NORTHWEST MUSIC ARCHIVES

MR BLUE: THE FIRST NORTHWEST “SAMPLER” LP (1959)

2011-11-29T14:35:00.001-08:00

THERE ARE TWO basic types of “Various Artist” LPs that the music biz has developed over the decades: “compilation” & “sampler” albums. The most common model is the “compilation” album, which usually features a selection of otherwise-unavailable songs performed by an array of artists. These LP’s are often intended to showcase a certain musical style/genre, or music from a distinct era or particular region.

A few classic examples would be 1962’s Seattle Beat (a set of new recordings of then-active area jazz combos as produced by Seafair Records); 1965’s Merry Christmas (a set of new holiday-themed garage-rock songs by the Sonics, Wailers, & Galaxies as produced for seasonal sales by Tacoma's Etiquette Records); 1975’s Collector’s Item: Songs From the Taverns of the Pacific Northwest (a set of new recordings by an array of popular regional bands); 1981’s Seattle Syndrome, Vol. 1 (a set of new recordings by local punk & New Wave bands); & 1986’s Deep Six (a set of new recordings cut in one particular studio, & featuring groups who were beginning to forge what would later come to be known as Seattle’s “grunge” rock revolution).

A significant variation on this "compilation" album concept involves an after-the-fact retrospective approach. Local examples include 1965’s Bolo Bash (a compilation of local hits produced over the past few years by one local label, Bolo Records); 1965’s The Hitmakers (a compilation of songs by local, well, hit-making bands produced over the past few years by another local label, Jerden Records). Additional examples – which would each highlight vintage recordings originally produced by multiple record companies – include a few that I have happily contributed to the creation of over the years, such as Rhino Records’ 1988 LP, The Northwest: Nuggets V.8 (featuring local rock groups from the psychedelic sixties), & EMP’s 2000 set Wild & Wooly: The Northwest Rock Collection (featuring a wide range of rockin’ local bands spanning the years of 1958–1995).

The second major type – a “sampler” LP – is typically produced by one particular record company with the intention of drawing immediate attention to their talent roster’s recent and/or current singles and/or albums. Of the two types, samplers are usually pressed in relatively smaller quantities with the understanding that they are about the commercial goals of the moment & will thus likely have a much shorter shelf-life. There is at least one notable example of a "Various Artist" set that straddled both models: the Sub Pop label's 1988 classic Sub Pop 200 (which took the now-maturing “grunge” sound worldwide with new recordings by various bands – some of whom did have other Sub Pop recordings then-currently available in the marketplace).

But, with all this in mind: I hereby nominate the one spotlighted above as the earliest & probably rarest “Various Artist” rock 'n' roll specimen of them all. This 1959 sampler album – Mr Blue – is comprised of recordings produced by one Seattle label (Dolton Records) & was made strictly for the British marketplace. Issued by England’s Top Rank International label, the LP bore both a serial number cleverly designed to encourage sales [BUY/028], & a title taken from the name of the second smash-hit single by Dolton’s winsome debut act, that Olympia, Washington-based teen trio, the Fleetwoods. But as a sampler it also offered up various current hits that Dolton was enjoying with other acts that they had signed that very year, including the Frantics, Little Bill and the Bluenotes – & even one by the label’s Vice President (& resident studio producer) Bonnie Guitar. Of special note is the fact that this would be the first-&-only LP to feature music by the Frantics and/or Little Bill and the Bluenotes until the retrospective “compilation” trend kicked off years later. But way back in ’59, Top Rank’s Mr Blue sampler evidently achieved its objective as all four of the artists represented on the disc went on to score radio hits of varying magnitude in Merry Olde England.

The musical contents of this LP are:

SIDE 1:

The Fleetwoods

"Confidential"
"The Three Caballeros"
"Raindrops, Teardrops"
"You Mean Everything To Me"
"Serenade Of The Bells"
"Unchained Melody"

SIDE 2:

The Fleetwoods

"We Belong Together"
"Come Go With Me"
"Mr. Blue"

Little Bill & the Bluenotes

"I Love An Angel"

The Frantics

"Fogcutter"

Bonnie Guitar

"Candy Apple Red"

BUCK RITCHEY: A NORTHWEST RADIO LEGEND (1915-1973)

2011-09-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST'S most storied Country/Western radio DJ – Marion "Buck" Ritchey – effectively promoted that genre of music for about 32 long years on area radio stations. Born in 1915, he was initially inspired by the recordings of America’s “Blue Yodeler” Jimmy Rodgers, & he taught himself to play the guitar. In 1930, & at the mere age of 15, he left his home in Missouri, & his wanderings eventually led him out to Tacoma in 1938.

By 1942 he’d been confined to a tuberculosis ward, but upon release he took on a gig as a radio host at Seattle’s powerful KVI station – a daily 3-hour shift that paid the royal sum of 75¢ an hour. As he made deeper connections within the area’s music scene, Ritchey ended up leading a country band – The K-VI [“K-6”] Wranglers – which also included Seattle’s star steel guitarist Paul Tutmarc, along with his young bride Bonnie Tutmarc (who would go on to later international solo fame as Bonnie Guitar). One of the Wranglers’ claims-to-fame was that they also briefly featured a singer named Jack Guthrie (the cousin of folkie icon, Woody Guthrie) who debuted the tune “Oklahoma Hills” with them – a song that went on to become a No.1 hit in 1945. The K-VI Wranglers’ high public profile was partially the result of their becoming the house-band for KVI – & thus, their records managed to receive an inordinate amount of airtime. Controversies erupted as other local country artists saw this blatant favoritism while their own, perhaps more deserving, discs didn’t enjoy such generous support. But it must also be stated that Ritchey did help a lot of country singers along the way: it was said that the Grand Ol’ Opry’s Hank Snow once credited Ritchey with helping establish his career by being the first radioman in the nation to air his early records on a regular basis. Some of the records credited to Ritchey himself include: “A Wasted Life Like Mine” / “Only The Moonman Knows” [GRC Records 109], & “The Slave” / “Busy Signal” [GRC Records 111] – & one of his most popular recordings was the seasonal favorite, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” After 22 years at KVI, a Seattle pop station, KAYO, switched formats & Ritchey jumped ship & joined the “Kountry KAYO” crew. Around 1970 he was diagnosed with cancer & after a valiant three-year battle, Buck Ritchey died at Providence Medical Center on December 23, 1973.

ROCKING CHAIR BLUES: 1949

2011-04-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

IT IS A BIT SAD that such scant information has survived regarding what is surely one of Seattle’s most fabled jazz joints: the Old Rocking Chair Club. Sure, I occasionally turn up various vintage trade tokens from the place (as seen below) but the shortage of photographs of the long-gone place is simply a travesty to our efforts to document local history. So, saints-be-praised then that this image just recently surfaced in a stack of old pix recently unearthed here in town.

Based in a 2-story wooden house on the Southeast corner of 14th & Yesler – note: its street address has variously been listed as either being 115 14th Avenue S., or 1301 E. Yesler Way – the Rocking Chair was run by Fred Owens who had begun in the nightlife biz by operating the Blue Rose club in that same locale back in the Roaring ‘20s. The greatest legend about the room certainly centers on its role in the “discovery” of one of America’s greatest musical talents: Ray Charles – who considered it “the gonest place in town.”

It was in March, 1948, that the 17-year-old pianist, Ray Charles Robinson – seeking a better life & a way into the music business – arrived in town by Greyhound bus from his home down south. On his very first night in town he was steered to a jam session at the Rocking Chair, a venue that boasted a comfortable bar built from glass blocks, a small bandstand, & a not-so-discrete gambling room upstairs. Since its opening back in ‘46, the Rocking Chair had fully earned its reputation as the place to stir up some action or just hang: even touring stars like Count Basie & his band would relax, or jam, there into the wee small hours after their main gigs across town. The original house band was the Elmer Gill Trio & that’s who was onstage when Robinson showed up and asked to sit in a play a few tunes. Instantly winning over the club’s colorful cast of regulars, the kid was offered a weekly gig at the local black chapter of the Elks Club (662 1/2 S. Jackson Street). Robinson (who soon assumed the stage-name of “Ray Charles”) added guitarist Garcia McKee & the duo held down that gig until summertime when they formed the McSon Trio (which soon became: the Maxin Trio) by adding bassist Milt Garred & moving up to the Rocking Chair gig.

Then one night in late-‘48 an LA-based businessman named Jack Lauderdale was shooting dice at the Rocking Chair and began diggin’ the tunes that were wafting up from the bandstand. And Lauderdale certainly knew his music: he operated what was one of the very first black-owned independent labels, Downbeat Records, which had already issued R&B hits by artists including Lowell Fulson, Jay McShann, & Joe Turner. So when the Maxin Trio informed him that some of the tunes they’d been playing were originals, he tried to lure them into a recording session. As Charles later recounted:

“I first met Jack Lauderdale…when we were at the Rocking Chair. There was a private club upstairs – that's where they would gamble at – and downstairs was where we were working. Jack was there one night and he came downstairs and heard us playing. He said, ‘I'd like to sign you guys up to a contract. What would you think about that?’ Oh, Man, I was so excited! ‘Wow! We're gonna get a record contract!’ There was nothing about any advance or money up front. All the man said to me was the he was gonna record me, and we'd have a hit. I didn't even ask about the terms. All I knew was that I wanted to make a record; this was a big thing to me at that time.”

Jazz historian Paul de Barros once reported that: “When Lauderdale offered the trio a record date, they thought he was putting them on. McKee recollects: ‘Ray and I got together and said, “This guy thinks we damn fools!”…We didn’t know he was serious, because we didn’t know nothing about recording. He kept on persisting, and persisting, and finally he got us down to this station and then that’s when we did our first tune. …We recorded them downtown.’ …‘You know,’ adds Charles, ‘…We just couldn’t believe that – we’re going to make a record and we’re going to make it in Seattle.’” “A record! Man, that was the ultimate!” Charles enthused in his autobiography, Brother Ray. “Yes we’ll cut a record, Mr. Lauderdale. Good God Almighty! Just show us the way, Papa. Nothing I want to do more. …Jack was the first person I signed with, and I have to give him credit. I don't know what he heard, but he must have heard something – because he recorded me in Seattle.”

