Ace girl band made U. P. stops

Guitarist- extraordinaire Char Vinnedge,
left, brought her all-girl rock 'n' roll combo,
the Tremolons, to Escanaba in April and again in
August, 1966 after they changed their name to the
Luv'd Ones.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

One of rock 'n' roll's most-astounding female guitarists played in Escanaba not once, but twice.

You probably have never heard of Char (short for Charlotte) Vinnedge, unless you appreciate the raw guitar sound she explored in the male-dominated six-string world, which included the likes of Jimi Hendrix. Besides fronting the band, Vinnedge wrote the group's songs, designed their promotional material, fixed their equipment and drove their van.

Vinnedge's group, the Tremolons, had been touring heavily. They played extended dates at state fairs in Minnesota and Illinois and capped off the summer of 1965 with an appearance at the famed Danceland Ballroom in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 4. A poster for the event called the combo "America's greatest all-girl rock 'n' roll group" and urged fans to "see and hear four really cute sweethearts in action."

The Tremolons were highly touted on a list of available bands compiled in March, 1966 by Madison, Wisconsin-based promoter Ken Adamany Music Enterprises.

With that background, Vinnedge brought her band to Delta County on two occasions during 1966.

The first appearance came when the Tremolons were signed to play at Club A Go-Go, a newly-opened teen night spot at 2000 Ludington St., in downtown Escanaba.

Owner Gene Smiltneck booked the all-girl group for a four- hour program, beginning at 7:30 p. m. on Friday, April 15.

The quartet was the vision of Vinnedge, who sang and played lead guitar, but also included her sister Chris on bass, Mary Gallagher on rhythm guitar, and Faith Orem on drums.

An advertisement for the show in "The Escanaban" student newspaper included an illustration of young people around a jukebox with copy which urged students to "get with it."

Perhaps as a bit of promotional bluster, the ad claimed the girls were from New York City, although Niles, Michigan (hometown to Tommy James and the Shondells) was more accurate.

The girls cut blistering takes of "Whole Lot Of Shakin' Going On" and "Heartbreak Hotel" for their first single which appeared on Benton Harbor's Wildwood Records in 1964. The label also released a second Tremolons' 45 which paired two original songs: "Please Let Me Know" and "Theme for a DJ," the first song Vinnedge ever wrote.

Smiltneck's Club A Go-Go had created quite a buzz among the area's youth just five days before with a show featuring Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, famous for the smash hit, "Wooly Bully."

By the time the Tremolons arrived in Escanaba, they already had two years' experience as a professional rock 'n' roll band, although the field was crowded with testosterone-fueled groups imitating the Beatles. The girls carved a place for themselves by playing ferociously and taking no prisoners as their versions of the popular songs of the day, including Beatles' hits, proved.

Perhaps their appearance was scheduled too soon after Sam the Sham or perhaps area teenagers were already tapped-out, but few attended the Tremolons' performance.

Although the four young women toured as the Tremolons, the moniker didn't seem to catch on with the public. So, not long after their local debut, the girls adopted a more feminine- sounding name, The Luv'd Ones.

On July 12, they were in Chicago at Sound Studios Inc. to tape "Yeah, I'm Feelin' Fine" and "Up Down Sue." It was actually the band's second go-around with "Up Down Sue." They had recorded another version of the song for the White Oak label in Dania, Florida, earlier in the year.

By mid- August, The Luv'd Ones were on a five-stop tour of northern Michigan in what promoters called "U. P. Swings." The bill, headlined by Chicago's Buckinghams, also included The Excels, from Marquette; and Iron Mountain's Ravelles.

In Escanaba, the three-hour program was presented at the recently-constructed Escanaba Area High School beginning at 8 p. m. on Wednesday, Aug. 10. Admission was $2.

The Luv'd Ones were pushing their first Dunwich single, "I'm Leaving You," backed with "Walkin' the Dog," just released on the Chicago-based label. The newly-formed Dunwich had a Top Ten hit a few months before with a garage-rock version of "Gloria," by the Shadows of Knight.

Hopeful promoters hyped the shows with posters and newspaper advertising. Still, attendance in Escanaba was lower than expected, said Rand Alquist, drummer for the Ravelles. Maybe area teens were saving their cash for the annual U. P. State Fair or money was short due to the approaching school year.

The Luv'd Ones also performed in Iron Mountain, Sault Ste.Marie and Ironwood. They completed their northern excursion in Menominee on Aug. 13, the same day the Beatles played at Detroit's Olympia Stadium for the last time.

