Battle of bands proved popular

By STEVE SEYMOUR

There's nothing like a good battle of the bands.

That conclusion was reached four decades ago by Escanaba promoter and Bands Unlimited owner Gene Smiltneck and Upper Peninsula State Fair manager Clifford Perras.

"Perras hired me to manage the grandstand. He knew of our successful promotions and asked me for ideas that would appeal to teens. We agreed that a battle of the bands would be a good event," Smiltneck recalled. Dubbed Rock and Roll Combo Contest, the first such event was won by the Vertigoes of K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base on Aug. 16, 1967, before 2,600 fans.

Local interest grew for the second annual program, held Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1968, which pitted four professional Escanaba bands and a group from Iron Mountain against each other.

The five combatants included:
- Riot Squad- Brennan Williams, lead guitar; Jim Joque, rhythm guitar; Greg Curran, organ; Karin Beck, vocals; Bob Anzalone, bass; and Dan Curran, drums.
- Spoken For- Tom Caron, bass; Gary Rogers, drums; Matt Gadnis, organ; and Tom McGovern, lead guitar.
- Prophets of Doom- Larry Olivares, lead guitar; Dave Watchorn, bass; Jay Olivares, drums; and Mike Steede, rhythm guitar
- 3 Days and a Night- Kim Erickson, organ; Al Gossan, drums; Dick Peterson, lead guitar; and Tim Mulvaney, bass.
- Ravelles- Carmella Altobelli, vocals; John Richtig, lead guitar; Tom Lucas, guitar; Rand Alquist, drums; Brian Alquist, organ; and Ray Broullire, bass.

The panel of judges for the heated competition included Corky Mroczkowski, a member of several pioneering rock bands in Escanaba, including Johnny Evil and the Spirits; as well as Ruth Chase and William Groleau.

Although the local groups had plenty of cheering fans in the grandstand, the Ravelles took best band bragging rights home to Iron Mountain. Smiltneck wasn't surprised. "The Ravelles had a terrific show and were very successful in Upper Michigan and Wisconsin," he added.

The Ravelles split $150 in prize money. Two weeks after the Escanaba show the group released their first single, "Psychedelic Movement" on Mobie Records.
Finishing second were the Prophets of Doom, while Riot Squad took third place.

Two days later the fair hosted an amateur battle of the bands contest, organized by music teacher John Chown. Mroczkowski and Chase returned to judge this competition along with Mike Wagner.

The bands were expected to impress the judges and audience during a ten minute program. When the dust settled, the winner was Johnstown Flood of Escanaba. The group of 14-year-olds including Joel Coplan, Mark Olivares, Terry Steede and Tom Vardigan received $100 for their efforts.

Taking the $90 second prize was a Laurium band, Peaches. Other winners included H. M. S. Ark, Gladstone, third, $80; Rebels, Escanaba, fourth, $70; Screaming Butterfly, Gladstone, fifth, $60.

Repeating their victory the following year, Johnstown Flood won a second Battle of the Bands contest on Aug. 13, 1969. This time the Flood edged out The Chocolate Ash Can, which took second place honors, by just a single point.

Battle of the bands events at the fair were held for only a few years, but their popularity has never diminished.

"They were just as popular as 'American Idol' is today. I love watching that program because it reminds me of the great times we had promoting the dances and other events. I'm very sad that it all ended when times changed," Smiltneck commented.

Smiltneck recalled another battle of the bands he promoted. "We had a terrific one with Neptune from Escanaba versus an Iron Mountain band. Both bands had a lot of fans and we had a giant crowd at the Four Corner's Hall near Powers-Spalding. That was in the late 70s or early 80s.

"After promoting more than 5,000 events, it's hard to recall all the details of each one," he added.

Smiltneck, now 65, resides in Green Bay and has continued to be involved in the music business. A number of years ago, he changed his name to Gene Michaels.

Reflecting on his career, he said: "I hope I'm remembered as the guy who provided a bit of enjoyment to the youth of Upper Michigan. I'm sure a lot of the kids from those times look back and wish they could recreate those events.

