Russ Hanson provided this very early musical event at the Mazourka Hall:

An article by Irv Letofsky in Select Magazine (March 1961), tells the story of the Minnesota connection to the very Southern song “Dixie.” There is no question that the song was written by Daniel Decatur Emmett, but there is some controversy as to where and when. According to St. Paul historian Mark Fitzpatrick, Dan wrote it in the summer of 1857 on the porch of his brother’s house in St. Paul.  His brother was Lafayette Emmett, who was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Minnesota.  (Lafayette’s house, perhaps the first brick residence in the city, was located at 279 West Seventh Street and was torn down in 1942.)  Dan was in town that summer playing in the Old Gents’ Band, backing Sallie St. Clair’s Varieties in Market Hall.  Fitzpatrick asserts that Dan took the “crude manuscript” to the Munger Ben’s Music Hall on Kellogg Blvd. and played it on his violin, receiving enthusiastic applause. “Newspaper files in the Twin Cities reveal frequent and insistent testimonies of oldtimers that “Dixie” was first sung to Russ Munger and that Munger asked Emmett to present it in a show at the old Ingersoll Hall on Wabasha Street between Second Street and Kellogg Blvd.”  This was probably an earlier version of the song.

Other experts claim that the song was written the next year, when Emmett returned to New York City and joined Dan and Jerry Bryant’s Minstrels.  Dan asked Emmett to write a “walkaround’ or “hooray” number for the next show – something catchy that people would whistle in the street.  That story was that he composed the song “Dixie,” which was brought to the public a year and a half later in a show called “Pocohontas,” (sic) showing in New Orleans.  It was sung by Miss Susan Denin and “the audience immediately lost its collective mind.”

Emmett told conflicting stories of the origin of the song, but shortly before his death in 1904 he told Lamp Magazine:

On Saturday night Dan Bryant requested me to write a walkaround for the following week.  The time allotted me was unreasonably short, but, notwithstanding, I went to my hotel and tried to think out something suitable.  But my thinking apparatus was dormant.

Then, rather than disappoint Bryant, I searched through my trunk and resurrected the manuscript of “I Wish I Was in Dixie’s Land,” which I had written years before.  I changed the tempo and rewrote some of the verses, and in all likelihood, if Dan Bryant had not made that hurry-up request, “Dixie” never would have been brought out.

In 1886 Gabriel Garzon published the “Fair Minneapolitan Waltz” for piano, “Respectfully Dedicated to the Ladies of Minneapolis.”  Garzon was apparently from the 1st Regt. Artillery Mexican Band.

Minnesota Historical Society

According to the Minneapolis Tribune,

Quite the biggest affair of 1889 was the northwestern sangerfest, at the Exposition building, where a chorus of about 700 voices sang under the direction of Richard Stempf.  (February 10, 1935)

Ion Arnold composed “The Minneapolis Journal Waltzes,” as played by the Reeves American Band at the Minneapolis Exposition in 1890.  The tune was dedicated to the “Orpheus.”

Minnesota Historical Society

The phenomenon of Minstrel Shows is beyond controversial and apparently came late to Minnesota.  Wikipedia gives the peak years of the genre as the 1830s and 1840s.   A quick look at the Minneapolis newspaper archives shows that the first such show came to Minneapolis in 1867 and every year thereafter.  1890 appears to be the year that the shows ramped up in popularity locally, appearing in ads for several local theaters.  The first shows were probably traveling shows featuring white men in blackface:  the first troupe was called Duprez and Benedict.

December 7, 1891

As these faded, the genre continued as sketches on variety shows or as entertainment put on by schools and church groups.  Push back finally came in the early 1960s; Minneapolis Tribune columnist George Grimm made it clear in his “I Like it Here” column of February 27, 1960, that they weren’t funny anymore, and no long acceptable.  He reprinted the column verbatim on January 19, 1963, and vowed to keep reprinting it every two years.  Wikipedia did point out that Archie Bunker appeared in blackface in 1975, but here in Minnesota, it appears that the odious olios had about a 100 year run.  The last one I found in the paper was put on by a school PTA in Blaine in 1969.

“The Minnesota Boat Club March” was written by Emile Oberhoffer in 1893.  The song was dedicated to the Minnesota Boat Club of St. Paul. It was composed for the pianoforte and has no words.

Minnesota Historical Society

James H. Morrison, Jr. composed the “University Two-Step” in 1897, dedicated to the faculty and students of the U of M.  Other than the words “Rah! Rah! Rah!  Ski-U-Mah! Varsity! Varsity!  Min-Ne-So-Ta!” there are no actual words to the song.

Minnesota Historical Society

“The Minneapolis Song” was published in 1903, word and music by “Monssini.”  Inside it says acc. by L.O. Shibley.  The chorus goes:

“Minneap’lis, of fair city of bright waters
Yet brighter, fairer be thy sons and daughters
Sailing gaily on thy lakes and laughing waters
Minneap’lis beautious city of the west”

Minnesota Historical Society

Another 1903 song was the “Minnesota Street Rag,” composed by Fred Swanson. It was published by the American Music Publishing Co. in St. Paul.

This is something called the Hollow Skating Rink Band, St. Paul, 1907.

Minnesota Historical Society

A new song in 1908 was “Ski-U-Mah, an Indian Intermezzo,” dedicated to the U of M’s football team.  Words by Peter Fandel, music by Louis Rosenberger.  Published by Rosenberger Publishing Co., 56 E. 6th Street, St. Paul.

Minnesota Historical Society

“Crossing the Desert,” a march and two-step for pianoforte, was composed by Arthur Wasshausen of Minneapolis.  The song was “Respectfully dedicated to Zuhrah Temple,” Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 12, 1914.  The sheet music was published by Ivy M. Wasshausen, 3503 33rd Ave. So., Minneapolis.

Minnesota Historical Society

The Married Folks Dancing Club held their events in Olson’s Hall in Hopkins starting on January 9, 1915. The Hennepin County Enterprise had fun reporting this:

Big Attendance Marks First Ball

Seventy Odd Couples of Married Folks Worship at Shrine of Terpsichore With Old Style Dances

No dazzling young tango artist or the spritliest spirit that ever danced the maxixe nor the sweetest thing that ever adorned the floor in the turkey trot – none of ’em – have anything on Hopkins’ married folks when it comes to mixin’ it at the shrine of Terpsichore as revealed by the first dance of the Married Folks Dancing Club held in Olson’s Hall Saturday evening.

There probably is not much difference in the amount of enthusiasm shown by the married folks at their hop but there is a difference in the kind of dances enjoyed.  The married ‘uns eschewed the later creations which are the inventions of a few dancing masters for monetary reasons only, and the old style waltz, the two step, the Bohemian polka, the rye waltz, and others with an occasional old fashioned quadrille thrown in all went to make up the program of the evening at which some seventy odd couples participated and enjoyed themselves to the limit – and then some.

It would be superfluous to state that the first session was a grand success.  Grey headed lads and lassies and lads with wide, smooth “boulevards” prominent when their heads were uncovered, who had not “mixed” for years and whose feet had not been “shook” for so long that a specie of “hesitation” was apparent early in the evening, finally warmed to the fun and when quitting time came still stayed on for another hour of pleasure and enjoyment.

…

There will be no “youngsters” there to offend you with the “boll wiggle weavel,” the “honey bug” or any of the rest of those new fangled “aggravations,” for the unmarried kiddies are all barred.

For the second dance, “The ladies are all requested to bring baskets with lunch for two and coffee will be served in the hall.  Contrary to the usual custom the ladies will be allowed to select their supper partners instead of the gentlemen.”  I hope so!  Claggett’s Orchestra provided the music for both dances.

St. Louis Park held an “all star home talent minstrel show” at the High School Auditorium on December 1, 1915, under the auspices of the St. Louis Park Commercial Club.  We may have a picture of this.

The Married Folks Dancing Club held their 1916 Opening Ball on January 22, 1916 at Olson’s Hall, Hopkins.  Music furnished by the Hopkins Orchestra.

On April 17, 1920, Dick Long conducted the United Artists’ Symphony Orchestra at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  They may have been showing movies at the same time.

The School of Dancing was taught by Claire Coutant at Carville Hall, 26 W. Lake Street.  An ad from October 2, 1920, lists the dances taught as Russian Toe, Greek, Oriental, Buck and Wing, and Ballroom.

A male trio “will sing every day at Gopher Gunners’ Carnival,” advertised the Minneapolis Morning Tribune in March 6, 1921.  “Every conceivable brand of music will be offered in the Gopher Gunners’ carnival all next week, according to Dr. Arthur E. Allen, director.  Among these will be a trio presenting songs hot off the music press and sung probably for the first time in Minneapolis.  The trio included Ronald Jonson, Arthur White and Harry Kessell.

“Yes, Blossom’s Here Again!” crowed the Minneapolis Morning Tribune on March 6, 1921.  That’s Blossom Seeley, appearing at the Orpheum in “Miss Syncopation.”  Assisting her were Bennie Fields, Sam Miller and Harry Stover.

The Everett McClay Post of Eden Prairie gave a series of dances at Millers Hall in the fall of 1921.  These locations were never identified – guess everyone knew where Millers Hall was.

In 1921 the song “By the Waters of Minnetonka, An Indian Love Song” by Thurlow Lieurance was published.  The song was dedicated to George Oscar Bowen and the Mendelssohn Club.  It appears that it was included in a 1925 compilation of Lieurance’s Indian songs.

Minnesota Historical Society

And still another local tune from 1921 was “Shores of Minnetonka,” a sweet love song with words by Gus Kahn and music by Percy Wenrich.  The first line of the chorus is:

“Drift with me, along the shores of Minnetonka
where I first made love to you”

Minnesota Historical Society

As for the songs of the time, here’s a list available from the Peyer Music Co.  See Record Stores for ads for more stores from 1922 and 1923.

Northwestern Bulletin, May 20, 1922

Lucille Hegamin, singer of “He May be your Man but he Comes to see Me”

As for the bands, one stood out head and shoulders above the rest – apparently the crowds either never tired of the many iterations of William Moore’s orchestra, or there weren’t many other jazz bands around in 1922-23.  The number of pieces in Moore’s bands and orchestras varied, and a few times he moved into whimsy, calling his men Moore’s Jazz Hounds; by the end of 1923 he was calling it Moore’s Town Talk band.  A quick and dirty tally of the 1922 events I recorded showed that he played at 42 out of 67 dances!  His band featured Louis Sklar on saxophone and clarinet, and David Brown on sax as well

Other bands had much better names:

• Steven’s Jazz Canaries/Harmony Kings/Harmony Boys, featuring “Sid” Williams, (Sheik of the Piano).  The Harmony Kings were “the Boys that put the “Pep” in Pepper.”  Stevens’ Orchestra was Moore’s closest competitor.
• New Jazzland Orchestra
• Gopher’s Jazz Knockers (“Come and hear them play those Gopher Blues; That Gopher Club Punch Can’t Be Beat”)
• Little Bennie’s Argentine Red Caps
• Nu-Way Jazz Hounds, “Featuring Irresistible Syncopation of Mirth”

Many of the dances were fundraisers – the one below was to buy uniforms for musicians.  The South Side Auditorium, located at 12th Ave. So. and 3rd Street, was a hugely popular venue for dances in the black community in the 1920s.

Northwestern Bulletin, 1922

The Woman’s Club of Lake Minnetonka put on a dinner dance on February 16, 1924, at the Community House.  Music was provided by the “well-known a popular Kelsey Orchestra of Minneapolis… acknowledged to be the best in Minneapolis.”  (Minnetonka Record, February 15, 1924)

The 20th Annual Hennepin County Fair, August 26-28, 1926,  featured the usual band concerts by the Hopkins, Osseo and Robbinsdale bands, but also dancing every afternoon and evening to Mabel Connell’s Girls Orchestra on the newly finished dance floor at the Pavilion.  The County Fairgrounds were in Hopkins.

The Minnesota Historical Society’s photo below shows the apparatus that recorded the first phonograph recording in St. Paul, May 1927.  In it are Harold Soule, recording engineer, and Grace Slovetsky.  Wally Erickson’s Orchestra was apparently one of the earliest groups recorded.

Minnesota Historical Society

The Scott County Fair in Shakopee took place September 1-3, 1927, reported the Hennepin County Enterprise.  Musical features included:

• Free Vaudeville attractions twice daily, with “a very high-class program of Vaudeville features that will entertain and thrill fair visitors of all ages and temperaments.
• The Shakopee Concert Band, playing popular concert numbers
• Dances in Dawson’s Hall on Friday and Saturday evenings, with music by the popular dance orchestra, the Royal Merrymakers.  “The orchestra has agreed to play the hottest of hot dance numbers.”

Denizens of Hopkins could now go to Matt’s Sweet Shop, which boasted an “Amusement Room, Dance if you like.  A delightful place to spend the evening,” advertised proprietor Matt Weldon in October.

Here’s something weird:  Art students in the Palettite Society staged a “Demonic Dance in Red” at the Minneapolis School of Art on April 13, 1928.  It was the annual benefit ball, with over 100 art students and about 200 guests in various and bizarre costumes. Unfortunately, the band wasn’t named.

The entire building, at 200 East 25th Street, had been transformed through decorations to conform with the popular conception of Hades.  There was a dragon 45 feet long, standing guard over a cavern filled with bats.  Satan’s disciples danced in the cavern which, under normal conditions, is the auditorium of the school.

Louis Armstrong played the Minnesota Theater during the week of June 23, 1928.

Paul Whiteman appeared at the Minnesota Theater the week of June 29, 1928, reported the Minnetonka Record.  With the Whiteman Orchestra was legendary cornetist Bix Beiderbecke.  This is worth quoting at length:

[Whiteman] was the guest of Hal Kiedel at the Minnetonka Country Club Tuesday morning.  Included in the party were Roy Bargy, pianist, composer and recording artist; several boys from the orchestra; and our own Eddie Dunstedter.

The ensuing golf match between Mr. Whiteman and Mr. Dunstedter was the culmination of a bitter feud of long standing between these two artists.  In the two half “swore-some” that followed it is needless to say that these to great stylists shot a par 36 for the first nine.  Mr. Dunstedter claimed a victory by virtue of the fact that Paul wore rubber-toed shoes and he couldn’t hear him kick the ball around.  While Mr. Whiteman indignantly declared he was champion, inasmuch as he couldn’t throw the ball as far as Eddie.

It must be said that as a great golfer Eddie is certainly a wonderful – organist, and Mr. Whiteman’s par 3 on the second hole was a classic and will probably be talked about for years – by him.

Anyway, we are glad such notables visited us.

Eddie Dunstedter recorded some classic Christmas albums,and taught organ at the McPhail Music Center from 1965 to his death in 1974.

In 1928 Charles Thompson taught a 10-course lesson in modern jazz piano – Studio 110, Studio Building, 64 So. 11th Street, Minneapolis.

The autumn, 1928, dancing season opened in Hopkins on September 22 when the Eagles Aerie No. 76 held the first dance of a series at Olson’s Hall.  Music provided by the popular Silver Mask Orchestra.

The Bear Cat Dance Marathon took place at the Kenwood Armory starting on September 5, 1928, apparently going on for 104 hours with the help of Hopkins resident Jimmy Manchester, who entertained for eight hours each day.

The first of several delightful dancing parties was given at the Masonic Temple, Albert Pike Lodge, Hopkins on November 23, 1928.  Prizes of poultry were presented to several fortunate ladies.

The Thanksgiving dance at Olson’s Hall, Hopkins, was on November 28, 1928, with music by the Joseph Smykal Orchestra.

An All-Minnesota Dance Marathon was held in 1928 at the Coliseum Ballroom.  See Dance Marathons.

“Hurrah! Zuhrah Hurrah!” was a march dedicated to the Zuhrah Temple of Minneapolis in 1928.  Words and music were written by Harry Larusson, and the song was written for band, drum and bugle corps, and chanters.

Bing Crosby appeared at the Minnesota Theater from May 27 to June 2, 1932, “in a cine-variety show,”  according to Bing Crosby:  Day by Day by Malcom Macfarlane’s (2001).  (SpyTwinCities.com)

This is odd:  St. Louis Park’s Town drunk Scotty Hudson advertised in the Hennepin County Review:  “Learn Hawaiian – Guaranteed Course – Popular and Hawaiian Music – Taught by numbers the easy method.”  Where did Scotty Hudson learn Hawaiian?

In the same issue of the Hennepin County Review is an ad for the Studio of Music Instruction, 3716 Jackson Street [now Alabama Ave.] in St. Louis Park.  Piano, voice, dramatic art, horn and Hawaiian guitar.  Was Hawaiian a fad in 1932?  The location was and is now the site of Union Congregational Church, although in 1932 the church might not have taken up the entire block.

This must be George Osborn and his All-Plane Mechanics Orchestra, broadcasting on KSTP, 1932.  Minnesota Historical Society.  Okay, I made part of that up.

Theatergoers flocked to hear famed silent screen star Pola Negri speak and sing at the Orpheum Theatre.

Disc courtesy of The Rick Colom Collection, digitally processed from the original 78rpm: Brunswick 6486 – The Lady From St. Paul (Gifford) by Casa Loma Orchestra, vocal by Pee Wee Hunt, recorded in NYC December 19, 1932.  LISTEN HERE  Thanks for posting, Dale Burback!  (He says it was also recorded by Bobby Gordon & His Rhythm.

Ethel Waters made a visit to the Twin Cities in May 1935, appearing in a Broadway production.

Here is the dance team of Williams and June, 1935.  John Williams was apparently well known; June (aka Beulah Gleason) doesn’t look too thrilled.  Minnesota Historical Society

On May 15, 1935, Eli Rice and his New 11-Piece Band gave their Farewell Appearance at the Deutsch Haus in St. Paul, a show sponsored by the Minnesota Colored Gophers Baseball Club.  The Mammoth Floor Show included Bennie & Rogers, Cecelia Williams, Kelly Stone, Marion Abernathy, Oliver Harris, Richard Rice, William Davenport, and Robert Freeman.

AKA (presumably a black fraternity or sorority) advertised an “Apache Dance” to be held at Stepka’s Como Gardens at Western and Como Avenues.

A dance on June 17, 1935 at the Aragon featured the Harlem Play Girls, “the first big time girls’ band to appear in Minneapolis.  Their only and last appearance before leaving for tour of the West Coast.”

A matinee dance at the Apex in June featured Popo Warfield and his Brownskin Steppers, accompanied by Johnny Wheeler and his 6-Piece Orchestra.

On July 15 Carroll Dickerson and his Orchestra appeared at the Aragon Ballroom, direct from the Grand Terrace Cafe, Chicago.  Not sure what this means:  “Also Recently Featured  14 – CBS Radio Artist – 14.”  After the show, attend the Breakfast Ball at the Apex, starting at 1:30 am and featuring Rook Ganz and his Cotton Club Orchestra.

The Niceroma Club, Inc., sponsored a Moonlight Excursion Down the Old Mississippi on July 29, with music by Babe Salters and His Creolians.

Another excursion was sponsored by the Gloom Chasers Club on August 5 on the Donna Mae, with the Donna Mae Boat Orchestra.

A “Battle of Music and Breakfast Ball” was held on August 15 at midnight in benefit of Citizens Community Union Picket Lines.  Four bands would play at Apex Hall:  Rook Ganz, Scottie Williams and His Black Cat Orchestra, C. Sharp and his Seven Flats, and the Apex Night Club Band.  “Help Us Help Our People”  The ad was donated by C.E. Newman, publisher of the Minneapolis Spokesman.

The Triangle Clubs of the Twin Cities sponsored a Gigantic Picnic and Dance at Harriet Island in St. Paul on August 26.  No band was mentioned, but there would be popularity and bathing beauty contests.

On August 19 we are exhorted to “Come  out and hear a real band,” namely Grant Moore and his Orchestra at a Breakfast Ball at Apex Hall.

Earl Fraser and his band apparently made their debut at the Aragon Ballroom on September 16.  “Everybody Attends Dances at the Aragon”  “Come out, hear the newest and most sensational band in the Northwest.”

The Dance Masters hosted a Joe Louis Victory Ball at the Coliseum Ballroom in St. Paul on September 30.  On October 14 they hosted the Southerners band at the same venue.

The Biggest Dance of the Season featured Walter Barnes and his Famous Royal Creolians (Chicago’s Favorite Band) at the Aragon Ballroom on October 7, 1935.

On October 28 the Fite-Baker Harlem Hi Hatters, an “out-of-town orchestra with a group of big-time entertainers,” played for a dance at the Aragon Ballroom.  The floor show featured Buddy Short, Velda Shannon, and Carroll Watkins.

The Apex’s Hallowe’en Breakfast Dance featured Rook Ganz and His Cotton Club Orchestra with Bill Pugh, Magic Voiced Singer.  The Apex Band would also play, and there were two floor shows featuring Van Epps & Clifton Phillips’ Revue with the Brown Sisters.

A Cabaret Ball featuring Walter Barnes and His Creolians appeared on November 13 at Apex Hall.

The Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Dance at the Veterans’ Hall, St. Paul Auditorium, took place on November 23, 1935, under the Auspices of Leslie Lawrence Post No. 497, American Legion.  “Hot, Tantalizing Music by Crooning Little Joe and His Rug Cutters, Featuring Rose Grant, ‘The Personality Directress.'”

The Social Twelve were back with a Fall Cabaret Dance on November 18 at the Flying Dutchman.

The Keystone Bar featured 6 per cent beer, Ed Pursell at the piano, and the Silver-Voiced Baritone of Jack Meredith in the Mystic Cavern.

A dance was held at the Apex Club on November 20 “in Honor of” Noble Sissle, which probably meant that Sissle and his band would be appearing elsewhere in the city and coming to the Apex afterwards.  Music would be by the Apex Band and the floor show featured McDonald, Clifton Phelps, Van Epps and Apex Chorus. “Twin City Musicians and Entertainers Will be out in full force to welcome Sissle Company.

On November 25 Reese Martin presented “The Event of the Season,” a dance at the Aragon Ballroom featuring Red Perkins and his Dixie Ramblers.  Four Thanksgiving turkeys were given away.

The Jolly Sixteen Club gave a dance at the Pearl Inn on November 25.

A Thanksgiving Cabaret Ball at the Apex started on November 27 and ended at breakfast on the 28th.  A Battle of Music pitted the Apex Nite Club Band against Clarence Johnson’s Stumble Inn Orchestra.

Billed as the first matinee dance of the season was a Battle of Music at the Apex featuring the Apex Orchestra and Clarence Johnson’s Stumble Inn Aces.  A Floor Show featured “Ethel Cross, Torch Singing M.C.; Sonny Nichols, RKO Favorite; and Epps and Phillips, Dancers Excellent.”  Prizes were a box of cigars for Gentlemen and Combination Cigarette Lighter for Ladies.

Christmas Night festivities at the Apex included Rook Ganz and his Cotton Club Orchestra; Ethel Cross, emcee; and petite dancer Pearl Harvey.  “Put your presents on the Apex Christmas Tree – You and your friends will enjoy this unique way of receiving gifts.”

Big New Year’s Eve Dance at the Aragon Ballroom featured Walter Erickson’s Red Hot Band.  “The first time in the Twin Cities that the colored people have been able to secure such a lovely ballroom on a holiday.”  Dancing from 9:30 to 4:30.

In August 1935, saxophone player Larry Lyons of the Carlos Molina Orchestra drowned in Christmas Lake.  The band had been playing a two-week engagement at the New Radisson Inn, Christmas Lake.  Lyons went out alone in a row boat, and when he reached deep water about 300 feet from shore he dove into the lake, sending the boat out of reach.  He called for help but he was too far out.  Professional divers were called to retrieve his body:  Jack Thompson of Minneapolis and Indian Joe of St. Paul.  It took seven days to find him:  “Diving and dynamite had been employed but it remained for Indian Joe with his mystery methods to find the body.  When asked how he did it Indian Joe smiled an inscrutable smile and said, ‘That’s our secret.'”  Lyons, just 35 years old, had been with Molina for two years, and traveled with his wife.

On May 11, 1936, the Minnesota-Iowa Club gave its first cabaret dance party, “A Night in Spain,” at Norway Hall, with music by Roy Disert’s Band.

On May 22 the Waiters’ Union Local 614 sponsored the Coming Out Party as Host to the following social clubs:

• Cameo
• Jr. Cameo
• 20th Century
• Credjafawn
• Jr. Credjafawn
• Modernettes
• Socialites
• Diplomats
• Gloom Chasers
• Wolverines
• And others

The dance was at the Coliseum Ballroom and featured Gordan Parks and His Casa Nova Band.

Jimmie Lunceford and his Orchestra came to the Coliseum Ballroom in St. Paul on January 22, 1940.  Featured were the Lunceford’s Glee Club and the Lunceford Trio:  Sy Oliver, Willie Smith, and Eddie Tompkins.  It was this nationally renowned band’s first appearance in the Twin Cities.  2,000 people attended the event.

Jimmie Lunceford’s Orchestra, 1935

Contralto Marian Anderson made her annual appearance in the Twin Cities on March 20, 1940, at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  Her program was predominantly classical, with an ending section of Negro Spirituals.

Dining Car Employee’s Union Local 516 gave their third annual dance at Stem Hall, St. Paul Auditorium, on April 19, 1940.  Music was provided by El Herbert and his Swing Band.  Committee members represented the Omaha, Soo Line, Great Northern, and Northern Pacific Railroads.

Les Hite and his Cotton Club Orchestra came from Los Angeles to play for a dance at Stem Hall at the St. Paul Auditorium on May 4, 1940.  It was Hite’s first appearance in the Twin Cities.  Hite, with torch singer Tonie Anthony and Cudellus Martin, saxophonist from the Twin Cities, was dubbed “the heat wave from California” that “taught Hollywood how to swing.”