By the time the Luv'd Ones appeared at the Cow Palace in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin on Saturday, Nov. 26, the group had spent two years on the road.

During their stay at Dunwich, the band cut two more 45 rpm singles: "Come Back" was backed wwith "Stand Tall," while "Dance Kid Dance" was paired with the previously released "I'm Leaving You."

While Char Vinnedge didn't meet commercial success with the Tremolons or Luv'd Ones, she didn't give up her music dreams either.

She resurfaced a few years later in Nitrofunction, a band comprising Billy Cox (a member of Hendrix's Band of Gypsys) on bass, Robert Tarrant on drums and Vinnedge on guitar and vocals.

The trio issued a self-titled album which listed Vinnedge on the cover as "The Electric Lady," a reference to the studio where Jimi Hendrix recorded.

By the time their album was completed, however, Hendrix had died, ending any possibility Vinnedge might record with the guitar legend. "Nitrofunction" is loaded with Vinnedge's powerful guitar work and she wrote or co-wrote all but two of the album's nine tracks.

Released in 1972 on Pye Records, one of the album's stand-out cuts is "42-70 (Peace)," a tribute to Hendrix. Also included is "Portrait," a composition Vinnedge originally wrote during the Luv'd Ones' period.

Vinnedge finally received some well-deserved recognition in 1996 when Sundazed Music released at extended play record of four Tremolons songs and followed with a compact disc containing 20 recordings by the Luv'd Ones, many previous unreleased. Sadly, Vinnedge died in 1998 shortly before the terrific CD compilation of her work,"Truth Gotta Stand," was released.

In the years since her death, Vinnedge has been increasingly recognized by critics for her early contributions to the proto-punk and proto- feminist movements.

Separate from any such pretentiousness, however, her music remains exceptional rock 'n' roll.


The Tremolons' Sundazed extended play 45 sleeve


The Luv'd Ones- "Truth Gotta Stand" CD


"Nitrofunction" LP by Billy Cox and Char Vinnedge

DJ tapped top bands for U. P.

Iron Mountain native Joe Giannunzio worked as a disc jockey, rock band vocalist and promoter of concerts in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Joe Giannunzio had a whirlwind career in the 1960s as a rock vocalist and disc jockey, culminating with the Dickinson County native booking top bands to play in the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Born in Iron Mountain, Giannunzio fronted the rock group Joey Gee and the Blue Tones which cut a 45 rpm single, "Little Searcher," in 1964. Giannunzio formed Joey Gee and the Come-Ons when he moved to Milwaukee to attend broadcasting school at Career Academy.

After graduation in 1966, Giannunzio moved to Rogers City, Michigan, bordering Lake Huron, where he nabbed a DJ job at radio station WHAK, using the professional name Joe Arthur. He also founded another group, the Heathens.

With Giannunzio on lead vocals, the Heathens performed live on WHAK a number of times on Saturday mornings.

The Heathens were short lived, however. The station owner and his wife, who were "religious fanatics," didn't like the band's name. Giannunzio was told he shouldn't be in radio and abruptly fired.

The unemployed DJ lived in his car until he drove to St. Ignace and found a job at WIDG.

Back in the U. P., Giannunzio put together another group, Gross National Product. "I got the name off the teletype wire when retrieving the news I had to read," Giannunzio told me.

The band consisted of Jim Fitzpatrick, lead guitar; Bill Becker, bass; David Pectah, rhythm guitar; Lynn Witmer, drums; and Joey Gee, vocals. (Giannunzio maintained separate personas for his radio and band roles.)


Gross National Product

Gross National Product played hits by many of the top acts of the period including the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and the Beatles.

"We played mostly near St. Ignace, Sault Ste.Marie and in northern lower Michigan, once in Norway in 1968," Giannunzio said.

In addition to his radio job and band gigs, Giannunzio started a teen club in St. Ignace. Called "The Scene," Giannunzio founded the facility in a bar which had gone out of business.

"I brought in a few acts so we could perform with them and I might make a little money doing it," Giannunzio said.

Seeing a larger teenage audience for live shows, Giannunzio also booked a pair of well-known Michigan acts for a dance at St. Ignace High School on Friday, July 14, 1967.

Called a "Psychedelic Summer Sock Hop," the event featured Terry Knight's "Fabulous Pack," and The Bossmen.

