Dr. J's Blog
Rock and Roll History, News & Views
Michigan's Fake Zombies
by Daniel Ralston with Gary Johnson*
Chris White shakes his head and laughs when I show him the first photo. At 73, the bassist and songwriter for the reunited British psych-rock band the Zombies looks like a cool grandpa in black pants, blue dress shirt, and polar fleece vest — a sharp contrast from his septuagenarian bandmates who still sport leather jackets and tight pants. He adjusts his glasses and studies the image of the impostors, four flamboyantly dressed young men taken in 1969. We are backstage at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills last October and after this brief intermission, White will join the rest of the band onstage to play the band’s cult classic 1967 album Odessey and Oracle in its entirety.
2016 MRRL Hall of Fame Vote
The online voting for the 2016 MRRL Hall of Fame and Legendary Michigan Songs concluded at midnight on June 1st. The Blue Echoes, a Rockabilly band formed in 1957 in Lansing, Michigan, finished first in the voting. They were followed by Cub Koda from tiny Manchester, Michigan, who was honored for his post-Brownsville Station career. The Woolies, also from Lansing, came in third in the voting. The band’s biggest hit. “Who Do You Love”, was voted a Legendary Michigan Song back in 2008.
Bobby Rydell - Teen Idol On The Rocks
Growing up, I was a big fan of Dick Clark and American Bandstand. I’ve always liked Clark’s famous quote: “Music is the soundtrack of your life”. From the start of 8th grade all the way through my senior year at St. Joseph High School, Bobby Rydell was an important part of my soundtrack. During that time period, Rydell charted 28 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, 19 of which were Top 40 hits. Smashes like “We Got Love”, “Wild One”, “Swingin’ School”, “Volare”, “Good Time Baby”, and “Forget Him” were constantly played at school dances, house parties, and on the transistor radios tuned to the local AM radio stations that spun the hits of the day.