KSTP’s Sunset Valley Barn Dance began a series of Saturday night broadcasts on October 26, 1940.  See TV Shows.

Baritone Paul Robeson appeared at Northrop Auditorium on October 23, 1940, as part of the University Artists Course.  This was his first U.S. tour following four years of touring in Europe.  Robeson sang folk songs on tour, but was also an acclaimed actor, appearing in “Emperor Jones,” “All God’s Chillun,” “Porgy,” and “Show Boat.”

October 26, 1940, was a Homecoming Dance at the St. Paul Auditorium, Ramsey Hall, with music by the Southern Serenaders.

On October 26, 1940, the Clef Club was described as newly decorated and  reopened with a “big imported floor show.”   “The Clef Club will be the night club in the Twin Cities catering to Negro patronage,” reported the Spokesman.  Manager Scottie Williams promised a show with “a snappy group of entertainers” including:

• Carroll Lee, female impersonator
• Alma Smith, torch singer
• Chase and Ray, the “Brown Dots,” dancers par excellence
• A chorus of dancing girls, in a show produced by Jackie Hudson
• Music by Walter Lear and His Six-Piece Orchestra

On November 21, 1940, an Inaugural Ball was held at the St. Paul Auditorium to crown the Mayor of Bronzeville.  Salesman James W. “Jimmy” Slemmons was elected Mayor, campaigning on the fight for jobs for the black community.

The Clef Club, “Twin Cities Brightest Night Spot,” presented a Big Surprise Floor Show starting on December 21, 1940.  Party goers were invited to see Jessie Scott do the “La Congo.”

Jessie Scott was at the Clef Club on New Year’s Eve, 1940, as well, along with “Skip, Hop and Jump, Three Dancing Demons.”  Music was provided by Walter Lear and His Gents of Rhythm.

After the remark about the Ink Spots’ “Uncle Tom” clowning, it is odd to see two subsequent ads in the paper:

Stepin Fetchit appeared at the Princess Theater, 12 – 4th Street NE, March 4-7, 1941. Born Lincoln Perry, Fetchit was Hollywood’s first black movie star, “appearing in more motion pictures than any other colored artist.” His breakthrough film was “Hearts of Dixie” in 1929.  He became the “Screen’s Laziest Comedian,” famous for rolling his eyes and speaking and moving agonizingly slowly.  His film career had its ups and downs, and pretty much ended in 1937.  But he continued to tour around the country.

His live stage act was described in Mel Watkins’ biography of the actor:

..Perry skillfully contrasted his absentminded coon lethargy with the silken finesse of his dancing.  Onstage, he would come meandering out, scratching his head, looking utterly confused and lost.  Mouth agape, eyes half closed, shoulders slouched, arms dangling, he would slip into a practically incoherent monologue; delivered in a whining monotone to no one in particular, most often it has little meaning beyond the visual impression of confusion.

Then, suddenly, the gangling actor would spring into a spirited dance routine that, when first encountered, often astounded audiences.  His facial expression changed subtly, the half closed eyelids lifted, eyes momentarily widening to reveal a flash of energy, near-arrogance, that the simpleton mask had intentionally concealed.

An item in the Spokesman also noted his odd hobby of collecting cashmere suits made from the wool of the sacred goats of India, at $275 each (with two pairs of pants).  “The slow motion comic has about $4,125 worth of clothes hanging in his hotel closet.  Fetchit has one tailor in Hollywood, another in New York and they both know his weakness – clothes.”

Appearing with Step were:

• Abdul Sender, Egypt’s Greatest Pianist
• Patsy Mack
• Penny and Perry Tucker
• Claudette Colbert and Ray Milland in the film “Arise My Love”

Also odd was an ad for the Swing Town Minstrels, Ladies’ Cast of St. Thomas Guild, Auzie Dial, Guest Artist, illustrated with an image that would seem offensive even then.  The show was at Benton Hall, YWCA, March 6, 1941.

Still a teenager, Leigh Kamman was hired to do studio clean up at WMIN Radio, and eventually talked his way into a late-night, on-air slot. He and a schoolmate—Sev Widman—launched “Studio Party Wham,” named after a Jimmie Lunceford recording. He and Sev showcased big bands and small combos, conducted in-studio interviews, chatted with a panel of jazz connoisseurs and played popular records of the day. At age 80, Kamman vividly remembers those late teenage years: “Though my friends and I were underage, we hung out at the Hotel St. Paul where they were booking the big bands of Les Brown and Harry James. There was a lower-level room called Club Casino with swing dancing and a tremendous social element.” For his WMIN show he tracked live broadcasts of artists such as Joe Sullivan, Doc Evans and Bob Zurke from Mitch’s Roadhouse in Mendota. According to Kamman, “The place sat about 150 people. You could bring your favorite beverage and buy the mix… true roadhouse style.”  (Minnesota Monthly, 2003)

Cab Calloway and his Cotton Club appeared for a week at the Orpheum Theater starting January 17, 1941 – price, 25 cents.  The name Mort H. Singer is on the ad – perhaps the promoter.  The Spokesman observed, “There was not an ‘Uncle Tom’ number in the Cab Calloway show..  In contrast, the Ink Spots.. spoiled their performance for many Negroes by their clowning, which added nothing to their act!”

Count Basie and his Orchestra came to the Minneapolis Armory on April 14, 1941.

The Minneapolis NAACP Coronation Ball was held at the Royal Arcanum Hall, 3011 First Ave. So., on June 9, 1941.  Music was provided by Paul Thomason’s Orchestra.

Dr. W.D. Brown was elected Mayor of Bronzeville at the second annual Inaugural Ball, held on Thanksgiving night, November 20, 1941, at the Eagles Hall (later the Labor Temple).  Check the link for the fascinating story of the Mayor of Bronzeville!

Marian Anderson appeared with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra on November 28 and 29, 1941.

Oh dear.  The Clef Club, now “The Home of Happy Feet” presented a gala affair on December 21, 1941, featuring “Snake Hips” and His Rhythm Girls, Peggy O’Neal from Chicago, and Little Bobby Green.  Music by Steep Pittman and His Musical Gents.  Snake Hips and the gang were also on hand at the Clef Club for a Breakfast Ball on Christmas Eve Night and a dance on Christmas night.

On December 22 Eli Rice presented a pre-Christmas dance at the Labor Hall, 720 – 4th Street So. in Minneapolis.  Rice’s band was listed as the 12 New Orleans Cotton Pickers.

Frank Sinatra appeared at the Prom Ballroom on March 25, 1942.

This one looks a little dull.

Minnesota Historical Society

A Fourth of July Picnic was held at Bass Lake (5 miles west of Robbinsdale) for the black community, featuring:

• Double Header Soft Ball Game – Minneapolis vs. St. Paul
• Horse Shoe Pitching Contest – Minneapolis vs. Duluth vs. St. Paul
• Speed Boat Thrills
• Southern Bar-B-Q Meats
• Breakfast Ball at the Clef Club starting at 11 pm
• Music for all event by Rook Ganz and His Gents of Rhythm

St. Louis Park High student Mary Ellen Erickson procured the autograph of Frankie Carle (sigh).  But there were some at Park who were hip.  Dig this article called “Platter Chatter” by student reporter Jim Church in the Echo:

Come on, cats, don’t be squares or ickys.  Bring in all the solid jazz discs ‘n hear ’em played in the auditorium during the eleventh and twelfth grade lunch hour.  Hear the place rock to the righteous swing of Goodman on the licorice stick or Sampson’s “Boogie Express” on the 88.  Say!  Have you heard Goodman’s “Bugle Call Rag” with Krupa on the tubs?  Jan Garber has made a complete switch from his sweet orchestra to a jump band.  Now that he has got away from the Guy Lombardo type of music, we feel sure he’ll succeed…Sinatra is 4-F in the Army which goes to show that no one wants him.  …  A hep cat’s dream of heaven is Goodman’s recording of “Sing-Sing-Sing” on a twelve inch Victor platter.  The trouble is it is almost impossible to obtain.  Ammons and Johnson, masters of the eight-to-the-bar, are set for Hollywood picture work… Harry James is coming out with another M.G.M. film, “Mr. Co-ed,” in which Harry begins with a blues theme and rides into a torrid tempo…  Watch for Charlie Spivak’s movie “Pin Up Girl” …  Well!  End of study hour (?) so I’ll hang up.  Amen!

In January 1943 you could see the Ink Spots, the Lucky Millinder Band, and the movie “Nightmare” with Diana Barymore, all at the Orpheum Theater.

The musical event of the year was the production of “Porgy and Bess” at the Lyceum Theater, 11th and Nicollet, on February 8-11.  The show starred Todd Duncan and Etta Moten, with Alexander Smallens conducting the orchestra.

Paul Robeson appeared with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra at Northrop Auditorium on April 2-3, 1943.

KSTP’s Sunset Valley Barn Dance did a remote broadcast on Saturday, April 3, 1943, from the St. Louis Park High School auditorium stage.  The two stage shows, at 8:30 and 10:15 pm, were sponsored by the Brookside (Elementary School) PTA.  The night before, the show came from the American House, 444 Rice Street, St. Paul.  Future dates would be at Mahtomedi (April 9) and South High in Minneapolis (April 10).

The club with the all-time best name, the Rhumboogie Club, opened on June 15, 1943, at 128 Hyland Ave. The club was replaced by the Cara Okara Cafe by November 1945, and it appears that Hyland Ave. was wiped out completely with highway and other construction.  But in 1943, “You’ll Enjoy Yourself.”  I believe it!

Another club with a great name was Club Bengassi, “For an Evening of Fun.”  Opened in August 1943.

The Clef Club hosted a Thanksgiving Ball featuring Jimmy Baker’s Orchestra.

Marian Anderson appeared with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra on December 3 and 4, 1943.

It was the Clef Club again for Cabaret Dances on December 25 and New Year’s Eve, with entertainment and floor show music by Jimmy Baker’s Band.

“Blues, Part 2” by Jazz at the Philharmonic was the first of 50 nominations for the first rock ‘n’ roll record, according to a book of that name by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes.  Granz put together the first Jazz at the Philharmonic show in 1944 as a benefit for 21 Mexican youths convicted in the Zoot Suit Riots of 1943.  I don’t know if every tour included the Twin Cities; I’ve placed a date next to the ones that did for sure:

1st National Tour: Late Fall/Winter 1945-46

2nd National Tour: May 17, 1946, Minneapolis Auditorium

3rd National Tour: October 28, 1946, Minneapolis Auditorium

4th National Tour: April 6, 1947, Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl

5th National Tour: Fall 1947

6th National Tour: May 2, 1948, Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl   (reported locally as the 5th tour)

7th National Tour: Fall 1948

8th National Tour: Spring 1949

9th National Tour: October 20, 1949, Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl

10th National Tour: Fall 1950

11th National Tour: October 12, 1951, Minneapolis Auditorium

12th National Tour: October 10, 1952, Minneapolis Auditorium

13th National Tour  October 9, 1953, Minneapolis Auditorium

14th National Tour: October 15, 1954, Minneapolis Auditorium

15th National Tour:  September 30, 1955, Minneapolis Auditorium  (The 15th Tour was supposedly renamed the 16th Tour just weeks before the start of the tour but that isn’t reflected by Minneapolis newspapers.)

16th National Tour: September 28, 1956, Minneapolis Auditorium

17th National Tour: September 27, 1957, Minneapolis Auditorium

September 25, 1959 was given as a tentative date but not confirmed

Appearing at the Orpheum Theater in February 1944:

• The Ink Spots
• Ella Fitzgerald
• Cootie Williams
• Movie “Around the World” with Joan Davis

The show moved to the RKO, with the movie “Whistling in Brooklyn”

The Daughter Elks presented the first dance to be given in ten years at the beautiful Plamor Ballroom, soon to be renamed the CIO Hall, 8th Street and 4th Ave So.  Jimmie Baker and His Gentlemen provided the music for the Grand Easter Dance on April 10.

The Friendly Ten Club held a dance on July 3 at the CIO Hall featuring Jimmy Tyler and His Blue Rhythm Boys.

Fletcher Henderson came to Stem Hall in the St. Paul Auditorium on November 6, 1944.  Tickets were $1.00.

The 11th Annual Credit Union Grand Ball was held at the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 11, 1944.  Bud Strawn and his orchestra played in the main ballrom for Al Wiklund’s jitterbug contest from 8 to 9 pm and for “modern dancing” from 9 pm to 1 am.  Wiklund taught classes on jitterbugging at Coffman Union at the U of M.  “King” Tommy Thompson, His Radio and Dance Band, played “old time” music in the Rathskellar from 9 to 1am.  6,000 people were expected.

Artie Shaw played the RKO Orpheum on December 4, 1944.  Frankie Carle played the same venue that month.

Paul Robeson performed “Othello” at the Lyceum Theater on December 11 to 13, 1944.  Also in the cast were Jose Ferrer and Uta Hagen.

A Football Jamboree was held on September 28, 1944,  with 600 students from St. Louis Park and Hopkins high schools at Donaldson’s Tea Room.  DJs Bill Kirby and Jim Boyson hosted a half hour broadcast on WTCN Radio that featured school songs and cheers.  DJ Larry Clinton played music for dancing after the show.

A full-length musical/campaign for Roosevelt called “Bandwagon” came to the Lyceum Theater on October 14 and 15, 1944.  Producer Eddy Royce sent out a call for new-dealer entertainers to perform in the show, and came up with this interracial cast:

• Will Geer, emcee
• Orelia and Pedro, whirlwind Afro dancers from Cuba
• Helen Tamaris and Daniel Nagrin, concert dancers from the Metropolitan Opera
• Woodie Guthrie
• Cissco Houston
• Bernie Hern, comedian
• Mary Lou Williams, leading female exponent of Jive Piano

Tommy Dorsey, His Trombone, and His Orchestra (49 people) were busy in December 1944.  On Saturday the 16th they played a dance at the Prom, and on Sunday the 17th they were at the Minneapolis Auditorium for a modern concert at 3pm and a dance at 8 pm.

A Harvest Moon Ball was held at the St. Paul Auditorium.

Minnesota Historical Society

Minnesota Historical Society

Sometime in 1944 or 1945, the Roberts Brothers recorded the immortal “Minneapolis Ain’t Talkin’ to St. Paul.”  Well, maybe not immortal, but kind of fun.  The song, recorded on Bel-Tone Records (not to be confused with Beltone Records), was made into a brilliant video by our friend Neal Bond – click for some fun!  The short-lived Bel-Tone Records was based in Hollywood and the Miller Brothers don’t Google, so it’s pretty certain that this wasn’t a local production.  The Miller Brothers, by the way, were:

• Marty Roberts, Guitar
• Danny Roberts, Bass
• Virgil Bingham, Piano

Image courtesy Dale Burback via Derik Olson

Hazel Scott appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl on October 12, 1945.  This acclaimed jazz pianist and singer had recently married Congressman Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.  At age 25 she had already appeared in five films.  The Spokesman warned:  “Twin Cites Can Expect Heat Wave.”

Hazel Scott

Seven year old phenom Frankie “Sugar Chile” Robinson appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on May 8, 1946, presented by C.C. Milkes.  Sugar Chile could play piano at 18 months and belted out a song like Fats Waller.  This was his first tour of the Northwest.  Also appearing were the Deep River Boys.  Here is a video of this extraordinarily talented young man.

Snookum Russell and His Hollywood Orchestra, featuring Alice Rose, Southland’s First Lady of Song, came to the CIO Hall on May 4, 1946.  Russell had made several records on the Trilon label, including “Rocking the Blues.”

Bruce Dybvig‘s Big Band won the Look Magazine All-American amateur jazz band award at Carnegie Hall in 1946.  Most of the band members were between 15 and 17 years old. Follow the link to read the bittersweet tale of this talented musician just a bit out of step with the times.

In 1946 saxophonist Percy Hughes returned from the military to his native Minneapolis and joined the Wold Chamberlain Navy Band, a/k/a the X-Navy Band, which up to that time had been led by Irv Williams.  Williams left for New York and Hughes was elected to be the new leader.  The band became known as Percy Hughes and His Orchestra, the most well-known jazz band in the Cities.  Their first regular job was at the Treasure Inn in St. Paul.  Frequent vocalists with the band were Percy’s wife Judy Perkins and Dickie Mayes.  Jazz disk jockey Leigh Kamman promoted the group on his show, featuring them on remotes from venues like the Calhoun Beach Hotel and the Radisson downtown.  The band also played at private parties and fraternal balls, many of which were advertised in the Minneapolis Spokesman.  Other residencies were at Snyder’s Restaurant and the Flame Cafe, downtown Minneapolis.  In 1956 he began a long stay at the Point in Golden Valley, until it burned down in 1973.  From there he moved to the Kashmiri Room at the Ambassador Motor Inn on Highway 12 in St. Louis Park, where his trio played until 1982.  All this time, Percy Hughes was a full-time mailman for 30 years, and he also was an avid tennis player, going on to win awards for coaching.  Percy Hughes was a true force in Minneapolis jazz, and he’s not done yet!  Read more about him in the book Sports and All That Jazz:  The Percy Hughes Story by Jim Swanson (Nodin Press 2011).

Percy Hughes

Judy Perkins

Dickie Mayes

Photos above from the 1970 book Minneapolis Negro Profile by Walter R. Scott, Sr.

Twin Cities Jazz Musicians Awards, 1946:  Stem Hall, St. Paul.  Wish we had the names!

Minnesota Historical Society

On August 4, 1946, the X-Navy Band performed at a dance at the CIO Hall, with proceeds to help the Ames Elks Lodge Drum and Bugle Corps go to the Elks National Convention in Buffalo, New York.  This was the first time I spotted that the band was directed by Percy Hughes, Jr., who took over from Irv Williams.  Also performing was the Twin Cities’ own June Hawkins, “One of the Stars of Such Broadway Productions as ‘Carmen Jones,’ ‘Porgy and Bess,’ and ‘St. Louis Woman.'”  The Drum and Bugle Corps also gave a demonstration.

Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and His Concert Revue appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 6, 1946.  Robinson was 68 at the time.  The show was presented presented by C.C. Milkes Also on the bill were:

• Deep River Boys
• Olivette Miller, Harpist
• Frances Palm, Contralto

An ad in the September 27, 1946, Spokesman reported that the Merry Men of Rhythm had a standing gig at the Rochester, 1691 Rice Street.  On November 2, 1946, the Rochester became the fabled Treasure Inn.

Jazz at the Philharmonic was back at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 28, 1946, again presented by Norman Granz and locally by C.C. Milkes.  Appearing were:

• Coleman Hawkins
• Roy Eldridge
• Lester Young
• Buck Clayton
• Meade Lux Lewis
• Shadow Wilson
• Kenneth Kersey

Percy Hughes and the X-Navy Band performed at the Treasure Inn in St. Paul on January 11, 1947, with vocals by his (soon-to-be or already?) wife Judy Perkins.

Marian Anderson appeared at Northrop Auditorium on January 22, 1947, as a part of the University Artists Course.

Spike Jones presented a “corn-cert” at the Minneapolis Auditorium on February 20, 1947.  He had just been here the previous November, but came back quickly because so many people had been turned away.

Tim Bender sponsored a cabaret dance at the CIO Hall on March that would feature an all-star orchestra of the best Negro and white bandsmen in the Northwest, reported the Spokesman.  They would include Dell Otis, Dave Goodloe, Bobby Green, and Irving Williams.

Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians performed at the Minneapolis Auditorium on March 16, 1947.

Nat “Lotsa Papa” Towles and His Orchestra came to the CIO Hall on March 23, 1947, in a concert sponsored by the Knights.  Towles had appeared with Louis Jordan at Chicago’s Regal Theater and had rocked the Apollo in New York City.  In the lower ballroom of the Hall, a cabaret dance was held with the “ever popular” Prince Rogers’ Combo with the romantic voice of Dick Mayes and the Merry Jesters, America’s newest Pied Pipers.  This was apparently a traveling road show called “Cavalcade,” and included Omar “Satchmo” Williams, 17-year-old Canadian pianist.

Lloyd Kirk, lyric baritone and singer of “Sacred Spirituals, Classic, Folk Songs” appeared at Benton hall, YWCA on March 27, 1947.  He was described as a radio, recording, and concert artist.

The Twin Cities Amusement Club succeeded in bringing Lionel Hampton and His World Famous Orchestra to the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 23, 1947

“LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL” Says Tiger Jackie Reynolds, Boxer Turned Promoter.  Rock and Swing with the Percy Hughes Orchestra, featuring lovely Judy Perkins, Vocalist.  Stem hall, St. Paul Auditorium, July 19, 1947.  A featured attraction was a dancing contest between Minneapolis Bronzeville and St. Paul Bronzeville.  Sponsored by Jackie Reynolds Rosenbloom.

A Battle of the Bands ensued at the CIO Hall on July 26 between Bobby Williams’ Orchestra of Minneapolis and Teddy Massey’s Orchestra of St. Paul.  Presented by the Apollo Club.

A Coronation Ball, crowning the Queen of the Fezzah Temple, was held on August 8, 1947, at Norway Hall.  Music was provided by Percy Hughes and his Orchestra.

A Labor Day Dance was held at the Elks Rest on September 1, 1947, with music by Ira Pettiford and the Jesters.

On October 23, 1947, St. Louis Park teens attended an Edina Teen Canteen at 50th and Wooddale, where there was something called a Disk Jockey Joggle featuring Don Leary, emcee.  Apparently kids competed to be disk jockeys, with the grand prize winner to appear on Don Leary’s radio show.

On October 31, 1947, the St. Thomas Men’s Club held their first annual Masquerade Ball at Norway Hall.

Marian Anderson performed with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra on October 31 and November 1, 1947.

A Battle of the Bands was sponsored by the Leader Club at Stem Hall (the old St. Paul Auditorium) between Percy Hughes’ Ex-Navy Band and the New Merry Men on November 10.

The King David Lodge #2 Masons held a Thanksgiving Ball at Norway Hall on November 27.  Music was provided by Ira Pettiford and the Jesters of Rhythm.

The Mayor of Bronzeville Fifth Annual Ball was held on November 27, 1947, at the Labor Temple.   The show, sponsored by the Associated Negro Credit Union, was broadcast on WCCO, and Cedric Adams did the honors of inducting James W. Slemmons as Mayor.  Music was provided by David Falson and His Gents of Swing, featuring Dickie Mayes. This would be the last in Minneapolis. After several years without a competition, the Credit Union issued a formal statement bringing it to an end in 1954.

Yet another event on November 27, 1947, was a Thanksgiving dance at the CIO Hall with the Percy Hughes Band and his singer/wife Judy Perkins.

“We Call it Jazz,” a concert for modern big bands, was held on December 14, 1947.  1,000 people showed up at the Radisson Hotel Ballroom for the session that featured the music of Bruce Dybvig.  The account of the event, presented in the September 1950 issue of The St. Paul Musician, did not name the co-sponsors, but just said they were a local disc jockey and a brother-in-law of Eddie Condon.

A Gigantic Stage Show featuring local talent was staged at the Minneapolis YWCA on December 16, 1947.  Cedric Adams was the emcee, and the program also included a movie and music by Percy Hughes and His Orchestra.

Songs advertised in the Spokesman by the Melodee Record Shop in 1947 include:

• Time to Change Your Town, Wynonie Harris
• I’m the Drummer Man, Jesse Price
• Bless You, Ink Spots
• When a Woman Loves Her Juice, Eddie Vinson
• Jazz at the Philharmonic Volume 4 – album
• Solitude, Billie Holiday
• I’m Yours, Luis Russell
• Hawk’s Boogie, Erskine Hawkins
• I Like ‘Em Fat Like That, Louis Jordan
• Old Maid’s Boogie, Eddie Vinson
• S.M. Blues, Lester Young
• Come Out of the Rain, King Cole Trio
• Don Byas – Saxophone improvisations – album

On May 8 Louis Armstrong and Jack Teagarden appeared at the St. Paul Auditorium for a jam session.  The next night the two appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on a bill with Earl “Fatha” Hines, Arville Shaw, Big Sid Catlatt, Barney Bigard, and Velma Middleton.  The show was promoted by Bob Smith and KSTP’s Don Hawkins was the emcee.

On January 1, 1948, a recording ban went into effect, started by James Petrillo of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM).  This was Petrillo’s second strike, the first lasting from 1942 to 1944.  See a piece on these strikes Here.

St. Louis Park High School held its Lumberjack Days Dance, with “Taxi Calloway’s All-Negro Band” appearing in blackface.

Duke Ellington appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on January 21, 1948.

A concert and dance featuring Ella Fitzgerald and Illinois Jacquet was held at the Minneapolis Armory on February 1.  Bob Smith was apparently the promoter, and Leigh Kamman of WLOL was the emcee.

The WCCO program “Neither Free Nor Equal” won an award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews.

Arty “Fritz” Watkins and the Northern Lights with Mercedes Brown, vocalist, played a dance at the CIO Hall on February 27.

In April 1948 the “We Call it Jazz” radio program was broadcast from the Treasure Inn, which announced that no set-ups or beer would be served during the program.

The Phyllis Wheatley House was the site of the “Jim Jam Jump” dance given by the Cordileon Society, music by the Prince Rogers Combo.