Both acts were based in Flint and recorded for the Lucky Eleven label.

The Pack included guitarist Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer who later became Grand Fund Railroad with the addition of bassist Mel Schacher. Former leader Knight became the band's manager.

For their U. P. appearance, The Pack even boasted an album and a hit single in "I (Who Have Nothing)," which just missed the national Top 40 a few months before.

The Bossmen, meanwhile, featured ace guitarist Dick Wagner who went on to front The Frost, famous for "Rock and Roll Music." Wagner later worked with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper.

Giannunzio recalled signing both bands for $350 and charged teens a $2.50 admission fee.

The young promoter also rented the armory in Sault Ste. Marie to stage rock 'n' shows featuring the Detroit Wheels and the Blues Magoos.

The Blues Magoos

From the Bronx, the Blues Magoos were little known in the midwest when he booked them to perform in the Soo, Giannunzio said. The psychedelic rock quintet was composed of Emil "Peppy Castro" Thielhelm, vocals, rhythm guitar; Mike Esposito, lead guitar; Ralph Scala, keyboards; Ronnie Gilbert, bass; and Geoff Daking, drums.

In November, 1966, the Blues Magoos had released "Psychedelic Lollipop," one of the first albums to use "psychedelic" in the title. "Thousands of you who have seen them perform and who have made this album possible, know very well that the Blues Magoos are the foundation of the new music revolution," producer Bobby Wyld proclaimed in the record's liner notes.

The group started out at the Nite Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village where they won over "critics, poets, writers, artists, groupies, record executives, disc jockeys and even Madison Avenue."

During a 12- day period in 1966, the Blues Magoos drew 7,000 people to the Chessmate Club in Detroit, which had a capacity of just 300.

By the time the group came to the Upper Peninsula, however, they had registered a Top Five hit with "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet," composed by group members Gilbert, Scala and Eposito.

"I'm not sure they even wanted to play a small city at that time, but I had a contract with them. Admission was $3.00, a lot of money at that time. I thought I would do really well," Giannunzio recalled.

Promoted as a "Psychedelic Show and Dance," the event was staged from 9 p. m. to midnight on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 1967.

Giannunzio's Gross National Product opened the show for the Blues Magoos. "When I went to get them to perform after our band did, the lead singer was laying on the floor. I was told he had taken some kind of drug. The manager of the band wasn't sure he would be able to sing that night. Lucky for me he finally did, although not very well," recalled Giannunzio.

The night also held some bad luck for Giannunzio. "Some one left the back door of the armory open and half the crowd got in free. There was only about ten feet in front of the stage that didn't have a person. Wouldn't you know, the cop I had hired and my concession people never showed up. I made about $100 when I should have made $5,000," Giannunzio exclaimed.

With the success of "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet," in 1967, the Blues Magoos toured the United States on a triple bill in an unlikely combination with The Who and Herman's Hermits.

On Tuesday, Aug. 29, 1967, exactly three weeks after the Blues Magoos performed in the Soo, Giannunzio promoted an appearance by the Detroit Wheels, also at the armory.

Fronted by the dynamic Mitch Ryder, the group recorded such hits as "Jenny Take a Ride," "Devil With the Blue Dress On & Good Golly Miss Molly" and "Sock It to Me Baby."

Giannunzio's Gross National Product again served as opening act.

A poster advertising the dance promised the headliners would deliver "the driving sound of Detroit."

Giannunzio also rubbed shoulders with Bobby Helms, who showed up one day at the St. Ignace resident's teen club.

A native of Bloomington, Indiana, Helms was a country & western singer and guitarist known for "My Special Angel" and the perennial novelty hit, "Jingle Bell Rock."

"He showed up in St. Ignace and performed with us just before Christmas in 1967. I thought it kind of curious. He had a little car with his guitar in the back seat and his wife in the front. Our band backed him up," Giannunzio recalled.

While he was gaining expertise booking bands, Giannunzio continued as a disc jockey at WIDG, the radio station known locally as "widge by the bridge," due to its proximity to the span known as "Big Mac."

With his confidence renewed, Giannunzio soon moved back downstate to take a job at WJIM Radio in Lansing. This time he concentrated on radio and didn't start a new band.

He then did a morning show at WGRD in Grand Rapids as Gary Mitchell, before moving to WKNR in Detroit under the name Bobby Lane. By 1974, he had moved to the west coast. He worked in radio in Portland and Seattle as Joe Cooper, before ending his lengthy radio career.

