High School Folk Fest: Mississippi John Hurt, Doc Watson, and Hedy West... ....Philadelphia 1964-1967

Poster courtesy of Carl Apter (225)

"Good Evening everybody...with y'all, glad to be with you. Hope I can entertain you nicely... hope I can."

When I found out that Mississippi John Hurt played a concert in 1966 in the auditorium of the school I teach at, I knew there had to be a story.... Others played too: Doc Watson, Hedy West, The Country Gentlemen, The Capitols, and a number of other local and student bands.

So far I've located the phenomenal Hurt and Watson sets, and an odd short interview with Doc, tracked down thanks to an over the air tape of Gene Shay's WXPN folk show where he thanks David Kleiner (Central Class 225) for the recordings.

Mississippi John Hurt - 1966 - Central Auditorium

Set 1
Nearer My God To Thee
Baby What's Wrong With You
Coffee Blues
It Ain't Nobody's Business
Candy Man
Stagolee
Monday Morning Blues

Set 2
Salty Dog
I'm Satisfied
Make Me a Pallet On Your Floor
Frankie
Spanish Fandango
My Creole Belle
You Are My Sunshine
Avalon

Doc Watson - 1965 - Central Auditorium

Muskrat 
Honey Baby Blues
The Little Stream of Whiskey
Georgie
We Shall All Be Reunited
The Fisher's Horn Pipe / The FFV
Windy and Warm
The Wild Goose Chase
Blackberry Blossom
Greensleeves
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
Life Gets Tedious, Don't It
Deep River Blues
Otto Wood The Bandit
Hiram Hubbard
I Like The Old Time Worship Of The Lord
Ramblin' Hobo
Streamline Cannonball
Oh By Jingo
Tom Dooley
Fiddle Tune Medley - The Fiddler's Dram/Whistling Rufus/Ragtime Annie
Doc demos songs from his earlier band career / Brown's Ferry Blues
Blue Smoke
Interview by Barry Berg

Gene Shay (former WXPN Folk Show host) identified Barry Berg as the recording engineer for both the Hurt and Watson concerts. Berg was a Temple student who had a folk show called Broadsides on WRTI and was one of Shay's "Folklore Flunkies" when he did his show on WHAT. "While Broadsides was technically a folk show, it was sometimes a thinly-veiled attempt to play rock music on the college station where the administration had banned rock and roll." -Broadcast Pioneers

Meanwhile, both Central (all boys at the time) and the nearby Philadelphia High School for Girls had their own Folk Song Societies. "Clubs were the only way to interact with girls from Girls’ High. So I belonged to Drama Club, Folk Music Club, Political Affairs club."  -Jake "George" Fratkin (Class 225), Central Folk Song Society member

CHS Jug Band

The Central and Girl's High Folk Song Societies organized a remarkable series of folk festivals, listed below along with The Centralizer student newspaper articles from the Central High School Archives.


April 11, 1964 - Girls HS Auditorium
Hedy West
Tossi and Lee Aaron (Lee was co-director of the Phila Folk Music Workshop)
Benjamin Aranoff
Quandary Quintet - with Michael Bacon (224) and sister Hilda Bacon
(Recording not yet found)

   ...This concert will be the ""biggest thing in S[tudent] A[ssociation] history," as it will cost approximately six hundred dollars. This is the first SA function with professional performers and the first time an SA function of this type has been held on a Saturday night. The Folk Festival will cost SA members $1.00 and non-members $1.50, a quarter going to the student associations of these schools to promote sales.
   The performers will include Hedy West, nationally known artist from New York City, author of best selling song "Five Hundred Miles"; Tossi Aaron, accompanied on the mandolin by her husband, Lee, the co-director of the Philadelphia Folk Music Workshop; Benjamin Aranoff, one of the best banjo players in the country and runner up in the Philadelphia Folk Festival Banjo Contest; the Quandary Quintet, upcoming jug band that will soon appear at "The Second Fret."
-The Centralizer (student newspaper), March 1964

June 2, 1964 - Central Auditorium
Stupidity Singers (CHS students)
Ukranian Folksingers (GHS students)
(The recording by WRCV has not yet been found. Phil Covelli (222) was president of the club and produced and directed the show.)