Kenneth Stuart:  “In 1948, I believe it was, I went to the Flame in St. Paul to worship at the stage/altar where Anita O’Day was performing. It was great being at a table in the front and seeing her up close. I was fairly young then and wasn’t yet sure what music I liked best but I wasn’t interested in be-bop. It was music none of us understood and as we went to various venues around we were amazed at, what seemed to us, freneticism in movement, of fingering, of drummers and horn players not seeming to be in accord with each other. We were snobs but didn’t know it. Dixieland was more acceptable than what they were playing. The Duke, Count, Earl, Woody, Artie, Tommy, Jimmy. These artists were where it was at and I’m sure that our reticence to accept the bebop cacophony was the reason it took so long for it to be, at least, partially accepted. Not only in the Cities but elsewhere as well.”

KSTP-TV was the first television station in Minnesota, signing on the air April 27, 1948, from the Prom Ballroom.  Some local musicians that took part in the first telecast were Johnny Bravus (sic), tenor; Jack Donovan, trombone; Dougie Peterson, bass; Sid Osterlund, drums; and Wally Morgan, piano. The effort was masterminded by John (?) Wolf, a local radio DJ. Kenneth Stuart says he wasn’t there but roomed with Jack Donovan who said it was a “trip.”

In April 1948 Radio City Theater hosted Stan Kenton and His Orchestra, June Christy, and the King Cole Trio.  Also on the bill was the Wallace Beery film “Alias a Gentleman.”  While in town Nat King Cole was refused admittance to the Carnival Club, where he had been invited to a party.  The club issued an apology.

On May 31, 1948, the Duke and Duchess Club hosted a matinee dance at the Treasure Inn with music by Hensley Hills’ Band.

A Mardi Gras benefit dance was held at the Phyllis Wheatley House on June 18, 1948, sponsored by Musicians’ Local #73.  Music was provided by Stanley Berry and His Barons, and Lillian Goodhue directed the stage show.

A Labor Day Cabaret Ball was held at Norway Hall on September 8, 1948, featuring Chet Christopher and the Northwest’s Leading BeBop Artists, which appear to have been from out of town.

A Halloween Dance at Stem Hall featured the Chester Harris Orchestra, “the sweetest music band in the Twin Cities.”
KSTP’s Sunset Valley Barn Dance was broadcast from the St. Louis Park High School auditorium on December 17.  The event was sponsored by the Mohawks, which were similar to the Boy Scouts, as a fundraiser to build a cabin.

By at least 1948, WCCO had a competitor to the Sunset Valley Barn Dance, the Red River Valley Gang.  See TV Shows

David LaVay was a dance teacher headquartered at the Dyckman Hotel, teaching ballroom, tap, ballet, and stage routines.

The 1948 candidates in What Was the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Record? by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes are:

• “Tomorrow Night” by Lonnie Johnson
• “Good Rockin’ Tonight” by Wynonie Harris and His All Stars
• “We’re Gonna Rock, We’re Gonna Roll” by Wild Bill Moore
• “It’s Too Soon to Know” by the Orioles
• “Boogie Chillun” by John Lee Hooker
• “Guitar Boogie” by Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks

The 1949 candidates in What Was the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Record? by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes are:

• “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” by Stick McGhee and His Buddies
• “Rock the Joint” by Jimmy Preston and His Prestonians
• “Saturday Night Fish Fry” by Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five
• “Mardi Gras in New Orleans” by Professor Longhair

The 1950 candidates in What Was the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Record? by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes are:

• “The Fat Man” by Fats Domino
• “Rollin’ and Tumblin” by Muddy Waters
• “Birmingham Bounce” by Hardrock Gunter and the Pebbles
• “I’m Movin’ On” by Hank Snow and His Rainbow Ranch Boys
• “Teardrops From My Eyes” by Ruth Brown with Budd Johnson’s Orchestra
• “Hot Rod Race” by Arkie Shibley and His Mountain Dew Boys

Also on September 17, 1950, at the St. Paul Auditorium Theater Section:

Don’t Miss the Big

REPUBLICAN TALENT SHOW

Cedric Adams (in person as master of ceremonies) Presents

Governor Luther W. Youngdahl

and our star studded slate of talented candidates, selected only three days before!

PLUS

5 BIG ACTS 5

• Bud Jacobson, His Magic and Patter
• Murtha & Mack, Songs and Dances
• Pop Wiggins and Elmer, Stars of Sunset Valley Barn Dance
• Cedric Adams’ Amateur Talent, and
• The Great Orchestra of Gordie Bowen

Long on fun, short on Speeches – guaranteed to generate the greatest Republican enthusiasm in the history of our state – don’t miss the opportunity to be one of those specially selected Republican workers present!

[Youngdahl was Governor of Minnesota from 1947 to 1952.  He was notable for outlawing slot machines during his first term as Governor.]

Youngdahl burning slot machines

The 1951 candidates in What Was the First Rock ‘n’ Roll Record? by Jim Dawson and Steve Propes are:

• “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston with His Delta Cats  (actually Ike Turner’s band)
• “Sixty Minute Man” by the Dominoes
• “Cry” by Johnnie Ray

Jack Benny’s singing group the Sportsmen appeared at the Builders’ Show at the Minneapolis Auditorium, February 16-24, 1952.

Jimmy Dorsey appeared at the Prom Ballroom, February 16, 1952

Frankie Carle appeared at the Prom Ballroom, March 21, 1952

Spike Jones and His City Slickers – New Musical Depreciation Revue of 1952 appeared at the Prom Ballroom – April 5, 1952

Stan Kenton appeared at the Prom Ballroom, April 25, 1952

The U of M held its Black Book Dance on April 25, 1952, in the  Union’s Main Ballroom with music by Dick Kast and his Orchestra.  In an ad in the Minnesota Daily, Men and/or Boys were invited to meet “Stenos, Models, Nurses, Receptionists and Coeds; – over 2500 girls attended last year’s dance,” it promised.  “Friday is Your Night to Make Out!”  Apparently this was an escapade of the Engineering school, which in the ’50s was bereft of women.  At the dance Queen Colleen of the Engineers would be crowned, and the boys were exhorted to fix up dates for the engineers’ crawl on May 10.  At some point in this silliness the engineers would present the opera “Il Cuspidore.”

A show called the Piano Parade took place at the Lyceum Theater on April 26, 1952, and featured the Art Tatum Trio, the Erroll Garner Trio, Meade Lux Lewis, and Pete Johnson.

Vaughan Monroe, star of the Camel Caravan, with Orchestra, Vocalists, Entertainers – The Most Talked About Band in America  – appeared at the Prom Ballroom, May 9, 1952

Blue Barron Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, May 16, 1952

Ray Anthony, the Young Man with the Horn appeared at the Prom Ballroom, May 23, 1952

U of M President J.L. Morill banned Paul Robeson from performing at the University, calling him an “embittered, Anti-American, Anti-democratic propagandist.”  Robeson was not deterred, performing at the Union Men’s Ballroom (could this be the CIO Hall?) on June 3, 1952, in a show sponsored by the Young Progressives of America, reported the Minnesota Daily.

George Shearing appeared at the Flame on June 6-12, 1952.

Ralph Flanagan Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, June 6, 1952

Les Brown appeared at the Prom Ballroom, June 27, 1952

Don Cornell appeared at the Prom Ballroom, July 19, 1952

Woody Herman appeared at the Prom Ballroom, July 25, 1952

Ralph Marterie appeared at the Prom Ballroom, August 2, 1952

Clyde McCoy and his Sugar Blues Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, August 8 and 9, 1952

Fresh Approach of Billy May appeared at the Prom Ballroom, August 15, 1952

Neal Hefti, Frances Wayne, and the Cavaliers appeared at the Prom Ballroom, August 29-30, 1952

Ella Mae Morse appeared at the Prom Ballroom on October 4, 1952.

Tony Pastor, King of the Saxophone appeared at the Prom Ballroom, October 10, 1952

Republican Vice Presidential candidate Richard Nixon made an appearance at the Minneapolis Armory on October 23, with a production that included a 40-piece brass band, Ukranian dancers, and folk singers.

Billy Eckstine, the George Shearing Quintet, and Count Basie and His Big Band appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 25, 1952.

Pee Wee King, America’s Number 1 Western Dance Band, appeared at the Prom Ballroom on October 25/26, 1952.

Harry James appeared at the Prom Ballroom, October 31 and November 1, 1952

The U of M’s Homecoming Dance featured the Four Aces on November 1, 1952.  There were also three orchestras.

Clyde McCoy and his Sugar Blues Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, November 14, 1952

Louis Jordan and His Tympany Five came to the St. Paul Auditorium on November 24.  It was his first Twin Cities appearance since – and then the ad is aggravatingly illegible!

Billy May’s Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, November 28 and 29, 1952

Clyde McCoy and his Sugar Blues Orchestra appeared at the Prom Ballroom, December 27, 1952

New Year’s Eve at the Radisson Ballroom included entertainment by popular recording artists Ozzie Osburn and Zachary Dante.

The papers and shows were full of “Bop” jokes, featuring “Hipsters.”

The Twin Cities Division of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters gave their annual dance at the CIO Hall on May 17, 1952.  Entertaining was the Irving Williams Orchestra.

There was some excitement in July 1952, when Johnnie Ray, the “Prince of Wails,” came to town for a week at the Radio City Theater. It seems Ray, his opening comic Gary Morton, and a “couple of thirsty local well wishers” were drinking heavily in his room on the 17th floor of the Radisson Hotel.

According to his biographer, Jonny Whiteside, “Johnnie was inspired to pay a call at the gift shop in their hotel’s lobby. Naturally, he was drawn to the kiddies’ toy section – alcohol not only stimulated, it also seemed to regress him to his childhood. He obtained the perfect summer fun accoutrement: roller skates and water pistols for everyone in the party.” They proceeded to roller skate through the lobby and into the restaurant. Minneapolis detective/house dick Ray Williamson brought them to the station when they “squared off” when being asked to pipe down. They were charged with disorderly conduct, but his road manager bailed him out and they were released after about an hour.

The Minneapolis Star was shorter on details, but there were a couple of discrepancies.  First, it said it was the seventh floor (did the hotel have 17 floors?) second, noted that the star was not charged but let go after an hour of “peaceful talk at headquarters.”  Neither account says when this happened (Ray and company were there for a week, leaving on the night of Thursday, July 10).

The Key Club promised “They Key to Pleasure in Fullest Measure.”  Acts in 1952 included:

• Cozy Eggleston’s Combo
• Irv Williams’ Combo
• The Delta Boys, “America’s Finest Sepia Combo”
• Hank Hazlett
• Little Donna Hightower, Decca’s famous recording artist
• Stomp  Gordon Combo, “King of Bop and Boogie – the Character who stomped his way to fame with his All Star Combo”

The “Biggest Show of 1952” took place on November 9 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  Acts included:

• Nat King Cole
• Stan Kenton
• Sarah Vaughan
• Stump & Stumpy
• George Kirby
• Teddy Hale
• The Congaroos dance troupe

Photos of the WTCN DJs after the show, courtesy of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.

?, Stan Kenton, Sev Widman, Jack Thayer, Sarah Vaughan, and Jimmy Delmont.

Delmont, Thayer, Nat King Cole, and Widman. From Jim Nagro Collection.

Jill Corey was well-known for singing American pop standards during the 1950s. She sang with the Percy Faith Orchestra and was a regular on one of Johnny Carson’s first television shows. In 1953 she was featured on the cover of Life Magazine and released her first single, “Minneapolis.” It was written by Bob Hilliard and Minneapolis-native Sid Lippman.  To listen, click Here.   Nice find by Jesse Jamison!

Bill Haley and His Comets’ “Crazy Man Crazy” also came out in 1953, entering the Billboard Pop Chart in June.  It was featured in the “Glory in the Flower” episode of the TV series “Omnibus,” which starred James Dean as an angry juvenile delinquent out on bail after being arrested on a marijuana charge. He’s much more criminal-minded than the James Stark character he would later play in “Rebel Without a Cause.” The owner of the cafe in which the teleplay is set throws him out for spiking Cokes with alcohol. The show begins with the jukebox playing “Crazy Man, Crazy,” much like Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock” would later kick off the film “Blackboard Jungle.” James Dean is the first jitterbugger out on the dance floor.  (IMDB)

On October 28, 1953, the St. Paul Auditorium hosted a night of singing American Familiar Music with a company of 38 voices.

The Festival of Modern Jazz played two shows at the RKO Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis on December 1, 1953.  The Minnesota Daily reported that it was the first time a non-vaudeville presentation of modernists has gone on an extended national tour.  The lineup included:

• Stan Getz
• Dizzy Gillespie – also emcee
• Erroll Garner
• June Christy
• Lee Konitz
• Stan Kenton was absent but apparently his band was there

The Park High Echo had an ad for the Disc and Needle Record Store in its January 13, 1954 issue.  The ad gave the top 8 songs of the day:

1. O Mein Papa by Eddie Calvert
2. Marie by the Four Tunes
3. Till Then by the Hilltoppers
4. Changing Partners by Patti Page
5. The Bunny Hop by Ray Anthony
6. The Creep by Lee Roy and His Band
7. Stranger in Paradise by the Four Aces
8. Bell Bottom Boogie by Teresa Brewer

Apparently rock ‘n’ roll had not hit home quite yet.

Many contenders for the first rock ‘n’ roll record in 1954, according to Dawson and Propes:

• In July 1954 Elvis released his first record, “That’s All Right”/”Blue Moon of Kentucky.”  In September he released “Good Rockin’ Tonight”/”I Don’t Care if the Sun Don’t Shine.”  Unclear if anyone outside of the South heard these Sun releases.

• “Sh-Boom” entered the Billboard Pop chart in August 1954.  The original version by the Chords, the cover version by the Crew Cuts, and the takeoff by Stan Freburg were all listed.

• (“We’re Gonna) Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley and His Comets.  This song wouldn’t hit the charts until it was used on the soundtrack of the film “Blackboard Jungle.”  See 1955 below.  Haley’s “Shake, Rattle and Roll” hit the Billboard Chart on August 21, 1954.  “Dim Dim the Lights” would hit the Pop chart in November and the R&B chart in January 1955.

• “Riot in Cell Block #9” by the Robins (precursors to the Coasters)

• “Earth Angel (Will You be Mine)” by the Penguins

• “Tweedle Dee” by LaVern Baker and the Gliders

• “Pledging My Love” by Johnny Ace

• “I’ve Got a Woman” by Ray Charles

Unlike many large metropolitan areas, the Twin Cities did not have a large enough African-American community to support a black radio station until the mid 1960s.  But some stations began to take baby steps in airing these kinds of tunes, which, before the term rock ‘n’ roll was coined, was just called the Blues.  Possibilities are:

• WLOL’s “Swing Club” program with Bob Bradley.
• Late night request program hosted by “Uncle Merle” (Edwards) on WMIN.  David Hersk remembers that Edwards played plenty of rock ‘n’ roll in 1954-55.  “I remember recording “Rock Around the Clock” from a WMIN broadcast on my Wilcox Gay recorder. Merle announced me when I called in, and gave me five seconds of dead air to start my home recorder at 78 rpm.” “Rock Around the Clock” was recorded in 1954 and became big news in 1955.   Below is not the best picture of Merle but that’s him seated on the left.  Others in the photo are Hall Newell, Stuart A. Lindman and Norm Page.  Next to Merle are Meg Kingbay and Frank Siefert.  Photo dated October 30, 1953, donated by Lindman to the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.

• Dick Driscoll remembers working at WDGY during those early years and trying to sneak in some hipper tunes, but management was not pleased.
• David Anthony Wacher says “the first station locally was WTCN with a one hour show playing rockabilly/R&B.”
• Available ratings books show that March 1955 was the advent of the “Mr. Rhythm” show on WCOW.  The show ran Monday-Friday from 6 or 6:30 pm until the daytime-only station went off the air when the sun went down.  During the summer of 1955 it was also on Saturdays, and for a couple of months at 7:30 pm on Sunday.  Sam Sherwood explained:

Joe Zingale called himself “Mr. Rhythm.” Here was a country station, WCOW and Saturday Afternoon and Evening, along came Mr. Rhythm and played the real soul of Rhythm ‘n Blues. You can’t imagine how his popularity took off. When he was on the air, there were hundreds and hundreds of people around the radio station just hanging out and listening to the music. Joe then took it a step further and booked the St. Paul Auditorium for a Rhythm ‘n Blues show with great locals such as Augie Garcia. Joe came from Cleveland Ohio and was a time salesman for WCOW and he just got this wild idea about playing that music. It was an overnight smash.”

Joe urged the Tedescos to change the station’s format to all R&B, and they considered it, but since they were only a 1,000 watt daytimer, they figured that a more powerful station would just steal the format and leave them hanging.  See more under WCOW in Radio Stations.

Don Leary’s record shop in Miracle Mile published its 8 Top Hits in the March 28, 1955 issue of the Trib:

• “Mr. Sandman” by the Chordettes, a legitimately original record
• “Naughty Lady of Shady Lane” by Archie Bleyer, originally done by the Mills Brothers and then the Ames Brothers
• “Dim the Lights” by the 4 Top Hatters, which was probably a cover of Bill Haley’s “Dim Dim the Lights (I Want Some Atmosphere),” which was probably a cover by someone else.
• “Sincerely” by the Chordettes, a cover of the McGuire Sisters, which was a cover of the Moonglows (see below)
• “Melody of Love” by Archie Bleyer again.  The song hit the charts that year by five different artists, none of which were Mr. Bleyer.
• “Let Me Go Lover” by someone named Mary Del.  The song was on the charts by four other singers, most notably Joan Weber who took it to #1.
• “Make Yourself Comfortable” by another unknown, Maddy Russell.  Three others actually took this to the charts, most notably Sarah Vaughan.

By the way, Archie Bleyer was the orchestra leader for Arthur Godfrey, who discovered the Chordettes, and they were both on Cadence Records.  Not sayin’ Don Leary and Cadence had a thing going.  Not sayin’.

Elvis released three records on the Sun label in 1955:

• “You’re a Heartbreaker”/”Milkcow Blues Boogie” (January)
• “Baby Let’s Play House”/”I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone” (April)
• “Mystery Train”/”I Forgot to Remember to Forget” (September)

None made the Billboard Pop charts, although the last two made the Country and Western charts.  Elvis signed with RCA Victor in November 1955.

Meanwhile, WDGY was starting to play covers.  In with Perry Como and Doris Day, scripts saved all these years by DJ John Evans include:

• “Sincerely” by the McGuire Sisters (noted as No. 2 in the Twin Cities) in 1955.  Out on the East Coast, of course, they were playing the original version by the Moonglows.  The Sisters’ version sold six times better.
• One rather funny cover was “Tweedle Dee,” not by Lavern Baker or even Georgia Gibbs, but by someone named Vicky Young.
• The Fontane Sisters, who sang on the Perry Como Show, got hip with the song “Rock Love,” which did not hit the radar when done the year before  by Lula Reed.
• June of ’55 brought the “Popcorn Song,” which is pretty good by Cliffie Stone (“Too Pooped to Pop”).
• But what’s this:  the ultimate abomination:  “Bo Diddley” by the (are you ready?) the Harmonicats!  Oy.
• Les Paul did “Sleep,” perhaps the one by Little Willie John, but he’s Les Paul so that’s okay.
• The Four Knights are doing “Glory of Love,” which was best done by the Five Keys in 1951, but the song was written in 1936 so who’s to gripe.
• In July the McGuire Sisters were back with a song just called “Rhythm and Blues.”  Somehow the word got out.
• Ray Anthony had one called “Juke Box Special.”
• Even Perry Como rocked with an actually great tune called “Tina Marie.”
• A Sammy Cahn song called “Day by Day” by the Four Freshmen is not exactly even a cover, but a wonderful song and Brian Wilson’s inspiration for the Beach Boys’ harmony.
• Oh, here’s another one:  “Drinking Wine Spoli Oli” by the Five Strings.  Presumably this is Sid King and the Five Strings, a rockabilly band.  Kind of a mild cover of  “Drinkin’ Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee” by Stick McGhee and his Buddies.
• The year closes out with the Fontane Sisters back with “Seventeen,” a pretty good song if done by Boyd Bennett and His Rockets, a rockabilly band.

• Boyd Moore Combo featuring Eva Gee, blues and torch singer, fresh from extensive eastern tour
• “Nature Boy” Brown sax and his Harlem Playboys, direct from Chicago
• Horace Henderson, brother of Fletcher Henderson (off an on from 1956 to 1960)

On July 29, 1955, the RKO Orpheum offered a special midnight movie, one night only, called “Rock ‘n’ Roll Revue.”  The star-studded lineup included:

• Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra
• Joe Turner
• Nat “King” Cole
• Dinah Washington
• Duke Ellington and His Band
• Larry Darnell
• The Clovers
• Ruth Brown
• Delta Rhythm Boys
• Nipsey Russell
• Extra:  Willie Mays
• Willie Bryant of the Apollo Theater, emcee

A November 1955 list of favorite songs in the St. Louis Park Echo:

• Autumn Leaves
• Moments to Remember
• Love is a Many-Splendored Thing
• Love and Marriage
• Black Denim Trousers
• He
• Yellow Rose of Texas
• Someone You Love
• Bonnie Lassie
• 16 Tons

Still no real rock ‘n’ roll at dear old Park High.

Before WDGY went to real rock ‘n’ roll, it still had some covers and pretenders to play:

• What is “A Teen Age Prayer” by Robbin Hood (and then Kitty White)?
• “Rock and Roll Waltz” by Kay Starr – ’nuff said.
• “Dungaree Doll” by Eddie Fisher is actually pretty good.
• “Sixteen Tons” by Tennessee Ernie Ford was popular with everyone.
• “Band of Gold” by Don Cherry crossed over, as did
• “No, Not Much” by the Four Lads.
• “The Great Pretender” shows up by Jackie Riggs instead of the innocuous Platters – c’mon!
• Oh, and in February we first see Pat Boone, doing the El Dorados’ “At My Front Door.”
• And one of my all-time favorites, “Lipstick, Candy and Rubbersole Shoes” by Julius LaRosa.  Fabulous.

And that’s what they played on WDGY on February 5, 1956.

Then on February 6, 1956, WDGY became Minnesota’s first Top 40 radio station when it was purchased by Todd Storz. Former KSTP utility man Herb Oscar Anderson hit the ground running and WDGY caught on fast, going from a station with not much identity and a 4 share to a rock ‘n’ roll monster with a 20 share, second only to monolith WCCO.  For much more on the advent of rock ‘n’ roll radio in the Twin Cities, see the WDGY section in Rock ‘n’ Roll Radio Stations.

Caveat:  Although WDGY became synonymous with the term rock ‘n’ roll, ‘DGY DJ Jim Ramsburg reports that “Storz had a hard and fast rule that we were not to use the term rock and roll – ever.”  The station eased into it, playing Elvis Presley, naturally, but also many songs that mom and pop might like to hear.  It also played a lot of Pat Boone-like covers of real Rhythm & Blues songs, at least at first.

The genesis of Top 40 is full of apocrypha.  Many stations had already had “Top 10” shows –  An item from February 23, 1956, comments on the “Top 10 fad.”  One account of how the number 40 came to be was that when Storz bought his station in New Orleans in 1953, a competing station had a Top 20 show where the counted down the records for an hour every evening, so Todd Storz figured if 20 was good, 40 was better.  Ramsburg says that the number 40 was chosen because that’s how many songs (with commercials) that could be played in three hours.  Ramsburg remembers that the Number 1 song had to be played every hour, but the rest were up to the DJs.  He remembers being particularly sick of “The Wayward Wind.”  Here in the Twin Cities, although the concept was not entirely new, it was new as a concept for an entire station’s programming.

An article from March 20 in Variety gives the down side:

As far as most of the stations is concerned, here’s the rub:  They’re confining themselves almost entirely, if not entirely, to disk jockey shows and the same leading pop tune recordings are played innumerable times during the course of 24 or fewer hours, let alone a week.

There just aren’t enough new top pop recordings hitting the market, of course, to permit sufficient musical variety.  and station operators are keeping their fingers crossed and hoping that their dialers won’t be driven insane listening to the same tunes almost interminably.  They concede that “listeners probably are paying a high price for the possibility of getting money for nothing by having their lobar extremities assailed by the same song over and over.”

Dick and Don Maw organized the Second Annual State Basketball Tournament Dance at the Minneapolis Armory, March 23 and 24, 1956.  Entertainment was the Maws’ own 12 piece band with vocalist Geordie Hormel, Zephyr Records recording star (and according to this web site, its president).  In attendance were disk jockeys:

• Al Paulson, WTCN
• Don Kelly, WMIN
• Dan Anderson, WLOL
• Don Doty, WTCN

On May 13, 1956,  Elvis performed two shows in the Cities. The ad promised singers, dancers, and comedians as well.   Bill Diehl reports that the 2:00 show at the St. Paul Auditorium drew only 800 fans, and the 8:00 show at the Minneapolis Auditorium drew a paltry 1,300. Mothers Day and tornado warnings kept the crowds away, and local booking agent T.B. Skarning lost his shirt. Elvis gashed his head with a broken guitar string at the St. Paul show, and Colonel Parker yanked opening act Augie Garcia early, afraid he was stealing the show.   For much more, including photos, see Elvis in the Twin Cities.

Liberace rolled into town on May 26-27, 1956.  The flier below is from a previous appearance, since he looks very young and it assumed people didn’t know how to pronounce his name.  But by 1956 he was a phenomenon, and the little old ladies just loved him!

Above and below: Minnesota Historical Society

The Goodfellows Club held a New Year’s Dawn dance at 2 am on January 1, 1956, at Eaton’s Ranch, featuring C.V. Williams and the House Rockers with Dickie Mayes and Maurice Tally.

The Four Freshmen performed on January 7, 1956, at the Prom Ballroom.

Phil Silvers and Patti Page were the entertainers at the Auto Show at the Minneapolis Auditorium, January 8-14, 1956.

