Artifacts tell U. P. music stories

Recently discovered sheet music pictures
"Smiley Joe" Omohundro, a self-described traveling
troubadour, who was born in the tiny Delta County
community of Fayette. He was also known as Omo
the Hobo and Omo the Lobo.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Thanks to two area residents and a Wisconsinite, some ephemera resurfaced last week which reveal details of the Upper Peninsula's often-neglected music history.

These usually short-lived items included sheet music from Delta County's "Smiley Joe" Omohundro, tickets for a Beatles' movie showing in Marquette, and a rare 45 rpm single recorded by a Menominee teenager in the late 1960s.

Escanaba antique dealer Chris Wohlen recently found a cache of sheet music authored by the late Omohundro, also known during his career as Omo the Hobo and Omo the Lobo.

Born Wellman W. Omohundro in Fayette, he spent his lifetime as a traveling troubador and wrote and recorded scores of novelty songs. Those tunes were performed live by Omohundro, often for tips, but were also released on dozens of long-playing records and 45 rpm singles.

Omohundro's sheet music, selling for a modest 75 cents, wasn't as widely distributed. The newly-discovered collection contains six pieces, all carrying a 1960 copyright date. The appeal of sheet music often extends to the photographs of the artist on the cover, and these are no exception.

"Hello, I'm in Love with You," pictures the singer looking robust in western attire, while "I'm Broke Today," shows a scruffy Omohundro displaying his empty wallet. "Money's Made Me a Beggar," meanwhile, is illustrated with the musician dressed as a hobo.

Omohundro's sheet music for "Dear Old Dad" carries a picture of his father, while "God Bless That Dear Mother of Mine" does likewise. Finally, "You've Had Your Way, Now I'll Have Mine" pictures Omohundro as a vengeful wife.

Later in life, Omohundro retired in Escanaba and died in Marquette in 1996.

His sheet music, featuring rare cover photographs, make a valuable addition to Omohundro's legacy.


Forty-four year old movie tickets
provided details of the first Beatles'
motion picture being played at Marquette's
Delft Theatre during the height of
Beatlemania in 1964.

Ford River resident Karen Mokszycke, regional manager for Book World, Inc., bought three vintage Beatles' tickets on my behalf when she was in Marquette not long ago.

Numbered 615- 617, the tickets carried a $1 pricetag and allowed the bearer to attend a "special preview" of "A Hard Day's Night." The movie was presented at 7 p. m. on Friday, Sept. 4, 1964 at Marquette's 650-seat Delft Theatre. It's easy to imagine hundreds of crazed youngsters packed into that U. P. venue during the height of Beatlemania.

The full, unused tickets measure six by three inches in size. They were custom-printed and feature small publicity photographs of the Beatles from the acclaimed black & white comedy.

The Beatles attended the world-premiere of their first motion picture at the London Pavilion on Monday, July 6. During their career, they made three additional movies: "Help," "Yellow Submarine," and "Let It Be," as well as the television film "Magical Mystery Tour."


Patti Whipp, a 17-year-old Menominee folk singer,
recorded a 45 rpm single on Tevar Records in 1969.

Record collector Jerome Frank of Peshtigo, Wis., meanwhile, offered some interesting facts about folk singer Patti Whipp after I won a her sole 45 rpm disc on an eBay auction a few days ago.

Released in 1969 on Menominee's Tevar Records, the single features "Walkin'" and "It's Gone," both original tunes. Instead of designating "A" and "B" sides, the label advised listeners to "play both sides."

Whipp recruited Menominee rock band Infinite Blue to supply the instrumental track and backing vocals. Two years later, Infinite Blue issued a 45 on their own, "Black Train" on the same label.

Frank said Whipp was just 17 when her record was released and only 300 copies were pressed, making it hard to find today. Whipp's younger brother still lives in Menominee, while Whipp moved to Colorado.

The label was owned by Jim and Philip Ravet who were inspired to name their record company by spelling their surname backwards. Tevar's entire catalog may have been limited to these two singles.

Together, a 45 rpm record, a set of movie tickets and a sheet music collection have revealed some little-known facts about the U. P.'s colorful music past.

Kingsford shows revisited '60s

Joey Gee and the Blue Tones, featuring
the vocals of Joe Giannunzio, performed for
the first time in over four decades at the Hog
Wild Music Jam in Kingsford.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

A group of local and national rock bands turned back time during the 2008 Hog Wild Music Jam at Lodal Park in Kingsford.