   On June 2, the combined Folk Clubs of Central and Girls High presented a folk concert in the Central auditorium. The concert was taped by WRCV AM radio and rebroadcasted at 10:00 P.M. on June 6.
   Two new folksinging groups made their debut on the Central stage. One was a group of Ukranian folk singers.... The other, a threat to the 'Chad Mitchell Trio' and 'Peter, Paul, and Mary', was the 'Stupidity Singers.'
   The concert was attended by more than 400 students from both schools.
-The Centralizer, June 1964

May 1, 1965 - Central Auditorium
Doc Watson
Uncalled IV Jug Band

   Doc Watson and the Uncalled IV Jug Band appeared at the Second Annual Central High Folk Festival in the SA's most successful event.
   510 people attended from many schools, resulting in a $100 profit. All profits from the refreshment stand have been donated to the Mississippi Book Collection [a SNCC and SCLC program to increase literacy and voter participation among Black voters in the Jim Crow South].
   When Doc Watson appeared, no one failed to respond to him. Not only was his guitar and banjo playing extraordinary, but his warmth and personality compelled appreciation from all at the concert. Playing a variety of folk music from blues to country banjo, Watson always told a little story before each song. Watson played his instruments with such tremendous dexterity that even the anti-folk music audience appreciated him. He could flat pick a song, playing only one string at a time, and reproduce an effect created by fingerpicking, or playing three strings simultaneously.
   The high point of the concert was the union of Doc Watson and Roger Sprung, who played the banjo in the Jug Band. Sprung, in his own right one of the best progressive banjo players in the country, presented his stunning syncopated version of "Greensleeves", backed by Watson on the guitar.
   To Doc Watson, folksinging is a way of life. Watson picked up the banjo when he was six and the guitar at fourteen. He played traditional music all his life, but didn't start recording until he was forty, in 1960, when folk music revived in popularity. Doc, a most mild mannered person, is angered at only one subject - Bob Dylan. "I like his songs; they're basically good. I just don't like the way he sounds."
   Appearing with Doc Watson at the festival was the Uncalled IV Jug Band, a group of four of the most gross musicians ever to play. However, despite their appearances, which supplemented their wild music, the Jug Band created the most excitement at the concert.
-The Centralizer, May 1965

(photo not from the CHS concert) 

May 21, 1966 - Central Auditorium
Mississippi John Hurt
Jerry Ricks
John Pilla
Dan Starobin (224)

   Central High's Third Annual Folk Festival, featuring Mississippi John Hurt, was held Saturday evening, May 21, at 8:30 P.M. in the CHS Auditorium.
   Mississippi John Hurt, 75 year-old singer and guitarist, isolated from blues singers for many years, has developed a style all his own. His repertoire includes traditional, traditional-religious, and original compositions. Although Mr. Hurt first recorded in 1928, his 1963 appearance at the Newport Folk Festival marked the end of his long absence from performing.

   Others in the program included Jerry Ricks and John Pilla, guitarists. Of special interest was Dan Starobin, also a guitarist, who was graduated from Central in the 224th Class.
-The Centralizer, May 1966


April 29, 1967 - Girls' High Auditorium
The Country Gentlemen (from DC)
Igra Dance Group (directed by Bill Vanaver)
Dan Starobin (224)

   This year's Folk Concert is a joint venture with Girls' High. The S.A. is sponsoring Central's share of the performance in cooperation with the Folk Song Society, headed by Steve Landau and Mark Schultz (both 226).
   Topping the program are the Country Gentlemen, a group specializing in its own style, a blend of country, jazz, and folk music. The Gentlemen, from Washington, D.C. have appeared at Carnegie Hall... and have recorded on the Mercury and Folkways labels. Unlike many other groups of their type, they gear their program, filled with humor, to urban audiences.
   Also at the concert will be the Igra dance group, under the direction of Bill Vanaver. The dancers, new on the scene, perform folk dances including those of the Balkans, Poland, and the Ukraine.
   Dan Starobin (224), folk singer, humorist, and Central graduate, will be on hand as he was at last year's concert.
   Ticket's can be obtained in the lunchroom opposite the change booth. Tickets are $1.50 with a twenty-five sent S.A. card reduction.
-The Centralizer, April 1967