The Trio’s debut session was likely held at the KOL radio studio in the Northern Life Tower – one of the very few options in town at the time. At session’s end Lauderdale split with the master tape – which contained the first bluesy tunes ever recorded in Seattle: “Confession Blues” and “I Love You, I Love You” – and in early 1949 it was released on his Down Beat label. Though the disc’s commercial success was marginal, Lauderdale had the trio come down to LA for another session. After that he sent again for Charles and McKee, who recorded with a hired rhythm section before returning home once more. Finally, in February 1950 Lauderdale sent just for Charles – and thus the Trio’s days were over. Perhaps feeling a bit homesick, Charles – who would soon launch his fabulous career as the “Genius of Soul” – cut his next record which was a sweet tribute to the ol’ gang back at the club: “Rocking Chair Blues.” Here's some of what Brother Ray sang about his Seattle pals:

“If you're feeling lowdown, don't have a soul to care, (X2)
Just grab your hat and start for the Rocking Chair.

There's Dubonnet Judy, Gin Fizz Flo, Cocktail Shorty, and old Julip Joe.

I'm telling you, it's the gonest place in town,
If you don't have your rubbers, take a taxi down.

If you're a regular guy, you're bound to get a souvenir, (X2)
And when you write back home, you can say you're spooning at the Rocking Chair.”

NORTHWEST PASSAGE: BOOK REVIEW 2011

2011-02-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

WHAT AN INSPIRATIONAL FIND I recently stumbled across! Seen here is the cover-art for an 88-page book/CD set titled: Northwest Passage: 50 Years Of Independent Music From The Rose City which is, as noted, “A Book And Audio CD Highlighting The History Of Portland’s Burgeoning Independent Music Scene.” Recently produced by that city’s Dill Pickle Club – a volunteer-powered non-profit corporation that adopted its briny moniker in homage to an old jazz-drenched speakeasy that served as a locus for the creatives who sparked the “Chicago Renaissance” during the Prohibition Era – & which has embarked on a program of presenting unusual educational events. As their website states: “Through tours, public programs and publications, we create nontraditional and interactive learning environments where all forms of knowledge are valued and made readily accessible.”

Northwest Passage is a wonderful example of their visionary efforts. What it contains, in part, is documentation of some of their past events: interesting transcripts from public interviews they completed with various notable musicians from Portland’s remarkable music scene – including: Ural Thomas (a storied R&B and soul singer who first recorded as a member of Portland’s ‘50s doo-wop vocal group, the Monterays), Valerie Brown (of the groovy ‘60s band, Melodius Funk), Fred & Toody Cole (garage/punk icons whose band, Dead Moon, enjoys a global fan-base), and Cool Nutz (local hip-hop pioneer). Those transcripts offer a hint about how interesting the Club’s events can be, with the veteran players sharing recollections about earlier days in Portland music history & reflections on the state of music there today. The CD – which is tucked into the back of the high-quality book – provides an audio supplement to the experience with songs by those artists and others ranging in vintages from 1966 to 2010. In addition, the book includes a brief discographical listing of important Portland recordings & a bibliography of relevant books [Full Disclosure: my own 2009 tome, Sonic Boom! is included]. All-in-all, a most impressive product from and admirable organization. The Dill Pickle Club has created here a model that the people of any town that can boast a musical past even half as robust as Portland’s would be wise to consider emulating. With their event programs, & this cool book/CD set, the Club has demonstrated a very effective way to explore one’s collective past, heap a little belated public honor on overlooked contributors to that history, bring a focus to the present-day community’s longing for connection to a proud heritage, & help ensure that the future of any particular music scene is better fortified with a solid & well-understood foundation.

THE BEATLES IN SEATTLE: 1964

2011-01-22T12:49:00.000-08:00

SURE, THERE HAD been major rock ’n’ roll shows in Seattle before The Beatles arrived here back in the summer of 1964 – Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent at the Orpheum Theatre, and Elvis Presley at Sicks’ Stadium in 1957 come to mind – but the Fab Four’s initial appearance at the Seattle Center Coliseum was undeniably historic. The Coliseum itself had served as the “Washington State Pavilion” during 1962’s Century 21 Exposition – the Seattle World’s Fair – but the bigbeat concerts held during that expo had occurred in other venues (including the Arena where Fats Domino, James Brown, Ray Charles, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, and Ricky Nelson all performed). Then, after The Beatles began scoring international radio-play in late-1963, it became apparent that the sheer size of their emerging fan-base would require a larger venue for their upcoming tour-date. Thus the Coliseum made its debut as a concert hall by hosting a crowd of 14,300 screaming teenagers on August 21, 1964 – the date that marked the building's beginnings as the site of a multi-decade run of concert performances by the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll. Here’s a photo of how it all began...

ROCK 'N' ROLL IS "DISGUSTING"? (1959)

2010-07-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

IN THE LATE 1950s there were still plenty of folks – especially established musicians – who were rock 'n' roll haters. The long list of nationally prominent stars who specifically dissed the music (& its fans) included bobbysoxer idol Frank Sinatra, classical cello master Pablo Casals – & the biggest A&R wig at the largest label in the world: Columbia Records' Mitch Miller. Even the greatest singing star to ever emerge from the Northwest – Bing Crosby – figured (as late as 1962) that, not to worry: rock music had already "run its course."

Along the way a number of songs with a clear anti-rock spirit, & containing outright mocking condescension, were produced. Examples include: Stan Freberg tunes like "Try" (a histrionic satire of the Northwest's pop phenom, Johnnie Ray, & his international hit, "Cry"), "Sh-Boom" (a spoof of the Chords' 1954 doo-wop hit), & "Heartbreak Hotel" (a slam on Elvis Presley's breakthrough 1956 hit, in which the King rips his pants and a studio's backslap echo goes berserk) -- & The 3 Haircuts' "You Are So Rare To Me" (Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner & Howie Morris' 1956 sendup of a twitchy & pompadoured teen vocal trio), & Mitchel Torok's March, 1959, dig against Johnny Cash's rockabilly sound, "All Over Again, Again."

Seattle's contribution to this artistically dubious field is highlighted with this single: The Byron Gosh Trio's "Disgusting" / "By Gosh." Issued by New York's Golden Crest label – their archives show that it was mastered on May 15, 1959 – the tunes were cut at Joe Boles' fabled West Seattle home studio. We also know that those songs were published by Bolmin Publishing -- Boles' firm in partnership with Tacoma's music man, Art Mineo. The music itself is nothing much more than a cocktail lounge-worthy parody of real rock 'n' roll – it does feature a quite fluid electric guitar solo & is backed by crazy beatnik bongo-style drum fills – & the tune's structure emphasizes the utterance of exactly one repeated word. But while a few different radio hits of the day -- like the Champs' 1958 smash, "Tequila" -- had periodic breaks where the song's title was invoked in an enthusiastic manner, on this one the term "disgusting" is articulated with a sense of, well, sheer disgust.

So who were the Gosh gang? Well, that's a bit of a mystery. Virginia Boles – widow of the audio engineer – once told me that this disc was created as a slam on rock music by a group of professional local jazz stalwarts who deeply begrudged the new sounds. So, even though it is not firmly established, I'll risk taking my best shot at snitching on the culprits. A review of the contents of Boles' old studio guest log reveals evidence of a session in the spring of 1959 which featured these jazzmen: Chuck Bennett (guitar), Hal Champ (bass), Peter Lederer (piano), & Keith Purvis (drums). Interestingly, what I know about them is that the first two men also performed on another, later, Golden Crest 45: Stan Boreson's send-up of big-beat music: "Swedish Rock And Roll." Beyond that "coincidence," about all I know at this time is that Purvis – who grew up in North Seattle & graduated from Roosevelt High School – became a first-call AFM 76 union drummer & opened his own Burien-based store – the Keith Purvis Drum Shop (218 SW 153rd Street) – in 1955. That store – where, by gosh, I bought a set of new black Ludwig tubs in 1977 – became a mecca for generations of Northwest drum nuts, right up until his death in October 2004. But: if those Seattle players weren't the Byron Gosh Trio I'd certainly love to know who was!

THE BARDS' "BRITISH INVASION" DAYS: 1966

2010-05-26T11:02:00.000-07:00

THIS IS THE STRANGE TALE of a Northwest rock 'n' roll 45 whose path to success – including being issued on a surreptitously labeled disc – was perhaps like no other. It was in 1964 – amidst the exciting British Invasion (as spearheaded by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, et al) – that a Moses Lake, Washington-based combo, the Fabulous Continentals, joined scores of other American groups who enthusiastically adopted the various trappings of the limey groups in an effort to jump aboard the Anglophilic bandwagon.

Examples of new Northwest bands who emerged at that time include: the Ascots, the Blokes, the Mersey Six, the Huntingtons, Sir Raleigh & the Cupons, King George & the Checkmates, Lord Kalvert & the Reserves, Lord Byron & the Poets, and Prince Charles & the Crusaders. Meanwhile, a few established local musicians also tried to cash-in by altering their images to appear British – such as Spokane's Runabouts (who changed their name to the London Taxi), & Seattle's popster, Billy Saint (who cut a 45 as Johnny London). Similarly, the Fabulous Continentals (who had originally formed back in 1961 to play standard fare pop and Northwest dance sounds -- like "Louie Louie") re-surfaced as the Bards. And, like some of their peer combos, the boys were now outfitted with mop-top haircuts, Carnaby Street-style garb (& sometimes even assumed fake Liverpool accents) – all intended to help them attract audiences of Beatle-crazed teenage girls.

Signed by Seattle record mogul, Jerry Dennon, the Bards proceeded to record such forgettable things as a bland cover of the Who’s “My Generation,” & a song called "The Jabberwocky." Of greater interest though, was the Bards' attempt to construct an "original" song based upon vintage writings by the esteemed 19th Century English poet, Edward Lear. And boys-being-boys the Bards took great humor from his classic 1871 piece, “The Owl And The Pussycat” – especially the lyrical zinger: “O lovely pussy! O pussy my love, what a beautiful pussy you are.”