"We always enjoyed working with youth and I tried to influence them into being good persons while enjoying life," he said.

Battle of the bands photo gallery


3 days & a Night


Spoken For


Prophets of Doom


Riot Squad

Vintage U.P. rock 45s described

The Kinetics

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Ever hear of the Kinetics or the Excels? How about Lexington Project or the Ravelles?

If you didn't know, they're all Upper Peninsula based groups which released rock 'n' roll records in the mid to late 1960s.

My collection of U. P. related records started when, as a teenager, I picked up 45s from Escanaba's own Riot Squad and Prophets of Doom.

After I wrote a column on those two singles, issued on the Peninsula Records label, Riot Squad vocalist and long-time Escanaba musician Greg Curran showed up at my store with a stack of 45s he thought I'd like.

Among them were records by Lexington Project of Kingsford and the Ravelles of Iron Mountain. These little pieces of plastic tell stories beyond what's in the grooves.

The Lexington Project was led by John Heric, Jr. who resided at 228 Beech St. in Kingsford. Amongst the group was Jim "Smiley" Lewis, a renowned musician who was a member of various pioneering rock bands in the Escanaba area, including Beat Inc., the Trolls and Johnny Evil and the Spirits. Together the two song writers penned "It Looks a Lot Like Rain."

Clocking in at 2 minutes, 51 seconds, the song appeared as the A side on the Sonic label, an imprint of Audio Unlimited Records in Rhinelander, WI. A mid-tempo rocker, the track starts with a blast of horns. The B side, "She Looks Much Older," was written by Heric and W. R. Morrison. Both songs were published by Au Music Co.

The Ravelles, meanwhile, prided themselves as a show band and featured a six person line-up, including a female lead singer. Vocalist Carmella Altobelli and two members of the band are credited with writing "Psychedelic Movement," issued by Mobie Records in 1968. The song isn't far removed from the sounds of Jefferson Airplane which also featured a woman vocalist in Grace Slick. In fact, the Ravelles performed several Airplane tracks in their live sets.

Another original, "She's Forever On My Mind," sung by lead guitar player John Richtig, appeared as the single's B side.

The Ravelles' resume included touring with the Buckinghams, who hailed from Chicago, also home base for the Mobie Record Co.

The two other U. P. bands mentioned earlier were already represented in my 45 record collection.

A combo from Marquette, the Excels recorded for Carla Records, headquartered in Ann Arbor. The group included songwriters Terry Quirk and Clark Sullivan, drummer Steve Contardi and the mysteriously named Ylinen. They released five 45s from 1966 until 1970; I have three of them.

The Carla label was owned by Ollie McLaughlin, who named the imprint after one of his daughters. McLaughlin, a black producer, was responsible for many fine "northern soul" records but was also credited with discovering Del Shannon.

The singles were produced by McLaughlin, while one-- "Little Innocent Girl"-- was arranged by famed Motown session man Dennis Coffey. The track reached number 26 at WKNR in Detroit on July 11, 1968 and number 20 at CKRC in Winnipeg on Aug. 30, 1968.

Although the Excels as a rock band may have been misplaced on a soul label, the Carla product had the advantage of being distributed by Atlantic Records, a major player at the time.

A Houghton area band, the Kinetics were signed by Amy Records, which had considerable success with Del Shannon singles, including "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow the Sun)" which went Top Ten in 1965.

In 1969, the band released a version of "Susie Q," a song Creedence Clearwater Revival took to number 11 the previous year. Lead singer/ manager Frankie Gallis handled vocals for the track which lasted just 2:10 compared to the lengthy CCR rendition. The single's flipside, "Margaret Ann" was sung by drummer Chuck Roberts.
Possibly because there were other groups calling themselves the Kinetics, the band's name on the single was changed to Kinetic Energy.

These recordings and others like them, often pressed in quantities of 1,000 or less by small independent record labels, are quite obscure today.

But, in the era before digital technology, having a record out was quite unusual and distinguished such acts from mere garage bands.

While many major recording stars were born in small towns, most of them had to move to larger cities to achieve success.

Although many U. P. groups tried for the big time from their rural locations, geography conspired against them.