Other Concerts at Central - Dates unknown
Jim Kweskin Jug Band
Geoff and Maria Muldaur
The Capitols

Much thanks to my Central colleague Elliott Drago for starting this ball rolling by telling me about the John Hurt concert; the alumni members of the Central Folk Song Society for sharing their memories and information and for making these concerts happen: Carl Apter (225), Jake "George" Fratkin (225), Elliott Fratkin (225), David Starobin; Rudy Cvetkovic (239) and David Kahn (220) of the Associated Alumni of Central High School for putting me in touch with members and granting access to the Central Archives and back issues of The Centralizer; Barry Berg, for making the recordings, the late Ed Sciaky for digitizing them, and David Kleiner (225) for sharing the recordings with me, and us all.

Find more at the Mississippi John Hurt Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted primarily to preserving the musical legacy and history of Mississippi John Hurt, while providing musical and educational opportunities to disadvantaged youth.

Jake "George" Fratkin from the 225 Yearbook

*********

Addendum:

Carl Apter (225), President of the Folksong Society sent in the program from the show:

A Tapewrecked Lancaster Playlist

The upcoming "Jack Lord's Hair Revue" show brought on some questions from youngsters about the original music scene in Lancaster in the olden days, so I ran it through the Tapewrecks filter and out came this playlist....

[Click on play buttons for songs, and band names for stories.]

The Crystalaires

1960's The local Lancaster scene was stopped short in 1959 when four members of the Crystalaires were killed in a car crash coming home from a gig in Reading. Their only single was released by Stan Selfon of Stan’s Record Bar as a benefit for their families. By 1966 there were several original garage bands with a few recorded singles played on WLAN and other AM stations. They played shows at the Moose Hall and the Hullabaloo Club (owned by Ed Ruoff. His son, Rich Ruoff would later open the original Chameleon Club in the 1980s). The Centurys were from Lebanon and were included along with the Shaynes on Bona Fide Records 1983 Return of the Young Pennsylvanians compilation. 

The Shaynes

The Crystalaires - Nobody Nowhere (1959)
The Baker Street Irregulars - I’m A Man (1965)
The Shaynes - You Tell Me Girl (c1966)
The Centurys - Hard Times (1966)
The Couriers - Feelings (1966)

 

1980s - Shows were mostly DIY affairs put on by high school kids in fire halls, American Legions, and the Moose Lodge, basements, and barns as well as Tom Paine’s Back Room/Chameleon, the only club that featured original music. WIXQ and WFMU played a lot of local bands and State of Confusion became the hangout for punks and a wide array of misfits. Stan’s Record Bar was joined by Web of Sound, BBC Records in downtown Lancaster, and a little flea market stand in the basement of Park City Mall called the Record Connection. The Bona Fide Records label put out a steady stream of 60s and 80s punk, garage, and oddball releases from across the river in York.
The Blame - Little Girls in Hollywood (1979)
The Bodies - Anarchy in the USA (1981)
Helsinki 5 - Computer Failure (1982)
Last Knight - Silent Scream (1984)
The Sinister Lampshades - Twisted Feelings (1984)
The Red Roosters - Mr. Moto/Psycho Macho (1984)  
The Real Gone - Bells Are Ringing (1985)
The Combat Hamsters - Khadafy’s No Worse Than Reagan (1985)
Briggs Beall - Soldier of Fortune (1984)
Nobody’s Fools - Emergency (1985)
Kirk & the Jerks - Hang On To the Dream (1986)
Substitute - Chains (1986)
Penal Code - Wax Museum (1886)
Jack Lord’s Hair I - War of the Monster Trucks (1987)
Jack Lord’s Hair II - Brain (1988)
Jet Silver & the Dolls of Venus - Venutian Rock (1988)
The OOgies - Love It To Death (1992)