Upon being recorded in mid-’66, Dennon issued the song as a single on his new Piccadilly label (#224). But he had greater things in mind for the band than just that & was soon attempting to license it to bigtime labels in Hollywood. The old pros down there, however, took one listen to the racy thing and instantly applied the "ten-foot-pole" rule, declining the opportunity. In particular, A&M Records wouldn’t touch it, & Liberty/Imperial Records also steered clear. But Dennon – who had already made a fortune via his label's recording of the Kingmen's controversial hit, "Louie Louie" – had good reason to believe that a mildly naughty song just might have some commercial potential. Finally he struck an interesting, & perhaps unprecedented, deal with the Beatles' label, Capitol Records. Though somewhat interested, the company was still just wary enough that they agreed to press a limited amount of the Bards' tune on records with plain white, logo-free, (but, numbered: #2148) labels – & with the understanding that if Dennon could spark some interest at radio stations, they’d reconsider issuing it on Capitol proper.

Which is exactly what did happen: the song began getting some spins & Capitol came through – issuing it with the same (#2148) release number. In the end, however, "The Owl & The Pussycat" still failed to break out beyond this region & the Bards subsequently settled down and produced a series of soft-rock regional hits though 1969.

WASHINGTON HALL – A HISTORY: (1908–2010)

2010-04-17T13:24:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON STATE'S HISTORY COMMUNITY deserves high praise for successfully rallying to save one of Seattle's most storied entertainment venues from the evil wrecking ball. The Washington Hall (153 14th Avenue) – home to over a century of music-making & dancing – will not be torn down, despite years of rumors to that effect.

Built in the Central District by the Danish Brotherhood Society in 1908 as a settlement house (photo courtesy, Puget Sound Regional Archives) for new immigrants, the hall initially hosted old-country folk dance groups & musicians. To make ends meet, the Brotherhood also welcomed rentals, & the town's growing African-American community held many events there over the years. On June 10, 1918, the local chapter of the NAACP threw a Grand Benefit Ball there which featured Miss Lillian Smith's Jazz Band – a night that made history as the earliest documented jazz gig in Seattle. Other fabled shows followed: Cab Calloway, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Count Basie Orchestra, Mahalia Jackson, Dinah Washington, Marian Anderson, Billie Holiday, & James Brown's band.

Confusion, however, has arisen in recent media accounts of the hall's travails: mistaken claims that Big Mama Thornton, Chuck Berry, & Little Richard all played the room have polluted its history, just as the dance there on February 20, 1960 (above photo by Odell Lee) by Jimmy Hendrix' teenaged R&B combo, the Rocking Kings, has repeatedly been cited, incorrectly, as the young Seattle guitarist's very first gig.

In 1973 the building was sold to a black organization, the Sons of Haiti Masonic Lodge, which began to rent it out to a variety of event promoters & organizations. As the 1970s rolled into the 1980s & the Northwest punk & New Wave movements gained traction, the Washington Hall was the site of tons of exciting shows including early ones by Chinas Comidas, Henry Boy, the Avengers, the Cheaters, the Radios, Red Dress, D.O.A., the Look, the Dishrags, Pointed Sticks, & an absolutely legendary one by the Dead Kennedys & Ice-9 on July 7, 1979.

San Francisco's radical lefty punk band, the outrageously named Dead Kennedys, were on tour performing songs like their new single, "California Über Alles," & Ice-9 – a first generation Portland punk crew (see photo below) – likely kicked out a rendition of “Revolting Mess” from their classic, and sole, 45.

Seattle's hip-hop pioneer crew, the Emerald Street Boys, rocked the room in the early '80s, as did many more bands – right up into the Grunge Rock Era: the Void (1982), Ten Minute Warning, the Rejectors, the Accüsed, the Boot Boys (1983), Agent Orange (1985), Poison Idea, Last Gasp, Green River, Christ On A Crutch, Subvert, the Jesters of Chaos, My Eye, Resolution, the Derelicts, 13 Hilacopters, Cat Butt, Seaweed, Gas Huffer, & the Gits. With all that great history – and much more – behind it, the Washington Hall received City of Seattle Landmark status in 2009, and then with a generous grant from the Washington State Historical Society, and another from King County's 4Culture arts-preservation agency, the Historic Seattle organization was finally able to seal the $1.5 million deal. Next month – on May 1, 2010 – the refurbished hall will host a "House Party" to celebrate its revival.

SEATTLE HARMONY KINGS: 1920s

2010-03-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

HOW MANY TIMES have record hunters been fooled when they uncovered 78 rpm discs by a Roaring '20s dance-band credited as the Seattle Harmony Kings & quite reasonably assumed that they were an early crew on the 206 scene? Well, I confess to being one in that category – but with a name like this, who could have guessed that the swingin' combo was not from the Pacific Northwest.

It appears that eight decades ago, little ol' Seattle seemed like such an exotic far-west locale that a Chicago-based musical group happily named themselves the Seattle Harmony Kings. The Kings were a subset of the Benson Orchestra, which had been formed by Edgar A. Benson – a cellist who managed bands in the Windy City. Benson eventually got so busy booking his bands that he hired other guys (like Roy Bargy) to lead them. The Kings were directed by clarinet and tenor sax-man, Eddie Neibaur, and fellow band-members included: Bennie Neibaur (trombone & vocals), Earl Baker (trumpet), Marvin Hamby (trumpet), Leon Kaplan (banjo), Swede Knudsen (tuba), Rosy McHargue (clarinet, alto sax), Joe Thomas (piano), & Richie Miller (drums).

One info source posited that the Kings was a name Victor applied to the group in order to differentiate them -- & their electrically recorded songs -- from the Benson Orchestra's acoustically recorded works. Perhaps. But what we know for sure is that on September 2, 1925 two songs -- "Darktown Shuffle" & "If I Had A Girl Like You" -- were captured by Victor in Camden, New Jersey. Then, nearly one year later – on August 2, 1926 – a Victor session in New York City yielded "Breezin' Along (With The Breeze)" & "How Many Times?" These guys are certainly harmonious musicians, maybe even kingly with their skills – but they sure ain't from Sea-Town.

HIGH SCHOOL USA (SEATTLE - PORTLAND): 1959

2010-03-13T11:35:00.000-08:00

THE ONE-HIT WONDER of all time! It was in late-1959 that a silly pop ditty – "High School U.S.A." – hit the radio waves. It was sung by Tommy Facenda – who, as one of the two "Clapper Boys" with Gene Vincent's Blue Caps, had contributed percussive handclaps to their rockabilly hits before going solo in 1958. In NYC he hooked up with Legrand Records who cut & released the song – which featured these lyrics: "Come Friday 'noon 'bout half-past three, I drop my books and my misery / Stroll on down to the soda shop, drop a coin in the old juke box / Lookin' around what did I see, every school kid there could ever be / They came from..." – from there Facenda gave name-check shout-outs to various high schools.

The original version featured schools in his native Virginia & was an instant local success. The big-time Atlantic label quickly licensed the tune & took Facenda back into a studio where a new rendition was cut. But Atlantic had even grander ideas for marketing the tune: they had poor Facenda record at least 28 different versions, each with customized references to specific schools in these different areas: New York City, North & South Carolina, Washington D.C.- Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Florida, Newark, Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo, Hartford, Nashville, Indianapolis, Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis - Kansas City, Georgia - Alabama, Cincinnati, Memphis, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Texas, Seattle - Portland, Denver, & Oklahoma.

Billboard magazine decided to treat all 28 versions as one release for the purposes of tracking the song(s) on their pop chart & by combining the overall action, "High School U.S.A." reached #28 nationally. Typical for that time, the Pacific Northwest seemed so remote to the New Yorkers that they couldn't even get all the school names down right. Thus the "Seattle - Portland" version highlighted these schools: Ballard, Cleveland, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Washington, West Seattle, Sunnyside, North-Central, Lincoln, Stadium, Grant, Blanchard, Franklin, Madison, David Douglas, Bremerton, Rogers, Benson, Queen Anne, Garfield, Highline, Wilson, Longview, Shelton, & Pendleton – some of which are even in the towns of Seattle & Portland (& far-flung places like Sunnyside & Tacoma & Bremerton & Longview & Shelton & Pendleton). Geographic inexactitude aside, the 45 became a Top-10 radio hit that autumn in Seattle & Portland – and maybe beyond.

SEATTLE's BANJO GAL: 1800s

2010-02-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

WHAT LITTLE IS KNOWN about the young tenor banjo-playing woman seen in this recently discovered cabinet card photograph is quite intriguing. A handwritten inscription on its reverse informs only that this is: "Annie Jackson (Mrs. J.N. Pyncheon) My Mother."

But info gleaned from the photo's credits are enough to get one's imagination roiling. The image was captured at Seattle's Roxwell Studio in the Roxwell Building (at the "Corner of Front and Columbia" streets -- today's First Avenue & Columbia Streets) on the Roxwell Block. Alas, the name "Roxwell" does not appear in Carl Mautz' authoritative 1997 tome, Biographies of Western Photographers: A Reference Guide to Photographers Working in the 19th century American West.

The circa 1880s Roxwell Building (106 Columbia Street) was, however, home to numerous notable tenants -- including Conrad Rideout, the African-American lawyer and Democratic politician who arrived here from Arkansas in 1891 -- the same year that Augustas Koch's famous illustrated birds-eye-view map of Seattle (which included the Roxwell Building) was printed by the Hughes Lithography Co. Around that same time the prominent African-American photographer James P. Ball arrived from Montana, moved into the Roxwell, and established his Ball and Sons Studio which operated there for a decade. During those early times, Seattle was still transforming from a soggy sawmill town into the bustling jump-off point for thousands of crazed gold-seekers heading up to the Alaska and Yukon Gold Rushes. Judging by her appearances alone, Ms. Jackson was perhaps more likely to be a musician who would pluck out a few old-timey hymns for her family's fireside gospel hour than entertain the leering loggers, miners and sailors swarming rough-&-tumble bars like Pioneer Square's Bucket of Blood room -- or even perhaps the clients at Madame Damnable's infamous house of ill-repute just down the block at First Avenue & Main Street. But is it at all possible that our Annie Jackson is the same one that was -- as noted by local historian Quintard Taylor in his 1994 book, The Forging of a Black Community: Seattle's Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era -- listed in the 1891 Seattle Directory as an African-American music teacher?