"I can find no record of any recording artist making the Billboard charts that was born or raised in the Upper Peninsula." That's the finding related to me by Joel Whitburn, recognized as the leading expert on the pop charts.

Still, lack of commercial popularity doesn't lessen my fondness for the dozens of musicians from northern Michigan who released 45s or LPs over the years.

Call me provincial, but I like U. P. records.

Ink Spots show raises questions

The Ink Spots

By STEVE SEYMOUR

I thought I knew the Ink Spots, especially after I saw them in concert during my senior year in high school.

But it turns out there have been dozens--probably hundreds-- of Ink Spots groups touring and recording over the years.

Some of these groups have been legitimate while others have been impostors.

The version of the Ink Spots I saw appeared at the William W. Oliver auditorium in Escanaba on March 14, 1969.

Had the local audience witnessed a performance by a genuine Ink Spots group or impersonators?

The real Ink Spots were formed in Indianapolis by Jerry Daniels, Charlie Fuqua, Hoppy Jones and Deek Watson. Their first big hit came in 1939 with "If I Didn't Care" which also became their theme song. Many other hits followed, but Fuqua was drafted in 1944 and hand picked his replacement in the person of Bernie Mackey (remember that name). Jones died later in 1944, which led to feuding within the group. With fast and furious personnel changes, the story of the Ink Spots becomes increasingly complicated at this point.

By 1954, Fuqua and Watson had each formed separate groups of Ink Spots. Members of these groups then formed their own aggregations called Ink Spots. What followed was an explosion of groups attempting to cash-in on the name.

Tickets for the local Ink Spots concert went on sale about a month in advance. Excitement grew on the day of the show when the student newspaper, the Escanaban, devoted half its front page to the Ink Spots and featured a photo of the five-man group in full show-business attire.

An accompanying article stated the concert was being sponsored by the Delta County Barbershoppers with the aid of the Escanaba Area Public High School music department. Proceeds were ear-marked for a speech rehabilitation center and for the choral department's spring tour fund.

Publicity prior to the show, however, failed to mention the names of the members of the group.

The fact that there were multiple Ink Spots groups didn't enter my awareness in 1969. Even though rock 'n' roll music was prevalent at the time, I knew the Ink Spots were a tremendously important group. They were the dominant black vocal harmony group of the thirties and forties, and their sound contributed heavily to the doowop movement of the fifties.

I coughed up $2.50 for a ticket and filed into the junior high auditorium with hundreds of other folks, young and old alike.

Their show was very entertaining, but I don't recall exactly which songs they performed. All the singers had good voices and delivered the songs with apparent ease, in barbershop style. Specializing in ballads, they almost certainly did "If I Didn't Care," and may have done "Shine On Harvest Moon."

A program featuring Ink Spots standards also would likely have included "My Prayer," "Java Jive," "I Don't Want to Set the Word on Fire," "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," "I'll Get By," "I'm Making Believe," "Into Each Life a Little Rain Must Fall," ''The Gypsy," "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Prisoner of Love," and "To Each His Own."

The group performing here was warmly received, as I remember, although there may have been some comments about the ages of the performers. The guitarist appeared to be about 60 while the other four members of the group were considerably younger and certainly not of sufficient age to have been involved in an act with a 30-year-old hit song.

After looking at my copy of the Escanaban the other day, I emailed a likeness of the photo to an Ink Spots web site and asked them to identify those pictured. I was expecting to be told I saw a group masquerading as the Ink Spots.

I learned through the publicity photo that we had seen Bernie Mackey's Ink Spots. Mackey was considered to be an original member of the real Ink Spots, my Internet expert told me. The other performers in the picture were identified as Ray Richardson, Lorenzo Conyers and Al Williams, with one person remaining unknown. You'll recall Mackey had joined the Ink Spots during World War II. Richardson eventually formed his own version of the Ink Spots in Canada and Conyers performed as an Ink Spot until his death in 1999. Williams was a veteran of various Ink Spots groups, as well.