Other Bands from the region influenced the 1980’s original music scene in Lancaster, mostly along the I-83 north-south axis between Three Mile Island/Demi Club and Maryland/DC, with York’s Bona Fide Records as the common hub. A 1984 Circle of Shit show was canceled by the YWCA because of their name on the flyer and an angry editorial in the newspaper. Hasil Adkins played an astounding show at Moose Lodge in Lancaster in 1986.
The Left - 5 am (Hagerstown, MD)
The Velvet Monkeys - Any Day Now (DC)
The Stump Wizards - I Don’t Want You Anymore (Camp Hill)
Billy Synth & the Turnups - The Mask (Harrisburg)
The Impossible Years - Attraction Gear - (Philadelphia)
Circle of Shit - The Punks Are Out Tonight (Philadelphia)
The Skeptics - Idle Time (Frederick, MD)
The Dusters - Everytime (Hagerstown)
Joey Welz - Psychedelic Happening (Baltimore/Lititz)
James “Rebel” O’Leary - Rebel Star (York)
Hasil Adkins - Hunky Wunky Wicky Wacky Woo (West Virginia) 

2017 Bands still at it....
Trio Agave
Mud Pie Sun
Dillweed 
The Dying Elk Herd

Thanks to Kevin Stairiker from Fly After 5 for the questions that inspired this post!

Rockaphilly!

The two volumes of Rockaphilly released in the UK on Rollercoaster Records in 1978 and 1980 collect recordings from 1954-1965 on Philadelphia's Arcade Records and show a pretty rich music scene in and around Philly at the time, even referring to the city as "the East Coast's own Little Nashvillle." Well... maybe, but besides the great music, there are some historically interesting artifacts including the original version of Rock Around the Clock, later covered by Bill Haley. Many of the artists revolved in the Haley orbit and various permutations of the Comets show up under different names (but no Joey Welz here). And Al Rex's topical Hydrogen Bomb: "It's a big loud noise and you're real gone.... bomb bomb, the hydrogen bomb...."

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - Jukebox Rock 'n' Roll

Bill Moss - You Look Like Something That The Cat Drug In

Rusty Wellington - Ducktail

The Kingsmen - It Should've Been Me

Jesse Rogers - Jump Cats Jump

Jimmy Collett - Four Alarm Boogie

Rusty Wellington - Rockin' The Blues

The Highlighters - Hot To Trot

Bill Moss - Rockabilly Hop

Rusty Wellington - Rock 'n' Roll Ruby

Curly Herdman - Buck Fever Boogie

Sonny Dae & His Knights - Rock Around The Clock

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - Everybody's Rockin' Tonight

Jimmy Collett - Beetle Bug Boogie

Al Rex - Hydrogen Bomb

Chuck Hess - Chuck's Boogie

The liner notes are worth a read in the images below and reveal some backstory:

All the tracks featured on Rockaphilly are taken from the archives of Arcade Records, a small Philadelphia label launched in the early 50s by the late Jack Howard to cater for a local demand for hillbilly, novelty, and later rock 'n' roll material.

Howard was an ardent country music fan who ran a printing shop in Philadelphia during the late 1940s. A well-intentioned but slightly deluded man, Howard sought a business involvement with the artists whose music he loved and in 1948, in partnership with a more opportunistic businessman named James Myers, he launched Cowboy Records, for which Bill Haley made his first solo recordings. The venture proved unsuccessful however and after a two year lapse during which Howard acted as a part-time manager to the nascent Haley, Howard launched a new label, Arcade, named after the Arcade Music Center, a record shop which Howard ran in Philly's Kensington area.

Taking his artists from local hoedowns, hillbilly radio stations and nightclubs, local sales while modest in scale, were sufficient to encourage a series of intermittent releases which stretched well into the sixties. ...

Jack fancied himself as a star-maker but in truth, apart from Bill Haley, most of the artists he launched--all solid, dependable stalwarts, did not provide Jack with the reflected glory he so earnestly craved. However we must be grateful that he did make the effort to record the wealth of local talent which existed in Pennsylvania during the late 40s and early 50s.