THE WAILING WAILERS: 1959-1993

2010-02-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

NEARLY FOUR DECADES after Tacoma's pioneering rock 'n' roll band, the Wailers, formed in 1958, the still-active members discovered that their garage-rock legacy was being dangerously overshadowed by that other group with the same name. Jamaica's upstart reggae band, the Wailers, released their debut album -- the obscure & hit-less The Wailing Wailers -- in 1965. By that late date, our boys from Tacoma had already scored international hits (1959's "Tall Cool One," "Dirty Robber," & "Mau Mau"), issued an influential album (1959's The Fabulous Wailers), scored a No. 1 regional hit (1961's "Louie Louie"), issued a best-selling LP (1962's At The Castle), and enjoyed more regional radio hits (1964's "You Better Believe It," & 1965's "Out Of Our Tree" & "You Weren't Using Your Head").

They had also appeared on national TV (ABC's Dick Clark Show) & on the Alan Freed Show, toured the East Coast (1959) & California (1961, etc), played shows headlined by the likes of Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels, the Standells, the Royal Guardsmen, Sopwith Camel -- & enjoyed the release of a half-dozen additional 45s and four LPs. So, the band was rather well-known.

Thus it remains a bit of mystery why they (& their lawyers) did not react when the Jamaican band – which included future superstar, Bob Marley -- emerged with the exact same name. Except, to consider that by the time Marley's crew followed up with a new LP in 1970 (plus three more in 1971) – they scored no hits in the United States -- & those years were a low ebb for our local heroes. By the time the Tacoma boys began reuniting & playing more regularly in 1977, Marley's Wailers had caught fire in the British & American marketplaces: album's like 1973's Catch A Fire charted & Burnin' went gold, 1974's Natty Dread charted, 1976's Rastaman Vibration went platinum, & 1977's Exodus went multi-platinum.
Final sad proof that just enough time had passed by so as to have thoroughly confused some people about these two Wailers arose in 1993 when Bill Graham's San Francisco-based rock 'n' roll empire issued a series of limited-edition silk neckties with designs based on his old psychedelic Fillmore West & Avalon Ballroom posters. Seen here is Graham's "Reggae at the Fillmore" (!) tie – with artwork borrowed from Wes Wilson's classic poster (BG 11) for the June 17-18, 1966, Fillmore shows which featured Haight Ashbury's Quicksilver Messenger Service & the Wailers (with special mention noted of their latest Top-5 West Coast radio hit, "It's You Alone"). Clearly there were no shantytown Rastamen at the Fillmore those nights – but such shoddy handling of history caused the band, in 1993, to begin rebranding themselves on various CDs & gig posters as "The Boys From Tacoma."

In June 2007 surviving memers of Tacoma's Wailers – bassist Buck Ormsby, & keyboardist Kent Morrill – finally brought suit [Ormsby v. Barrett, No. 07-5305] against the reggae band after they discovered that the internet domain name "wailers.com" had been grabbed. Their complaint was that of trademark infringement, dilution, unfair competition, & cybersquatting, based on their registered trademark of the word "Wailers." Too little, too late: in January 2008, Western District Judge Ronald Leighton ruled for the defendants. Cased closed.

THOSE REDHEADS FROM SEATTLE: 1953

2010-01-21T10:39:00.001-08:00

PARAMOUNT PICTURES premiered their brand-new musical flick – Those Redheads From Seattle – in Seattle on September 23, 1953. The reason for that backwater debut location being that the movie plotline begins here. The gist of the less-than-riveting "plot" is that a carrot-top mother & her daughters leave Gold Rush Era Seattle bound for Alaska where they seek to settle the financial affairs of their newspaperman husband/father who had been murdered in a dispute with a shady saloonkeeper. Along the way, the sisters (played by pop singing stars, Teresa Brewer, Rhonda Fleming, & the Bell Sisters) sing tunes including "Baby, Baby, Baby," "Take Back Your Gold," & "Mr. Banjo Man." Brewer also does a duet – "I Guess It Was You All the Time" – with '50s popabilly star, Guy Mitchell, who also sings "Chick-a-Boom."

The monophonic film – which was directed by Lewis R. Foster & produced between March & April 1953 – is also notable as the first Paramount movie to take a stab at the new mind-blowing 3-D technology. A week after its Seattle debut, the show opened in New York City & then on October 14th it hit Los Angeles.

LOLA SUGIA's "BLUE TEARS" 45: 1960

2010-01-05T13:26:00.001-08:00

SEATTLE SONGSTRESS, Lola Sugia is a charming vocalist whose professional career began back in 1940. Over the years she fronted several of the town's highest profile dance bands including those led by Jackie Souders, Pep Perry, Curt Sykes, Max Pillar, Norm Hoagy, & Wyatt Howard. In addition: she'd been a childhood friend of Seattle's pop star, Bonnie Guitar, the sister of prominent area bandleader & accordionist, Frank Sugia (who was a longtime peer of jazz great, Joe Venuti) – and her daughter is the active jazz singer, Maia Santell.

It was in 1959 that she met radio personality, Johnny Forrest, while recording some radio jingles for him at KOL which was based at the Northern Life Tower (1212 Third Avenue). That same year was when Tacoma's pioneering rock band, the Wailers, saw their classic discs issued by the New York-based label, Golden Crest Records. That deal came about when the teenaged band was being briefly managed by Atillio "Art" Mineo – an old-school Italian restaurateur & orchestra leader. Mineo had earlier formed a partnership with Seattle's top audio engineer, Joe Boles -- & their music firm's name was a contraction of their surnames: Bolmin Publishing. The Wailers soon dumped Mineo – he was too controlling & didn't have any feel for rock 'n' roll – but his connection with Golden Crest (which stemmed from his own New York days where he'd been associated with Paul "The King of Jazz" Whiteman's orchestra) remained intact & he also got Tacoma's Chessmen signed to the label.

At one point Golden Crest executives visited Seattle where they held auditions in a ballroom at the Olympic Hotel (411 University Street). Among those who auditioned were Seattle's hot R&B combo, the Counts (who weren't signed), & Seattle's "Scandihoovian" musical humorist, Stan Boreson (who was signed). And too, a combo of local rock 'n' roll-hating jazzmen cut a parody tune -- "Disgusting" -- recorded it with Boles, & Golden Crest released their 45 under the pseudonym of the Byron Gosh Trio.

It was 1960 when Sugia & Forrest married & also cut two delightful pop tunes he had penned: "Blue Tears" & "Weathervane." The recording session occurred at Boles' home studio (3550 Admiral Way) & it featured some notable jazzmen: Phil Odle (piano), Joe Adams (sax), Al Weid (bass), Norm Hoagy (vibes), & Keith Purvis (drums). Upon release, "Blue Tears" (with Sugia's sweetly overdubbed harmonies & Odle's winning piano triplets) garnered a bit of airplay on KOL & KING radio – & it must have sold reasonably well for Golden Crest as it used to be a common item in the Northwest's used record shops, but today it is rather scarce. Nice to hear that it will appear on the forthcoming Best of Golden Crest CD!

CECIL YOUNG's BEBOP JAZZ: SEATTLE 1951

2009-12-22T16:03:00.000-08:00

BEATNIK JAZZ – bongo beats, brainy piano figures, seductive saxophone lines, & crazy scat singing – Cecil Young's combo certainly knew what was hip at the dawn of the 1950s!

This musically progressive quartet "exploded onto the Seattle jazz scene in 1950, introducing the rhythmic fire of bebop to an eager new audience," noted my colleague, jazz historian Paul de Barros. Indeed, they "quickly became a regional sensation. Commanding breakneck tempos, the quartet's aggressive rhythm section mesmerized crowds across Seattle, Tacoma, and Yakima. Young was a modern piano player whose sparse, fierce, and harmonically sophisticated playing propelled his quartet."

Young had already jammed in New York City reefer dens with bebop luminaries like Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker before hitting the road. It was 1950 when his act broke up in Seattle after a final gig at the Palomar Theater (1300 Third Avenue). Young easily scored a gig at the New Chinatown nightclub (Sixth Avenue S. & South Main Street), after recruiting a new racially integrated combo that would include Traff Hubert (bass), & Jimmie Rodgers (drums). Perhaps Young's best find though was Gerald Brashear (tenor sax & bongos) who had already played with Ray Charles in his Seattle years (1948-1950) & with Billy Tolles – a wild saxman who would soon pioneer local rock 'n' roll.

It was on June 10, 1951, that the red-hot quartet performed at Seattle's Metropolitan Theatre (Fourth Avenue & University Street) for the Concert of Cool Jazz which was a fund-raising benefit show for Cerebral Palsy Fund – a gig that was luckily recorded, as was another show at the Ladies Music Club (807 E. Roy Street). The amateur audio engineer who captured the shows for posterity was Seattle's Ampex tape distributor, Bert Porter.

The theater event began with the combo's theme song, "Race Horse" & moved along to other standouts like "Who Parked The Car," which featured Brashear's bop vocals. Another tune, "Oooh-Diga-Gow," showcased his bongo skills – which later, in 1955, would earn Brashear the National Metronome Awards for conga & bongo drums.