Giannunzio now lives in Redmond, Washington, with his wife, the former Kathleen Sweeney, whom he met and married in St. Ignace.
###

1967 POSTER GALLERY

Cain's bands waxed prized 45s

Gerry Cain at 2008 Woodtick Festival

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Menominee, Michigan's Gerry Cain recorded 45s with two different bands which are highly sought after by collectors today.

In 1966, the Benders issued "Can't Tame Me," while the Why Four released "Hard Life" later in the year. Cain played lead guitar and was a co-writer on both songs which were largely ignored at the time but are now considered punk classics.

The Benders were formed at Stout State University in Menomonie, Wisconsin, by Cain, Paul Barry, drums and vocals; and Geno Jensen, bass. Tom Noffke was added as rhythm guitarist after a few months. "Gerry was already jamming with some guys when I met him and they needed a drummer. Well, I wasn't much of a drummer but I was the only thing available at the time so I got the job. I never played in an organized band and was totally green. But, there I was playing rock 'n' roll in college in the '60s," Barry recalled

At first, they played for fraternities and sororities on campus, practicing in the basement of their dormitory. They soon found themselves playing at clubs and bars.

As their popularity grew, the Benders got themselves a regular gig when they rented the basement bowling alley at an old hotel and founded their own nightclub. Called the "Pit," the place was very popular with young people but proved to be too much for the four band members to handle and closed within a year.

In March, 1966, the group decided it was time to record "Can't Tame Me," which had been wildly received at their live shows. They traveled to Big Sound studio, located at 529 3rd St. in Wausau, Wisconsin, for the session. Owned by Duke Wright, the label had released singles by Robin Lee, Starfires, Spacemen, Orbits, and Rejects.

The Benders taped "Can't Tame Me," at just 1:56, as the 45 rpm single's top side; and "Got Me Down," for the reverse. "Got Me Down" is a haunting ballad clocking in at two minutes and 46 seconds. Both songs were composed by Jansen, Cain and Barry.

"The A side, 'Can't Tame Me,' was very edgy stuff for that time with Gerry doing a great fuzz tone guitar solo," Barry stated.

Issued as Big Sound 3006, the 45 was accompanied by a picture sleeve, unusual for an independent release at the time. The front featured a black and white photograph of the Benders, while the back included biographical information about the group.

"Two years ago four guys got together in a college dormitory and decided to form a band. Today, three of the original members and one new player are still together pounding out what they like to call the "Bender Sound." The sound rocks and the guys do not like to play slow songs- in fact they only play them when requested. Although the personalities of the guys vary greatly, when they get on the stage they are molded into a unit that does nothing but wail. This is their first record and is typical of their style. They hope that you dig 'it' as much as they do."

The quote was attributed to manager "Jim Robinson." While the notes were undoubtedly true, the band made-up the manager to increase their professional credibility.

Although the 45s were delivered in May, 1966, the Benders broke up a month later.

Certainly, many of the Benders' fans appreciated "Can't Tame Me" for its snarling attitude.

"Over the years, it has became a sought after item by record collectors world wide. It has ended up on many garage band compilation albums here and over seas," said Barry, who drummed and sang lead on the track. The song is one of the stand-out cuts on "Back From the Grave, Vol. 8," released on Crypt Records, Frenchtown, N. J.

While casual fans can easily pick-up the song on compact disc, a few die-hard music fans still desire the 45 rpm single of "Can't Tame Me." A Texas collector paid over $2,000 for an original 7-inch vinyl copy earlier this year on eBay.

Back in 1966, meanwhile, Cain quit the Benders and college to join a hot band called Bobby Lee & The Showman, with the latter role being taken by Cain. The group's manager was Al Shultz, from Waukegan, Illinois, who also handled the Hollywood Argyles of "Alley- Oop" fame. (Cain was actually from the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst and was friends with the Shadows of Knight, one of the area's best known garage rock bands.)

With Bobby Lee & The Showman about to open in Vegas, Lee gets drafted," Cain told me. Suddenly, the young guitarist had "no band, no school, no cash, no car."

"My college roommate was from Marinette and I had gone home with him a few weekends and jammed with local bands and met musicians Kenny Stone and Drew Lund. Just as my world was crashing down, they contacted me about getting a band together. I had nothing to lose and a free place to live."


The Why Four

Thus, the Why Four began. At one point, they trespassed on railroad property to get a promotional photograph of the band on the back of a rail car. Another picture shows them standing on a monstrous pile of logs.