Rusty Wellington - Sixteen Cats 

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - Rock With Me Baby 

Michael Raye & Judy Shaye - Rockin' Jamboree

Keefer Sisters - Wee Willy Waterdilly 

Jesse Rogers - Jukebox Cannonball 

Rex Zario - Go Man Go Get Gone 

Sally Starr - Rockin' In The Nursery 

Rusty Wellington - Jump Jump Honey 

Al Rex - I Gotta Go 

Jackie Lee - Jumpin' Jackie 

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - Rock Chicken Rock

Satellites - Buzz Buzz Buzz

Joey Michaels - Sixteen Cats 

Sally Star - ABC Rock 

Rusty Wellington - I Ain't A-Movin' On No More 

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - I’m Rockin' 

Ray Coleman & His Skyrockets - Toodle-Oo-Bamboo 

Ray Hatcher - Philadelphia Baby 

Tanner Brothers - Bitter Tears 

Nick Nastos - Bulldoggin' The Steel

 

The Donshires (Harrisburg 1964-67)

Dave and I wrote Sad and Blue the night before we recorded it in a "real" studio (some guy's trailer studio between Mechanicsburg and Carlisle). We also recorded an instrumental, Tripline, I faked on the spot. -Jerry Musser

The Donshires played from mid 1964 until 1967, in the Harrisburg area. The band formed when Joe Caloiero and Paul Stivale, both graduates of Bishop McDevitt H.S. hooked up with Dave Still and Jerry Musser, John Harris grads. The friends practiced at Dave's house and soon were playing in the local area dances and fire halls. Initially, the band's music was primarily influenced by the "British Invasion" and American rock artists. 

A local DJ at the time, Ben Barber, had seen the band at some gigs and soon became the band's manager. The Donshires quickly became a popular band playing in the Harrisburg area. During this time, the Donshires recorded two songs at a local radio station. 

 
By early '66, Jerry Musser left the band and Chuck Oaks came on board. The band's music started leaning to more of a soul style and the band began playing in local night clubs like 615 (in York), The Coral Club (in Hbg) and Martini’s (in Hershey).

By Sept ’67 Dave Still started college. The logistics of trying to practice and play together became very difficult, so, shortly thereafter, the band decided to disband.

    

Later, Joe Caloiero joined the Legends.

-Jerry Musser & Joe Caloiero
John Harris High School Class of 1966

Lots more about The Donshires on Bands of Central PA  

These songs are included on The Legends compilation CD from Arf-Arf Records.

So the Prophets Say................ ........The Centurys - Lebanon PA 1965-67

One of central PA's bands made it into the canon of 60s punk classics with their regional hit Hard Times, but the Centurys were truly unusual at the time for their pro-war stance.

So the Prophets Say
(Billy Beard)

I bet they'll tell you that they're wise

And that they'll analyze

Your situation

They can tell you what's gonna come

And how certain things will be done

They're your

Salvation

Will the world end today

Like it did yesterday

Or will we have to wait

Till tomorrow

I will tell you when it comes

You will hear those (?) drums (?)

(?)

(?) your sorrow

These (?)

These prophets of peace 

And prophets of war

(?)

They may tell you to make a big sound

About gettin out of Viet Nam

You know you gotta right

To your convictions

But will they warn you of a coming day

When your placards might be thrown away

And they'll say

Now you've got a few

Restrictions

You may not like it if they hand you a gun

Before you turn twenty-one

And say

Now you've got to 

Be a man

But your freedoms bells stop ringing (?)

And red state song your singing

I bet you wish 

You had a gun 

In your hand

These men so good

And men so bad

These prophets so sane

And prophets so mad

(?)

Why don't you let it be known

You got a mind of your own

And you can tell right from wrong

From day to day

(?)

Cause they know you care

And so you beware

Of what the prophets say

(harmonica)

Billy Beard had been enlisted in the Navy since 1960 and other band members got draft notices in 1967.

.....

Renco 115 – 83 / So the Prophets Say
Renco 116 – Don’t Bother / Together To Stay
Swan 4265 – Hard Times / Endless Search
BB 4002 – And I Cried / Catch Me Fast



The Centurys on Garage Hangover
The Centurys on Bona Fide Records' Return of the Young Pennsylvanians
The Centurys on Nuclear Platters 
Obituary for William Beard

Philly Garage Punk Roundup.... 1965-68

The Effects

The truth behind the crack....

