. She wanted to offer a safe, positive environment at-risk youth could escape to, and allow them to take part in the world outside their own neighborhoods.
Soon after forming the Total Exerience Gospel Choir it swelled to over 100 students that she'd brought along from Roosevelt High and the Mount Zion Baptist Church. Soon Pat opened the choir to non-students and people of all ethnic background and race, even though the thrust of her work remained her ministering to black youth as well as other communities of color.
One of the most remarkable aspects of The Total Experience Gospel Choir is that there are no auditions in order to be a member. From the beginning Pat seemed to take the position "if you can't sing, come on down-we'll teach you". Despite causing the Choir to become chaotic and unfocused, the opposite occurred-Pat's Choir began to win awards and honors both in the Northwest and around the nation-and beyond. The Total Experience Gospel Choir would become one of America's most famous and most beloved Choirs in the country. With more recognition the Total Experience Gospel Choir were able to raise the money it takes to take a large-scale choir on the road-both within the US and outside. The Choir has won numerous awards and traveled to 38 states and performed on five continents in 28 countries at last tally. They have been welcomed with open arms everywhere they've gone.
Pat worked ceaselessly and seemed capable of juggling the tasks to run the choir, to continue in her own ministry, plan tours, raise money, become a soloist in her own right, and finally to open and run her own store-front church. Granted, Pat relied on volunteers, but even the co-ordination of volunteers took a great deal of energy.
Eventually disaster-or divine intervention-came into Pat's life. On March 18, 2001 Pastor Pat Wright was struck by a heart attack. Pat believes she died that day, but God sent her back to continue her work and her ministry. Pat had been born with a hole in her heart, but her family had no money for doctors growing up, and the condition went unknown until a medical examination when Pat was 23 years old.
Once healed from her brush with death, Pat went back to her hectic schedule-and also became an ambassador for the American Heart Association. In 2006 she told Seattle Times reporter Nicole Brodeur that sometimes her colleagues feel uncomfortable when she speaks of divine intervention and the gates of heaven.
"They don't think faith should be a part of it," she said of her survival story. "But how could it not be?"
As the Choir began to become more well-respected Pat recognized the need to bring of all ethnicities into the choir. This particularly hit home because, as she says, she grew up in the South where mixed marriage-at least during her youth-was very uncommon. As Seattle became more enlightened she noticed more and more children of mixed-ethnicity were becoming members of the Choir. She realized that they (and others) deserved to learn about their heritage no matter how Caucasian they might look. Besides, both Caucasian and kids-of-color were facing the same temptations and dangers.
Pat had also opened more opportunities for adults to take part. A good deal of them were white and they still remain an important part of the Total Experience Gospel Choir-both those who are married to people of color, and those who have married within their own ethnicity. But the goal she's always worked toward is improving the lot in life of at-risk kids…who are more often found in the African-American community This is an attitude Caucasian and mixed ethnicity adults in the Choir also share.
The 1990's and early 2000s saw the Total Experience Gospel Choir attract more and more attention and these years may possibly be the most successful of the choirs mission to date. Although Pat remained dedicated to her gospel roots she would make a very unusual move in during the early 2000s.. Seattle-based Light In The Attic records released the album Wheedle's Groove: Seattle's Finest In Funk & Soul 1965-75 in 2004. The album included artists who had been involved in the early Seattle Sound that developed in the late 1950s and into the 1960s. Pat Wright's only soul single (I let a Good Man Go b/w Little Love Affair) was included in the boxed set of newly pressed 7″ singles. A reunion show and the release of the album was so well-received that almost immediately a follow-up album was planned. This newer release would include artists that had previously worked with one of the Northwest's most important studio engineers, Kearney Barton. Barton had been instrumental in developing the Northwest Sound by recording The Wailers, The Ventures, The Sonics, The Fleetwoods, The Frantics, Quincy Jones, Dave Lewis, The Kingsmen and other artists that were responsible for establishing a regional sound that was every bit as important as the "grunge" coming out of Seattle in the 1990s. Paricipants in the new recordings did both originals and covers of current music. The tracks were recorded at Barton's original studio, Audio Sounds, and fittingly as analog recordings.
Pat Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir chose the most audacious song of the collection on what would be released under the title Wheedle's Groove: Kearney Barton. Their choice was a cover of Soundgarden's Jesus Christ Pose. Despite the title, Jesus Christ Pose was a secular piece of rock music that was critical of celebrities, private and public figures that used religion in a false show self-aggrandizement. In short, it was critical of those who used religion as a hammer. In an incredible turnabout Pat and the Choir turned the tables on the meaning of the song. The point Pat was making was equally critical, but it was aimed at Christians believing themselves better than others, rather than the pretention of celebrities trying to criticize religion itself. Pat and the Total Experience Gospel Choir managed to turn what might be thought of as a cynical and non-religious song into a warning against intolerance and self-importance. Reports at the time indicated that the members of Soundgarden liked Pat's rendition. It's such a powerful version that it's hard not to like! It clearly impressed music fans that had not given gospel music much of a listen. The performance was roundly praised by critics as the finest song in the fine collection found on the album.
Shortly after it's release in 2009 Pat Wright told Dave Segal of The Stranger:
"I was asked to put my own personality on it. I thought that the music was great. Soundgarden is a very powerful group. I was already working with the gentleman [Matt Cameron] who played drums for them… on another project. So I felt very comfortable doing it. And besides, the words of the song epitomize what I try to say in my sermons and the way I live my life. [Light In the Attic Records] said, 'You can put a little gospel twist on it.' Well, I'm a gospel singer and a minister and a pastor, so therefore I put my little twist on it."
