My jukebox adventure

It took a herculean effort by family and friends. Getting the old machine up the wide back steps to the kitchen was relatively easy. Then it was up four more steps, make a 90 degree turn and up the rest of the way to the second floor. Considering the tight quarters and the weight of the mechanical contrivance, the last part was supremely difficult.

When it was over, however, there was a shiny Seeburg jukebox in my postage stamp sized bedroom. In the meantime, we had given a new definition to the term "heavy music."

The 45rpm record playing machine had a distinctive domed top so you could watch your platters spin. The title strips, listing the songs, were located at an angle on the front and the columned bottom concealed the giant bass speaker responsible for the Seeburg's large sound.

As I recall, the machine cost $60, quite a magnificent sum for the time. Jukeboxes were never cheap and were usually installed in bars or restaurants and not meant for home use. The machines weren't usually sold unless the owner was replacing it with a newer model and often businesses were only leasing the machines, anyway.

On my machine, the coin mechanism was rigged so you didn't even need money to play it. What could be more perfect? Certainly, the Seeburg was more impressive than the cookie-cutter plastic portable"stereos" of the time.

With the machine safely in my bedroom, the next step was loading it with the best singles to create the perfect jukebox. Double sided hits were ideal so you didn't waste any space on obscure flip sides which would rarely get played.

Current hits received almost unanimous consideration because there was no concept such as "oldies" at the time. To this end, several hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival fit the bill. "Proud Mary" was paired with "Born on the Bayou," "Bad Moon Rising" was backed by "Lodi" and "Green River" was opposite "Commotion."

Beatles tunes were easy to add, as well. At 7:11, "Hey, Jude" was the longest rock single to that point and besides it was backed by "Revolution," featuring Paul McCartney's throat-shredding scream. Certainly, "Come Together"/"Something" and "Get Back"/ "Don't Let Me Down" were obvious adds too.

Any self-respecting jukebox needed hits by the Rolling Stones, Who, Doors and Rascals. So, your selections included "Honky Tonk Women," "The Seeker," "Hello, I Love You" and "People Got to Be Free." Don't be surprised to find Simon and Garfunkel, Tommy James, Zombies, Bob Seger, Three Dog Night, Grassroots, Hollies, Badfinger and some Motown hits, as well.

Unlike the radio or LPs, the jukebox could deliver hit after hit. You didn't have to worry about the mood being interrupted by the news or some throw-away track on a record album.

Besides, jukeboxes were not constructed for subtlety. They pounded out the bass so you could feel it, just like the monster car stereos of today: boom, Boom, BOOM. When the jukebox was playing you could tap your foot, or dance, but you couldn't sit still.

My Seeburg was made by one of four jukebox manufacturers. The others were Rockola, AMI-Rowe and Wurlitzer. The Wurlitzer family, which also sold the large organs in silent movie theaters, perfected an elaborately colored jukebox, known as the "bubbler." By 1937, Wurlitzer had sold more than 100,000 of the machines which held two-dozen 78 rpm records, playable on one side only.

Ten years later, the Seeburg Co. brought to market aluminum-edged jukeboxes which could accommodate 50 of the then newly introduced 45 rpm records.

After a few years of heavy use, (and probably to my parents' relief) the old Seeburg finally gave out. My mute friend had to be taken from the bedroom, lowered back down the steps and out of the house.

An era had passed. I miss both that time and my Seeburg.

Stones prove they're great

There was some grousing about the Rolling Stones half time performance at the Super Bowl earlier this month. They're too old, they don't represent the musical tradition of Detroit, the sound was bad, etc.

But, actually, the National Football League couldn't have done better. They booked the "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band." They can prove it, too. Judging by their revenue from compact disc and ticket sales in the U. S. during 2005, the Stones are tops. According to a tally generated by Forbes Magazine using data from Soundscan (CD sales) and Pollstar (ticket sales), the Stones earned $168 million last year. The Irish rock band U2 took second place with $150 million.

Regarding the age factor, however, it can't be denied Mick Jagger is 62. But, the Stones vocalist has lost little of his ability to command the stage. Band mates Keith Richard, 62; Ron Wood, 58; and Charlie Watts, 64; demand attention, too. The sound at Ford Field was poor and 12 minutes probably isn't enough time to fire up a crowd.

The Stones filled that brief time with "Start Me Up," a huge hit from 1981; "Rough Justice," the opening track from their new album; and "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," their number one smash dating from the pre-Super Bowl days of 1965. They probably didn't spend much time rehearsing, either. After all, they've been playing two of those songs for decades.