In January 1956, the St. Louis Park student combo the Blue Flames entertained at the “Jump Ball” sponsored by Amica Tri.  Members were:

• John Duck – clarinet
• Alan Gelhar – cornet
• Chuck Heinecke – tenor sax
• John Lindahl – drums
• Jim Elsness – piano

Danny Overbea and His Orchestra appeared at the Ebony Social Club on January 20, 1956.

The Modern Jazz Quartet, Chris Connors, and Herbie Mann appeared at the Lyceum Theater on January 29, 1956, promoted by Dick and Don Maw.

A Gala Shrine Frolic with Preston Love and His Orchestra (“The Happy Boy With the Horn”), appeared at the Marigold Ballroom on January 30, 1956.

The Hank Hazlett Trio was featured at the Key Club on January 30, 1956.

Sonny “Long Gone” Thompson and his Orchestra appeared at the Ebony Social Club on February 16, 1956.

Pre-Teen dances were held at the St. Louis Park Community Center on Lake Street every Friday.  A February 19, 1956, issue of the Minneapolis Sunday Tribune pictured Marge Primus and Kenneth Baker, both 10, trying out a new step.

Hot rods were spotted in the St. Louis Park High parking lot in 1956 – Jay Sargent got 12 people in his 1936 Ford.

The Flame Cafe on Nicollet Ave. went all-country in February 1956.

The Minneapolis Star, which hated rock ‘n’ roll, quoted Dr. Francis J. Braceland of the “Institute of Living” in Hartford, Connecticut as saying that it was a “cannibalistic and tribalistic” form of music.  Now that wasn’t racist, was it?

Del’s Orchid Club featured Joe Williams and Hank Hazlett.

The Builders Show took place at the Minneapolis Auditorium on March 10-18, 1956.   Entertainment was provided by the folks of the WLS Barn Dance, including Homer and Jethro.

Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, orchestra leader and saxophone player, began a stint at the Key Club starting March 19, 1956.  “This fabulous orchestra will set a policy of ‘better’ entertainment at the Key Club.  Music as you like it plus exotic dancing.”  With the new policy came a 50 cent admission fee on the weekends.

Rock ‘n’ roll had taken over the culture in early 1956.  An Oldsmobile ad says “Make a Date with the Newest Rocket 8!  Come in an Rocket ‘Round the Block! (or ’round the town if you like!).  Meanwhile, a Dayton’s ad starts, “Here’s the style, Crocodile!  Snappy Rock ‘n’ Roll sport shirt.  You’ll be in fashion’s swing (or any other tempo!) with a new Rock ‘n’ Roll shirt… Striped denim hats with wire brims that twist into any shape… Ivy League chino pants with the new trim look, strap in back [back buckle].”

Here’s the Star again, reporting a disturbance in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where kids actually danced in the aisles at a show where records and a movie were played.  Police were able to restore order, thankfully, and make those darn kids sit down.  This was on the front page, August 6, 1956.

Peggy Lee did two shows daily at the Industry on Parade Show at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 11-15, 1956.

Chuck Berry and his orchestra appeared at Norway Hall on April 13, 1956, promoted by D.P. Black.

Starting April 16, 1956, Jimmy Witherspoon, blues singer; Betty DeQuincy, dancing entertainer fresh from Detroit; and Stomp Gordon and His Combo began entertaining at the Key Club.  Starting April 16, 1956, Jimmy Witherspoon, blues singer; Betty DeQuincy, dancing entertainer fresh from Detroit; and Stomp Gordon and His Combo began entertaining at the Key Club.

Count Basie also appeared on May 13, 1956, at the Minneapolis Armory, a Dick and Don Maw production.  Basie’s 17 piece band featured Joe “Every Day” Williams, Downbeat’s #1 Blues vocalist.  Also appearing was “Zephyr Records‘ exciting new modern jazz group” the Bob David Quartet.

The Key Club featured Duke Groaner and His Combo plus Audrie DeYoung, exotic dancer, on May 14, 1956.

Yogi Yorgesson, nee Harry Stewart, was killed in a car crash in May 1956.  He made records such as “I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas” in a Minnesota-Swedish dialect, but according to Will Jones in 1950, it didn’t go over too well here in Minnesota, where he was not from and spent very little time.  One of his songs was “My Little Old Shack in Minneapolis, Minnesota,” a parody of  “My Little Grass Shack In Kealakekue, Hawaii.”  And in case you’re wondering, it was Stan Boreson, not Yogi, who did “Walking in my Winter Underwear,” so brilliantly interpreted by Casey Jones.

On May 24, 1956, Woody Herman and the Third Herd played for the Marigold Ballroom’s 40th Anniversary, the first name band to play there since Paul Whiteman 26 years ago.

A picnic at Libby’s Pavilion (Bass Lake) was advertised in the Spokesman for May 27, 1956.  Music was provided by the Rock and Roll All Stars, featuring Maurice Talley, vocalist.

At the Key Club in May-June 1956, we see Bob Wilson and His Combo plus Black Velvet, interpretive and exotic dancer.

Louis Armstrong and His All Stars appeared at the St. Paul Auditorium on June 5, 1956, a Dick and Don Maw production.

On June 18, 1956, the Minneapolis Tribune published a photo of Carlotta Carly and John Wade “Dancing the Bop” at a dance at the Phyllis Wheatley House to the music of (S. Stanley) Berry and His Barons.  Very cool.

At the Key Club you could see Tiny Davis and Her Hell Divers, June 25, 1956.

Little Richard and His Orchestra appeared for a dance at the Junior Pioneer Hall in St. Paul on June 26, 1956.

A note from July 1956 says that Dick and Don Maw and their Orchestra with WTCN “will turn Park Plaza Hotel Ballroom into a teenage club” complete with teenage chorus girls and Geordie Hormel as the featured artist.  Not sure where that was or if it really happened.

Jerry Reed, “new country-western star of Capitol records, will be guest artist at the Flame Cafe this week (July 17 – 20, 1956).  A singer and entertainer, he is also a composer, and writer of his two latest hits, “Mister Whiz” and “When I Found You.”

Camille Howard, song stylist and pianist; Larry Rice and Combo; and comedian Mickey Martin, emcee were performing at the Key Club on July 23, 1956.

Performing at the Key Club in August 1956 were Billy Brooks and Piney Brown, song stylists and Jimmy Binley Combo.

Hank Thompson appeared at the Marigold Ballroom on August 13, 1956.

At the Flame Cafe September 12-15, 1956, was Kenny Roberts, a yodeler whose favorite trick was leaping into the air while playing guitar and harmonica at the same time, giving him the nickname “The Jumping Cowboy.”

On September 26, 1956, the 100 Twin Drive In presented “One-Way Ticket to Hell,” which had something to do with “Teen-Age Madness” and “Understanding Today’s Children.”  The ad is pretty bare-bones but the description on IMDB is pretty spicy.

In an interview in the Minneapolis Tribune, Fats Domino says that it’s not the music that causes teenagers to riot, but beer.

The White House in Golden Valley instituted a new policy of engaging name acts such as Hadda Brooks, and insisted that patrons listen to the entertainment and curtail the fights, according to Will Jones of the Trib.

The Bamboo Room hosted Connie Newman and His Famous Trio on October 5, 1956.

Entertainers at the Key Club on October 5, 1956, were Larry Wrice and His Chicago All Stars; Florence Devereaux, song stylist; and Tequila, exotic dancer.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet with Paul Desmond performed at the Lyceum Theater on October 21, 1956, promoted by Dick and Don Maw.

At the Heights Theater, the first 500 adults or juniors received 8×10 Fan Photos of Elvis.  The movie wasn’t even an Elvis film, but the jungle adventure “Run for the Sun.”  Meanwhile, there were 32,000 pre-orders of Elvis’ next release, and nobody even knew what it was.

WDGY Disk Jockey Herb Oscar Anderson was interviewed in the St. Louis Park Echo on October 24, 1956.  “Andy””s familiar greeting was “Hi ya gang, it’s a lovely day today.”  Anderson worked at KSTP before coming to WDGY.  He said that WDGY’s Top 40 lists were more in tune with actual popularity, since they were based not just on record sales but juke box plays and requests from various establishments including hotels and night clubs.  His favorite pop singers were Elvis, Eddie Fisher, and Fats Domino.  He, his wife Terry, and son Johnny were new residents in the Park.

In October and November, 1956, you could see Miss Wiggles, sensational exotic dancer, aka, “The Upside Down Girl,” at the Key Club.

The Alvin Burlesk Theater was getting into the rock ‘n’ roll business in ’56, if in name only.  An ad dated November 7 touted two big shows on one stage with a cast of 40.  One was the Black and White Revue, with “Miss Japan” Tura Satana, later known for her role in Russ Meyer’s 1965 film “Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill!” The other show was billed as the “Rock ‘n’ Roll Show of ’56,” featuring the 5 Shepards (Recording Stars), Jack Turner (Mr. Mimic), Geo. Williams (Feature Comic), Tinny Kennedy (The Sepia Elvis Presley), Tommy Badger (And His Comets), Exotic Nadza and “6 Delovies – 6.”  I’d a given anything to see this show!

Teenage movies came pouring from the theaters.  On November 8, “Teenage Rebel” came out at the State Theater, starring Ginger Rogers and Michael Rennie.  They weren’t the teenagers – they were Betty Lou Keim and Warren Berlinger.  “Hear!  The Top Hit Song!  ‘Cool it Baby!'”

The Bamboo Room featured Twin Cities jazz veteran Hank Hazlett “and his famous trio” starting November 8, 1956, followed by Oscar Frazier and his Combo.

On November 15, 1956,  the Lyric Theater presented a “Twin Bop Rock ‘n’ Sock Show!”  First feature was “Shake, Rattle and Rock!”, a story of Rock ‘n’ Roll vs. The “Squares” and featuring music by Fats Domino, Joe Turner, Choker Campbell and his band, Tommy Charles, and Annita Ray.  Fats’s newest Imperial recording was given away to the first 100 Junior and Adult Patrons.  The second feature was “Runaway Daughters,” where you could SEE:  “Teenage Girls on a Speed-Crazy Thrill Hunt!  Why Parents are to Blame for Delinquent Daughters!  The Teenagers Side of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Question!”

Elvis’s first movie, “Love Me Tender,” opened on November 21, 1956, at the RKO Orpheum.  “He’s a fightin’ man!  He’s a singin’ man!  He’s a lovin’ man!”  Will Jones of the Trib reported that policemen were on hand in case of trouble but there was none to be had, at least during the early show.  A male heckler was met with “Shut up!” by the girls, who sobbed as Elvis’s character was shot in the end.

Rudy Hunter and the Fabulous Tones (from Hollywood), were at the Key Club on November 29, 1956.

One of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll movies of all time is “The Girl Can’t Help It,” which came to the Wabasha Paramount at the end of December 1956.  The film starred Tom Ewell and Jayne Mansfield, but featured performances by Julie London, Ray Anthony, Fats Domino, the Platters, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, the Treniers, Eddie Fontaine, the Chuckles, Abbey Lincoln, Johnny Olenn, Nino Temple, and oh, by the way in the corner of the ad, Eddie Cochran.  “Rock yourself into your happiest time.”  On the other end of the spectrum was the juvenile delinquency flick “One Way Ticket to Hell.”  Very dire indeed.  Not to mention “Hot Rod Girl” and “Girls in Prison.”

The Four Coins appeared at the Radisson Flame Room on December 6, 1956.

The Dozier Boys, Fresh from Chicago, graced the stage at the Key Club on December 15, 1956.  Chubby Newsom, vocalist from Detroit, joined them on December 21, 1956.

The new St. Louis Park Senior High School opened in the fall of 1956. Things got off to a rough start, as the Minneapolis Star reported:

It all started…when an early-morning disk jockey [WDGY’s Herb Oscar Anderson] plugging “Oscar Socks” urged students to don knee-highs of one design left leg, contrasting design right leg. Girls responded in droves…But Principal Edward Foltmer…suppressed the fad promptly. “We’d be opposed to any distracting influence at school,” he explained with a cautious smile. “We can’t allow bizarre clothing.” A bag lunch protest last Friday, with many girls wearing black and spurning the school’s hot lunch, followed. Boys at St. Louis Park High came to the girls’ rescue. “The boys wore their shirt tails out in protest after we weren’t allowed to wear Oscar Socks,” student Elaine Smedberg said. “But the administration made ‘em pull the shirt tails in. So the boys hiked up their pants, wore them around their ribs. Then a week ago, about 15 boys peroxided their hair.” Next morning, “the kids hissed the principal and started singing ‘Chain Gang’ in school,” other girls reported.

The School’s student council came to the rescue and calmed the situation down. The PTA put a teenage dress code on its next agenda. Oh, and it wasn’t Sam Cooke’s “Chain Gang;” in 1956 there was another song with that name, with two versions on the charts by Bobby Scott and Len Dresslar.  Oddly (or not so oddly), the Park High Echo did not report on the incident.

On July 31, 1956, Will Jones of the Trib reported that Leigh Kamman at WLOL was playing

Teresa Brewer’s recording of “Sweet, Old-Fashioned Girl” in which she kids the bejeebers out of rock and roll.  Second up was “A Teen-Ager Sings the Blues” in which a young girl gets very torchy over a soda.  Suggested sequel “Banana Split for One, Please, James.”  Steve Cannon’s pick for new hit of the week is something called “I’m in Love with Elvis Presley” sung by someone named Virginia Lowe.

Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on Friday, September 28, 1956, featuring:

• Ella Fitzgerald
• Gene Krupa Quartete
• Modern Jazz Quartet
• Oscar Peterson Trio
• Jo Jones
• Stan Getz
• Dizzy Gillespie
• Roy Eldridge
• Illinois Jacquet
• Flip Phillips
• Sonny Stitt
• Eddie Shu
• John Lewis
• Milt Jackson

On January 17, 1957, Alan Freed’s movie “Rock Rock Rock” appeared at the Tower Theater in St. Paul.  The movie introduced Tuesday Weld, and included performances by:

• The Moonglows
• The Flamingos
• Chuck Berry
• Laverne Baker
• Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
• Jimmy Cavallo and his House Rockers
• The Three Chuckles
• Connie Francis
• Cirino and the Bowties
• Johnny Burnette Trio

Jimmy Rogers was a “Marathon Drummer” who could play for 80 hours straight, supposedly.  He began an extended appearance at the Key Club on January 17, 1957, with different singers and exotic dancers appearing with him through February.

Dick and Don Maw brought in a “Modern Jazz for 57” show to the Minneapolis Auditorium on January 20, 1957.  On the bill were:

• Chet Baker Quintet
• Chris Connor
• Art Blakey and His Jazz Masters
• Herbie Mann
• Ralph Sharon
• Bob Davis Quartet

At the Boulevard Beauty Shop at Minnetonka Blvd. and Dakota Ave. in St. Louis Park, one could get an “Elvis Presley Haircut” for a mere $1.50. Described as “carefree, short, and brief – just like you. See it in Life Magazine.”

Johnny Cash was in town on April 20, 1957, for a “Private Function,” according to people who keep track of that sort of thing.

Decca recording artist and pianist Horace Henderson (brother of Fletcher Henderson) and His Rock ‘n’ Roll Combo began an extended appearance as the house band at the Key Club in March 1957.  “Big Floor Show.. With Plenty of Sock.”  Other entertainers appearing at this time included comedy team Butterbeans and Susie (a/k/a Jodie and Susie Edwards).  Henderson would appear at the Key Club off and on until 1960.

The Minneapolis NAACP Youth Council Dress Up Dance was held at the Calhoun Beach Hotel on May 29.  Entertainment was by the Big “M” Sextet and the Squires.  Wonder if this is the group that became known as the Big M’s and made some recordings at Gaity Records in 1959.  They were a black group with a white guitarist.

Pat Boone, the Four Lads, and the Fontaine Sisters were in town in June 1957.

On June 2, 1957, the Will Mastin Trio, starring Sammy Davis, Jr., appeared at the Lyceum Theater.  Six other performers were on the bill.

Bermuda shorts were still all the rage for guys, advertised at Fantle Bros./Cook’s at Miracle Mile in St. Louis Park in June 1957 for $7.95.

From June to August 1957 the headliner at the Key Club was Rose Mary Gaiters, a singer “Second only to Ruth Brown,” with the Duke Groner Combo and a rotation of exotic dancers (one billed as a “variety girl.”)

Deane Wenger of 1409 Kentucky Ave. in St. Louis Park was a WLOL Lucky Car Call Winner in July 1957 for listening to WLOL in his car.

National act Jay McShann, “The Band that Jumps the Blues,” appeared at the Key Club in August 1957 with the Rhythm Kings Trio (dance, song, comedy) and Princess Lola De Conge, popular exotic dancer.

In August 1957 Jimmy Binkley and his Popular Combo, the Dutch and Dutchy comedy team, and Lottie the Body were the featured performers at the Key Club.

Roy Milton and His Solid Senders appeared at the Key Club in September 1957 with Johnny “Guitar Jr.” Rogers and Tequila, Tempest of Dance.

The WLOL Big 5 disk jockeys hosted the Royal Crown Cola Teen Roller Party at the Pastime Arena in St. Louis Park, Sundays from 2-5 pm, according to October and November 1957 music surveys.

Duke Ellington and His Famous Orchestra appeared at the Marigold Ballroom on November 6, 1957.

WDGY DJ Stanley Mack was the first disk jockey ever to appear at a St. Louis Park High School dance, announced the Echo on November 6, 1957.  The Charity Ball was sponsored by tenth grade homeroom 332 in the gym, with proceeds earmarked to the Hennepin County Tuberculosis Association.  “This record dance is more dressy than a sock hop, but less than a semiformal,” chairman Carol Gross explained.  “Mr. Mack will bring 50 free records to the dance which he will give away, using his ‘magic spot method,'” said entertainment chairman Myra Shiff.

A Dance and Fur Show was held at the Leamington Hotel, featuring Evelyn (The Voice) Twine, Rook Ganz, Percy Hughes, Oscar Frazier, Mel Carter, Ira Pettiford, and others.  Minks were provided by Earle of Beverly Hills and modeled by Gwen Bartlett of Kansas City.

Bullmoose Jackson and His Buffalo Bearcats performed at the Key Club in November 1957.  Also on the bill was “the very popular singer and dancing star Vi Kemp – A Daring Performer..  a touch of genius.”

Mercury Recording Star Sil Austin appeared at the Key Club in December 1957 with Olivette Miller, the World’s Greatest Swing Harpist, and Bert Gibson, Sensational Tap Dancer.

The Key Club’s 1957 New Year’s Eve show featured the Rhythm Kings (dance, song, comedy), Ira Pettiford and His Orchestra, Wild Bill Boone, Mel Carter, and exotic dancer Lady Ducongue.

Polka doesn’t show up on this page very often, but here’s the “Minneapolis Polka” by Whoopie John.  The flip side was the “St. Paul Waltz.”  Wunnerful, wunnerful.  Here are the labels from a 78 posted on Facebook by Caleb Spooner.

“Teenagers Go ROCKALYPSO Wild…  UNTAMED YOUTH” started its run at the Lyric Theater on July 27.  Mamie Van Doren starred in this film where “Punishment Farm for Teen-Age Cons… Makes ’em Wilder!”  Miss Van Doren was by no means a teenager, but she was certainly “the girl built like a Platinum Powerhouse.”  This movie is so bad that even Turner Classic Movies described it as “absolutely awful.”  Van Doren sang something called “”OOBALA BABY,” a strange collaboration between Les Baxter and poor Eddie Cochran, who was in the movie. Cochran was reduced to playing air guitar with his cotton sack, singing a song called “Cotton Picken” – by Les Baxter.  After a long day of picking cotton, these Hollywood rock ‘n’ rollers had lots of energy to dance and have cat fights in their underwear.  On the same bill was something called “Hooked! – Pent-up Punks on a Penthouse Binge…”   And they say the ’50s were so provincial.

On Wednesday, January 28, 1959, the ill-fated “Winter Dance Party” came to the Prom Ballroom in St. Paul.  The show was emcee’ed by WDGY DJ Bill Diehl. At the Prom was a crowd of 2,000 people, including a lot of screaming girls.

Performers on the tour included:

Buddy Holly, nee Charles Hardin Holley.  Buddy was performing without the Crickets; accompanying him were Waylon Jennings on bass and studio musician Tommy Alsup on guitar.

Buddy Holly

The Big Bopper, nee J.P. Richardson

The Big Bopper

Ritchie Valens, nee Richard Valenzuela

Ritchie Valens

Dion (DiMucci)

Pictured are Waylon Jennings on bass, Dion, Tommy Alsup on guitar, and the Belmonts

Frankie Sardo, nee Frank Sardo Avianca.  Frankie was on the tour on the strength of a regional hit record called “Fake Out.”  Not this region.  The posters listed his song “Take Out,” which indicates how minor this hit was.  Sardo also sang the flip side of his record, an Elvis impersonation called “Classroom.”

Frankie Sardo

THE ROUTE OF THE TOUR

The Winter Dance Party was no party at all.  It was a grueling series of one-nighters that were reached on a bus with failing heat in the coldest months of winter.  The route criss-crossed the area, making the journey more onerous than would seem necessary.  In 2013, Claire Mogren made a list of shows on the Winter Dance Party Itinerary; the information below is from her list and other information on the Internet.

• January 23:  Milwaukee:  George Devine’s Million Dollar Ballroom
• January 24:  Kenosha, Wis.:  Eagles Ballroom (with Debbie Stevens)
• January 25:  Mankato, Minn.:  Kato Ballroom.  Bill Diehl was the emcee.

• January 26:  Eau Claire, Wis.:  Fournier’s Ballroom
• January 27:  Montevideo, Minn.:  Fiesta Ballroom

• January 28:  St. Paul:  The Prom Ballroom.  Local band the Del-Ricos, which included Darwin Eckholm (aka Donald K. Martin), opened the show.

• January 29:  Davenport, Iowa:  Capitol Theater
• January 30:  Fort Dodge, Iowa:  Laramar Ballroom

• January 31:  Duluth Armory

Autograph book from the Duluth Armory Show. Thanks, Jonathan Birnbaum

• February 1:  Appleton, Wis.:  Cinderella Ballroom (Cancelled due to bus trouble)

• February 1:  Green Bay, Wis.:  Riverside Ballroom

• February 2:  Clear Lake, Iowa:  Surf Ballroom

THE CRASH

After the show in the Clear Lake, Holly was fed up and decided to hire a small plane to get himself and his band to the next venue, which was a long drive in a cold bus to Moorhead.  Waylon Jennings gave up his seat to the Bopper, who had the flu, and Tommy Allsup gave up his seat to Valens on a coin toss.

The plane took off at 12:55 am on February 3, with 21-year-old pilot Roger Peterson and the three musicians.  Within five minutes it had crashed into a cornfield; all aboard died instantly.  The Civil Aeronautics Board concluded that the probable cause of the accident was “the pilot’s unwise decision to embark on a flight” that required him to be able to fly on instruments, which he could not do.  In addition, the plane had an attitude gyroscope that was different from what he was used to, making him believe he was climbing when he was actually descending – nose down at 170 miles per hour.  In addition, Peterson was provided with “seriously inadequate” weather information, which “failed to even mention adverse flying conditions which should have been highlighted.”  (Wikipedia)

The rest of the performers on bus didn’t find out about the accident until they arrived at the hotel and they saw the news on TV.

Grief struck the country; on the day the musicians died, Bill Diehl did a three-hour show on WDGY playing nothing but songs by the three young stars.

Incredibly, the death of the three stars did  not stop the tour.  The tour continued with other stars filling in.  Bobby Vee, Jimmy Clanton, and Fabian starred in at least one show each, and Frankie Avalon finished the tour.

• February 3:  Moorhead, Minn. Armory (with Bobby Vee)

This poster is a repro.

• February 4:  Sioux City, Iowa
• February 5:  Des Moines:  Val Air Ballroom
• February 6:  Cedar Rapids, Iowa:  Danceland Ballroom
• February 7:  Spring Valley, Ill.:  Les Buzz Ballroom
• February 8:  Chicago:  Aragon Ballroom
• February 9:  Waterloo, Iowa:  Hippodrome
• February 10:  Dubuque, Iowa:  Melody Hill
• February 11:  Louisville:  Memorial Auditorium
• February 12:  Coshocton, Ohio:  Coshocton Armory (with Frankie Avalon, Debbie Stevens)
• February 13:  Youngstown, Ohio:  Memorial Auditorium
• February 14:  Peoria, Ill. Armory
• February 15:  Springfield, Ill. State Armory

A good book on this tragic event is The Day the Music Died:  The Last Tour of Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, by Larry Lehmer.

On March 2, WDGY disk jockey Stanley Mack was “fired” for playing a “shock record” that management had banned.  The record was called “Dinner With Drac” by John Zacherle.  After he announced that he had been canned, the kids jammed the switchboard and called his house.  (The paper reported his St. Louis Park address the next day.)  General Manager Jack Thayer called it a “terrible record…  Mack went on the air at noon and he must have played that thing eight times in a row.  I heard it on my car radio and I just blew my stack.”  After Mack got the sack he continued to play it until Program Manager Bill Armstrong took over the program.  The March 2, 1958 Minneapolis Sunday Tribune put a good cap on the story:  “One Mack fan, a 15-year-old Sue Glad, complained to the Tribune, ‘This isn’t the first time WDGY has suppressed a song.  They never did play ‘Short Shorts.'”