With an original composition called "Hard Life," the group traveled to Rampro Records in Janesville, Wisconsin, to commit the song to tape in September.

Issued as Rampro 118, the resulting single contained "Hard Life" as the B side and a rockin' version of Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" on the obverse side." "Hard Life" was credited to G. Cain, D. Lund and K. Stone and runs a brief, but furious, two minutes and two seconds. "Not Fade Away," meanwhile, had returned to the charts in mid-1964 in a version by the Rolling Stones which became their first hit in the United States.

Despite being another excellent song, "Hard Life," languished. As was often the case with 45s issued on small labels, the lack of distribution and promotion opportunities doomed any chance of success on a national level.

By 1998, however, both Why Four songs appeared on a compact disc compilation called "Essential Pebbles, Vol. 2," issued by AIP Records, in Burbank, California.

Like "Can't Tame Me," the 45 single of "Hard Life," draws big interest when it pops up on eBay occasionally. In June, seller Craig Moerer auctioned a copy in "very good condition" for $797.

Paul Barry, Cain's band-mate in the Benders, meanwhile, moved to Milwaukee after college and fronted Barry's Truckers, a seven-piece classic hits show band. The group opened for many acts over the years, including the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Ricky Nelson and many others.


Paul Barry, left, and Gerry Cain

Barry also has fond memories of performing at the Waterfront Festival in Menominee on Aug. 7, 2003. Before heading to Michigan, Barry received a surprising email from someone asking if they were going to play "Can't Tame Me" and "Got Me Down" at the upcoming show. The emailer happened to be Gerry Cain and the two veteran musicians were reunited at the Menominee show. "We hadn't seen each other in 37 years. It was absolutely great to get together and catch up after all this time," Barry recalled.

Cain has continued playing professionally. His lengthy resume includes Supernatural Bandwagon, Raw Meat, Virgil Hill, Brix Band, Kingbee, Showboat and Thunderbird, Guaranteed Wholesome, Breakin EZ, Raisin Cain, Carlin & Cain, Son of Sammy and the Billy Shears Band.

Also a guitar teacher, Cain continues to inspire music fans as he has since the 60s.

The Why Four

U. P. native recalls 'Goose Lake'

Iron Mountain native Joe Giannunzio,
using the professional name Gary Mitchell,
attended the Goose Lake International Pop
Festival in 1970 while working as a disc
jockey at radio station WGRD.

By STEVE SEYMOUR

Looking for something to talk about on his WGRD radio program in Grand Rapids during the summer of 1970, Upper Peninsula native Joe Giannunzio approached the station's promotion department with a proposal.

Giannunzio, then working under the pseudonym Gary Mitchell, asked for and received permission to visit the Goose Lake International Pop Festival, scheduled for Aug. 7-9, at a specially-constructed site near Jackson.

So it was that Giannunzio, who was born in Iron Mountain, became one of an estimated 200,000 people who attended the event, described as Michigan's version of Woodstock.

Festival-goers were entertained with some great rock music, but alcohol and drug use were also prevalent, while some people expressed themselves with nudity. Despite the size of the crowd, there was no violence.

More than 38 years later, many spectators retain fond memories of Goose Lake, while deejay Giannunzio observed the proceedings from a reporter's unique perspective.

"I got in free and they let me go where ever I wanted, even backstage. I talked to a few of the artists, but most were concerned with the show. I saw a lot of the groups perform within 20 feet.

"The ones I remember the most were Rod Stewart, Chicago and John Sebastian. I think Chicago stole the show with their loud horn section," Giannunzio recalled.

"One thing that did feel odd and a little military was the tall barbed wire fence that surrounded the place. Many holes were cut in places so I'm sure a lot of folks didn't pay.

"What surprised me (guess I was still a U. P. country bumpkin) was the amount of girls and guys walking around nude. I kept my clothes on, but had a number of conversations with people who were totally naked. I strolled down to Goose Lake and saw many young people swimming, with no clothes on. I was tempted to go in myself, but I was there to get the story, so I didn't," Giannunzio said.

"I didn't notice anyone drugged out, but I'm sure there were some.

"A fun time seemed to be had by all and I never witnessed any altercations with police," Gianunnzio told me.

Since I first published a piece on Goose Lake on July 26, 2007, detailing the planning of the event, the entertainment, and subsequent political ramifications, more than 20 people have contacted me with their personal experiences at the festival.