Before long the head of Cincinnati–based King Records, Sid Nathan, visited Seattle & after hearing the tapes signed the combo up & several records followed including the Concert of Cool Jazz 10" LP [King 295-1] which featured tunes such as "Cecil's House Party Blues" (& "Tribute To Al Benson," which presumably is a misspelling of local jazz impresario, Art Benson), & an identically titled 12" LP [King 395-505]. In addition, two 7" EPs, Cecil Young Progressive Quartet [King 247 & 277], & a series of singles were issued, including "That Old Black Magic" [King 4604], "Fish Net" [King 4638], "Tea For Two" [King 15165], "Monsieur Le Duc" [King 15165], "Rushin' On Home" [King 15175], & "Fine and Dandy" [King 15192]. Upon its 1951 release, the Concert of Cool Jazz 10"sold quite well – the first Seattle-produced disc to catch outside ears since Ray Charles' 1949 Maxin Trio recordings had effectively launched his remarkable career. Indeed, sales of the the disc broke out in California (and then in France when issued there by Vogue Records) after America's ace jazz critic, San Francisco's Ralph Gleason, raved that "Who Parked the Car" was the best scat solo ever recorded. Even Nat King Cole described the tunes as "the swingiest bop I've ever heard." And with those accolades, the quartet's Seattle days were numbered: the nation's greatest talent bookers, the William Morris Agency, signed the band, a national tour commenced, & after a final show at New York's fabled jazz room, Birdland, the Cecil Young Quartet's members split the scene. Of the foursome, I know that Hubert returned to Seattle where we first met up nearly two decades ago -- & lemme tell you: he was still a very hip cat.

FOUR PEARLS: NW DOO-WOP 1957-1960

2009-12-22T15:19:00.000-08:00

THE PEARLS were an R&B vocal group that formed at Tacoma's McChord Air Force Base in March, 1957. Artis Johnson Jr. -- an alumni of Oakland, CA's Midnights -- recruited three other singers (Elsie Hall, Lloyd Foster, & William Watson) & they competed in the military's annual Tops-N-Blue talent contest. By the next year's show Johnson & Hall had added new members: Rueben Martin & Ronald Small, they took the prize, & ended up performing Hall's "My Love" on the Ed Sullivan Show which aired from New York City on August 31st. Back home, the Pearls began working weekends at Seattle's top R&B dancehall, the Birdland (2203 E. Madison Street), where they were backed by house-band, the Dave Lewis Combo. In February, 1959, the quartet left Seattle by car & drove to Los Angeles with hopes of getting discovered. Arriving at the offices of Walter "Dootsie" Williams' Dootone Records, they lucked into an immediate audition – & as the Los Angeles Sentinel noted on March 19th: "after hearing them sing just once he immediately signed them to a long term contract." Ensconced in a recording studio with Ernie "Raunchy" Freeman's ace band – Williams was ecstatic about his Fabulous Pearls, declaring that "Both sides of this record will explode."
Well, not quite: even though the newspaper figured that the single's A-side ("Jungle Bunny") was an innocent "Easter-timed" (!) single, its title was actually based on some racist graffiti that Hall had once seen as a little girl. Williams thought it had "a slight edge due to its unusual style," but its edginess caused it to flop – so he began promoting the B-side, "My Heart's Desire," without much more luck. Three additional tunes -- "She'll Understand," "Baby Drop Top" & "I Laughed So Hard" -- were also cut, the latter finally surfacing on compilation CDs in 1995.
Back in Seattle -- & now recast as the Four Pearls -- they were signed in July, 1960, by Bob Reisdorff to his Dolton Records label which was scoring hits with Northwest acts like the Fleetwoods, Ventures & Frantics. The beautiful "Look At Me" (with Dave Lewis on piano) & "It's Almost Tomorrow" (with the Frantics) were cut by audio engineer, Kearney Barton, at his Northwest Recorders studio (622 Union Street). When issued by Dolton around August, KOL & various other Northwest radio stations gave "Look At Me" some support, but it failed to grow into a broader hit & the Four Pearls headed to Canada where they played their final gigs.

SEATTLE's BLIND RADIO FIVE: 1925

2009-12-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

YEARS BEFORE the famous Blind Boys of Alabama gospel group formed in 1939, or the awesome Five Blind Boys of Mississippi formed in 1936 – not to mention the impossibly obscure Five Blind Boys of Montana, whose disc ("Brother Bill") I've struggled for 20 years to date – the Blind Radio Five Orchestra was working out of Seattle.

They were a quintet comprised of (left-to-right): William A. Teater (drums & manager), Claude E. Judge (banjo), Paul Tischner (sax & clarinet), Virgil Robison (piano & director), & Daniel O. Black (violin).

As the Seattle Times noted in 1925: "These talented young blind musicians have appeared frequently over KFOA and have won a host of friends through their artistry. The organization is declared to be the only professional blind orchestra o the Pacific Coast. When it is remembered that the musicians must necessarily play by memory their efforts are truly remarkable." KFOA – the first Seattle station to join a national network (NBC) -- was based on the second story of the Rhodes Department Store on Second Avenue. Its studio was built so that shoppers could stop by and watch while programs were being broadcast live.

On the evening of February 7, 1925, the Blind Radio Five performed for a Seattle Times-sponsored KFOA program from 8:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.. The band opened their show with a version of "You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine" a newly popular tune which had been released by Victor Records on September 5, 1924 as recorded by Glen Oswald's Serenader's who'd originated in Portland Oregon.

Then came "Follow the Swallow," "Honest and Truly," & "Where Shadows Fall." Next, Black performed a violin solo on "Then Will You Remember Me?," the Five played "Mama's Gone, Good-Bye," & Tischner did a solo sax rendition of "Marguerita." That was followed by "Blue," & the overture to "Abecia," Judge's banjo solo on Chopin's "Prelude" & "Bar Study," & Robison's piano solo on "The Octave Study." The fivesome then wrapped up their show with "Eliza" & "China Girl."

RICHARD BERRY (1935-1997): PART I

2009-12-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

"LOUIE LOUIE" – the 1957 single by Richard Berry was a creative highlight for the singer, but prior to that he was involved in numerous Los Angeles-based doo-wop vocal groups including the Robins (he sang lead on their '54 hit, "Riot In Cell Block #9").

Berry also provided the male vocal lines on Etta James' "(The Wallflower) Dance With Me, Henry" in '55. In addition, Berry would cut many more discs under his own name, like '59's "Have Love Will Travel," which was adopted by several '60's NW teen-R&B combos such as Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Gallahads, Counts, & Sonics.

But it was "Louie Louie" that brought Berry lasting fame. The song was penned in '55; cut with his group, the Pharaohs, for Flip Records in '57; adopted by Tacoma's Blue Notes around '58; cut by Tacoma's Rockin' Robin Roberts (& the Wailers) in '60 (who scored a #1 regional radio hit in '61); cut by ex-Blue Note, Little Bill Engelhart, in '61; enjoyed as a #1 NW hit again by the Wailers in '62; revived simultaneously in '63 by Portland's Kingsmen & Paul Revere & the Raiders; revived again in '78 for the Animal House movie; & then in August '83, California's KFJC radio aired over 880 different versions of "Louie Louie" in a sixty-three hour-long Maximum Louie Louie marathon.

Months later -- on December 28, 1983 -- I had the opportunity to meet Berry. The occasion was KISW-FM's giant Best of Louie Louie event at the Tacoma Dome featuring performances by Berry & some of the vintage Northwest combos who were tied to the tune including: the Wailers, Kingsmen, Little Bill Engelhart, Gail Harris, & Ron Holden (who's band, the Playboys, had played the song in Seattle back around 1959).

It was Holden, in fact, who gave a shout-out to me when I entered the backstage green-room where all the artists were milling about pre-show. "Hey, Pete! Come over here & let me introduce you to somebody." Standing there in the corner with him was Berry – they'd been reminiscing about their first meet-up back in 1960. When Berry saw the stack of 45s, 78s, LPs, sheet music, & posters that I brought to have him autograph he laughed, obliged, & exclaimed that he could hardly believe that all this fuss was being made over that old tune, "Louie Louie."

After some small talk Holden excused himself, & Berry agreed to let me roll a tape & conduct an interview -- later we continued the discussion by telephone. My goal was to document Berry's recollections of his very first tour through the region so long ago back in the 1950s – when, like a bigbeat Johnny Appleseed, Berry had come striding through, planting his "Louie Louie" in the hearts of local R&B fans. Berry held plenty of memories about that tour, but he never was able to recollect the actual date (or exact dancehall) where he'd originally introduced Seattle to his immortal tune -- that was a mystery that I wouldn't solve for another two+ decades. So....sit tight for the forthcoming Part II of this saga!

ROCKIN' ROBIN ROBERTS (1940-1967)

2009-11-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

50 YEARS LATER -- five decades after Lawrence F. "Rockin' Robin" Roberts (1940-1967) quit Tacoma's pioneering R&B band, The Blue Notes, in August, 1959, to join their cross-town rivals, Northwest rock 'n' rollers, The Wailers (as seen here in 1960) -- I figured that far too much time had passed by without his biography being written.

In that essay -- just posted over at HistoryLink.org -- Roberts' tragically short life & amazing singing career are documented in detail.

Readers will be reminded of the huge impact that Roberts had on his teenaged fans as well as his fellow musicians. Being an early collector of R&B records, Roberts was the original instigator who convinced his bandmates to do their own version of Richard Berry's 1957 tune, "Louie Louie." And the rest is, well, garage-rock history...

R.I.P. ROCKIN' ROBIN!!!!!

IVAR HAGLUND, THE SEAFOOD-SELLING SONGSTER: 1946

2009-11-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE WATERFRONT character, Ivar Haglund (1905-1985), is mainly remembered for his successful string of seafood restaurants & the fabled publicity stunts he pulled on all of us.

Far less well known is his background as a guitarist, singer, and aspiring radio and TV star. As a mere lad Haglund was afforded vocal lessons, & after picking up the ukulele & guitar he began performing around town -- including, a spell with the UW Varsity Glee Club in 1927.

Along the way he accumulated old folk songs & in 1930 the Seattle Times noted that he was interested in uncovering any Northwest-based tunes. An elderly woman responded by providing a copy of “The Old Settler” which had been penned by Olympia’s Francis Henry back in 1877. The folksy song featured humorous lines about life on Puget Sound – including one that especially stuck with Haglund: “I think of my pleasant condition... Surrounded by acres of clams.”