WDGY jock Jim Ramsburg tells us that it was all a publicity stunt:  “If memory serves correctly, it happened on a Saturday.  I was working at the station that day – the GM, Jack Thayer, was also there and it was his idea.  Stanley Mack began playing the song repeatedly and Thayer somehow (not directly) got the word to a young reporter at the Tribune.  She came running over to the station and we all played it straight that Stan had ‘locked himself’ inside the studio.  (The studio door did have an electronic lock controlled by a switch inside the studio, but it could also be opened from the adjacent control room.)  The story wound up on the front page of Sunday’s Tribune.  On Monday a Tribune editor called Thayer and berated him for ‘taking advantage’ of the reporter and vowed that the paper would ban all mention of WDGY in its news section in the future.”

The Storz Stations, which included WDGY, hosted the first-ever Pop Music Disk Jockey Convention & Radio Programming Seminar in Kansas City at the Muehlebach Hotel on March 7, 8 and 9, 1958. Newly-employed Bill Stewart coordinated the event. Full-page ads in Broadcasting and other radio/TV magazines promoted free registration “open to all Disk-Jockeys, Program Directors, Record Industry Management Personnel and Broadcasting Industry Management Personnel.” Stewart framed the convention as a seminar offering privileged information from high-dollar media experts, radio group executives and major-market air talent. Topics for discussion included “How to Run Profitable and Successful Record Hops,” “The Ingredients for Today’s ‘Formula’ Radio,” and “Is Rock and Roll a Bad Influence on Teenagers?”

A gala “All Star Show” featured Tony Bennett, The Four Lads, Laverne Baker, Andy Williams, The Crew Cuts, and many others. The gathering was attended by many of the biggest names in radio at the time, including the Presidents of the Hooper and Pulse rating services, Gordon McLendon, well-known New York Disk Jockeys Martin Block, Jack Lacy, Al “Jazzbeau” Collins, Peter Tripp and Chicago’s Howard Miller. Participating record companies included Columbia, DOT, Mercury, RCA-Victor, Atlantic, Roulette, Capitol, ABC-Paramount and Epic. The beauty part is that it was free to the DJs, underwritten by the record companies.  Says so right on the registration form.

The convention was relatively boring, with Mitch Miller somehow asked to speak, although it was widely known that he hated rock ‘n’ roll.  Plus Kansas City in March was no picnic.  But things got better.  Just wait til May 1959.

In 1958 E.F. Sandberg bought Don Leary’s record store at Miracle Mile for his son Don to operate, and it became Don’s Records and Hi-Fi. The Grand Opening, held on April 24-26, 1958, featured 12,000 records and offered orchids to the ladies and candy for the kids. (Men apparently never got anything at these Grand Openings.) Appearances were made by Disk Jockeys Roy Carr (WTCN), Jim Boysen (WLOL), and Stanley Mack (WDGY). Beverly Reinicke, who had worked for Don Leary for the last three years, was announced as an employee of the new store. An ad in the April 23, 1958, St. Louis Park High Echo announced the grand opening with much hep cat patois.

Part of Minnesota’s celebration of its Centennial was a musical performance by Judy Garland.  Born Frances Ethel Gumm, Judy was born on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.  Her parents were vaudevillians who had settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theater that featured vaudeville acts.

Wikipedia:

“Baby” (as she was called by her parents and sisters) shared her family’s flair for song and dance. Her first appearance came at the age of three, when she joined her elder sisters Mary Jane “Suzy/Suzanne” Gumm and Dorothy Virginia “Jimmie” Gumm on the stage of her father’s movie theater during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of “Jingle Bells.” The Gumm Sisters performed there for the next few years, accompanied by their mother on piano.

The family moved to California in 1926; Judy lived in Grand Rapids the first four years of her life.

From Ben Welter’s blog in the Strib:

Minnesota’s sweetheart filled stadium with song

Accompanied by 32 “hand picked” members of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Judy Garland fought through a case of laryngitis on May 11, 1958, to help her home state celebrate its centennial.  More than 20,000 gathered at the U’s old Memorial Stadium on that steamy Sunday to hear Garland belt out such hits as “The Trolley Song” and “For Me and My Gal.”  Midway through one song, she stopped and said: “Can I start again?  I missed the lyric.  Isn’t this terrible?  I was trying to be so good.”  Garland… finished the show with – what else? – “Over the Rainbow.”

Famed songwriters Sid Lippman and Sylvia Dee won a contest to compose the official centennial song, “They Named it Minnesota,” which was performed by the Apollo Club at the event.  Kristi Putnam Gibson was able to find two verses of the song and sent them to Neal Bond’s Minnesota Music History Channel:

They took 10,000 lakes and some rich green vine,
and added the forest of Norway pine,
and high in the sky they made the North Star shine,
and they named it Minnesota.

They took 10,000 lakes and some rich green land,
and threw in some hills they had on hand,
and made it a paradise but twice as grand,
and named it Minnesota.

On September 19, 1958, the Minneapolis Spokesman reported that “300 St. Paul Youngsters ‘Rock’ For Freedom & NAACP.”

“WE’RE GONNA ROCK FOR FREEDOM” might well have been the cry of 300 of St. Paul’s youth as they flocked to the block party sponsored by radio station WTCN under the auspices of the Youth Chapter of the St. Paul branch of the NAACP last Wednesday night in the 800 block of Iglehart.  Admission to the affair was the price of a youth membership in the NAACP.  A total of 50 new members were enrolled making the chapter’s membership total to almost 300.  WTCN furnished music and refreshments to the singing and dancing youths in the roped-off area and, according to all reports, a ‘good time was had by all.’

The St. Paul Auto Show took place on November 26-30 at the St. Paul Auditorium and featured:

• The Four Lads
• The Three Suns
• Leo DeLyon  (?)
• Lillian Briggs

Big names at the 1959 Auto Show:

• Nat King Cole, January 9-12
• Frankie Laine, January 13-18.  Reporters at St. Louis Park High continued to demonstrate their squareness in a February 4 article in the Echo about meeting Frankie Lane (sic).

Junior Miss at Knollwood Plaza held an Open House on April 2 and 3, 1959. Advertised were door prizes, entertainment, a disk jockey broadcasting direct from store, refreshments, and informal modeling.  In the April 15 issue of the Echo, reporter Dede Smith told of the appearance by the Kingston Trio, “dressed in Ivy League clothes and spouting the latest ‘Frisco jazz talk.”  The Kingston Trio had performed at Northrop Auditorium on April 3 and were scheduled to appear at Southdale the Saturday after the 15th.

The notorious Second Annual International Radio Programming Seminar and Pop Music Disk Jockey Convention, which became synonymous with “Babes, Booze and Bribes,” was held at the glamorous Americana Hotel in Miami Beach on May 29-31, 1959, hosted by Todd Storz, owner of WDGY and several other Top 40 stations.  2,500 jocks came down to listen to speakers, make contacts, and get educated about how to make their programs better.  Ha!  The liquor flowed like… wine, prostitutes (local and imported) were on call, and the record companies were giving away cars, trips, and who-knows-what-else to curry favor with the men who could make or break a song.  Sessions were hosted by individual record companies; for example, Saturday breakfast was sponsored by Atlantic Records, co-hosted by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler themselves.  Alan Freed was on the program, as was our own Charlie Boone, who was working in Fargo at the time.   Other big-name jocks included Robin Seymour, Gordon McLendon, and Al “Jazzbo” Collins.  The payola was flowing and so blatant that it led to Congressional hearings and the ruin of careers, most notably Alan Freed’s.  But it was a fun party.

The Pavek Museum of Broadcasting has a copy of the program, and the list of entertainers was phenomenal:

• Peggy Lee and George Shearing, who made the LP “Beauty and the Beat!” during one of the cocktail parties
• David Seville and Julie London, who hosted a Saturday afternoon cocktail party
• Count Basie and Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, an odd combination, at a dance and barbeque

On Saturday night there was a three-hour All Star Show emcee’ed by the “Daddyo of the Disk Jockeys,” Martin Block, who was presented with a huge cake in recognition of his 25 years in the business.  Keynote speaker at the banquet and show was former Tennessee Governor Frank Clement, who stressed the importance of DJs in forming public opinion.  Performers at the extravaganza were:

• Pat Boone
• Cathy Carr
• Chris Connor
• Vic Damone
• Alan Dean
• Connie Francis
• Johnny Horton
• Peggy Lee
• Lou Monte
• Patty Page
• The Playmates
• Lloyd Price
• Connie Russell
• Jimmy Rodgers
• Jack Scott
• George Shearing
• Dodie Stevens
• Gary Stites
• Kirby Stone Four
• Jesse Lee Turner
• Caterina Valente
• Andy Williams

As the jocks were on their way home, readers of the Miami News were reading the famous headline on the first page:  “For Deejays: Babes, Booze And Bribes,” written by Haines Colbert.  Some excerpts:

• [DJs] were given the greatest buttering-up since Nero was persuaded he was a fiddle virtuoso.
• There was constant praise for the apparently unbelievable talent required to put a record on a turntable, play it and sell it to all those wonderful people out there in radioland.
• One promotion man said, “You can buy some of them with an air-conditioner; some with money and some with a girl.”
• “A lot of these guys think they’re gods. You hardly can blame them, either.”
• “We put out one record sung by a kid with no voice and no reputation. We spent $100,000 on the promotion – most of it entertaining disc jockeys – and it got into the [top] 10 in four weeks.”
• “I would guess that the payoffs to the disc jockeys in one form or another run to well over $1,000,000 a year.”
• “It’s a lousy situation, but I don’t see how anything can be done about it. As we tell them all the time, without the disc jockeys we’re dead.”

Well, the poop hit the air conditioner, and the blatant payola led to Congressional hearings and the ruin of careers, most notably Alan Freed’s.  But it was a fun party.

Bobby Vee, a Fargo kid, put together a band called the Shadows and performed at the Moorhead show that night.  Later that year he came to Minneapolis to record “Suzie Baby” on SOMA Records.  It was re-released on Liberty Records and broke the Billboard charts on August 31, 1959, reaching Number 77.  His next record only charted to 93, but then “Devil or Angel,” a cover of a song by the Clovers from 1956, hit Number 6 in 1960 and he was on his way, charting 38 records during his career.

The October 1, 1959 Trib posed the question:   “Does the Twin Cities have its share of beatniks?  The people interviewed were skeptical:

• Suzanne Wolfe said “Yes, even if the majority of beatniks aren’t serious about it.  There are a number of beatniks at the U of M.  They wear trench coats and goatees.
• Errol Kantor said “No.  Most beatniks are out in California.  The fellows at the University who wear trench coats and goatees are all pseudo-intellectuals.
• Sonja Blagen thought Minneapolis had its share but that St. Paul didn’t have one beatnik joint.
• Matthew Levison, a student at the U, said “No.  Perhaps 10 percent of those popularly known here as ‘beat’ are actually so.  The balance are nothing more than hangers-on.  Beat movement is entirely nihilistic in 20th century tradition.  Its center is New York and the West Coast.
• Bonnie Erickson made the decision unanimous:  “The concentration of individualistic existentialists, as I prefer to call the ‘beatniks,’ is definitely in Minneapolis.  Only a few are sincere iconoclasts.  Fakes who claim to be beatniks do it for attention, rather than for a purely esthetic cause.

Rollie Williams was a presence in St. Louis Park for many years. From November 1959 to November 1960, Northwest Guitar and Organ Studio (aka Northwest Guitar and Accordion) was located at 3699 Joppa “under personal supervision of Rollie Williams.” The company’s Minneapolis office was located at 6436 Penn Avenue South. On November 18-26, 1960 the store had an open house at its new location at 4520 Excelsior Blvd., this time called Rollie Williams Music Company. It became R.W. Music Co., and was at that location until about 1974.  A second location at 504 Cedar Ave. So. in Minneapolis opened in September 1969.

Illinois Jacquet appeared at the Key Club, starting January 4, 1960.

The Weavers appeared at Northrop Auditorium on January 30, 1960.

The Kingston Trio appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on February 13, 1960.

Jazz singer and pianist Hazel Scott appeared at Freddie’s in April 1960.

Singer Cle’a Bradford performed at the Key Club the week of May 6, 1960

Tony Bennett and the Ralph Sharon Trio began a stint at Freddie’s starting May 9, 1960.  Buddy Hackett was also on the bill.

Chris Connor and Her Trio performed at the Key Club the week of May 13, 1960.

Bo Diddley played an engagement at the Loon Teen Club (which became Mr. Lucky’s) on May 14-20, 1960.

Oscar Peterson played Freddie’s on May 21, 1960.

Josh White brought his repertoire of blues, spirituals, and folk music to Freddie’s on May 23, 1960.  He was followed by an appearance by Bob Newhart.

Frankie Lymon performed at the Key Club the week of May 25, 1960.

The “Biggest Show of Stars” came through the Cities in 1960, with 10-12 acts including Frankie Avalon, the Paris Sisters, and Cliff Richard.  (Can’t find this…)

Dorothy Dandridge and Vaughan Monroe were some of the performers at the Radisson Flame room in the fall of 1960.

Comedian Shelley Berman performed at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 21, 1960.

The Limelighters and comedian Mort Sahl performed at Northrop Auditorium in the fall of 1960.

Skirts at the knee were considered too short by some St. Louis Park High School boys.  Really??

Arne Fogel’s favorite Rock ‘n’ Roll Movie

St. Louis Park High spawned the folk group the Diablos, featuring Jerry Roberts on vocals, piano, and ukelele and Vicki Dulac on drums.  The group was on the Mary Jo Tierney TV Show, Judge Wright Talent Show, and played around town at places like Stillwater Prison and mental institutions, according to an article in the Echo in May 1960.

The Johnny Cash Show rolled into town, performing at the Minneapolis Auditorium on May 15, 1960.

Other performers were Johnny Horton, Kitty Wells, and The Fendermen. The Fendermen consisted of Phil Humphrey and Jim Sundquist, from Madison, Wisconsin.  Amos Heilicher was their agent.  They were booked for this show at the last minute because of their skyrocketing popularity in the Twin Cities.  “Muleskinner Blues” (written in 1931 by Jimmie Rodgers) was originally released on Cuca Records in 1959.  They re-recorded it in at Kay Bank Studios in Minneapolis and it was released on SOMA  It entered the Billboard chart on May 23, 1960.  The record peaked at #5 and stayed on the chart for 18 weeks.  On June 11, 1960, they appeared on American Bandstand.  Lightning didn’t strike twice, there was litigation between the two record companies, and the two split up in 1961.  The Fendermen were inducted into the Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2005.

MAKING THE TAPE

Thanks to Minneapolis resident Cleve Pettersen, the original recording of what fans and music buffs know as the “Minnesota Party Tape” was made available to the public at the library in the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul in 2004.

Petterson’s son Leif Petterson described in an article on Salon (May 8, 2019):

In the summer of 1960, my then fifteen-year-old father, Cleve Pettersen, went to Radio Shack and bought one of the first commercially available, portable reel-to-reel tape recorders. The thing was the size of a small ottoman and weighed about as much as a boulder of the same dimensions. It cost $50, which is over $400 in today’s economy, so not an insignificant purchase for a fifteen-year-old.

Pettersen wanted to get a local folk singer to sing songs into his new recorder and asked some local musicians who would be willing. He had no takers until a 19-year-old Bob Dylan agreed to be recorded in the fall of 1960.  Pettersen and his friend Bil Golfus went to an apartment 711 on 15th Ave. S.E. in Minneapolis (alternately described as Dylan’s, his girlfriend Bonnie Beecher’s, or rented by Dylan’s roommate, Hugh Brown) and hung out with Dylan, Bonnie, and friend Cynthia Fischer.  (Bonnie would one day marry Grateful Dead/Woodstock character Wavy Gravy.)

Pettersen set up the recorder and Dylan casually sang 12 folk songs into it.  The songlist:

• Blues yodel No. 8
• Come see Jerusalem (sung with Cynthia Fincher/Fischer)
• San Francisco Bay Blues
• I’m a Gambler
• Talkin’ Merchant Marine
• Talkin’ Hugh Brown
• Talkin’ Inflation Blues (song by Tom Glazer is referred to as Talkin’ Lobbyist on the recording)
• Red Rosey Bush
• Johnny I hardly Knew You
• Jesus Christ
• Streets of Glory
• K.C. Moan

Other songs mentioned by Petterson’s son were:

• I Thought I Heard That Casey When She Blowed
• I’m Gonna Walk the Streets of Glory

Petterson never saw Dylan again, and by December 1960, Bob had left Minnesota for Greenwich Village.  Petterson kept the tape for 44 years until he decided to donate it to the Minnesota History Center.  It is available for listening at the library and cannot be duplicated.

THE HOUSE

Dylan lived in the ground floor middle unit of the building pictured above.  It was demolished in 2014.

Apartments where “Minnesota Party Tape” was recorded

THE TAPE

Image courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

The writing on the box below is thought to belong to Dylan’s girlfriend Bonnie Beecher, who had borrowed the tape.  One theory about Dylan’s name is that he originally took it – not from Dylan Thomas – but from Marshal Dillon.

Image courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Dylan lived in a couple of places at the U, including the Sigma Alpha Mu Jewish fraternity at 928 SE 5th Street.

From the Little Sandy Review, Issue 13:

The Minnesota Folk Song Society got off to an enthusiastic start with a Hootenanny that featured local talent.  It was encouraging to see a 3 1/2 hour program that contained no youngsters performing commercial folkum.  The acts were about equally divided among Bluegrass, Blues, and Old-Timey Hillbilly performers.

The magazine later reported that Bob Dylan made “a brief, but extremely telling, appearance at a University hootenanny,” so maybe it was this one.

Key Club Shows:

• Earl Bostic, November 14, 1961
• International Jazzmen, November 20, 1961
• The Flamingos, November 24-December 3, 1961
• Bill Doggett, December 4, 1961

In December 1961 the Twist had hit and the Key Club was on top of it.  Will Jones reported on December 18 that:

It was a wild, wild night at the Key Club.  Bill Doggett’s twist music proved so infectious one woman patron jumped onstage and began to strip which isn’t exactly the idea.  The management hustled her off.

On December 22, 1961, an ad in the Minneapolis Spokesman says “It’s Twisting Time at the Key Club – Learn to Dance the Twist with the Hortense Allen Dancers and the Bill Pinkard Combo.  Dance on the largest nite club dance floor in the Twin Cities.”  Also featured was Harold Connors, blues singer formerly with B.B. King.

On January 12, 1962, the film “Twist Around the Clock” came to the Lyric theater on Hennepin Ave. near 7th Street.

The Harlem Globetrotters were in town on February 25, 1962 for two big shows.  The event also featured:

• Cab Calloway
• Two Table Tennis Stars
• Variety Show

The Northwest Boat, Sports and Travel Show took place at the Minneapolis Auditorium from March 30 to April 8, 1962.  A 15-act stage show took place twice daily, featuring these “Internationally famous entertainers:”

• Mike Serino, from Chicago
• Captain Schreiber’s Chimps, from Berlin
• Johnny O’Neill, Hollywood
• The Elkins Sisters, Vienna
• Loral I. Armstrong and Her Dogs, Anoka
• Willy Kee, Hollywood
• Rudi Sisters and Rudy, Paris
• Miller and Archer, New York City
• Flipper the Seal, Goodman, Missouri

The M.C. was Joe McKenna, from Orlando, and the show was backed by the Sportsman Show Orchestra.

Even Blondie and Dagwood were twisting in May 1962!

May 12, 1962, was WDGY High School Fun Day & Night with music by Mike Waggoner and the Bops and the Doradoes from noon to five.  Also on tap was a twist contest, with trophies to winners.  “Three brave WDGY disk jockeys will try to break the world’s DJ roller coaster record of 47 rides.”  That night at Danceland there was a Battle of the Bands, with the Ricochets and the Doradoes.

Big show on Memorial Day, May 30, 1962 at Danceland.  For $1.85 you could see, hear, and dance to:

• Del Shannon
• Brian Hyland
• The Belmonts
• Jamie Coe (“Cleopatra”)
• Kenny Chandler  (“It Might Have Been”)
• The Gigolos  (Huh?)

Bill Diehl emceed the big July 4th Twistathon, to the music of the Champs.

KDWB gave an annual Thank-Going Hop at the Armory, with profits going to Cerebral Palsy. The November 23, 1962, lineup included the one and only Fabian!  The way Steve tells it, he went just to get some pictures of girls.  Well, there was a big accident on the freeway, and all the press, including the AP, take off to get pictures.  Someone from KDWB sees Steve and asks him to take photos of Fabian for them.  Unfortunately, Steve hadn’t counted on bringing extra batteries or film, so he could only get a few shots.  Then he goes home to develop the photos, only to find that he had major problems with his developer.  Says Steve, “This is the best I could salvage and would not even give them to KDWB.”  Well, I think they’re great!!   The DJ in the first picture is Hal Murray (thanks, Paul Hedberg!).

These last two are of Damon Lee and the Diablos, with Tom Nystrom on drums.  Other possible members are Skip Dahlen, Ken Sand (lead guitar), Tom Weiss, and/or Bill Suech (bass).

By March 8, 1963, Entertainment columnist Will Jones of the Tribune stated that the Twist was dying, but the Jockey Club, which had prospered during the Twist boom, responded by running a “4-girls-4” chorus line led by Gloria Bush, aka Sheena, aka Jerry.  “What she devised is a half-twisting chorus line.  Right now they’re twisting on an every-other-show basis, doing nontwist numbers the rest of the time, and rehearsing for the days when they may not twist at all.”

An ad announced the “50 Mile” Paper Dolls, Twisting With Vigah!”  The reference was to a challenge to the Marines and to the citizenry from President Kennedy to walk 50 miles.

If 1962 was all about the Twist, 1963 was all about folk music.  Or what passed for folk music.  For if folk music was handed down from generation to generation, how could you write new folk music?  Anyway, the movement became a fad, and the clubs advertised in the Minneapolis Tribune all touted their singers as folk singers, whether they were or not.

The Contemporary Folk Group was from Minneapolis, and almost hit the big time, performing at the Troubadour Club in Hollywood in February 1963.  They performed at the Chalet in Crystal in June 1963.  They also did “folk type commercials for Aunt Jemima, Quaker Oats, and B.F. Goodrich,” reported Will Jones.  The group consisted of Dick Winther, Jerry Longie, Ed Knutson, and Jerry Goodge.

The Kingston Trio, Stan Getz and His Bossa Nova Quintet, and comedian Ronnie Schell appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on February 22, 1963.

The Harlem Globetrotters came to the Minneapolis Auditorium for two shows on February 24, 1963.  Also on the bill were Cab Calloway, five undescribed variety acts, and two table tennis stars.

The Dave Brubeck Quartet appeared at the Macalester Field House on March 15, 1963.

The Northwest Builders Show took place at the Minneapolis Auditorium from March 15-24, 1963, with appearances by Jimmy Dean, the Skeets Trio, the Ashtons, and local announcer Howard Viken.  The troupe did 19 shows in the two weeks.

The Northwest Boat, Sports & Travel Show took place from March 29 to April 7, 1963, and an ad boasted a 15-act stage show of Internationally famous entertainers, but no location or list of acts was provided.  Two shows were to be presented per day.

Will Jones is hilarious.  In May 1963 he told a long story about how the Musicians’ Union was giving clubs a hard time, and in response many were pulling their live music and bringing in:

that Parisiann phenomenon, the all-record night club.  There’s already a modified version of it in the Lipstick Lounge at the rear of the Black Angus restaurant.  After pianist Joe DeMarsh was given his notice in the middle of the hassle with the musicians, the Lipstick Lounge took out its piano and installed a hi-fi record player in the piano bar, with a girl disc jockey behind it..

The girl in charge of records is Kay Clark Nygaard, who for disc-jockey purposes is being billed as K.C. Nygaard.  The curvy Mrs. Nygaard is a bit of a kook with a big toothy smile and a pair of Ben Franklin glasses that tend to slide down her nose.  She was three hours late for work on her opening night because she had trouble selecting just the right dress…

The requests ran to Brubeck and Jamal and Kenton the night I visited the Lounge.  Sometimes Mrs. Nygaard vocalized along with a record, and once she stood on the bar and twisted, but mostly she just sat smiling and wiggling and making sly little comments to the customers..

Will Jones, May 26, 1963:

All right, folk-music faddists, hear this:

Folk singer Pete Seeger, a recent visitor, observed that Minnesota’s folk music is the so-called old-time music played by the polka and oompah bands hereabouts.  New Ulm, Minn., for example, is a hotbed of folk music.

“It really means,” observed folk singer Maury Bernstein, “that Whoopee John is our Leadbelly.”

There you are, kids.  If you’re really with it, you’ll start demanding to hear the Six Fat Dutchmen and Fezz Fritsche and Elmer Scheid and all the rest of those cats in your favorite coffeehouses.  Or is it only folk music from some other are that has the snob appeal.

WDGY DJ Bill Diehl appeared at a Record Hop at the Lucky Twin Drive-In on June 15, 1963.  The Lucky Twin, located at 35 W and Highway 12, featured two Elvis movies (I hesitate to say films) that night:  “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Blue Hawaii.”

Oh to be young on June 19, 1963:

This is too funny:  There is an ad for Breezy Point Lodge (on Big Pelican Lake) and the Co-Owner and Developer is Ginny Simms – Kay Kaiser’s girl singer!  It gets better:  the Convention Director is… Ish Kabibble!  This is not a joke!

Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians came through with their “Wonderful World of Music” tour on July 1, 1963, at Met Stadium.  Included on the tour was our own Miss Betty Ann McCall, accordionist extraordinaire and runner up to the Miss Minnesota contest in 1959. It was part of a “Music Under the Stars” series sponsored by the Minneapolis Jaycees.