Folks who shared their Goose Lake memories hailed from Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Colorado.

"This concert was better than Woodstock in many ways. I hitchhiked up from Chicago with my friend Marlene and lost her within an hour," said a blog reader named Cranzie. Cranzie met a Vietnam War vet who spent the day helping him look for her.

Indiana resident Mitch recalled his experience. "We left Evansville, three guys on a mission of discovery, and wow did we find it at Goose Lake. We brought nothing. For food I visited the Hare Krishna tent twice a day to listen to their message in exchange for a cup of peanuts and raisins."

Festival participant Peter Hanson hitched to southern Michigan from Boulder, Colorado. Hanson said he was "flat broke, but able to get through the razor wire in the back of an empty dump truck with a dozen others. The weekend left him "starved but spiritually sated."

Blog reader Muffy said, "They had a bus bringing people in for free if they were willing to work. My ex and I got on the bus and jumped out and took off into the crowd. Shame on us looking back on it, but we did it." After sleeping in a makeshift tent across the road from the festival grounds, the pair returned to the concert site through a hole in the fence. "The next day we went for that same hole in the fence and it was guarded by some motorcycle gang charging people to get in. We had no money, but they let us in anyway in exchange for a warm bottle of Sprite.

"That last day, people were taking showers and walking out through that whole crowd naked as jaybirds. I was flippin' out. It was so hot, I was tempted to do it myself, but knew too many people there from our hometown.

"I remember one guy walking through the people, wearing only tennis shoes, holding a small bag in one hand and a sign in the other hand that said 'Acid $1.'"

"We took peanut butter and jelly with us and that's what we ate all weekend," she recalled.

"Goose Lake rocked big time. It was something I'll never forget. I believe it was as big as Woodstock, just a change in band names is all. I'd go back if I could," Muffy concluded.

A Rockford, Illinois, resident remembered a "superslide that was always busy" and an entrepreneur with a "refrigerated truck full of Boone's Farm wine that he sold for $1 a bottle." Another thirsty participant recalled buying "watermelon to keep from fainting," while a 15-year-old spectator called Goose Lake "one of the highlights of my youth."

One person remembered having a great time camping with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club.

A group of college sophomores, including Dale, Bill and Jim, enjoyed performances by Mountain, Joe Cocker, Ten Years After, Alice Cooper and James Gang.

Four recent high school graduates from Chagrin, Ohio, traveled to the festival site in a station wagon ."We carried in several cases of beer and found a spot close to the stage. I remember Iggy Pop of the Stooges jumping over the wall into the crowd," one of them recalled.

A Galesburg, Illinois, resident remembered going to Goose Lake with his buddy and their girl friends after hearing about the festival from a dee jay, possibly on WLS.

Blog reader Joan recollected, "everyone had a great time and listened to the best music. I hate that people dismiss this incredible event."

Dave, in Angola, Indiana, remembered driving up in a station wagon belonging to his best friend's parents and watching Ten Years After perform.

Another anonymous blog reader, just 13 at the time, recalled catching a ride to Goose Lake with a couple of "motor cycle gang guys in a black 1955 Plymouth who drank Boone's Farm all the way there."

"I was there at Goose Lake with a friend for one day of the madness," said a blog reader known as wildfirex15. "We were able to sneak in after another of our friends who worked putting the fence up around the place told us where we could get in. The first thing we saw was a couple of sheriff's officers and we thought we were in trouble but they did not seem to care about unpaid admissions. We were back aways from the speakers but I still remember the music being so loud. Great bands playing great music gave us great memories of our teenage years."

When the three-day festival ended there were a number arrests for drug possession, but most of the 200,000 participants went home happy, although Goose Lake was widely criticized by conservatives.

On Monday, Aug. 10, 1970 Giannunzio, the U. P. native and radio personality, was back on the air in Grand Rapids, telling listeners about his Goose Lake weekend. On Aug. 12, Giannunzio was pictured at Goose Lake on the station's weekly top 30 survey, under his professional name, Gary Mitchell.

Retired from a lengthy career in radio, Giannunzio also cut two 45's as a young man under the name Joey Gee.

"I have talked about Goose Lake to many of my friends and I have never met anyone else who was there, or even heard of it. It was big, but didn't get much publicity at the time," Giannunzio, now a resident of Redmond, Washington, observed.

"I'm glad I was there and have a picture to prove it," he added.