My wife Sue and I were happy to see the Buckinghams and Chubby Checker for the first time in decades, but we were also drawn by a rare performance by Joey Gee and the Blue Tones.

If you didn't know, Joey Gee and his band made a sensation around Iron Mountain in 1964 when they released a 45 rpm recording they cut on the Cuca label called "Don't You Just Know It," backed with "Little Searcher." Not long after, the band's leader moved to Milwaukee to attend broadcast school and the Blue Tones went their separate ways.

Last fall, I got in touch with the the band's frontman, Joe Giannunzio, who now lives in Seattle. We corresponded by email as I prepared a column on his career as a musician and well-known disc jockey and radio personality. When I asked Giannunzio, born in 1942, if he would ever resume performing, he responded that he had "often thought of singing again."

His opportunity came when Giannunzio returned to Iron Mountain for a vacation this summer. He got together with guitarists Bill Morrison and Ricky Bates, along with bassist Craig Sorenson, to re-unite the original Blue Tones. Drummer Mark Ellis was added during four practice sessions.

When the band took to the stage on July 12, it was their first public performance in over four decades.

With Giannunzio handling lead vocals, the band treated the audience to a 13-song set of classic rock songs by Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. Bates took the microphone to sing three Ricky Nelson numbers.

But, the highlight had to be "Little Searcher," the song they committed to wax during a trip to a Sauk City, Wis., recording studio in May, 1964.

I didn't have to ask Giannunzio if he enjoyed the reunion when I met him after the show, it was clear by the smile on his face.

On this day, Giannunzio was just the first person from the 1960s Iron Mountain music scene I was to meet.

Original Buckinghams Carl
Giammarese, left, and Nick Fortuna

Sue and I had set up our chairs near the front of the stage to get a good view of the Buckinghams, the Chicago-area band which released a handful of great singles, including the chart-topping "Kind of a Drag," beginning in 1966. We had last seen the Buckinghams in 1985 at Marquette's Lakeview Arena during the incredibly-successful Happy Together Tour.

All these years later, the band still included original members singer/guitarist Carl Giammarese and bassist Nick Fortuna. With the addition of keyboard player Bruce Soboroff, guitarist Bob Abrams and drummer Tom Scheckel, they ran through faithful versions of the group's half-dozen big hits, such as "Don't You Care," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and "Susan."

Many Upper Peninsula fans, however, were familiar with the Buckinghams' pre-fame singles, including "I'll Go Crazy," because the songs were played on 50,000-watt radio station WLS months before the group was recognized nationally.

In fact, the Buckinghams even toured the U. P. in the summer of 1966 with Iron Mountain's Ravelles as one of the opening acts. I had phoned both Buckinghams' frontman Carl Giammarese and Carmella Altobelli, lead singer for the Ravelles, about that long-ago tour. The two musicians both told me they'd like to meet each other to share their musical memories.

While Sue and I were watching the show in Kingsford, a woman sat next to us. By chance or fate, it was Carmella Altobelli. She brought her scrapbook along, so after the Buckinghams ended their concert we headed backstage to show 59-year-old Giammarese her tour memorabilia. Rand Alquist, drummer for the Ravelles, came along, too.

Giammarese was quite pleased to see some old color photographs of the Buckinghams in concert. He signed Altobelli's book and we had some pictures taken with him to mark the occasion.

Chubby Checker

More 1960's memories were in store when Chubby Checker and the Wilcats took their energy-filled show to the stage. Sue and I had last seen Checker at the Upper Peninsula State Fair in Escanaba on Aug. 17, 1977, the day Elvis Presley died.

The man described as the "fountain of youth" seemed to have lost none of his enthusiasm in the intervening 31 years. He fired up the crowd with "The Hucklebuck," "Pony Time," "Mess Around," "The Fly," and "Limbo Rock."

Of course, he performed "The Twist," a song he brought to the No. 1 position two times. It wasn't all oldies either, as the 66-year-old singer played a new composition called "Knock Down the Walls."

He even sang "Happy Birthday" for Molly Altobelli, Carmella's mother, who had turned 87-years-old. She was busy dancing at the front of the stage for Checker's entire set.

It turns out you're never too old to rock 'n' roll.