On July 6, 1963, the Lucky Twin Drive-In Theatre (35W and Highway 12) featured a DANCE-DANCE-DANCE with Bill Diehl (“N.W.’s Top Disc Jockey”) and Mike Waggoner and the Bops.  On the screen was “The Cool and the Crazy.”  The IMDB only shows a 1958 movie by this name, with the plotline:  “High school thug is front man for a local marijuana ring.”  Hard to believe Bill Diehl would be associated with that – although he was tops with the teens, he was secretly a square!

Harry Belafonte and a cast of 32 came to the St. Paul Auditorium for five days on July 9-13, 1963.

In about July 1963 Ann Oleson and Genie Evans bought the Scholar, and celebrated with (what else?) a Hootenanny.

Hootenanny ’63 (no details) happened at the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 26, 1963.

Al Hirt and his New Orleans Jazz Group appeared at Met Stadium on July 29, 1963.  It was part of a “Music Under the Stars” series sponsored by the Minneapolis Jaycees.  Also appearing were the Schmitz Sisters.

Meat-packing heir Geordie Hormel was a regular singer at the White House in Golden Valley.  He’d had his own club, King’s Wood, apparently in Austin, but it failed.  Hormel was apparently a real character.

On September 17, 1963, you could go to the St. Paul Auditorium Arena and – if you wanted to – you could Sing Along With Mitch.  Also on the ticket were Leslie Uggams and 50 singers, dancers, and musicians.

Will Jones reported that Bob Hope promised a hootenanny to end all when he introduced the team of Hoot, Nanny, and Hope on his comedy special on September 27, 1963.

McGuire’s Restaurant and Lounge, not normally a place for young people, featured the Folksinging Voyagers in September 1963.  Gene Bass and Bob Monfort sang calypso, songs from Israel to Ireland, American Ballads, comedy and novelty numbers.

Nat King Cole appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 30, 1963, with the Merry Young Souls and Joe Zito’s 19-piece orchestra.

In 1963 WDGY DJ Bill Diehl was the emcee at a Halloween dance at the St. Louis Park Roller Garden featuring the Trashmen, who had released their national smash hit, “Surfin’ Bird” earlier that month. Expecting about 800 kids, an estimated 2100 showed up. The enthusiastic crowd pushed in the building’s glass door, and Diehl had to call the police department and hire 5-6 members of the local constabulary to keep the peace. Even at only $2 a head, money was made hand over fist, stuffed in wastebaskets and whatever they could find.  Diehl had promoted the dance in partnership with his brother, who was a plastic surgeon.  So much money was made that his brother was ready to quit his practice and keep promoting dances, but the next three turned out to be flops, so he returned to facelifts.  See more about about the Trashmen here.

Jack Benny appeared with the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra at Northrop Auditorium on November 7, 1963.  Benny did 7-8 of these benefit concerts a year.  The reviewer in the Tribune was not impressed with Benny’s… anything, and said that conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski was mean to him, but it was probably all in the act, since Benny was said to be hilarious.  Which shows that he is a pro, since days before his wife had been robbed of $250,000 in jewels in her hotel room in New York City and he was hopping mad.  Mary Livingstone was unharmed and the jewels were insured.

Perhaps the first mention of the Beatles in a Minneapolis paper appeared in the Tribune on November 10, 1963, with a UPI story dateline London.  The article was couched as a fairy story and kind of made fun of them, except that it was quite impressed that the group was making $14,000 a week.

The Beatles, who just a year ago were making only about $50 a week, have turned Britain topsy-turvy with their brand of music, called the ‘Mersey sound,’ the ‘Liverpool sound,’ ‘Beat with a Drive’ and ‘Pop with a beat.’ ….  In recent weeks, police in cities throughout Britain have become engaged in almost uncontrolled warfare with thousands of young fans…

The Ahmad Jamal Trio appeared at the Macalester Fieldhouse on November 16, 1963.

WTCN’s 1963 Annual Report published an article from Variety that said that some of the radio station’s “elder rock ‘n’ roll stamper outer staffers” had formed the “Teenagers Underground Music Society,” with a membership of 2,000.  The station

avowedly largely confines its programming to only “the sound of beautiful music,” which means the higher quality melodies, and the Society in line with a current campaign to bring youngsters into its listeners’ fold.

In order to join the Society “underground movement” the teenager is required to sign a pledge not to mention Chubby Checker in young children’s presence, to slip “Sheherazade” on the turntable at any Twist party when they shouldn’t be, but happen to be present, and to register complete disgust at any Elvis Presley mention (boooo), etc.

Called “music jungle fighters,” members are enlisted in such “underground units” as the “Beethoven Brigade,” “Bach Battalion,” “Dvorak Division,” and “Puccini Patrol.”

The Chad Mitchell Trio appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl on May 17, 1963.  Franklin Hobbs of WCCO radio was the emcee.  The concert was promoted by William A. Meyer, a U. of M. student.

On June 1, 1963, The Sam Cooke show came to the Minneapolis Auditorium Concert Bowl, with Gorgeous George as emcee.  Featured acts were:

• Jerry Butler
• Dee Clark
• The Crystals
• The Drifters
• Little Esther Phillips
• Solomon Burke
• Dionne Warwick
• Johnny Thunder
• Little Julius High
• The Upsetters Band (Little Richard’s old band)

The British movie “Play it Cool” was released here at the Lyric Theater on June 13, 1963, featuring Brits Helen Shapiro and Billy Fury and Fargo’s own Bobby Vee.  Couldn’t find much of a plotline, but here’s the trailer.

What you can learn on Facebook:  In about 1963 the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce ran a contest to write a song about the city.  The winning entry, “A Song for Minneapolis!,” was written by local resident Dick Wilson and composer Ray Charles, who led the choral group the Ray Charles Singers (“Love Me With All Your Heart”).  The two had also written “We’re Gonna Win Twins.”  Hear it on this web page from Hymie’s Vintage Records.

Will Jones of the Tribune reported that Meade Lux Lewis was drawing crowds at the piano bar at the  Chateau de Paris in the Dyckman Hotel every night.  (August 23, 1963) He was either still there or there again in October.

Although the Lewis name has been associated with boogie-woogie, and although Lewis plays boogie from time to time to satisfy those who request it, his better offerings are unmistakably up-to-date.  Lewis clearly is a man who listens to contemporary jazz sounds with appreciation, who keeps producing new ideass of his own, and who combines and performs them all with the ease and taste and authority or a solid musician who has been on the scene for a long time.

The cast and crew of the hip show Route 66 came to town in July 1963 to film three episodes in Minneapolis.  By this time Tod Stiles’ (Martin Milner) original traveling companion, Buz Murdock (George Maharis) has been replaced by Lincoln Case (Glenn Corbett) because Maharis came down with hepatitis.  Will Jones reported that the filming took a crew of 60, plus 15 or 20 wives and a couple of dozen children of crew members who travel with the show during the summer.  Filming the three hour-long episodes was expected to take about a month.  The whole crew stayed free at the Sheraton-Ritz Hotel, which was a prominent locale for the first episode.

On July 25, 1963, the Minnetonka Record reported that the crew had been to Parade Stadium and in Excelsior the week before.  On August 1 the Record reported that hundreds of onlookers crowded the Excelsior shoreline last week to watch the cast and crew work at the Amusement Park and the Mark Knowlton home in Excelsior.  More scenes were being taken at a Hopkins raspberry farm, it reported.

The episodes were:

• “Where Are the Sounds of Celli Brahms?”  aired October 18, 1963.  As Tod and Linc drive across a bridge into Minneapolis they are stopped and told that they are the millionth visitors of the season, qualifying Linc (who is driving) to be a judge of the Aquatennial Queen contest.  Tod gets a job at the Sheraton-Ritz.  They meet Celli Brahms (Tammy Grimes), a no-nonsense career girl whose job is to soundproof the hotel.  A girl from a poor family enters the contest and wins, according to Jones.
• “And Make Thunder His Tribute,” aired November 1, 1963.  Tod and Linc find work with an eccentric farmer. He is at odds with his son about using any new farming ideas and actually uses a shotgun for noise to scare birds away from his crop. The son and he escalate the battle between them over the possible use of the farm as the site of a motel.
• “Kiss the Monster – Make Him Sleep, aired January 24, 1964 (originally scheduled to air November 22, 1963). “Tod and Linc are in Minneapolis working in construction on a river lock project. Linc becomes “involved” with the sister of their boss. She resents her brother being overprotective and buying off her men friends. Linc tries to help her make it on her own but later finds she has neuroses involving dependency and nymphomania.”  (synopsis from imdb.com)

TV Times image courtesy Jeff Lonto

On August 8, 1963, the traveling American Outdoor Hootenanny Festival came to Parade Stadium, produced locally by Ray Colihan.  Participants were encouraged to bring their guitars, banjos, and vocal chords (and $2), sit on the grass, and be discovered in the talent hunt.  Then it turns out that the first two hours featured “TV and Recording Folk Stars,” including:

• The Greenbriar Boys
• Bill Faier
• The Troubadours Three
• Bob Carey
• Joan Meyers
• Dimitri and Daniel

Only then it was time for the amateurs.  That made it 10:30 p.m. on a Thursday night so how many folkies were discovered that night is unknown…  The top prize for original material was a publishing contract with Davidson Country Music.

Irv Letofsky, subbing for Will Jones, started his October 7, 1963, column:  “I was sitting around the living room the other morning waiting for folk singing to die.  I was hoping they would kill each other off.  But now they’ve collected into hootenanny gangs and proliferate.”  He goes on about the latest Peter, Paul and Mary album, which contains three songs by “22-year-old Bob Dylan, the sulking Minnesota expatriate.  Of these, two are inconsequential” [that would include “Don’t Think Twice It’s All Right”] but he was duly impressed with “Blowin’ in the Wind.”  “Anyone who watched the TV coverage of the civil rights march on Washington and heard Peter, Paul and Mary sing it before the quarter million demonstrators must have been touched.  It was haunting.  If nothing else survives this era of social protest after all the profits are taken out of it, this one may.”

More Irv Letofsky (he’s funny), October 11, 1963:  “I was trying to do my bit to help drown out folk singing – when I’m besieged.  Two young nuts named Gary Flanders and Bob Liebo went into the booking business through Metropolitan Enterprises, they call it.  Their first effort will be the Midwest Hootenanny, they call it [October 12] at Convention Center in Bloomington.”  Stars:

• The Travelers Three
• The Contemporary Folk Group, a rising local company
• Maxine Sellers
• Robert Glaze – the last two singers from Chicago

In October 1963 there was something called the Hootenanny Hoot at the Orpheum Theater.  This was a remake of a remake of a remake, filmed in black and white on the MGM backlot in nine days.  No matter that half the folk artists were really country stars.  A big budget Sam Katzman production.

An Inter-University Hootenanny was planned for the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 10, 1963, but it was cancelled because of a disappointing advance sale.  (Dan Sullivan, Entertainment News, Minneapolis Tribune, November 17, 1963)  It was to feature:

• The Clancy Brothers
• Tommy Makem
• Oscar Brand
• Judy Collins (buried in the list)
• Josh White, Jr.
• Jean Ritchie

Johnny Mathis, with Sy Zenter and His Nationally Famous Orchestra, played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 15, 1963.  Zola Thompson has this memory:

My parents lived on E. 16th Street and must have been taking care of our two little ones (born in 1960 and 1963).  My husband and I passed the parking lot on the east side of the auditorium late and were flagged down by a black man, all alone in the lot with the hood up on a new black Cadillac.  He said his car wouldn’t start.  We told him about a gas station/garage on about 14th Street and 4th Avenue.  We could see it from the lot.  The owners lived next to it or above the garage.  Wish I could remember their names but were well known in the neighborhood.  Then the man told us his name was Johnny Mathis and he’d just finished a show at the auditorium.

KDWB presented the annual 13-hour Thanksgiving Hop on November 29, 1963, at the Minneapolis Armory.  Admission was $1 donation at the door with net proceeds donated to Cerebral Palsy.  It went from 10 AM to midnight.  Appearing were:

• The Ripchords
• Lou Christie
• The Pixies
• Vic Dana
• Diane Rey
• Debby Dovell
• Tim and the Galaxies
• The Belmonts
• The Corvets

Special Attraction Lou Riegert and the Troops – and all the swinging gentlemen of KDWB.  Lou Riegert was a KDWB jock and later became Lou Waters of CNN fame.

The biggest record to come out of Minneapolis to date was “Surfin’ Bird” by the Trashmen.  The record was released in December 1963, and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard chart on January 25, 1964, after 13 weeks.  Surfin’  Bird was followed up by “Bird Dance Beat,” which spent 7 weeks on the chart and peaked at No. 30 on March 7, 1964.  Much has been written about the Trashmen – for a page from me, please follow this link. 

Beatlemania hit big when the Fab Four crossed the pond and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964.  Local reaction was swift:

• Reviewers in the TV Times could hardly think of enough synonyms for “trash.”
• On February 5, Will Jones of the Minneapolis Tribune reported that from the moment the Beatles arrive, WDGY will follow their progress with five one-minute beeper-telephone reports daily, supplied by Radio Pulsebeat News.  Before the ink was dry on the Trib, KDWB “worked a fast shuffle” and signed with the same company, edging out their rival, Jones reported the next day.  Curses!  Foiled again!

• Front page headline on the Tribune, February 10:  “‘Beatlemania’ Hits City.”  It was not pretty, calling it a “disease,” “malady” and “epidemic” caused by a “germ.”  Ringo was called “homely” and complained about teenagers combing their hair down to their noses or, if they were in a hurry, buying Beatle wigs.  Buyer for Woodworth’s couldn’t keep the darn things in stock.  Kids were accused of rebelling against “conformity to cultural stereotypes.”  They haven’t even seen the Stones yet.

• Meanwhile, back in St. Paul, the Beetles (formerly the Tornadoes) performed at the Belmont Supper Club in Beatle wigs on February 12, 1964.

• On February 15, KDWB’s Ed Rudy was the station’s Eastern Correspondent covering the Beatles’ first American tour.

• In the February 22, 1964, edition of the TV Times there were extensive ads for Beatle wigs at two drug stores and a Ben Franklin in Wayzata.  Plus there was a coupon for 50 cents off on said Beatle wig.

• Speaking of Beatle wigs, Will Jones described the Compleat Beatles kit he received from Capitol Records:  “besides copies of their first single records and album to be released in this country, a large lapel button bearing photos of all four and the command, ‘Be a BEATLE Booster!’  There’s also a newsletter and a tabloid newspaper devoted entirely to the Beatles.  the tabloid shows the Beatle-cut coif for women, and also four Capitol executives wearing Beatle wigs.  There’s an ad for Beatle wigs (‘reasonably authentic’) for $2 each.”

• KDWB’s music survey for March 14, 1964 advertises the Beatles Closed Circuit TV show on the giant screen, March 14 and 15 at the St. Paul Auditorium Theatre and the Minneapolis Armory.  Tickets were $2 and available at Field-Schlick and Melody Music City. The show was promoted by National Talent Consultants, Beverly Hills, represented in Minneapolis by 23-year-old Larry Goldblatt.  At the Armory, a group of kids showed up at 2am the night before, and a National Guardsman let them in for their safety but kicked them out at sunrise.  About 100 kids were literally beating down the doors at 8 am, although fewer than 1,000 of the expected 7,000-8,000 seats were filled for the 11am show.

The Castaways were one of the big local rock bands in the Twin Cities, playing all over the urban, suburban, and exurban areas, including up north in the ballrooms and resorts.  Writing about one of the most successful Garage Bands of all time is beyond my ken, but I can share some local gigs and pictures.

The Castaways consisted of Robert Folschow (Southwest), Roy Hensley (Richfield), Jim Donna (DeLaSalle), and Dennis “Ludwig” Craswell (Richfield). Denny’s the one on the bottom, looking like he was about 12 years old.

THEIR START

On April 10, 1964, the St. Louis Park dance team the Parkettes hosted the River City Talent Tournament at the Minneapolis Auditorium. Professional acts included Jimmie Rodgers and the Big Three, a group from Greenwich Village featuring Cass Elliot. The Castaways placed first in the rock and roll category, beating out the Blazemen from North High.  They won the $50 prize with “(Turn On Your) Love Light.” This big win led to professional jobs, press interviews, and more, essentially launching their career.

“LIAR, LIAR”

The band went on to have a huge monster national hit, “Liar, Liar,” written by Jim Donna and Denny Craswell and produced by Timothy D. Kehr.   Kehr was also a  a booking agent, music reviewer, record producer, magazine publisher, and more. “Liar, Liar” entered the Billboard chart on August 14, 1965 and stayed there for 14 weeks, peaking at #12 on October 23, 1965.  Unfortunately, their followup, “Goodbye Babe,”  didn’t fare as well – it entered Billboard’s Bubbling Under chart on November 13, 1965 where it stayed for only two weeks and made it to #101.

Nevertheless, the momentum of “Liar, Liar” was huge, and in ’65 they went out to California for 22 days.  They appeared on many rock ‘n’ roll TV shows, including “Where the Action Is,” “The Lloyd Thaxton Show,” “Shivaree,” “Never Too Young,” and “American Bandstand.”  When they played on “Hollywood a Go Go,” Roy Hensley ruptured a tonsil.

In 1967 they were even in a beach movie called “It’s a Bikini World.” (Only afterwards did the Beach Boys advise them never to do a beach movie.) Universal Pictures paid them $800 just for playing the song twice, reported the Minneapolis Tribune.  (Check out Denny’s wink at the end of the scene!)  During their career they worked with major stars like the Animals, Beach Boys, Sonny and Cher, and the Shangri-Las.

Gary Gimmestad remembers “the Castaways performing at a dance (1968?) in the gym of Incarnation (Catholic school) in South Minneapolis. It was most memorable because the Castaway’s drummer had metal pans on a couple of his drums which contained the flames from burning lighter fluid during the climax to the only live version of he Beatles’ ‘A Day in the Life’ I’ve ever heard.”

Did I mention that Denny was kind of my cousin?  His dad’s brother married my dad’s sister, so his Uncle Dick was also my Uncle Dick.  And Uncle Dick was a heckuva guy.

Denny Craswell, 1967

CASTAWAYS II

Dennis Libby provides us with a great photo of the second iteration of the Castaways.  He wrote that they were

a vital, somewhat influential and too frequently overlooked ensemble, despite being consistently the most authentic version having two of the original members Denny Craswell and Roy Hensley as carryover mainstays of the “Liar, Liar” recording. Despite the fact this version with myself, Tom (Foot) Husting, and now legendary influencer Gregory Dee Maland out- recorded and out lasted all but the Jim Donna version, with five singles, an LP, numerous inclusions on Greatest Hits CDs extensive gigging for nearly five years, and Connie Hechter award for best album, our considerable accomplishments are often overlooked and overshadowed by the original band. Here we are from 1968 modeling leatherwear for Dayton’s Department Store.

Dennis Libby, Denny Craswell, Tom “Foot” Husting, Roy Hensley, and Gregory Dee. Photo courtesy Dennis Libby

June 12, 1964: The Rolling Stones performed at Danceland.  There are so many versions of this story that I’ve made a separate page for the event.
The Key Club was still around, but not advertising in the Spokesman nearly as much.  On July 2, 1964 it presented Mojo Buford, but also a Saturday afternoon Bikini Beach Party.

On July 14, 1964, KDWB sponsored a “Super Colossal Midsummer Hop!” aka “Battle of the Bands in the Round” at Aldrich Arena.  Appearing were:

• The Underbeats
• Keith Zeller and the Starliners
• The More-Tishans
• The Tremadons
• The Sting-Rays

August 28, 29, and 30, 1964,  were big nights at Mr. Lucky’s:

• On Friday, August 28, there was a Battle of the Bands between the Chancellors and the Renegades.  (“If it’s a Rich Dance it’s the Finest”)
• Saturday night featured a dance with the Chancellors
• Sunday was Mr. Lucky’s First Annual Scholarship Dance featuring “The Stompin’ Underbeats,” “The Accents,” and “The Chancellors.”  Proceeds from the dance will provide two Mr. Lucky’s Scholarships for deserving freshmen students at the University of Minnesota.  Recipients will be selected by the University Scholarship Committee.  Services were donated by the bands, Pepsi Cola, KDWB, Mr. Lucky’s Club, and Rich Enterprises.

The Dave Clark Five Came to the Minneapolis Armory on November 17, 1964.  Kevin Odegard says that they “rocked the rafters. Best sound and (black)light show ever (their own)…  They were a monstrous, huge live act. One of the three best shows I ever saw. Two more happened in rapid succession the next year with the Yardbirds (Page on bass, Beck on lead) at Dayton’s 8th floor auditorium and the lads from Liverpool at Metropolitan Stadium. Nothing before or since ever came close to those shows.” [The Yardbirds were at Dayton’s on August 5, 1966.]  On December 12, 1964, Billboard Magazine reported that the group grossed $10,000 but concert promoter Ray “Big Reggie” Colihan lost $4,000; he had paid $25,000 for two shows, one in Des Moines.  Gregory Dee and the Avanties were remembered as the opening act.

Rod Eaton of the Underbeats remembers:

Ray “Big Reggie” Colihan famously brought the Rolling Stones to his Danceland and the Beatles to Met Stadium in Bloomington. He’s less remembered for bringing the Dave Clark Five to the Minneapolis Armory. They were riding their hit “Glad All Over.” As with the Stones and Beatles, Ray claimed he lost money on the Dave Clark Five. Following the concert, Ray attended a birthday party.  The Accents, Avanties, and Underbeats all played at the concert and all attended the party. Forty-percent of the Five also showed up. Pat and I ended up giving one of them a ride back to their hotel around 2 AM. I don’t recall which one, but I didn’t really know any of their names. I do remember he was friendly and polite. In fact, both of the Brits behaved themselves with us Yanks at the party. But we did have them outnumbered.

That’s Greg Maland of Gregory Dee and the Avanties with Ray.  Photo courtesy Rod Eaton

Local group the Escapades played their first job on New Year’s Eve, opening up for Chuck Berry at the St. Paul National Guard Armory. The Escapades pretended to be British, sporting Beatle wigs and accents. Fellow musicians weren’t fooled but their fans were – at least for awhile.

1965 saw the High Spirits become major players in the local music scene. Over the lifespan of the band, it included up to six residents from St. Louis Park. Click for detailed information about this (mostly) St. Louis Park band.

Louis Armstrong worked hard at the Upper Midwest Auto Show, doing two shows a day for ten days, January 8-17, 1965.  Tickets were $1.50, but available for half price at Super Valu stores.

Bob Reed’s journal shows the Trashmen performing at the Walker Art Center on February 6, 1965, and at the Prom on February 27, 1965.

An epic blizzard prevented Bobby “Blue” Bland from making a KUXL-sponsored dance at the Marigold Ballroom in March 1965, but a local musician was found to substitute, admission price lowered, and the event still drew 2,600 people.

The Trashmen played a rare local gig at a Hawaiian Surfari at Coffman Union at the U of M.  With special entertainment:  exotic dancer LaLoni!  Prizes for the Swingingest Hula Dancer, Brightest Shirt, Brightest Muu Muu.  April 30, 1965.

Larry O’Connell says the best Battle of the Bands took place at Aldrich Arena during the summer of ’65:  noon to midnight!

Why not?  Jonah and the Wailers and the Inmates were at the Shoreview Roller Rink on June 19, 1965.

Peter, Paul and Mary, with Dave Brubeck, appeared at the Met Center on June 23, 1965.  Well, this isn’t true, since the Met wasn’t built yet.  We’ll call this a placeholder.

Dizzy Gillespie and his Quintet, including James Moody, performed at Davy Jones’ Locker at the Downtowner Motel in July 1965 and got a heavenly review from Don Morrison in the Minneapolis Star.

The Trashmen came to the Marigold Ballroom on August 20, 1965.

The Beatles came to town on August 21, 1965 and had a terrible time.  See their separate page for the details. Meanwhile, out here in the suburbs, Archie Walker had a Beatle wig (made by Hoigaard’s out of dyed mops) placed on the revolving Beetle at his Volkswagen dealership in homage to the visiting moptops.  That summer you could get imported British clothes at J.W. Stephens in downtown Minneapolis.

The appearance of the Beatles created a huge market for guitars at local music stores, as every guy suddenly wanted to become a rock ‘n’ roll star, mostly for the chicks. At B-Sharp, guitar sales quintupled, jump starting the local music renaissance here in the mid 1960s. See a poster for B-Sharp on Robb Henry’s blog.

Horror producer William Castle made an unlikely appearance at a party at the Cascade 9 to celebrate the premier of an unnamed movie at the State Theater, according to Nancy Nelson’s column in the Twin City a-Go-Go magazine, August 1965.

Dan Holm of the Chancellors reports that the band provided backup for Jan and Dean in a 1965 show at Danceland.  The group was given the wrong key, but because of their professional musicianship they were able to adapt onstage.

Little Stevie Wonder appeared at Carleton College in August.

Paul Revere and the Raiders came to the Minneapolis Armory on August 19, 1965.

The Byrds performed in St. Paul in August/September.

Local dates for the Trashmen in September 1965 were:

• The University of Minnesota, September 20
• The Prom, September 24

The Miss Teenage Twin Cities Pageant aired on September 28, 1965 on Channel 11.

A new shop called The Losers was opened up downtown next to Music City at Seventh and Hennepin.  Twin City a’ GoGo reported “you won’t believe it when you walk into the place.  They sell everything!  Contemporary greeting cards, tiki gods, lighters the size of a boulder, rare coins, and they even have an art gallery.  The proprietor is as unique as his establishment.  His name is Hal Krieger and he states that the motto of The Losers is, ‘Where madness is a way of life.'”  An item says that Danny Klayman, a comedian from St. Louis Park, was appearing at “The Losers,” a well-known downtown daytime spot – same place?