To be sure, life certainly was pleasant for him: Haglund had inherited his grandparent's Alki waterfront property, & was able to live a bohemian existence of unemployment, beachcombing, wine-making, & guitar strumming. In 1938 Haglund opened an aquarium on the downtown waterfront, & he advertised it by busking outside on the street with his guitar – singing silly little ditties like “Oscar The Octopus,” “Halley The Halibut,” & “Hermie The Hermit Crab” that he’d penned about the various critters inside the aquarium.

A slot at tiny KRSC radio followed, then one at KOL -- & finally, in 1940, a desperate program manager at KJR (the major NBC Network station across town) pleaded with Haglund to fill in when some scheduled guest failed to show up. It was in 1941 that Haglund befriended a couple of folkies -- Woody Guthrie & Pete Seeger -- who came rambling through town to perform at several labor union halls, & they ended up as the houseguests of Haglund where their friendship blossomed.

In 1942 Haglund performed in the Moore Theater's Earl Robinson Comes Home -- a revue organized to salute the return of West Seattle's songsmith, Earl Robinson, who had gained fame for his lefty tunes, like "(I Dreamed I Saw) Joe Hill." Then in 1944 KJR launched Haglund's own prime-time, weekday Around the Sound show which brought him greater exposure – & secured the success of the aquarium. The show’s theme song was “The Old Settler” – re-titled as “Acres Of Clams.” In 1946 Haglund announced – with the advertising card shown here – the opening of a seafood restaurant, Ivar’s Acres of Clams, near the aquarium.

The following year another local radioman, Don McCune, invited Haglund to appear as “First Mate” on his show, and later – when McCune got his KOMO-TV kiddie program, The Captain Puget Show, where the duo sang sea chanteys. In 1958 Haglund performed “The Old Settler” on a nationally broadcast TV special & among those watching from New York, was Robinson who was inspired to score an arrangement suitable for a full orchestra. And that version – renamed “A Country Called Puget Sound” – made its concert debut on the Canadian national radio network, & was revived again in a high-profile appearance when the Seattle Symphony Orchestra (under the baton of the Maestro, Milton Katims) performed it at Seattle's new Opera House in 1963.

JOHN COPPOCK's HAWAIIAN BAND: 1927

2009-10-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

THE TINY TOWN of Peshastin, Washington, was the base for a homegrown Hawaiian music group formed by guitarist John Coppock & his high-school pals around 1919. The positive reception they got after playing a few gigs there & in nearby burgs like Leavenworth and Wenatchee encouraged him enough to head off to Hollywood in 1923. It was there that he (seen here, 2nd from left) formed a new quartet and began climbing the ladder to stardom.

By 1924 Coppock's Hawaiians had added one genuine Hawaiian musician -- the ukulele ace, Dave Mahuka -- and soon scored their own weekly radio show. In 1925 the band cut a 78rpm disc for one of the West Coast's very first labels, Sunset Records, & they became one of the top acts of their type on the So-Cal scene. Throughout the summer & fall seasons of 1927 they toured through various states, including a swing up the coast & right back into Coppock's old stomping grounds.

On the evening of Friday October 28, 1927 Coppock and his crew -- which included his own brother Paul on vocals -- made a triumphant return to the old hometown for a performance at the Peshastin School Auditorium.

This rare old poster shows the local pride at having a couple of their own boys -- "Coppock's Famous Radio and Recording Trio" -- back for a visit: even the Peshastin Symphony Orchestra (!) lent a hand that night. And, as a special treat, the Coppock brothers entertained one & all with a few numbers played on their musical handsaws.

THE DAWN of GRUNGE ROCK: 1988

2009-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

SEATTLE's BOXING CLUB (1011 E Pike Street) was the unusual site for a rock 'n' roll rumble of a gig on the broiling hot evening of Friday July 8, 1988. A cramped, shabby, old-school tough-guy gym, the Club hosted three local bands who each cut loose with howling sets before a sweaty, packed-in, all-ages crowd. I know – because I was there.

The event was billed as a "Psycho Delic Disco Orgy" – probably because the phrase "grunge rock" was barely a concept at that early date. And, as this handbill noted: the gig was also a record release party held to celebrate new releases by three first generation grunge bands – each of whom (Blood Circus, Swallow, & Mudhoney) were fresh signees to the now-legendary Sub Pop label.

Blood Circus' "Two Way Street"/ "Six Foot Under" (SP13), & Swallow's "Trapped"/"Guts" (SP14) singles had been released dauys prior in June, while Mudhoney's classic "Touch Me I'm Sick"/"Sweet Young Thing (Ain't Sweet No More)" ( SP18) wasn't actually made available until August.

Interestingly, during this time period it was Blood Circus who were the better-established band – indeed, both Mudhoney & Nirvana performed their first-ever shows at Seattle's fabled Vogue club opening for them. Months later, in November, Nirvana's debut 45 -- "Love Buzz"/"Big Cheese" (SP23) – was issued. The rest is history...

AIRPLANE DANCE in KELSO: 1930

2009-10-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

TEX HOWARD's BAND played something billed as an "Airplane Dance" at the Glide Hall in South Kelso, Washington, in 1930. That venue served that town in two distinct ways: as place for roller-skaters to glide around the hardwood floor – & then as a dancehall in the evenings.

Howard had been musically active for some time prior to this event. On December 24, 1926 Spokane's Spokesman-Review ran an ad for the Davenport Hotel which invited people to attend a Christmas Day dinner that would feature Howard & his 10-piece "all-artist" orchestra. On February 24, 1927, the place touted "Musicale Luncheons" which featured Howard & his Davenport Hotel Orchestra.

By 1931 Tex Howard & his Tigers took on a year-long stint at Seattle's Trianon Ballroom (2nd Avenue & Wall Street) and Musicland magazine noted gushed how "They are one of the finest home-town groups...It's difficult to keep the crowds still during the intermission. So enticing and dance-provoking is the music, that the dancers hate to see the orchestra pause for even a moment."

In '34 Howard's orchestra gigged on KFOX radio in Long Beach, California. Then on February 9, 1935 the band – which included his brother Wyatt Howard on vocals – cut "Let's Honeymoon Again" for Decca Records. Two days later, they cut three more songs ("Put On An Old Pair Of Shoes," "Love Dropped In For Tea," & "Somebody's Birthday"). The result was a pair of 78 rpm singles.

Soon Howard's band was back at the Trianon, which is where the UW's Junior Prom was held on March 5, 1936. The Tyee yearbook noted the oh-so-clever maritime theme of the dance: "When the S. S. Junior Prom cleared Seattle docks from the Trianon Ballroom, on its 'Transatlantic Journey'...450 couples were aboard. It was a grand voyage with none of the inconveniences of passports, luggage or mal de mer. Stars twinkled down upon coeds in filmy formals and their escorts in conventional black and white as they danced on the spacious 'deck.' Red and green lights marked the port and starboard sides of the big liner and life preservers and pillars disguised as masts added to the naval theme. The twelve-piece ship's orchestra, conducted by Tex Howard, was enthroned in the stern while the hall's balcony became a pilot house. Nattily uniformed ship's employees worked in the baggage (check) room...".

By the 1940's brother Wyatt had split off & formed his own orchestra which: featured the vocalist "Carol Ross" (aka Jeanne Tutmarc, sister to Seattle musician, Paul Tutmarc); was based out of the Town & Country Club (1421 8th Avenue); & recorded for Linden Records.

Meanwhile in 1948, Kelso's country bandleader, Roger Crandall, bought the old Glide Hall & his Barn Dance Boys performed there many a Saturday night. As the 1950s rolled around numerous national Country stars played the hall including Tommy Duncan, Ray Price, Tex Ritter, & the Maddox Brothers & Sister Rose. In addition, a few of the Northwest's up-&-comers such as Yakima's Tex Mitchell, Tacoma's Buck Owens, & Salem's Snead Family performed there. Then, when rock 'n' roll broke out, touring rockabilly stars like Buddy Knox drew a teenaged crowd, as did one of Oregon's very first rock bands, the Teen Kings.

JACK RIVERS' RAREST NW DISC: 1952

2009-08-17T14:06:00.000-07:00

ONE KEY MUSICIAN on the 1950's Sea-Tac country scene was guitar ace, Rivers "Jack Rivers" Lewis – the brother of famed hillbilly bandleader (the Lone Star Cowboys) and western film star, "Texas Jim" Lewis. In the '30s the boys had recorded for Vocalion & Decca Records – & in the '40s Jack recorded for Capitol Records; on scores of Hollywood film soundtracks; & picked some hot solos on many hits (i.e. "Easy To Please," "Milkcow Blues," & "Mine All Mine") as a member of Jimmy Wakely's Saddle Pals.
Along the way, Jack became one of the very first players to own an electric solid-body Spanish guitar. Custom-made for him circa 1947 by the fabled SoCal-based machinist, Paul Bigsby, Jack's unique – & recently discovered -- guitar seemingly predates the 1948 unit built for fellow Capitol artist, Merle Travis, which has often been credited as the original Bigsby.

In 1950 the brothers settled in Seattle where Jim soon gained further notoriety as the host of KING-TV's kiddie show, Sheriff Tex's Safety Junction & Rivers hosted the beer-fueled hillbilly music program, Rainier Ranch. But today's topic is the music Jack played during his Northwest years – and the local record companies that he recorded for. In time he would operate his own labels including Ranch, JR Ranch, NOW, & MRM Records, but probably the first Seattle label to feature Jack's guitar sounds was Listen Records which was based out of Oliver Runchie's Electricraft recording studio at 622 Union Street. Listen issued Jack's contribution to the then-popular topical saga first sparked by Bremerton's Arkie Shibley & the Mt. Dew Boys & their 1950 hit, "Hot Rod Race," & later taken up by Spokane's Charlie Ryan whose "Hot Rod Lincoln" broke out as a local hit in 1955. Issued between those two country-rap discs (around September, 1952), Jack's "Navy Hot Rod" single showcased the type of hot guitar licks he also played live at area roadhouses including Seattle's Circle Tavern (9602 E. Marginal Way) & Coe's Country Club (NE 110th Street & 10th Avenue NE) up into the 1960s.