Beach Boys display dual image

Mike Love, left, and Bruce Johnston engage the
crowd during the Beach Boys show at the Chip In Island
Resort & Casino.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

The Beach Boys show at the Chip- In Island Resort and Casino on July 11 neatly reflected both their iconic status as a pop music insitution and the dysfunctional nature of the group.

Formed in Hawthorne, Cal. in 1961 by brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and school chum Al Jardine, no other band can lay greater claim to being America's favorite rock 'n' roll combo.

They've racked up 60 hit singles, including the No. 1 hits "I Get Around," "Help Me, Rhonda," "Good Vibrations," and "Kokomo." Despite that success, the Beach Boys have been notorious for suing each other, as well.

Today, 67-year-old lead vocalist and frontman Mike Love is the only original member performing under the Beach Boys moniker. But, the current touring line-up also features long-time member Bruce Johnston, who joined in 1965 after Brian Wilson quit playing live shows to concentrate on songwriting and production.

Their six- member backing band included "honorary" Beach Boy John Stamos, who may be better known to younger fans for his television roles on "General Hospital," "Full House" and "E.R."

Brian Wilson, considered by many to be the genius behind the group, is undertaking his own solo concert series this summer. Jardine is busy recording a solo album and earlier this year settled a suit brought by Love for touring under the name "Beach Boys Family & Friends."

Sadly, Dennis Wilson drowned in 1983 and brother Carl succumbed to lung cancer in 1998.

Those tragedies and legal wrangling laid just under the surface for many fans as Love led his "official" Beach Boys Band through such summertime staples as "Barbara Ann," "Surfin' U. S. A.," and the concert opening "California Girls."

Instantly recognized by the crowd at the 1300-seat theater in Harris, Stamos introduced the Beach Boys while standing next to his drum kit. The versatile musician also lent his guitar playing to the proceedings as well as some contagious enthusiasm.

At various times during the evening, Stamos drummed along side John Cowsill, veteran member of 1960s group The Cowsills, famous for "The Rain, the Park & Other Things" and "Hair."

Stamos added some wild stick work to "Be True to Your School," a classic tune issued in 1963, the same year he was born. "The song came out and I came out," Stamos joked to the crowd.

The thespian turned to his guitar to perform "Forever," a track he recorded with the Beach Boys in 1992, dedicating it to Dennis Wilson.

Keyboardist Johnston took a rare lead vocal on "God Only Knows," a gem from the "Pet Sounds" album. He offered the song in the memory of Carl Wilson, who originally sang the tune.

Cowsill, meanwhile, fired up the crowd with "Help Me, Rhonda," originally sung by Al Jardine. He paced along the front of the stage, encouraging the audience to sing along.

Beach Boys, from left, Bruce Johnston,
Mike Love and John Stamos, appeared at the Chip
In Island Resort & Casino on July 11.

The majority of lead vocals were taken by Love who seemed most animated on "Kokomo," a surprise hit from 1988. Love wrote the song, which appeared in the movie "Cocktail," with music mainstays John Phillips, Terry Melcher and Scott McKenzie.

With every band member singing, Friday's show offered plenty of intricate vocal harmonies blending with Love's lead vocals.

They played "Surf City," which Brian Wilson had given to Jan & Dean, who enjoyed a No. 1 hit with the song. Murry Wilson, Brian's father and manager of the group, was chagrined the tune wasn't recorded by the Beach Boys, who had yet to have a chart-topper at that time.

The band did a number of songs closely associated with Brian Wilson. "Surfer Girl," "Don't Worry Baby," and the introspective "In My Room," varied from the original recordings without Wilson's passioned lead vocals.

Of course, the group had to play "Good Vibrations," Brian Wilson's 1966 masterpiece. But, without Brian's elaborate studio production and Carl's immaculate lead vocals, the song may be impossible to recreate in concert.

While the band played plenty of hits, they also pulled out a few surprises, performing little known numbers such as "Don't Back Down" and "Ballad of Old Betsy," a love song about an automobile.

In all, the setlist evoked the surfing, cars and girls ethos of their 1963-1966 heyday when the Beach Boys came to represent the best American music had to offer.

U. P. must heed music heritage

Alan Lomax

By STEVE SEYMOUR

An important part of the Upper Peninsula's cultural heritage isn't getting the attention it deserves.