"Satisfaction," came early in the set list when my wife Sue and I saw the Stones at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing on Sept. 9, 1994 during their Voodoo Lounge World Tour. Almost everything about the show was huge: the stage, the crowd; the songs, the special effects, the lighting. Put your index finger about an inch away from your thumb and that's how tall Jagger and the boys were, however. But, there was a video screen, so the show could be enjoyed even by those in remotest parts of the stadium.

Your core Stones were joined on stage by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who was a member of the Allman Brothers Band, and bass player Darryl Jones. Bill Wyman, the Stones' original bassist quit the group prior to this tour.

Just like nearly everyone else in the crowd, we were excited to hear the Stones perform our favorite songs live. They tore through their hits "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar," "Street Fighting Man," "Miss You" and tracks from Voodoo Lounge, which won a Grammy for best rock album. They played two dozen tracks in all and capped off the night with "Jumpin' Jack Flash," amid explosions and fireworks.

The memorable concert tour took dozens of people to pull off, including --although we didn't know it at the time--someone from the Upper Peninsula. Marquette's Chuch (pronounced Chooch) Magee was their road manager. Magee started his career as sound engineer for Ron Wood's 1974 release "I've Got My Own Album to Do." He then did Stones tours as a guitar and drum technician. In 1989 he was named by Performance Magazine as "Road Technician of the Year." Then, in 1994 a readers poll recognized his leadership of the world's "Best Road Crew."

On July 18, 2002 Magee, 54, was attending Stones rehearsals in Toronto when he suffered a fatal heart attack. The Stones were devastated to lose someone in their inner circle and showed it.

The veteran British band flew into Sawyer International Airport outside Marquette to attend the July 24 funeral services. Arriving at 2 p.m., they hit the bar at the Landmark Inn, ordering designer coffees. By 5 p. m. they were at Messiah Lutheran Church for the memorial service. There, they played and sang "Amazing Grace" for their friend Chuch. They left shortly after, seeking no publicity, even though they were to begin a world tour in just a few weeks.

Actually, the word "amazing" is an ideal word to describe the Stones. Even after all these years they continue to prove they're still the "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band."

Two Beatles regrets recounted

"Regrets? I've had a few," sang Frank Sinatra in his 1969 version of "My Way."

Reflecting on the influence rock 'n' roll has had on me in the last four decades, I feel the same way. Back in the mid-sixties when I started listening to rock seriously, the music of the Beatles grabbed my attention. It hasn't loosened its grip in the forty years since.

Besides the fifty Top 40 smashes recorded by the group, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr each enjoyed hit-filled solo careers into the seventies and eighties as well.

The Beatles' impact on music and popular culture cannot be over estimated. Their sixties-era success was repeated in the nineties with the hugely popular "Anthology" series of compact discs and videos.

For a original Beatles' fan, the experience included hearing your favorite tunes on the radio, buying new hit singles every three months and new albums every Christmas, picking up fan magazines and seeing your heroes on television or at the movies occasionally.

The Beatles stoked interest in their music by touring. They performed in Milwaukee on Sept. 4, 1964 and two days later at Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Another show at Olympia came on Aug. 13, 1966.

Thousands of lucky fans attended those shows, but they were little more than experiments in hysteria. Screaming fans were so loud, the Beatles couldn't hear themselves play through their monitors. The chance of traveling from the U. P. to Detroit or Milwaukee to see a rock group as a young teenager was probably pretty remote, anyway. The Beatles stopped touring in 1966.

The fact that the Beatles no longer toured didn't bother me. They could concentrate on recording and I thought it was most important to own the records-- you could listen to them anytime.

It was 1970-- the year the Beatles broke-up-- before I saw a big-name rock group perform. Early that year I traveled to East Lansing to see Sly and the Family Stone play at Michigan State University. They put on a spectacular show even though Sly was hours late getting to the venue.

As a student at Central Michigan University, I saw more shows in Mt. Pleasant. On Dec. 9, 1971, I read in the Detroit Free Press that John Lennon was to appear at a Free John Sinclair Rally at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. An activist and manager of the MC5, Sinclair had received ten years in prison for trying to sell two marijuana cigarettes.

Lennon's appearance at the 15,000 seat Crisler Arena was scheduled for the next day, Friday, Dec. 10. One of my musical idols was appearing just 105 miles away!

Not only that, the list of political activists and music stars scheduled to attend the rally read like a who's who of the counterculture. Those celebrities included Fr. James Groppi, poet Allen Ginsberg, and members of the Chicago Seven, including Bobby Seale, Rennie Davis and Jerry Rubin. Also slated to appear were Commander Cody, folk singer Phil Ochs, the Joy of Cooking, David Frost and the Up, as well as Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono.

But, with just one day's notice, I didn't feel I had sufficient time to plan a trip. Final exams were approaching, and money was hard to come by. I didn't go.