GREEN LAKE BAND: circa 1912

2009-06-08T14:56:00.000-07:00

MUSIC IN SEATTLE's public parks is a fine old tradition dating back over a century. And Seattle's favorite summertime park -- Green Lake -- has a long history of hosting musical events. Well before myriad popular local 1980s bands rocked there at Bite of Seattle outdoor festivals (prior to being booted after noise complaints from crabby recent arrivals to the neighborhood) -- or Led Zeppelin shook (and possibly cracked) the foundation of the Green Lake Aqua Theater (5900 W. Green Lake Way N.) back on May 11, 1969, or Northwest rock 'n' roll pioneers like the Frantics and Ron Holden & the Playboys played sockhops at the Green Lake Fieldhouse in the 1950s -- the park featured plenty of musical performances & dances.

Upon recently discovering this photograph of the 21-member Green Lake Band I immediately sensed that it may have been taken in vacinity of the park. But the initial research effort wasn't too promising: turns out that one or more Metropolitan Laundry companies (the business seen at right) were located at varying locations around town over the years. But not neccessarily near Green Lake. However, this image is clearly marked as having been produced by the "Maple Leaf Studios -- Green Lake Station Seattle Wash." And, we know that a Mr. J.T. Williams operated that studio. Furthermore: business records reveal that by 1912 Williams' firm was based exactly where (304 Maple Leaf Place) the Maple Leaf neighborhood abuts Green Lake -- right there at E. Green Lake Drive N. and NE 72nd Street. This case for establishing exactly where this image was captured isn't closed yet, but the circumstantial evidence is already interesting...

COON CHICKEN DANCE in SEATTLE: 1933

2009-05-18T13:12:00.000-07:00

HOMESICK NEWCOMERS hungering for some good 'ol southern-style home cookin' in Seattle could refer to this map which highlighted several "dining and dancing resorts" along Victory Way (today's Bothell Way & Lake City Way). Among them were: Dick Parker's Pavilion, Mammy's Shack ("chicken... cooked by a real southern mammy"), Southern Home, Bob's Place ("half chicken fried just right"), Dixie Inn, Lem's Corner ("Chicken Dinner: $1"), the Check 'N Double Check ("famous Chili"), & Henry "The Watermelon King's" place ("Real Southern Watermelons Our Specialty").

Had this 1931 map showed the area several more blocks south-ward, it would have also included the most famous, er, infamous of the town's restaurants: the regrettably conceived Coon Chicken Inn (8500 Bothell Way).

The Ferris State University's Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia informs that the chain was originally founded in Salt Lake City in 1925 by Maxon Lester Graham, who opened his second Inn in Seattle in 1929 and another in Portland in 1930 -- each replete with an absurd giant grinning & winking train porter face as entryways -- & that all three were "popular."

Well, it was certainly not at all "popular" with Seattle's African-American community (who weren't even allowed to live in the North end at that time), and who were doubly offended when uncouth local white youths started a fad based on attaching the menu's mascot image on their cars' spare tires and flaunting them all around town.

At one point -- probably soon after Prohibition's repeal in 1933 -- management added a "cabaret" (liquor bar), dance floor, bandstand, & then "Imported Directly from Chicago" the Joseph "King" Oliver Orchestra to perform in their basement's new Cotton Club which was billed as the "Largest Nite Club In Seattle."

Then, as the late-1950s brought along changes, Graham leased out his property, and in time a new building -- which Ying's Drive-In Chinese Foods occupies today -- was erected on the site.

SEATTLE'S GROOVE RECORD SHOP: 1947

2009-04-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

RHYTHM & BLUES records were not easy to purchase in the Northwest back in the 1940s. At that time some of the bigtime labels -- like Decca -- had their own exclusive retail stores, while other shops mostly peddled the polite pop heard on the mainstream whitebread radio stations.

In order to hear honest-to-dog genuine hard-core R&B or jazz, fans had to tune-in to pioneering African-American DJs like Fitzgerald "Eager Beaver" or Bob "Bop" Summerise at tiny radio stations like Bremerton's KBRQ or Tacoma's KTAC.

And to actually buy such discs required a visit to a neighborhood store that catered to the black community -- like Tacoma's Broadway Record Shop, Portland's Bop City Records, or Seattle's legendary Groove Record Shop (1223 Jackson Street). This circa 1947 10" Modern Music Co. 78rpm disc includes "Shuffle Boogie" & "You Won't Let Me Go" by the Los Angeles-based Johnny Moore's Three Blazers. Interestingly, that trio's singer -- the soon-to-be-famous Charles "Merry Christmas Baby" Brown -- is often cited as an early stylistic inspiration to Ray Charles, the soon-to-be-famous singer/pianist who arrived in Seattle in 1948. Lastly, in 1952 Summerise bought out The Groove Shop (which had moved to 1211 Jackson St.), renamed it the World of Music Record Shop, and (while there, & then later at 1412 23rd Avenue / Jackson Street) it remained a cornerstone of the nascent local R&B scene well into the 1960s -- & a place where kids like Jimi Hendrix (& members of teen-R&B bands including the Dynamics & Pulsations) hung out and soaked up all the hip new sounds.

KNIFE DANCE in CLE ELUM: 1947

2009-04-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

THAT TINY OLD Cascade Mountain mining town of Cle Elum was the site of what was surely a memorable evening of entertainment on Saturday June 28, 1947. It was there, at the local Eagles Temple (220 Pennsylvania Avenue), that the homegrown Peggy Miner's Band provided music for public dancing at an event sponsored by a local equestrian organization -- the Cle Elum Riding Club.

But for the basic admission price of $1 (for men) and 50¢ (for "Extra Ladies"), attendees would also thrill to a bonus "Special Attraction." Brought over "Direct from Vogue Studios, Seattle" (315 Marion Street) were the dynamic dancing duo of Jack & Paula.

As advertised, Jack & Paula were booked to perform "5 Big Acts" that night -- such daring and exotic presentations as an: "Exhibition of Fantasy In Dance," a "Tango, a "Rhumba," an "Afro-Cuban Dance," & even the spine-tingling & no doubt, death-defying, "Primitive Knife Ritual Dance."

In hindsight though, the greatest spectacle for witnesses that particular summer night must have been Jack & Paula's version of the stately and dignified "Viennese Waltz" -- as rendered in their matching Me- Tarzan-You-Jane leopard loincloth and bikini stage apparel.

I DREAMED I HEARD JOE HILL: 1936

2009-03-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

TAC RECORDS? That's right: Not Tacoma Records, & not Sea-Tac Records. TAC Records was the politically progressive New York-based label that in 1939 issued this 78 rpm disc of Seattle's labor songster, Earl Robinson, & his famous 1936 tribute tune, "Joe Hill." Perhaps the most widely recognized ballad penned by Robinson (& the lyricist/poet, Alfred Hayes), this song saluted the life of America's labor activist/martyr, Joe Hill, who was infamously executed by the State of Utah on November 19, 1915.

This early rendition – one of many cut over the following seven decades (including Joan Baez's high-profile 1969 version at Woodstock) – is notable for featuring Robinson's own piano-work behind the vocals of lefty singer, Michael Loring. TAC Records -- named for NYC's radical Theater Arts Committee – were produced by the Modern Record Co. (which was apparently affiliated with the Musicraft label that had issued many other cool tunes by the likes of Leadbelly & Harry "The Hipster" Gibson). As one measure of the TAC record's socio-political value, that bastion of Establishment sensibilities, Time magazine, bothered to take the time & space to diss the disc (which included "Abe Lincoln" on the A-side) as being "two crusty proletarian items" in a tacky March 6, 1939 review.

JUKE BOX WARS: circa 1948

2009-03-04T13:15:00.001-08:00

THE MUSIC BIZ is a notoriously corrupt one – with record distibution being particularly guilty of nefarious activities. Beyond that, the commercial juke box realm is one known to have been infiltrated by the Mob. But until the recent discovery of this artifact, I had no sense of the challenges that tavern & cafe owners once faced in dealing with their contracted juke box servicing agents.

This old undated poster from the Citizens Committee warned that Seattle was the site of an intimidation campaign by "Stooges," "Goon Squads and Gangters Molls" who were apparently leaning on various local venues to surrender their current juke boxes in order that "obsolete equipment" – sent here from New York by the "Werlitzer" [sic] Phono Company – could be installed instead. It claimed that those jukes ("some 400 of them, are in public warehouses in Seattle") were being dumped here because Wurlitzer will "have a new model ready soon."

My initial guess is that the controvery may date back to around 1948 or so – when those big 10-inch 78rpm singles were first being superceded by the smaller 7-inch 45rpm singles – a change that required all-new juke boxes. The cautionary poster's details are downright chilling: "Should any group invade your tavern or cafe and start cutting wires or smashing music equipment or attempt to roll in another music machine, call the police or sheriff. ...Be alert for burning cigarette butts with match heads enclosed thrown in front of music machines or underneath equipment to start fires to disgrace your local music men. ... Ignore all goons or their molls calling by phone." It goes on to assert that various unions had been bought off; that certain suppliers of beer or foodstuffs – being in cahoots with the gangsters – might illegally try and deny delivery orders; and furthermore: that if the tavern operators allowed the original juke boxes to be switched out, they themselves would be hauled into court & sued by the original juke box contractors over financial losses. "Keep your skirts clean. ...Don't become involved..."

NO RESERVATIONS: 1997

2009-02-26T08:18:00.000-08:00

A DOZEN YEARS ago I was handed this odd brochure while strolling thru Seattle's U-District Street Fair. Now, usually I decline to accept freebies from strangers, but a single glance at it – & its cartoon images of various pop culture icons (especially of my Northwest homies, Jimi Hendrix & Kurt Cobain) – caused me to pause and grab the thing.