Music recordings made by U. P. artists get an occasional mention, but have generally been ignored for decades.

Our "ah-shucks" practice of overlooking this self-made music isn't helping preserve it, either.

In fact, sometimes our regional music gets so little recognition, even the area's residents aren't aware of it.

Sent by the Library of Congress, early musicologist Alan Lomax was quite eager to save the U. P.'s rich music heritage, even in the late 1930s. During just four months in northern Michigan, he recorded nearly 1,000 folk songs, from singers with Finnish, Irish and French backgrounds.

Viola Turpeinen

Although Lomax was gathering material which reflected the folk influences of the region's often-isolated immigrants, he certainly ran across the considerable reputation of Viola Turpeinen. Born near Champion in 1909, Turpeinen was a major star in the Finnish-American community.

A master of the accordion and a fine vocalist, Turpeinen recorded dozens of popular polka and waltz records. She toured extensively, but her career was cut short when she died from cancer in 1958.

By the 1950s, however, another squeezebox master was making his presence felt in the jazz world. Art VanDamme, born in the small community of Norway, eventually recorded at least a dozen noteworthy albums. He has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy DeFranco, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee.

While his cool sound was an integral part of the post-bop sound of the 1960s, VanDamme isn't the only connection between jazz and the Upper Peninsula. In 1959, Duke Ellington traveled to Marquette to participate in the making of "Anatomy of a Murder," written by Ishpeming's John Voelker.

Duke Ellington

Ellington, who also had a bit part in Otto's Preminger's production, composed the soundtrack in the Upper Peninsula while the movie was being shot. With Ellington's songs, "Anatomy" became one of the first major motion pictures to feature a jazz soundtrack.

As "Anatomy" earned its reputation as a great movie, rock 'n' roll music began to dominate. Young men created their own groups hoping to duplicate the success they saw bands having on Dick Clark's "American Bandstand" or the Ed Sullivan Show.

This "garage band" explosion happened across the country, but myriad groups were also created in the remote counties of northern Michigan. Communities from Ironwood on the west to Sault Ste. Marie on the east, and virtually every place between, had rock bands hoping to make it to the big time. Many of these bands didn't just play, they made records, too.

Some of the biggest U. P. bands during this period were Ironwood's Galaxies, Marquette's Excels, Houghton's Kinetics, Sault Ste. Marie's Renaissance Fair, and the Rhythm Rockers and Vigilantes from the Copper Country. These groups, and others like them, issued scores of worthwhile 45 rpm records during the 1960s. Many of these singles sold in quantities of less than 1,000 copies and are hard to find today.

Country acts from northern Michigan also took aim at the top of the music business, the most notable being Lane Dawson and the Dawson Boys from Ishpeming. They recorded numerous 45s. In addition, local rivals, the Ramblers, added several singles of their own.

In fact, one of Dawson's musical cohorts was Jim DeCaire, founder of Da Yoopers. Certainly, the U. P.'s best known group, Da Yoopers have been recording since 1985, much to the delight of anyone with a sense of humor.

Da Yoopers have been successful getting airplay for their tunes all over the country. Sure, their songs poked a little fun at the locals, but the spotlight gave some new attention to the Upper Peninsula.

With the arrival digital technology, more and more U. P.-based acts have been able to record, manufacture and distribute their music. That's because computers copy and store music with ease, although the compact disc doesn't carry the same mystique that records once did.

At one time almost every home had a record changer. Now, most phonographs are in disrepair or have been junked. Often record collections follow those antiquated machines to the landfill.

Consequently, music which doesn't get transferred to digital carries the risk of being lost in the modern age.

I purchased the first U. P. records in my collection in 1968 when I bought 45 rpm singles from two Escanaba bands, the Riot Squad and the Prophets of Doom. I picked up other regional records when I ran across them.

Some of the first LP's I added were "The Wayfarers...Live," which featured my childhood friend Bill VanEffen, and "Up With People," the album recorded on Mackinac Island which included Glenn Close, before she went into acting.

Since entering the retail record business almost a quarter century ago, I've been able to add a considerable number of U. P.-related records to my accumulation. Occasionally, I still learn about pre-compact disc era LPs and 45s I didn't know about.

My U. P. stash ranges from rock to country, polka to easy listening, jazz to comedy. Even rockabilly and gospel styles are represented.