For the last few years Pat Wright has continued to work with the Total Experience Gospel Choir, taking their ministry of song around the country, and lending a practical hand where they see they're needed. Pastor Benny Wright has retired…a few years ago he had knee surgery. Pat continues to be the whirlwind she's always been, but has had to slow down a bit. As of this writing (September 2017) she is working on a new album and continues to solo with the choir. Aside from their usual appearances the Choir has backed up artists as diverse as Barry Manilow and Dave Matthews. The majority of the current members of the Total Experience Gospel Choir are adults that have grown up in the Choir, or joined within the past decade or two. Sadly, gospel music has fallen out of fashion among younger people these days, and the black community's roots in the church have become less important. But gospel music lives on despite it's adversities….another total experience in the history of blacks in America. It is certain to make a renewal, the more that people understand it's importance in itself, and to pop music.
Many music fans today ignore gospel music, probably because of it's roots in Christianity. But the fact is that most of the great R&B and Soul artists of the past and present have deep roots in gospel and in the church. It was the secularization of the lyrics, not the music of gospel that gave rise to artists like Aretha Franklin, The Winans, James Brown, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, George Clinton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and a host of other widely vaying artists. Even the Queen of Gospel, Mahalia Jackson has an important place in the development of popular music. It was Mahalia, more than anyone that brought gospel music into American homes through TV and radio. If you're one of those who feel turned-off by religious music, have a listen to any good gospel choir. Let the sound and the passion roll over you. You will soon find yourself tapping to the music and experiencing the communal joy that gospel brings. At the very least Pat Wright and The Total Experience Gospel Choir deserve a listen. You might just see them for what they are; an important, but too-often overlooked part of Northwest music history.
For upcoming live performances of the Total Experience Gospel Choir see the schedule at http://www.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org/calendar
-Dennis R. White. Sources: Nicole Brodeur "Heartening Glimpse of Heaven" (The Seattle Times, February 23, 2006); Unknown Author "Pat Wright: Seattle's First Lady of Gospel" (Northwest Prime Time, November 29, 2014); Peter Blecha "Wright, Pat b.1944" (HistoryLink.org Essay 10392, June 16, 2013); Interview with Enrique Cerna (KCTS, January 30. 2012); Misha Berson "Pat Wright's Total Experience-Seattle's Mistress of Music Lives The Gospel She Sings" (The Seattle Times, December 10, 1998) Terry Morgan (interview with the author, September 22, 2017); Dave Segal (Barton Funk in the Soundgarden of Eden: How Wheedle's Groove Revived Old-School Seattle Soul, September 3, 2009); Jason Ankeny (Patrinell Staten Biography, allmusic.com); Total Experience Gospel Choir home page ( http://www.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org/ ); Photo: Christopher Nelson.
September 24, 2017 | Posted in: 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Artists/Bands / Gospel / Misc / Soul
GARY HEFFERN
Gary Heffern began his career the late 70's singing with San Diego punk band The Penetrators alongside Country Dick Montana. Heffern's done poetry readings with everyone from John Doe, to Nina Hagen, The Art Ensemble of Chicago and Henry Rollins. His first two solo albums 'Bald Tires in the Rain' and 'Painful Days' have featured some of the incredible cadre of his admirers. John Doe, Mojo Nixon, Country Dick Montana, The Walkabouts, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Mark Arm of Mudhoney.
Heffern spent a good part of his career as part of the Seattle music scene, but his muse has taken him to Finland, living near the Arctic Circle where an incredible video of his song 'La La Land' was shot in 2008. It's an epic, sad, beautiful, and reflective observation of the fading away of a parent…It's touching without ever slipping into the sentimentality one would expect.
His album "Consolation" featured a who's who of American roots music; Steve Berlin of Los Lobos, Alejandro Escovedo, Peter Case, Mark Lanegan, Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows/R.E.M.) Chris and Carla of The Walkabouts, Jim Roth from 'Built to Spill', and on and on. The depth and breadth of Heffern's friends and admirers who join him on Consolation and currently as "Gary Heffern And The Beautiful People" and is a continuing testament to his position as an important songwriter whose work rises to the top of the heap.
Seattle rock critic and well-known author Charles R. Cross writes:"In Heffern's own songs there is a constant struggle between darkness and light, between failed dreams and reckless prayer, between a world where all hope is lost and one where a consoling friend offers a sliver of deliverance. Even on a song as haunting as "(I Am Your) Destroyer" from the album "Consulation" sounds like Iggy Pop could have written it. There is still a core of sweetness among the ruins. "That's the Beauty (Of the Little Things in Life)" truly rings with a ghost: It was written in Seattle's Comet Tavern on the very night that Gits' singer Mia Zapata went missing (and later turned up murdered). Not only a remarkable timepiece, "That's the Beauty" demonstrates Heffern's skill at creating a story arc that celebrates the fragility of life at the same time it bemoans it. It's the kind of re-framing that is uniquely Gary Heffern".
Aside from his songwriting, albums. online music and live performances, Gary has also been the subject of Finnish filmmaker Erkki Määttänen's "Sweet Kisses From Mommy" It recounts Gary's birth in Finland as Veli-Matti Tervaneimi through his adoption, childhood and renaming and growing up in 1950s and 60s San Diego.
–Dennis R. White: Sources, Gary Heffern, Charles R. Cross, liner notes for the album Consolation (2008). Video Janne Huotari / Wolf Productions.
July 26, 2017 | Posted in: 1970s / 1980s / 1990s / 2000s / 2010s / Alternative / Artists/Bands / Country / Punk/New Wave / Rock