Band leader Mackey died on Mar. 5, 1980, eleven years after the Escanaba show. Meanwhile, the Ink Spots phenomenon continued. Even into the nineties, more than 40 groups called themselves the Ink Spots. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, they say.

Traveling Wilburys come back

The Traveling Wilburys

By STEVE SEYMOUR

If you were longing for the return of the Traveling Wilburys, your wait is about to end. The recordings of the beloved supergroup, comprised of George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, will become available again June 12 after being out-of-print for a decade.

The Traveling Wilburys evolved from Harrison's need for a B-side recording following the release of his "Cloud Nine" album in 1987. The former Beatle called producer and ex-Electric Light Orchestra leader Lynne who was working with Orbison on his "Mystery Girl" album. Tom Petty was added to the group when Harrison picked-up a guitar at his house. Then the quartet made their way to Dylan's garage recording studio and the group was complete.

"Handle With Care," the resulting song, was judged to be "too good" to waste on a single release, so Harrison rounded up the gang and they recorded nine more tracks to fill out a full album. "Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1" came out in Oct., 1988. Warmly received by the public, the album reached number three on the Billboard chart.

In promoting the disc, Harrison explained how the band came about. "The thing about the Wilburys for me is, if we'd tried to plan it, or if anybody had said, 'let's form this band and get these people in it,' it would never happen, it's impossible. It happened completely, just by magic, just by circumstance. Maybe there was a full moon that night or something like that. It was a magical little thing really."

The album appealed to the public due to the easy-going nature of the songs and because the stars involved represented three generations of singer-songwriters.

Plus, it was obvious the five stars were having fun making music together. Group members even took assumed names on the album. Harrison was "Nelson" Wilbury, Dylan was "Lucky," Orbison was "Lefty," Petty was "Charlie T." and Lynne was "Otis."

However, tragedy struck just weeks after the album was released when Orbison died of a heart attack on Dec. 6, 1988.

Three months later, "End of the Line" was released as another single, while the album won a Grammy for best rock performance. Because radio and clubs embraced the music, extended versions were prepared for both singles.

The success of the album spurred the Gretsch guitar folks to issue a custom six-string instrument as a tribute to the Traveling Wilburys. My wife Sue and I were able to obtain one of the guitars, each of which featured unique collage style artwork. Made in Korea, only 300 of the limited edition guitars were manufactured.

As time passed, rumours began to circulate that Del Shannon was being considered as a replacement for Orbison. Although Harrison worked on a solo Shannon project called "Hot Love" in 1988 and the Wilburys produced a demo recording of "Runaway," the Michigan born rocker died on Feb. 8, 1990, preventing any such collaboration.

Still, the four surviving members reunited to produce "Vol. 3," dedicated to Orbison, which reached number 11 on Billboard and contained the radio hits "She's My Baby" and "Wilbury Twist." (No Vol. 2 was issued. Some think Petty's "Full Moon Fever" album fills that role. Others contend skipping Vol. 2 was simply a Wilbury joke.)

Additional Wilbury albums were rumoured throughout the nineties, but nothing surfaced. The original Warner Bros. albums, under the control of George Harrison, fell out-of-print a decade ago. Hope for an imminent re-issue was dashed when Harrison died in 2001.

Recently, Olivia Harrison announced the long players would be issued together in a project titled "Traveling Wilburys Collection."

The Rhino Records set also includes bonus tracks "Maxine," "Like a Ship," "Runaway" and "Nobody's Child." Harrison is featured on lead vocals on "Maxine," while Dylan is the primary singer on "Like a Ship." Lynne took vocal duties on "Runaway," a number one hit from 1961. "Nobody's Child," meanwhile, was a charity single prepared for the Romanian Angel Appeal and didn't appear on either album.

An accompanying DVD, meanwhile, includes the videos "Handle With Care," "End of the Line," "Inside Out," "She's My Baby" and "Wilbury Twist." A 24-minute documentary with previously unseen footage will also be included in the package.

Showing plenty of good humor, seemingly effortless musicianship, and a determination not to take themselves too seriously, the Traveling Wilburys still sound fresh and uncontrived today.

Their return to the marketplace is a welcome one.