I've transferred many of those U. P.-related recordings to digital. Call it the beginning of an Upper Peninsula music archive, if you will.

In our rush into the future, we should be careful not to destroy the irreplaceable recordings which have contributed to the U. P.'s diverse cultural heritage, whether on purpose or by neglect.

Discs are top concert souvenirs

By STEVE SEYMOUR

My wife Sue and I have witnessed some memorable rock 'n' roll shows, including a few which were recorded and released commercially.

It's a special thrill when you're present for a live recording and no show we've ever attended was more exciting than the Concert for the Hall of Fame which took place at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland on Saturday, Sept. 2, 1995.

As you might expect, cameras, lights and recording equipment were evident when this event was saved for posterity. If you weren't among the lucky 65,000 who saw the show in person, you could have been among the millions who watched it live on television's HBO.

We're reminded of the many great performances we saw that night whenever we spin the commemorative compact disc set which appeared the following year. That two-disc package doesn't do justice to the concert as it includes only two hours of material, although it starts out perfectly with John Mellencamp's "R. O. C. K. in the U. S. A."

Imagine a concert which includes Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown and Aretha Franklin, Little Richard and Johnny Cash, as well as dozens of other top stars.

There was so much talent on stage for this once in a lifetime show that it lasted all night. We saw John Fogerty, the Allman Brothers, the Kinks, Bon Jovi, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. We heard from the ladies, too, including Sheryl Crow, Carol King, Heart, Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde and Martha Reeves. Even rappers such as Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dog made music with stars from earlier generations.

All told, we were entertained by at least 40 notable acts. I can't even remember them all without looking at the program.

For some baffling reason, probably having to do with contracts, lawyers, royalties and egos, the Concert for the Hall of Fame has not been issued on video.

Fortunately, the same can't be said about the Grateful Dead's July 17, 1989 performance at the Alpine Valley Music Theater.

Sue and I were lucky enough to be in attendance when the Dead taped this extraordinary show for their "Downhill From Here" DVD, which didn't appear in the marketplace until a decade after it happened.

The title refers to the venue near Lake Geneva, Wis., a favorite among Deadheads during the concert season, but a destination for skiers during the winter months.

"Downhill From Here" captures the Grateful Dead, perhaps America's greatest live band, at a peak in their decades-long career. The players included legendary lead guitarist Jerry Garcia and Brent Mydland, an inspired improvisational keyboardist.

The show has become a sentimental favorite with many fans since Mydland died just a year after this appearance and Garcia passed away in 1995.

In short, this DVD chronicles an mythic performance which started appropriately enough with "Let the Good Times Roll" and ended two and one-half hours later with a jammin' version of "Johnny B. Goode." This show demonstrated why thousands of the group's fans followed them around the country to attend as many dates as possible.

While the Grateful Dead set aside a special section for audience members to tape their concerts, Paul McCartney is said to have recorded all the shows of his 1989-90 World Tour in order to select the best tracks for a planned live album.

His Dec. 5, 1989 performance in Chicago marked the first time Sue and I attended a show by the ex-Beatle. In fact it was his first U. S. journey since the Wings Over the World tour of 1975-76.

The tour kicked off in Oslo, Norway on Sept. 26, 1989 and visited four continents. During the Windy City stop, McCartney played 29 songs, including a generous number of Beatles tunes and six tracks from his newest solo effort, "Flowers in the Dirt," described at the time as a "comeback" album.

McCartney composed some of the tracks from the disc with Elvis Costello and even used his old Beatles Hofner Violin bass on tour because Costello liked it so much.

When the live album, "Tripping the Live Fantastic," was issued by Capitol Records the following year, it included a track recorded in Chicago, but not one expected by fans.

Prior to the evening show, as Sue and I were waiting in our room at a nearby Holiday Inn, McCartney gathered his group for a soundcheck.

With his wife Linda, Chris Whitten, Robbie McIntosh, Hamish Stuart and Paul "Wix" Wickens, McCartney recorded a rockin' little number called "Together." Built around a chorus of "Together we can make it happen; together we can make it stick," the tune was apparently made-up on the spot.

Lasting just two minutes and 15 seconds, the song is credited to the entire band, and was a surprise addition to the concert souvenir compact disc.

Like snapshots in a family album, those three special concerts Sue and I attended remain vivid in our minds thanks to some fortunate live recordings.