According to Bob Reed’s journal, the Trashmen played the Minneapolis Auto Show on October 16 and 17, 1965.

In an October 17, 1965, article in the Minneapolis Tribune about the success of “Liar Liar,” band booker and record producer Dick Shapiro estimated that there were “350 rock ‘n’ roll bands in the Twin Cities area that are ‘good enough to get away with a dance job.'”

The Northwest Skiing and Winter Sports Fair, a/k/a Ski-a-Go-Go, was held on October 22 at the Minneapolis Exhibition Hall.  Performing were the Del Counts, the Fables, and the Deacons.

A December 1965 issue of the Westwinds newspaper of Westwood Jr. High reports that Granny dresses, though not exactly functional, are one of the fashion statement one sees lately.

Sonny and Cher were scheduled to perform at the Minneapolis Auditorium on December 30, 1965.

The KDWB-a-Go-Go dance party was a happening at the Minneapolis Armory on Saturday night, January 16, 1965.  As this vintage radio aircheck of Don Duchene tells us (the commercial is at 08:48), you could get six continuous hours of music and dancing for $1.50! KDWB’s Swingin’ Gentlemen presented:

• Jan and Dean
• Mickey Lee Lane  (I had to look him up too)
• The Mystics
• The Stingrays
• The Corvets

The show was a benefit for the March of Dimes.

Blogger Jerry Fuentes says that the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars came to Minneapolis (venue unknown) on June 2, 1965:

Dick Clark’s Caravan was heavily booked throughout 1965 with more shows planned than ever before.  They also featured something no other Caravan had offered – British acts.  Although Clark was vocal about American concert promoters paying way too much money to British Invasion artists in 1964, even he had to knuckle under to the demand for British artists this year.  Consequently, Clark made contract offers to a number of groups.  The first to accept was the Zombies.  However visa issues delayed their arrival so this unit began shows on April 15 and the Zombies didn’t join for the first 10 shows.  A week later a second unit hit the road with Herman’s Hermits headlining.  These two units criss-crossed the country and even shared one date.

Acts on the Unit 1 show were:

• Del Shannon
• Zombies
• The Larks
• Ikettes
• DeeDee Sharp
• Shangri-Las
• Tommy Roe
• Ad Libs
• Velvettes
• Jimmy Soul
• Executives
• Jewel Aikens
• Mel Carter
• Mike Clifford

From blog of Jerry Fuentes

Courtesy Myron Lee

Note:  I did NOT find any evidence that this show actually came to the Twin Cities.

Think of the Wolfman and you may think Mexico, but Bob Smith had several ties in Minnesota.  In January 1965, the Wolfman made his first appearance in the Twin Cities when he and record store owner/record label owner George Garrett bought radio station KUXL AM  1570.  The Wolfman did not appear on the air, but he managed the station and from there he recorded his oldies shows he broadcast from border radio station XERF in Mexico.  He didn’t own his share of the station for long, leaving the next year.  But in 1974, with newfound fame, he came back and bought a house in Minnetonka.  He made a deal with KDWB to broadcast live shows and also do a syndicated radio show.  That arrangement ended in January 1975.  He was back in 1980-82 to do occasional oldies shows on  station WWTC.  The Wolfman died in July 1995.

The Coronados played for the Sadie Hawkins dance at St. Louis Park High School in October 1965.  Did someone say that James Walsh on the keyboards?

Photo from the Echowan yearbook.

Bob Dylan appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 5, 1965, before an audience of 9,000. He refused any contact at all with anyone, but the day before he was cruising Dinkytown looking for Tony Glover, visiting old spots, and hanging out at McCash’s Bookstore.

Jerome Norlander remembers:

My roommates and I (having just left small-town Minnesota for our freshman year at the U  of M) walked from our ramshackle duplex near Dinkytown to the auditorium for that concert. I remember he sat alone on stage and the mic wasn’t working for his first song; you could hardly hear that he was singing at all. He had to stop and wait for it to be connected. He had just gone electric that summer, and later he brought the band out. I’m pretty sure the band was the Band, but that meant nothing to us at the time.

Others at the show remembered his folkie friends booing the electric set, just as he had been at the Newport Folk Festival (where Pete Seeger was reportedly so mad he tried to cut the power with an axe!)  The Twin City a’ Go Go reviewer was not impressed, calling the music “tedious, uninspired, and harsh.”

Photo posted by Steve Klemz – taken by his sister.

Louis Armstrong was back at the Auto Show at the Minneapolis Auditorium, January 7-16, 1966.

The Kingston Trio’s scheduled performance at Northrop Auditorium for January 18, 1966 was moved to February 9 and then to February 18 because the wife of one of the members was due to have a baby.  The February 18 show went on as scheduled.

Dudley Riggs moved his Brave New Workshop to 2605 Hennepin in late ’65/early ’66.  The owners of his previous building at 207 E. Hennepin did not renew his lease.  The satire repertoire group was started in 1961.  In a Twin City a’ Go Go interview, Riggs revealed that he had opened a coffeehouse in 1958, but in 1959 it became a haunt of beatniks, to Riggs’ consternation.

In March 1966 Teri Rogers, organist for Teri and the Lancers, started a rock ‘n’ roll column in the St. Paul Musician, the newsletter of the St. Paul Musicians Union.  Given the antipathy for rock ‘n’ roll on the part of the union members, it’s not surprising that the column didn’t last long.

An April 1966 issue of the Westwinds newspaper from Westwood Jr. High in St. Louis Park announced that paper dresses were in this spring.  Not available in stores yet, these wild colored dresses could be had through the mail.

Johnny Cash and company came to the “Minneapolis Convention Hall” on April 16, 1966.

Marcia from Marcia and the Lynchmen reports that they were one of the teen bands highlighted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Pictorial Magazine, June 5, 1966, “Those Teen Bands.” The article was entitled “Behind the Twang of the Guitar” and the text was by Bill Diehl.  Maddie Shay scanned her copy for us but WordPress ate it.  I’ll try to get it back up soon!

June 10, 1966, was the fifth annual “School’s Out Spectacular” at Aldrich Arena in St. Paul, sponsored by KDWB.  Over 5,000 kids attended the event, dancing to eight bands, including the Ides of March and Dee Jay and the Runaways.  Funds raised went to the Ramsey County Jr. Sheriff”s Patrol for rain coats, hats, and safety signs.

The Animals and Herman’s Hermits played the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 1966.  The concert was reviewed by Dave Mona in the Minneapolis Tribune, with counterpoint by a local teenager.  The opening act was the local band The Marvelous Marauders.

The National Ballroom Operators Association awarded citations to the Castaways, the Hot Half Dozen, Michael’s Mystics, and the Underbeats for being outstanding, neat and danceable bands.

In an October 1966 interview with the Underbeats in In-Beat magazine, there is a telling paragraph:

“The group agreed that the rise of quality pop music has revived this country’s interest in rhythm and blues but their interest is not desegregated. They pointed out that, ironically, it is difficult for Negro R and B bands to get jobs in the Twin Cities. This, they said, was because many places in the Twin Cities won’t serve or hire Negroes. ‘A lot of really good Negro musicians can’t even get in groups because the group is afraid that if they take them, they won’t get jobs.'”

Gene Chandler played Stem Hall on October 9, 1966.

Sammy Davis, Jr. with Count Basie and His Orchestra performed at the St. Paul Auditorium on October 13, 1966.

The Temptations played the Marigold Ballroom on October 16, 1966.

Joe Tex appeared at Stem Mall, St. Paul Auditorium, on November 2, 1966.

Ray Charles played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 6, 1966.

Dave Brubeck was at the Minneapolis Auditorium (and/or the St. Paul Auditorium Theater) on November 19, 1966.

The Lovin’ Spoonful played the Minneapolis Convention Center on November 27, 1966.   T.C. Atlantic was the opening band.

December 26, 1966, was billed as the “Biggest Dance in History,” held at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  On the bill were the Fabulous Flippers, the Electras, the Underbeats, the Del Counts, T.C. Atlantic, the Castaways, Michael’s Mystics, the Accents, and “many more.”

Mike Jann and Tony Andreason of the Trashmen started Metrobeat Records in 1966.  The LP “The Best of Metrobeat” now goes for $200.  See a partial 45 discography here. 

Dee Jay and the Runaways hit the national Billboard chart with the fun song “Peter Rabbit” in May 1966.  The group was from Spirit Lake, Iowa, and the song was popular here in Minneapolis.  Everything you need to know about this song is on this website!  The song peaked at Number 45 on July 9, 1966.

The Flinthill Singers did the rounds at the local shopping malls in 1966.   Why “Folk Music” is in quotation marks in this ad is beyond me.

1966

Not to be confused with the Ray Charles Singers, who put out an album in 1966 called “What the World Needs Now is Love.”  On that Command LP was a song called “Minneapolis,” written by the prolific Dick Wilson and that “other” Ray Charles.  The Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce held a  and this was the winning entry.  Hymie’s Records (bless them) has posted the song so you can hear it Here.

The Mamas and Papas made their only appearance in the Twin Cities on October 24, 1966, at Convention Hall in the Minneapolis Auditorium.  The show was sponsored by KDWB.

One of the two warm-up bands was Dave Brady and the Stars.  The “Stars” were regulars three days a week at Magoo’s.  The band was noted for being one of the first “mixed groups” to widely popularize the Motown style of music (Temptations, Impressions, Imperials, Four Tops, Jackie Wilson, Sam and Dave, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, etc.) in many of the numerous dance clubs around the Twin Cities and the five state region.

A review of the concert by Brian Anderson of the Minneapolis Tribune on October 26 reported that Brady and the Stars played for 20 minutes, followed by a group called Seven Sons “from Chicagoland.”  At the break, the audience, estimated at 5,000 and called “hippies” by the KDWB DJ, was disgruntled about the delay.  But after two hours, the Mamas and Papas did show up for a 40 minute show, which was well received by the crowd that was described as mostly college students or older teens.  The show was what you might call “freewheeling:”

When the Mamas felt like singing from the floor, they sat on the floor and sang.  When the group felt like walking around they walked around.  When they felt like talking to the light crew (“keep those bottom lights on and all we’ll get is knee-cap shots”) they talked to the light crew.

The group We Five appeared at Northrop Auditorium on January 14, 1967.  The concert was the finale to Greek Week at the U of M, and proceeds went to scholarships for Indian students.

KUXL hosted the Impressions at the Marigold Ballroom on January 22, 1967.  Also appearing were the Amazers.

WCCO-TV aired this picture of Gary Lewis and his new wife, so we presume the happy couple were in the Cities on March 11, 1967, but there’s no guarantee.

Did I get my first record player on my birthday in 1967?  I don’t remember, but it was white, and not quite a Close ‘n’ Play.

March 26, 1967, saw the invasion of  Paul Revere and the Raiders, and their co-stars of the show “Where the Action Is,” including Tina Mason, Steve Alaimo, and Keith Allison.  Also appearing were Roy Head and a back-up band called Flash and the Board of Directors.  The show took place at the St. Paul Auditorium Arena.  Emcees were Johnny Canton and Scott Burton.

James Brown and his 18 Piece Orchestra appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 25, 1967, presented by Toby Zeno of Metro Attractions.  An ad, apparently from the Minneapolis Spokesman, called this “The Largest Twin Cities Rhythm & Blues Concert Ever Scheduled in the Twin Cities Area.  (A Show for the Entire Family)”  Oddly enough, despite the popularity of Brown and his previous appearances in the Twin Cities, there doesn’t appear to be any publicity for this performance in the Minneapolis Star or Tribune.  It may be due to the fact that trouble broke out in conjunction with Brown’s concerts in 1966 in Los Angeles and Kansas City?

Connie Hechter, in the TCM Insider (April 29, 1967), found Brown to be “TOO MUCH!” but perhaps for lack of publicity, the crowd was small.

When an artist of this caliber comes through, the house should be packed.  It’s not often you can watch this type of “action” show in person.  We have to support these acts, gang, if we want more of them!

The Surfers – local band with members from Hopkins and Minnetonka – made a record in a private home studio in St. Louis Park.  See Robb Henry’s blog for a brief history of this short-lived band.

Vice President and Mrs. Humphrey attended a Minneapolis Symphony Ball on May 6 in Southdale’s Garden Court.  “For the swinging ball-goers there was more lively dancing to the Underbeats in a separate room,” reports The Music Scene.

An article by JoJo Esko in the May 1967 Music Scene commented on how Twin Cities audience don’t applaud performers.  One guess is that the Scandinavians don’t want to bring attention to themselves.

May 22, 1967, was the date of the first Connie Awards.

Some of the kids around Lake Minnetonka were apparently not happy with the action at Danceland, and formed the Lake Area Student Association (LASA) to sponsor dances at the Surfside Club in Mound.  The students were from Wayzata, Minnetonka, and Hopkins High Schools.  LASA got its start after a party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cook got out of hand.  The Cooks helped organize the group; Mrs. Cook said, “We wanted to hold the dance in a nice place.  The kids’ dignity is hurt by some of the places they must go to dance.”  Attendance at the first dance was not as much as expected but was deemed a success.  (Minnetonka Herald, June 22, 1967)

On June 25, the Beatles appeared on a BBC program “Our World,” which was broadcast to 31 countries and an estimated 500 million people.

Trestman Music Center’s 2nd Annual Battle of the Bands drew 64 bands.  It took place June 28-30 and July 5-7 in Richfield.  Contestants had to be ages 13-17 and non-professional.  First place went to the Defenders.

Donald K. Martin played soul sounds on his overnight show on KDWB.

In June 1967 the Star’s Forrest Powers interviewed Jan Melchior of WDGY and Sam Sherwood of KDWB and both agreed that they stuck to the standard Top 40 format:

From 6 a.m. till 9 a.m., the dic jockey is a “conservative swinger,” playing to both the teens and the young aduluts who are up and about at the time.  The pitch grows a bit softer from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the housewives make up the main audience, bu the tempo begins to “really swing” thereafter when the teen-agers start arriving home from school.

Melchoir and Sherwood were also asked about Gordon MacLendon’s charge that “tunes glorifying dope addition and immorality in general are being pushed for radio play.”  Both stations said that they check the lyrics before they play a song and ask the publisher to send the words if they are hard to understand.  Which doesn’t explain “White Rabbit.”

A Preservation Hall concert featuring Kid Thomas and His 8 Algiers Stompers was presented on July 12, 1967, in the Grand Crown Ballroom of the New Hopkins House in Golden Valley.

Marcia and the Lynchmen were one of the opening bands at the Buckinghams concert at the Minneapolis Armory on July 12, 1967.  Leader Tim Lynch of Edina would be drafted that October, serving in Vietnam until 1970.  He died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 49.

WDGY sponsored a show by Aretha Franklin at the Minneapolis Auditorium on July 19, 1967. Johnny Canton introduced her.  Marcia and the Lynchmen were scheduled to be an opening act, but Marcia was in a car accident just before the concert.

Jimmie Rodgers had an extended engagement at the Manor Restaurant in St. Paul.  Later that year, on December 1, 1967, he suffered traumatic head injuries after the car he was driving was stopped by an off-duty police officer near the San Diego Freeway in Los Angeles. He had a fractured skull and required several surgeries. Initial reports in the newspapers attributed his injuries to a severe beating with a blunt instrument by unknown assailants.  He recovered but his career was over.

A new booking agency called Uphill Productions, based in St. Louis Park, announced its startup in July 1967, with a wish to give new groups a start.

The Monkees played the St. Paul Auditorium on August 4.  See the Individual Page on the Monkees in Minnesota.

On August 10, 1967, Dayton’s St. Paul sponsored a Back to School event that featured the Litter and Danny’s Reasons.

Denny Waite remembered that the Litter invited the Who (but not the Hermits) over for a party after the concert, but only Pete Townsend showed up and he was incredibly shy.

Robert Wilkinson remembers,

I was at this concert. It was awesome. We went to the Downtowner Motel afterward and hung out with them for a bit. All the doors of the rooms were open and various members of all the bands were wandering around from room to room drinking and partying. My favorite era of the Who, or anything before Tommy.

Spanky and Our Gang came back on September 21, 1967, to Northrop Auditorium.

In October 1967 KDWB sponsored a cheerleading competition where cheerleaders from 20 schools submitted tapes and kids called in to vote for their favorite school.  On the last night there were so many calls that they spilled into other exchanges.

Not sure I understand this one:  On October 27, 1967, “WWTC Radio Presents First Twin City Appearance.  Live and Direct from Palmer’s House.  Imogene (The Horse) and Fritz (The coach driver).  See Them at Jennings Red Coach Inn, 11 am to 6 pm.”

The Byrds performed at the Marigold Ballroom (and also in Mankato), some time between September 10 and November 10, 1967.

Tom Pinkert was a freshman living in the dormitories at the U of M 1967-68. “My circle of friends used to go over to the West bank and see a local band called The Paisleys. They performed in a fire trap called Dania Hall circa 1967-68. There was always a psychedelic light show. I just found a clip on youtube from a slightly later era which captures the spirit.”

Simon and Garfunkel appeared at Augsburg College on November 10, 1967.

The Young Rascals played the Minneapolis Auditorium on November 24, 1967.  The show was opened by the local band the Nickel Revolution.  NR member Kent Saunders says:  “They were a great bunch of guys, and very supportive of our comparatively rookie status. I even have a Gene Cornish guitar pick, with his name on it, as a memory.”  For an eyewitness account, see the Nickel Revolution’s blog.  Also advertised to be on the bill were Dave Brady and the Stars and the Seraphic Street Sounds (formerly the Escapades).  WDGY’s Scott Burton was the emcee.

The Shadows of Knight came to the New City Opera House on December 9, 1967, inaugurating a new policy of presenting national acts.

Sergio Mendes and the Brazil ’66 and Glen Campbell came to the new Met Center on December 16, 1967.   Mendez had been here previously in the spring of 1966.

KDWB presented a Christmas Concert series that featured area high schools on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. Each school presented a half hour concert. 13 schools participated.

KQRS’s George Donaldson Fisher did a progressive rock show in the winter of 1967.

KUXL featured an Oldies show on Saturdays from 5-6:30, with DJ Bill Blast.

Johnny Cash came to the Minneapolis Auditorium on April 22, 1967, with the entire family.  Cash would return on June 22, 1967, sez here.

• June Carter Cash
• Mother Maybelle and the Carter Family
• The Tennessee Three
• Carl Perkins
• The Statler Brothers

Hennepin County Library

On May 7, 1967, the “Psychedelic Soundburst” (or Sound-Burst) took place at Aldrich Arena. The show, emcee’ed by KDWB’s Charlee Brown and Earl L. Trout III, was billed as the “Biggest Dance in the History of Aldrich Arena” and promised the world’s best light show – the Fillmore Light Show.  The Music Scene reported that the show was presented by Rich Hanson, who planned another for June called “School’s Out – Book Burning Blast.”  (did this happen?)

Featured performers were:

• The Del Counts
• The Hot Half Dozen
• Danny’s Reasons
• The Litter – “a group that equals The Electric Prunes in sight and sound”
• Grasshoppers – Headliners
• Happy Dayz(e?)
• Youngsters
• Sir Raleighs
• The Chancellors, just home from triumphant tour of Kansas
•  Dozen
• The High Spirits

Danny’s Reasons appeared on Bill Carlson’s show “This Must be the Place” on June 10, 1967.  On the show Danny crowned “Miss 16:” are you out there Miss 16?  Here are some pictures of the band on the show, courtesy of the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting.

Marshall Fine, student reporter for the St. Louis Park Echo, wrote a story about the hippie phenomenon and interviewed some of the performers who were here for the Aquatennial.  Sonny Bono:  “Because I have long hair and wear extravagant clothes, to the adults, I’m a hippie.  But to the hippies, I’m not a hippie.  My ideas are too conventional.”  Marty Balin:  “Sure, but what is a hippie?  It’s just a name.  Adults had to call us something because we were happening and they had to label us something, to prove to themselves that they knew what was going on.  Personally, I think ‘hippies’ sounds like the name of a breakfast cereal.”  Grace Slick:  “It’s not that we all walk around loving each other, but we just don’t like violence.  That’s why there’s so much protest of the war in Vietnam.  But we’re only human.  We’ll argue and get mad just like anyone else.”  Fine ended his article:  “Predictions have been made that the hippie culture will die out within the next year.  If so, it will not go unnoticed.  Summer ’67 is proof enough of that.”

On July 19, 20, and 21, 1967, KDWB and the Aquatennial sponsored “Happening ’67” at the Minneapolis Convention Hall.

The T.M.C. Insider reported that the event was:

unofficially planned to make Minneapolis the place “where it’s at” this summer.  KDWB and the Aquatennial are hoping that a lot of the flower children from all over the country will congregate at “the world’s largest happening” in the Minneapolis Auditorium.  … Happening ’67 will be a three day psychedelic feast – That’s right, a three day freakout.  In the stage area will be sheets of brilliant silver mylar, interspersed with fabrics as colorful as possible, to accent the silver.  There will be three screens.  From the back, projectors will flash colored lights which are electronically controlled so that they keep time with the music – pulsating when the timbre of the music does.  Cost for the lighting equipment – $100,000.

MC Charlee Brown – Photo copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul

Appearing were:

Jefferson  Airplane (These photos taken at the July 19, 1967, show)

Jefferson Airplane photo copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul

Grace Slick photo copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul

Airplane backstage; photo copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul

• Buffalo Springfield
• The Shadows of Knight
• The Electric Prunes

The four groups played in rotation over the three days.

Poster by Larry “Joaquin” Hudek

REVIEWS

Will Jones gave a generally good review of the event, describing three huge rear-projection screens that had colored lights and images flashing on them from behind, frequently in synchronization with the music.  “Sometimes the shadows of what appeared to be nude go-go dancers appeared on the screens.  Our party strolled behind the screens to see what went on behind there [and found] go-go dancers in bikinis making those lively silhouettes.”  They were chased away by the police though, which Jones said “put a crimp in the proceedings.”  He also cited a young man who was not impressed:  “‘This isn’t really very well done at all.  There aren’t enough lights.  Not enough things popping.’  He looked around the hall slowly with his experienced eye and then announced, ‘They need at least five or six more big lights.'”

Molly Ivins, then a Tribune staff writer, observed “If most of the kids were hippies, then they were too young to grow beards.   Their clothes ranged from Carnaby Street Moderate to All-American Slob.  The Jefferson Airplane was the big hit of the evening.  The Airplane has more fun, more noise, more style and more hair than the three other groups.  The kids danced, sat, lay down, or just stood listening to the music and watching the lights and a no-sense film made by Marcus the Hippie and his friends.”

Beverly Kees from the Minneapolis Star focused on the disinterest of the audience the unspecified night she attended, counting the house at 2,100.  She never mentioned the bands or who was in them, except for the Airplane.   “For the most part the teens watched silently and unsmiling.”  “During infrequent and brief pauses between songs, applause was sporadic.”  The last group, the Airplane, got more attention and applause.  “The teens applauded and quietly walked out.”

Ric from Facebook remembered, “Neil Young did not play with Buffalo Springfield. It was Doug Hastings, from the Daily Flash, who filled in while Neil had left the group for awhile. I was disappointed. The Airplane did not play at least one of the dates as Buffalo Springfield headlined the day I was there.”  Larry says, “I  don’t remember any chairs. They played on a stage a few feet above the dance floor.”

The KDWBeat Magazine, August 26, 1967:

KDWB – Where The Action Is!  For three nights the Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, Electric Prunes and Shadows of Night filled the flour city with their flower music.  “Happening ’67” was a total experience.  Each group wished they could have stayed longer, but about 11:30 each night, some guy would come in and yell, “Hey, they’re rolling up the sidewalk!”

On Friday all the groups were taken out to Lake Minnetonka for an afternoon on the largest boat on the lake.   Even though most of the people were from California, they were truly impressed.  The groups said they really hated to leave the twin cities. The Jefferson Airplane said that they wished they could have stayed longer, but they had to get out to the airport because someone had written “Spirit of St. Louis” across the fuselage.  The Electric Prunes asked, ‘Is St. Paul really putting Minneapolis on?’ And then they were gone.”

It was the Summer of Love, and Minneapolis joined in with a series of Love-Ins in Loring Park.

JUNE 18, 1967

The first one was on Sunday, June 18, 1967, at 2:00 pm.  It was sponsored by Psychedelia, Subterranean Productions, and KDWB – DJ Sam Sherwood was listed on the poster, which may mean he made an appearance.  The poster was designed by local artist Joaquin (Lawrence Hudek), a partner who ran the Psychedelia head shop.

The bands were:

• The Unholy Alliance
• The Litter
• Maurice (Jacox?)
• The Great Western Exhibit
• The Spectrum

Many thanks to John P. Koski

JULY 23, 1967

200 people gathered for a Love-In in Loring Park on July 23, 1967.  The four-hour event was organized by the Free Music Society.

Music was provided by:

• The Family
• Jokers Wild
• The Weeds.  Any former Weeds out there?

July 23, 1967. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

July 23, 1967. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

July 23, 1967. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

It was at this or another 1967 Love-In that Blue Sandalwood Soap performed “Friends I Haven’t Met Yet.”  Here is a performance of that song.  Dan Knutson with Harley Toberman, Steve Luck and Dave Bergsland play while various people grab the 8mm camera and trip out.  The song was featured on the show “Mad Men,” Season 6 in April 2013.