Singing, "It ain't fair, John Sinclair in the stir for breathing air," Lennon performed his new song which had not yet been recorded. The radical Sinclair was freed from Marquette Branch Prison three days later.

The former Beatle didn't tour and never performed in Michigan again. He was assassinated in 1980. That is regret number one.

After I graduated, I returned to Escanaba. By the fall of 1974, I was working for the Escanaba Daily Press when I saw an advertisement in the Detroit Free Press that George Harrison was bringing his "Dark Horse" tour to the Motor City. The Beatles' lead guitarist was to play at the same Olympia Stadium the group appeared at ten years before. His concert was set for Wednesday, Dec. 4, 1974.

However, the show was in the middle of the week, I was working a new job and money was short. Again, I didn't go. Harrison never toured the U. S. again and died of cancer in 2001. That is regret number two.

When Ringo Starr scheduled an All-Starr Band show in Charlevoix on Aug. 20, 1989, I finally got to attend my first "Beatles" concert. The amiable drummer for the world's most famous band played many of his hits and brought along some of his musical friends including Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemmons, Billy Preston, Nils Lofgren and Dr. John.

A few months later, on Dec. 4, I saw Paul McCartney play at Chicago's Rosemont Theatre. The Beatles' bass player performed "Get Back," "Long and Winding Road," "Let It Be," "Hey Jude," and hits from his solo career to an enthusiastic response.

My wife Sue and I saw Starr again on Aug. 9, 2003 and McCartney on June 2, 1993 and Oct. 23, 2005. All three unforgettable shows were in Milwaukee.

As a younger person, I put off seeing my musical heroes, thinking there was always next time.

Now, I know better.

Musical destination: Memphis

Yes, the King of Rock 'n' Roll made his home there, but Memphis has a greater musical legacy than just Elvis.

Although Cleveland boasts the impressive Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, Memphis has a stunning list of music attractions that put the Ohio city to shame as a music mecca.

While the rock hall drew 413,000 visitors last year, Graceland alone attracted 600,000 people. Now, add Beale Street, the Sun Studio, Stax Records Museum, Gibson Guitar Building, as well as B. B. King's Blues Club and you have a formidable music tradition. Besides Elvis and B. B., musicians with ties to Memphis include Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, Otis Redding and Issac Hayes.

So, if you love music, Memphis makes a great travel destination. In fact, the extensive musical legacy of Memphis drew my wife Sue and me there on vacation in late May, 2001.

We visited Beale Street in downtown Memphis several times. Regretfully, much of the original Beale Street was torn down during urban renewal projects in the sixties and seventies. Now, it's only a few blocks long, but what an amazing stretch of real estate it is!

Located in downtown Memphis, Beale Street was instrumental in the development of the blues as a premier American music genre. Blues founder W. C. Handy in memorialized on the street with a statue and park, where there are often free concerts.

B. B. King's Blues Club is nearby. Although B. B. only appears in concert at his venue a few times a year, other performers are featured at the club which also serves as a bar and restaurant. Beale Street offers trendy spots, such as the Hard Rock Cafe, and taverns which barely qualify as dives, yet offer impressive entertainment. Tourists seem to flock to Beale on weekends, but locals return on weekdays.

While in town, be sure to stop at 706 Union Ave., home of legendary Sun Records. Sam Phillips operated his Memphis Recording Service from this location. You can tour the tiny recording studio and get your picture taken in front of the same microphone Elvis used to make his early recordings.

To realize that Presley, Ike Turner, Charlie Rich and so many other music greats recorded in such unpretentious surroundings is amazing. Rock 'n' roll's humble beginnings are little noticed or recognized in today's mega-million dollar music industry.

The building next to Sun Studio includes a soda fountain where you can enjoy a vanilla Coke and buy memorabilia including souvenir matchbooks, compact discs and posters.

Also worth a visit is the Stax Museum at 926 East McLemore. Stax, which recorded hundreds of remarkable soul tracks during the sixties and seventies, was to Memphis what the Motown label was to Detroit.

The Gibson Guitar Building, meanwhile, houses the city's Rock 'n' Soul Museum. There you can see and hear how music is intertwined with the history of Memphis. Visitors can see the well-worn white piano on which Ike Turner composed "Rocket 88," which many music historians consider the first rock song.

While you're in the neighborhood, it's just a hop, skip and a jump to northern Mississippi. During our trip there we stumbled upon a small town festival which featured the area's best bluegrass musicians. Listening to those local musicians playing their fiddles, mandolins and banjos in the town square demonstrated how integral musical traditions are both to Memphis and the surrounding area.

If you want a music vacation, Tennessee also offers Nashville, the home of country music. Other great road trips might include Austin, San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle or Cleveland.

But, today let's sing the praises of Memphis.