The graphics also included other notables (Elvis, Garcia, Lennon, Morrison, & the Duke), a bit of a benjamin poking out at bottom, & a banner offering a "CELEBRITY INTELLIGENCE TEST." That "test" was comprised of two questions: "Who are these people?"...and what do they have in common?" I was mildly intrigued...until, that is, I read the back-page's text and realized that the thing was merely an inane religious tract (produced by some California-based sect) whose fear-mongering message was simple: what those pop stars all had in common was that "They all earned big money. They are all big name celebrities...and they are all dead." Then comes the expected pitch to reject a sinful life, a final inquiry ("Why is one box empty on the cover of this tract? That's reserved for you"), & the brain-dead closer: "INTELLIGENT PEOPLE READ THE FRONT FIRST."

SEATTLE's 1st PUNKS: 1976

2009-02-26T07:22:00.001-08:00

MAYDAY 1976: While much of Seattle was out doing the "The Hustle" at area discos – or square-dancing to local country-rock tavern bands – a small local coterie of younger musicians were busy making history.

This is the ultra-rare poster for a 3-band gig held at the old IOOF Oddfellows Hall (915 E. Pine Street) in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

The event's title – The TMT Show – was an acronymic reference to the trio of participating bands: the Telepaths, the Meyce, & the Tupperwares. In hindsight, this first stirring of the Northwest's punk scene – well, at least since the Sonics' heyday way back in the '60s – would help spark the rise of an independent "alternative" scene that would ultimately come to fruition with 1980s-1990s grunge rock.

But even more significantly: rock historians have recognized that the TMT Show was a bit of a trail-blazing event. As a harbinger of punk things to come, it predated by months even the very first gigs in Britain by the Clash, the Damned, the Buzzcocks, & Siouxsie & the Banshees – not to mention, the many Los Angeles punk bands that followed (including the Screamers: the revamped and relocated Tupperwares). Interestingly, because Seattle had a few busybodies who enjoyed tearing down legally posted rock handbills, the racy graphics of the TMT poster caused it to be especially targeted, and thus, exceedingly few have survived.

10¢ DANCES & A 5-PIECE BAND: 1933

2009-02-23T17:35:00.000-08:00

THREE YEARS into the Great Depression – & one month prior to FDR's inauguration (& the beginnings of his New Deal's efforts to turn the American economy around) – the first in a series of community fund-raiser benefit dances was mounted on February 18, 1933) at the Juanita Park Pavilion.

The events were organized by the Kirkland-based East Side Association of Unemployed – one of several area groups committed to cooperative activities intended to provide help to the growing ranks of the newly jobless. But they were not the first: one history book (by Sara Bader) records that the nation's "first Depression-era 'self-help' organization took root in Seattle... There in the summer of 1931, the Unemployed Citizens League was organized" & by year's end 12,000 members were engaged in bartering: garden vegetables for services; unwanted automobiles for free rent, etc. But one year later – and across Lake Washington –100 Kirkland-area men joined forces and began chopping firewood and planting shared gardens. Along with that hard work, were the dances held nearby at Pop Bergeron's Juanita Park Pavilion. For the entry fee of ten cents, attendees could have their spirits raised a bit by dancing to music performed by a small ensemble – quite possibly, Milt Gootee & his Band. Interestingly, on the flipside of this poster is a hand-scrawled sign that reads: "POTATOES: To Members – ONLY – of East Side ASSN of Unemployed – At 50-cts A Sacks."

VINTAGE HENDRIX: 1997

2009-02-23T17:30:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE'S GREATEST native-son musician, Jimi Hendrix, has been gone now for almost four decades. His music is considered immortal & his image remains iconic. Sadly though, Jimi's memory continues to be dragged through the mud of endless courtroom battles. In February 2009, yet another Hendrix family feud was settled in a legal judgment that favored the position of the family faction headed by step-sister Janie Hendrix – & against a firm associated with Jimi's brother, Leon Hendrix. At issue was the recent marketing of alcoholic products called Electric Hendrix Vodka.

Janie's March 2007 lawsuit challenged Leon's assumed right to exploit his brother's name, & asserted that the use of Jimi's image to promote booze was an affront: the Seattle Times quoted her statement that "As a matter of strict policy, we have never promoted an alcoholic beverage ... In view of the circumstances of my brother Jimi's death, this attempt to associate his name with the sale of alcohol beverages amounts to a sick joke."

Well, yes and no. While Jimi-related booze is itself a distasteful concept – given that an over-abundance of red wine played a role in his death in 1970 – the fact remains that Janie's company, Experience Hendrix, did help promote (& sell through their Hendrix product gift catalog) 750ml bottles of Celebrity Cellars' 1997 vintage de-alcoholized "Red Table Un-Wine."

Made from "premium grapes grown in select California vineyards," the juice (60,000 bottles!) is purportedly "rich and smooth with complex aromas and subtle flavors." While Experience Hendrix may wish that they had never tied themselves to this product – which bears Jimi's photograph & "signature" on the label – the nicely aging bottles are 100% proof that they did.

OLD TOWN DANCE: 1938

2009-02-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

ONE OF SEATTLE's oldest 'hoods – Youngstown – grew up around William Pigott's Seattle Steel Co. mill which was built in 1905. Immigrant new-hires settled into company-owned homes & rooming houses, & a rough-&-tumble working-class business district – including a church, grocery store, pool hall, & tavern – arose along 24th Avenue S.W. (today's Delridge Way in West Seattle).

By 1914 neighbors had formed the Youngstown Improvement Club as a social group & a means for helping lift their area up to the middle-class standards of West Seattle in general. They founded a clubhouse & held many community events there over the decades. Even as a Seattle-native I knew none of this history until I began researching a new discovery: this poster which advertises a dance on January 1, 1938. Now, where are all the fotos of that toe-tappin' band: Grantier's Harmonizers?

SOUNDS of SPOKANE: 1890

2009-02-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

IN 1873 A TRIO OF FOUNDERS of the tiny town of Spokane Falls – including Salem, Oregon's James Glover – acquired ownership of a 158-acre tract located at the center of today's Spokane. After building a saw mill near the town's namesake waterfalls, he eventually donated about 40 prime acres (from Front Avenue to Broadway Avenue, Post Street to Monroe Street) to Frederick Post for the establishment of a flour mill. The one-square-block of that parcel which he retained is where the grand Auditorium Theater was built (NW corner of W. Main Avenue & N. Post Street) in the aftermath of the Great Fire of August 1889.

The seven-story, 1,750-seat Auditorium Theater opened in 1890, boasting an impressive exterior, an over-sized stage, three balconeys, deluxe loge seating, & eventually a house orchestra which was led for years by noted cellist, Ferdinand Sorenson. The facility was welcomed by Spokane's early residents – as well as touring musicians & entertainers (ranging from Sarah Bernhardt to Al Jolson) who presumably appreciated such a fine outpost of genteel culture out here in the Wild West. When the motion picture industry finally overtook old-school vaudevillian entertainments in the 1920s, the Auditorium added a "silver screen," but time was running out and the hall was razed in 1934. Today River Park Square marks the historic site.

MYERS MUSIC SHOP

2009-02-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

I WILL always have a soft spot in my heart for Seattle's Myers Music shop. Although the old retail store is long-gone, memories of going there with my father to buy my first drum-kit in 1967 remain vivid. That little shoebox of a building (1206 1st Avenue) was crammed from floor to ceiling with racks of instruments and musical supplies of every type. The proprietor, Julius M. Myers (1906-1994), was most helpful in advising us & I ended up going home happily with a brandless Asian-made set of beautiful copper-colored "tiger-eye" finished tubs -- & a snare-drum case that bore a small metal logo badge as seen here. And it seems that I was in pretty good company: many previous local musicians had also received Myers' assistance: in the 1940s he'd sold young Quincy Jones his first trumpet, & in the 1950's young Jimi Hendrix got his first electric guitar there. Myers -- a Romanian immigrant who originally founded his Empire Clothing Co. in 1928 (renaming it the Empire Exchange in 1931, & then eventually, Myers Music) -- was a mandolinist, a leader of a balalaika orchestra, & a radio host on Seattle's KVI. It was in 1984 that Myers shuttered his shop -- & in 1993 a large psychedelic mural was painted on the building's south exterior wall in tribute to Hendrix.

NIRVANA SEATTLE POSTER?

2009-02-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

THOSE NORTHWEST grunge rockers, Nirvana, were always targeted by profiteers who cranked out "collectibles" for the band's fans to glom onto. Among the questionable items marketed over the years have been bogus concert posters issued well after-the-fact – & others representing gigs that never happened. Then there are the ones touting gigs at concert venues that don't even exist. Here is a recent example: a specimen found on eBay that purports to advertise a hella lineup of Nirvana & that esteemed British punk/pop '70s band, the Buzzcocks. The eBay listing blithely notes that: "This poster is promoting Nirvana and a show to be held on Friday-Saturday 11-12 October, at Lakeland Arena in Seattle, Washington."

Those dates correlate to a point in 1991 when Nirvana's Nevermind album was just breaking out. But the "Lakeland Arena" attribution is mystifying as Seattle has no such concert hall – although Minocqua, Wisconsin & Waterford, Michigan both apparently do! Interestingly, the Buzzcocks did actually reform briefly and serve as the opening act on a tour with Nirvana – a group which Buzzcocks guitarist Steve Diggle saluted as "the only band we considered worthy of supporting" – but those gigs occurred only days before Kurt Cobain's demise in early 1994. Oh well...whatever...

KJR RADIO STAMP: circa 1921

2009-02-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

THE DAWN of the radio industry saw various associated trends, fads, and crazes emerge – including the marketing of radio kits to hobbyists, the formation of amateur radio clubs, & the issuance of "Verified Reception Stamps." First produced for Chicago's EKKO Company (by the American Bank Note Co.) in 1921, the stamps were intended to appeal to radio enthusiasts whose goal was to keep track of the many distant stations that they'd successfully tuned into.

The stamps were sold by EKKO to specific stations who would then provide one to each listener who wrote-in stating the date & time (along with details about the specific broadcast content that they'd heard in order to verify their claim). Those listeners could then assemble their collection of stamps – each bearing the call letters of participating stations – into a book that EKKO began producing in 1924. Among the 800+ stations to participate were Spokane's KHQ, & Seattle's first commercial station, KJR (950 AM).