Photo by St. Paul Dispatch and Pioneer Press, courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

FLYING HIGH

More on Blue Sandalwood Soap:  They recorded a demo for the ad agency that had Northwest Orient as a client. As Harley Toberman explains, “They didn’t like it – too “hippie” 🙂  We just did it for fun. Recorded in a little studio in St. Paul with Dan Knutson Singing/guitar, Harley Toberman on Farfisia, Steve Luck on Bass, and Cyril Paul on Bongos. This song and 17 others can be found on the LORING PARK LOVE INS by Blue Sandalwood Soap CD, downloadable on Amazon.com and iTunes.”  (I got mine on discogs.)

OCTOBER 1, 1967

The only other hit I got for “Love-In” came on October 1, 1967.  There were two that day:

One was at Powderhorn Park, where people were shown playing with an open parachute.

The other was a “hippie art show” in the parking lot of the Fourth Northwestern National Bank, 401 Riverside Ave.

KDWB presented “Super Sunday,” starting with their third annual Drag Race Festival at Minnesota Dragways (Highway 242 in Coon Rapids) on August 20, 1967. 10,260 spectators watched 552 cars race, and trophies were presented by Miss Mann Theaters Teenager (where is she now?).   Also featured was a grudge match between Earl Trout and Tac Hammer.

That night at the Minneapolis Auditorium they presented Herman’s Hermits, the Blues Magoos, and the Who, who totally wrecked their instruments.  Ticket prices ranged from $3.25 to $5.25, with discount tickets available at Pedwin Shoes at Knollwood.

Keith Moon – Photo copyright Mike Barich, St. Paul

Mike says the band kept most of his negatives, but he still has the drum sticks!

In October 1967, boys ages 8 to 15 could join the WDGY/Minnesota Vikings Huddle Club, co-sponsored by the breakfast drink “Beep.”  For $1.00 membership, you got:

• Membership card
• Official T-shirt
• BEEP for Breakfast certificate
• Vikings insignia
• Player-of-the-Week Contest
• Father-Son Banquet where you could meet the Vikings

Tackle Grady Alderman was the Honorary Huddle Club President.  Join Today!  (Minnetonka Herald)

The Sing Out Troupe came to town in October 1967 to perform an original musical, “Up With People,” at the Minneapolis Auditorium, the St. Paul Auditorium, Hopkins High School, Blake School, and several other area schools.  The group started in 1965 with 130 young people at a youth conference sponsored by the Moral Rearmament, a nonprofit, nonsectarian group espousing “absolute moral standards, and love of home, homeland, and humanity.”  By 1967 there were three troupes of 150 members each.  They traveled the country, with members staying in the homes of the host cities and subsisting on money from home and donations (e.g., Munsingwear donated some underwear..)  They travel out of suitcases on a bus:  “Sometimes it’s rugged, but directing your lives to absolute moral standards takes much more guts than doing just what’s easy and fun,” one participant said.  “Hippies who discuss problems but don’t do anything about them don’t accomplish anything, and they hurt us.” (Minnetonka Herald)  The group morphed into Up with People, founded by J. Blanton Belk in 1965 as a positive voice for young people during a turbulent period in the United States. Its historic path officially began in 1968 when it was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) international, educational non-profit entity.

The Metropolitan Sports Center was built for the new National Hockey League expansion team, the Minnesota North Stars.  The first game of the season was on  October 11, 1967, on the road against the St. Louis Blues, another expansion team. The game ended in a 2-2 tie. On October 21, 1967, the North Stars played their first home game against the California Seals. Spectator seats were in the process of being installed as fans arrived at the arena for the first time. The North Stars won 3-1.

In 1970, a team song was written by Herb Pilhofer and Dick Wilson, called “Go For a Goal, North Stars.”  Arne Fogel gives us great background info:  “That’s me singing on it. Dale Menten is probably there as well, and also a guy on many sessions at the time, Bruce Winther. Most prominent female voice on the disc is that of Joanie Knutson (Joanie Pilhofer at that time).  We cut the song during one session, and were called in several days later to re-do it; the client could not hear the articulation of the ‘L’ at the end of the word ‘Goal’ (it sounded like ‘Go for a Go’). So, we did it again, and that’s why you can hear us seemingly ‘over-articulating’ the letter ‘L’ at the end of the word ‘Goal’… ”  Just saw this for sale for $337.50, but you can Hear it Here.

Magoo’s/New City Opera House hosted two New Year’s Eve Party extravaganzas that featured eight local bands.  All those bands and a Magooburger – sounds like heaven!

The Dave Rooney Trio recorded their album “A Different Breed of Cat” at Diamond Lil’s on February 2 and 12, 1968.  Leigh Kamman was the producer and Dick Driscoll was the recording engineer.  Cool cars, cool chicks, cool cats!

Bob Mecay and Tom Casteneda organized a giant Easter Fair at the Minneapolis Auditorium, April 9 – 14, 1968.  Music stores had booths at the fair, and Vavro Music sponsored an amateur band contest throughout the event.  Winners were to get bookings and prizes.  Mel Jass acted as emcee for the various musical acts.

Local acts included:

• The Perspectives
• The Underbeats
• Riverboat Ramblers in the Beer Garden
• Bob Terri Trio in the Beer Garden
• Fabulous Fascinators (not sure if the “Fabulous” is part of the name or just an adjective)

National Acts were:

• The Electric Prunes
• The Mob
• Pat Paulson, April 9-11
• Maury Amsterdam, April 12-14

In his autobiography, Me, the Mob, and the Music: One Helluva Ride With Tommy James and the Shondells, Tommy describes his active role in Hubert Humphrey’s presidential campaign.  He traveled all over the country, and even gave HHH a black beauty once to help him stay awake to write a speech.  Tommy writes:

We were there the night of the election at the Leamington Hotel in Minneapolis.  I can’t begin to tell you how electric the scene was.  It was so exciting because of how much was riding on this election, the assassinations months before, the convention, the war – we felt like we were at the center of things.  And we were.  The hotel was filled with celebrities like Gene Barry, Lee Majors.  All the TV networks were there.  We were actually on all three at once and we played a couple of sets waiting for the results to come in.  Nixon had begun months before with an outrageous lead in the polls, somewhere around 30 percent.  By election night, the candidates were neck and neck.  Humphrey credited us with the bump in the polls, and though I don’t think we played that crucial a part, we were tickled with the compliment.

David Hicks again:

Also in 1968 election night HHH had his election party at the hotel Leamington which had Tommy James and The Shondells playing at one side of the grand ballroom and Sonny and Cher playing at the same time on the other side of the ballroom. What a night. I was about 10 feet in front of the stage when HHH gave his [ever optimistic] speech at about 2:30 in the morning.

Tommy James said that the voting machines in Chicago had broken down.  “Later that morning, a flood of votes went Nixon’s way and he was projected the winner.  Everyone knew what had happened.  It was Mayor Daley’s revenge on the Democrats for his national humiliation at the [Democratic National] convention.”  Humphrey officially conceded the next day.

Jimi Hendrix was slated to play the Minneapolis Armory on August 11, 1968, but the date was moved to November 2, 1968, at the Minneapolis Auditorium.  About 6,000 people saw the 45 minute performance.

Collage of Tickets and Photos courtesy Robb Henry

Notes from Tony Glover’s review in Metanoia:

• Cat Mother and the All-Night Newsboys opened the show [do you remember their hit?]  “They seemed to be a pretty tight group, using electric fiddle and mandolin off and on… But how many really paid any attention to them?  Turns out Hendrix was producing them.
• Hendrix, “his sidemen and his road managers are about the nicest group of people I’ve come in contact with in the music business, ever.  And that’s saying something.”
• Jonny Matthews, “underground cat at KDWB,” introduced the band.
• After the first number (“Fire”) “he says that there is amplifier trouble.  With a grin he announces, ‘We want to dedicate this number to all the narcotics agents and plainclothesmen here, you know who you are … and any other bastards who might be in the crowd.'”
• During the second number the crowd surged forward and “one chick fainted.”  The promoter wanted security to clear the stage area but the Hendrix people encouraged the surge.  It got dangerous.  After the number Matthews announced that the show would be stopped unless people returned to their seats.
• “There’s a fantastic hostility flow in the crowd near the stage”
• After “Voodoo Chile” Hendrix says, “Please give us another ssecond to get our amplifiers straight” and leaves the stage, “disgusted.”
• Next song is a 15-minute “Red House.”
• Hendrix:  “This song is dedicated to somebody’s girl friend tonight, I don’t know who yet, we’ll find out after the gig…”
• He keeps complaining about the equipment, although Glover says it sounds fine.
• Hendrix thanks the audience, says he’ll be back and play twice as long, and then launches into the “Star Spangled Banner,” which turns into “Purple Haze.”
• Glover claims that Hendrix actually sings, “‘Scuze me while I kiss this guy” and turns toward bandmate Mitch Mitchell.
• They stayed at the Ritz – after the show they watched Laurel and Hardy on TV.

Allan Holbert of the Minneapolis Tribune was not impressed!

The Jimi Hendrix show at the Minneapolis Auditorium Saturday night was billed as “an experience,” and that’s a good name for it. It was an experience, an undesirable one. For those of you who are not yet aware of this shining new talent, Jimi Hendrix could be best described as a black Elvis Presley. That is to say, he doesn’t sing too well, and he doesn’t play his white guitar too well, but he does have a lot of sex.

HE HAS long hair. He wears a pink, flowery shirt and pink pants and white shoes. He twists and moves around a lot as he sings and caresses his guitar. So his talent is really not significant and neither is that of something called [Mother] Cat and the all night newsboys, the rock band that preceded Hendrix before intermission. The things that made the Hendrix experience an experience was the behavior of the love-oriented (remember) hippie types in all their conforming nonconformist costumes who crowded and forced themselves up to the front of the stage when Hendrix came on.

THE MUSIC by Hendrix and his two white sidemen was loud but not too clear. Among his songs were “Foxy Lady” and “Are You Experienced,” which he dedicated to “all the narcotics agents and detectives and a few other bastards.” People sitting in the balcony probably had no trouble seeing Hendrix. For those sitting up front it was quite difficult because of those rude, smelly long-haired kids who pushed their way up to the stage, completely intimidating law officers and Andy Frain ushers. It was possible to see if you stood up, but Jimi Hendrix isn’t worth standing up for.

From Owen Husney:

My friend and I spent the night hanging with Jimi after the show that night. He played the Minneapolis Auditorium and stayed at the old Sheraton Ritz downtown. I’ll never forget that evening..just the three of us talking music and watching Laurel and Hardy on TV (with the help of a few other things). One of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Photos below of the band and unidentified Braniff International stewardesses at the airport are from Robb Henry, who got them from a collector in New Zealand.

Photo by Denny Schwartz

Photo courtesy Robb Henry

Photo courtesy Mike Ciresi

KDWB, in conjunction with MGM Records, held a talent contest in an extensive campaign to promote the film “The Impossible Years,” a film about the generation gap.  The record company wanted to find a band that they could name after the film (and presumably either appear in the movie or sing the theme song).

In the Twin Cities more than 30 bands submitted audition tapes.  The winner is the relatively new band Flight, a precursor to the mighty Pepper Fog, made up of Dale Strength on guitar and vocals; Gregg Inhofer on keyboards and vocals; Ron Merchant on bass guitar and vocals; and Bob Strength on drums and vocals. The band plays cover songs from the hard rock bands of the time including: Jimi Hendrix; Cream; The Who; The Rolling Stones; and Vanilla Fudge. In the fall of 1968 Flight recorded a version of “Sugar and Spice” (by The Cryan’ Shames from Chicago) at George Garrett’s basement studio as their audition tape. Flight won our local contest, moving on to a regional competition in Chicago.  Runners up were Holy Smoke and Dandelion Wine, and all-girl band.  In Chicago the winners were the Pacers, from Lincoln, Nebraska, but the theme of the movie was ultimately performed by the Cowsills.

Flight, from the December 21-28, 1968 Insider; photo by Mike Barich

Flight also earned the job of opening for Indian teen idol Sajid Khan, who opened his show at the Minneapolis Armory on December 14, 1968 by riding in on an elephant. This photo of Kahn, taken by Mike Barich, appeared in the December 21-28, 1968 Insider.

“Big Daddy Wagg” owned Wagener Music, the Vox dealership in Minneapolis, with one store on Penn Ave. No. and another in on Highway 61 in the White Bear Shopping Center.  On December 25, 1968, he held a music marathon featuring local bands:

• South 40
• Del Counts
• Grasshoppers
• System
• Bananas
• Clover
• Electric Brigade
• Soul Purpose
• Youngsters
• Stillroven (maybe)

Johnny Matthews did his KDWB Underground Show from the New City Opera House on January 5, 1969, in front of 700 fans.  Appearing on the show were:

• White Lightning
• Jokers Wild
• CA Quintet
• Skin Trade
• Michael Yonkers
• Nickel Revolution
• Poison Bird Pie

THE HOUSE OF LEATHER

1969 was the year that Dale Menten (music) and Frederick Gaines (script) wrote and produced the rock musical “House of Leather.”

The show was set in a house of prostitution before, during, and after the Civil War.  I was shocked to find a program among my mother’s souvenirs!

THE ALBUM

The House of Leather LP by Blackwood Apology was written by Dale Menten and recorded at Kay Bank Studios.  The album was recorded under the Castaways’ Mercury/Fontana Records contract, with studio musicians Ron Beckman on bass, Tom “Foot” Husting on guitars with Menten, Denny Craswell on drums with Elliott Fine on the 6/8 time signature Civil War cut, Gregory Dee Maland on the Hammond organ parts, and Dennis Libby on grand and electric piano. Maland’s hospitalization for lung failure caused them to use Bob Schultz, engineer and choir director, to fill in on a few harmony parts in Maland’s absence.  They were dubbed Blackwood Apology.

House of Leather Album Cover

Tracks

1. Medley: Swanee River Overture / House Of Leather Theme – 2:06
2. Do You Recall The House Of Leather? – 2:47
3. Recess With Mrs. Grim – 1:03
4. Graduates Of Mrs. Grim’s Learning – 3:10
5. There Is Love In The Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm) – 2:03
6. Here I Am – 4:27
7. She Lives With Me – 1:07
8. There’s Love In The Country (On The Donny Brooks Farm)  Reprise – 2:05
9. Time Marches On – 5:23
10. Dixie And The War – 3:21
11. Death And Reality – 2:52
12. Sarah’s On Her Knees – 2:46
13. Theme From House Of Leather (Epilogue In Suede) – 2:45

All compositions by Dale Menten

The House of Leather LP won the Connie Award for 1969 as Best Album of the Year.  Dale Menten also won Best Artist and Repertoire and Best Composer for the work.  Bob Schultz won the honors as Best Recording Engineer for his work on the album.

CHOIR CHRYSTAL

Rod Eaton wrote:

A Minnesota high school wanted to book the band for a dance. Because there was no actual Blackwood Apology, an agent decided he’d improvise – he’d send a group called Choir Crystal. No one knew what Blackwood Apology looked like. Neither did many know Choir Chrystal. I played in Choir Chrystal. We were a trio – Hammond, guitar, drums. We were also short lived – a handful of gigs in Wisconsin and outstate Minnesota. Plus one interesting afternoon amongst the fashion in the young men’s department of a JC Penney’s. On this night we traveled as Blackwood Apology. Along for the experience was Dennis Libby. Dennis could claim Blackwood bona fides – he played on the album. At the dance we had to apologetically inform the kids we were unable to play any of the music from House of Leather. Didn’t the agent tell you? Oh we’re so sorry – copyright restrictions. The dance went well despite the charade – everyone had a good time.

TOURING BAND

Menten created a new band with Dennis Libby as the only remaining member, and added Bruce Pedalty on keys, Dick Hedlund on bass, and Joey Piazza on drums. This band rehearsed with Menten on guitar, and went on the road to promote the House of Leather album in 1969.  This was the band that opened the first Labor Temple Grateful Dead Show.

Blackwood Apology at the Labor Temple, February 2, 1969. Photo copyright Mike Barich

Photo courtesy Dale Menten

Photo above:  The band that went on the road in 1969 to promote the Mercury/Fontana album, “The House of Leather.” Left to right: Dick Hedlund, Bruce Pedalty, Joe Piazza, Dale Menten, and Dennis Libby.

THE ROCK OPERA – MINNESOTA

Fred Gaines wrote a book of the same name and subsequent stage play, and H. Westley Balk, of Center Opera Company, directed the rock opera at Minneapolis’s Cricket Theater.  It opened on March 26, 1969, and it played nearly 50 sold-out shows. The Cricket Theater production included the Blackwood Apology musical lineup.

The Schubert Club then sponsored another run at the Crawford-Livingston Theater in St. Paul, from July 18 to August 24, 1969.  The program listed the musicians as:

• Dale Menten, Lead Guitar
• Dick Hedland, Fender Guitar
• Dick Rees, Organ and Flute
• Scott Sansby, Drums
• Dennis Libby, Lead Singer and Guitar

And that’s our Patrick Devine in the cast!

Minneapolis Tribune, July 13, 1969

Below is the handbill given at the theater entrance in St. Paul and New York to set the mood of the Antebellum enterprise of the period fully legal.

Image courtesy Dennis Libby

NEW YORK CITY

On the strength of its popularity in the Twin Cities, the play was taken to New York City.

Its debut on March 18, 1970, at the off-Broadway Ellen Stewart Theater (240 E. Third Street) brought a bad review from the New York Times, but favorable ones from the Village Voice and the Wall Street Journal.

On the strength of its popularity in the Twin Cities, the rock opera was taken to New York City.  Personnel included:

• Dick Shapiro, Producer
• William H. Semans (according to the New York Times review)
• Westley Balk, Director
• Dale Menten, Musical Director
• Gus Dewey (formerly of the Gestures and City Mouse),
• George Miller (from Choir Chrystal and Crocket), organ and vocals
• Peter De Anda (described as a late addition to the cast; known for work on “One Life to Live” and “Dan August”) replacing Minneapolis cast member Alfred Babbington Johnson
• Barry Bostwick (the future Brad in “Rocky Horror Picture Show” but described at the time as “a former member of the APA-Phoenix Repertory Company” with no screen credits at the time) replacing John Parriot
• Norma Jean Wood remained as Mrs. Grimm from the Minneapolis company.
• Jonelle Allen was recast as Sarah Jane, replacing Lynn Moody.
• Kathleen Miller was from a rock band called Saturday’s Children

Menten renamed the band “Hugo” for the New York run.

Feb 9:  Rehearsal

Feb 17:  Barry

Feb. 28:  Charles McHarry of the New York Daily News reported that Marshall Naify, board chairman of United Artists Theaters, was the solo backer of “House of Leather.”

After many notices saying that the show would open on March 16, it was announced in the New York Daily News that it “has put down next Wednesday for its premiere.. It had been listed for next Monday.”

HOW MANY PERFORMANCES?

Common thought is that the show closed after one performance.  The New York Times review on March 19, 1970, seemed to indicate that there were three performances.

Dennis Libby said that the show sold out previews for several weeks, six shows and two matinees per week before its official debut on March 18.

The New York Daily News said it in one sentence:  “The House of Leather closed Wednesday after its initial performance.”

THE NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW 

Its debut on March 18, 1970, at the off-Broadway Ellen Stewart Theater (240 E. Third Street) elicited a snide and vicious review from Clive Barnes of the New York Times the next day.  Excerpts:

Now anyone can write dull musical. Given a little dull experience, I could probably write a dull musical myself. But to write a dull rock musical about a New Orleans whorehouse at the time of the Civil War takes a certain kind of genius for dullness.

Mr. Menten’s sounds are not as much rock as concrete, and Mr. Gaines’s book is a mixture of pretentiousness and ineptitude.

The direction by H. Wesley Balk proved as pompous and as inflated as the writing.

The rest of the cast was at least adequate, and the musicians always en   [This last word is cut off online and hopefully it is “enjoyable?”]

PANIC AND CLOSURE

Based on that one review, Dick Shapiro and Cricket Theater Artistic Director William Semans closed the show.  The next morning, the Village Voice and the Wall Street Journal printed favorable reviews, but the decision had already been made.

Dick Hedlund and Dick Borotolussi reported in the May 16-23, 1970 issue of the Insider that one of the things that went wrong in New York was the addition of more sex to the show.

Dennis Libby makes his position clear that the show was cancelled prematurely:

No hearsay, no conjecture: Shapiro and Semans blew it, and it’s needed to be said for a long time. What better place then right here, right now.

ANOTHER BOMB

Coincidentally, our Minnesota musicians were in New York at the same time and place as the Weathermen bombing in Greenwich Village on Friday, March 6, 1970. Weatherman members Theodore Gold and Kathy Boudin blew themselves up into millions of pieces while making bombs in the basement of a posh townhouse.

Dennis Libby remembers:

We were staying in suites  at the historic Van Rensselaer Hotel near Washington Square in the East Village, a long block from the “Weatherman” secret headquarters where the violently subversive, revolutionary group were building bombs in the basement. Early one early Friday afternoon, as we were to ready to exit the 5th floor hotel suites to catch cabs to the theater for matinee and evening shows, a huge explosion occurred at the Weatherman brownstone up the street, blowing the glass windows into our suites, creating a huge crater in the street, damaging Dustin’s Hoffman’s brownstone next door (luckily no one home), and creating chaos on the street, as we attempted to flag cabs to the theater. Returning late evening from our two shows was difficult as well, since there were hundreds of people milling around the now barricaded street with a bomb squad truck sitting in the crater out front of the demolished building and police everywhere. Reports the next day stated that body parts of the man whose bomb blew up were discovered on several roofs and elsewhere away from the blast. We were still finding small shards of window pane glass for days on the carpets of our rooms.

STRANDED?

Hedlund and Borotolussi also stated that union disputes left the Minneapolis musicians stranded in New York for a while.

Dennis Libby wrote that “the band, seasoned troopers they were, packed up the van and came home; those of us that were Actors Equity had provisional transportation for airfare in our contracts.”

SEVENTH INDIANA CAVALRY

Menten went on to write a follow-up to “House of Leather” called “Seventh Indiana Cavalry,” which had to do with Wounded Knee.  It premiered on June 10, 1970, at St. Paul’s Crawford-Livingston Theater, produced by Hugo Square Productions and the Schubert Club.

Minneapolis Tribune, June 21, 1970

An ambitious show billed as the “greatest night in the history of local music” was held at the Minneapolis Auditorium on June 30, 1969.  It was sponsored by members of the Minneapolis Musicians’ Association (Swanee Swanson of Northwest Organ and Franny Dear) as a benefit to help musicians pay medical bill.   The four hour show was called  Bach to Rock, emcee’ed by Charlie Boone.  Performers included:

• Minnesota Symphony Woodwind Quintet
• Doc Evans and His Dixieland Band
• Golden Strings from the Radisson Hotel
• Dick Whitbeck and his Big Band
• Clyde Olson on the pipe organ
• Kay Nygaard and the Sound Effects
• Buddy Davis Trio
• Zarathustra
• Sherwin Linton and the Cotton Kings

The Midwest Rock Festival took place at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin (suburb of Milwaukee), on July 25-27, 1969.

A huge lineup of acts  played to a relatively small audience of 25,000.  The show had a flatbed trailer as a stage set on the field in front of the racetrack grandstand.  A poster from the show went for $1,500!  The following is a list of performers who were advertised to come, but not all did:

• Delaney and Bonnie and Friends (including Eric Clapton)
• Blind Faith
• Jethro Tull
• Johnny Winter
• The First Edition
• Taste with Rory Gallagher
• Joe Cocker
• Buffy Sainte-Marie
• Jeff Beck
• Pacific Gas & Electric

According to Wikipedia, these are the acts that did appear on July 25:

• Led Zeppelin
• Buffy Sainte-Marie
• The First Edition
• Sweetwater
• Pacific Gas & Electric
• SRC
• Shag

July 26:

•  Blind Faith
• Delaney and Bonnie and Friends
• Shag
• Taste
• John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
• MC5

July 27:

• Johnny Winter
• Joe Cocker and the Grease Band
• Bob Seger System
• Jim Schwall Blues Period
• MC5
• Zephyr
• Shag
• Litter
• SRC

Tom on Facebook reported that:

Show ended early on the third day when Jeff Beck took the stage and announced checks were bouncing and groups weren’t getting paid, said “Fxxx It!” and walked off without playing. Then Johnny Winter came on and said he heard the same news, said “Fxxx It!” and played for two hours to close out the festival.

The American Breed, the Del Counts, and Danny’s Reasons played the New City Opera House on August 15, 1969.

Photo of the American Breed Courtesy Mike Barich

Michael’s Mystics hit Billboard’s Bubbling Under chart with their local hit “Pain” on August 23, 1969.  It languished there for two weeks, only reaching #116.  My story:  I was making a tape for my dentist and naturally I wanted to include “Pain.”  I looked for it in my Billboard Top Pop Singles book and it wasn’t there.  How could this be?  It was such a monster hit in Minneapolis.  Couldn’t believe it.  Still sounds great.

The International Student Strike Against the Vietnam War took place on November 13, 1969.

Music played a part in this all-day event at the University of Minnesota:

• Phantasmagoria played on Northrop Plaza from 11:00 to noon.  The band was made up of students from St. Paul Murray High School, including Arne Shulstad, who reported – then and now – that it was really too cold in November to be playing guitar outside.  The Minnesota Daily – and I – will delicately delete the expletives.

Courtesy Arne Shulstad

• After a rally with speeches (including one by Bonnie Usan, a student at St. Louis Park High School), and a march to the Old Federal Office Building there was a 4:30 dance at Coffman Union featuring local band Showtime I and II.

More on the Vietnam war at home, focusing on St. Louis Park, is available here.

The Association appeared at the College of St. Thomas on November 20, 1969.  Tickets were $3.50.