The American Tragedy
The Bats
The Bounty Hunters
Bright Image
The Brotherly Lovers - Was a Lie
The Bucaneers
The Changing Tymes
The Colors of Night
The Dogs
The Down Children - I Can Tell
The Effects - I Won't Be There
Facts of Life
The Finestuff - I Want You
The Gass Co.
The Iron Gate
Mike London & the Englishmen - Gypsy Lady
The Magic Mushrooms - Never Let Go
Mick & the Shambles - Lonely Nights Again
Nazz - Open My Eyes
The Nomads - I Need Your Energy
Rico & the Ravens - Don't You Know
The Rising Tydes
The Sands of Time
The Snaps - Polka Dotted Eyes

....

Pennsylvania Unknowns vs. The Return of the Young Pennsylvanians

CRUDE PA ... Volumes 1 & 2

It's-A-Happening!  ...The Magic Mushrooms
Frog and Rabbit Records

Reg Kehoe & his Marimba Queens.... ....Holy Cats! (Lancaster 1930s-50s)

At Guernsey Barn Pavillion in Lancaster (note deer carcasses in rafters)

This terrific Reg Kehoe & his Marimba Queens Soundie has been making the rounds on the web for some time, but I didn't know they were from Lancaster until recently: some royal musical heritage for the home town.

I should be hammered with rubber mallets for citing Wikipedia in my research, but this is really interesting and the most complete info I can find about the band and the film, so here you go:

The lasting legacy of Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens is in "A Study In Brown", a two-minute black-and-white film made in early 1940. One of hundreds of "Soundie" films, they were printed backwards (mirror image) so they could appear correct when played in a Panoram machine (an early film jukebox about the size of a refrigerator) which employed a series of mirrors to reflect an image from a projector onto a 27-inch, reverse-projection, etched-glass screen in the tight, enclosed cabinet. The popular machines were first produced in 1939 by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago, Illinois (which also made art-deco, fancy slot machines), and found their way into countless soda shops, taverns, bus and train stations and other public places across the nation. The specially made 16 mm films ran in a continuous loop and stopped when an in-line metal strip passed a sensor. The patron then put another nickel (or dime) in the machine to run the series of four to six 2- to 3-minute films again. The Panoram mechanics were housed in art-deco, high-quality wood cabinets and played Soundies, 8- to 12-minute films that typically showed jazz and other musicians of the day, as well as dance troupes and other acts.

Most viewers notice the sound is not necessarily synched to the video; this is because when making Soundies, the artist first recorded an acceptable copy of the audio, then various camera takes were made using different camera angles and closeups as the performers lip-synched the lyrics and acted as if they were playing the instruments. The results were edited to create the appearance of several cameras doing the filming, when in most cases only one camera was used.   

With the beginning of World War II, production of the Soundies and Panoram machines was drastically reduced due to a wartime raw material shortage and the Mills Panoram's 1940 success quickly faded. 

"A Study In Brown" was also shown in movie houses as a bonus before the main feature. Reg Kehoe and His Marimba Queens played from about 1938 to 1955 and was a hugely popular act, starting and ending each yearly tour with appearances at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In between, the troupe played up and down the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, traveling by bus ala the Big Bands and making the rounds of all the major dance halls—including in Chicago The Aragon, Willowbrook (Oh Henry Ballroom), Melody Mill, Midway Gardens and Trianon.  

Stealing the show in "A Study In Brown" was 'hep-cat' bass player Frank DeNunzio, Sr., of Hershey, Pennsylvania, who played his standup–slap bass almost until his death in February 2005. The woman playing the marimba next to the maraca player, Grace Bailey, in the film is Reg's wife, Fern Marie, who died in July 2006. On the back marimba is Joyce Shaw on the upper, Ruth Hauser on the middle octave, and Janet Yonder on the lower. On the side marimba, Madee Greer is on the upper and Polly Weiser on the lower.   

No other Panoram recordings made by Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens are known to exist. However, thanks to their two-minute "soundie", the legacy of the Marimba Queens lives on. The band played its last engagement at the Bedford Springs Hotel, Bedford, Pennsylvania in 1962.

NOTE: Reg Kehoe and his Marimba Queens did make additional recordings in the 1940s. There are 18 "glass" records of music and two "glass" records of live interviews with Reg and some of the band members. 

A Study In Brown (audio)

Thanks to Cyndy Yoder Henry, daughter of Marimba Queen Madee Greer, for the photo above. I didn't know they were a Lancaster act until this photo turned up on the Bands of Central PA site right above these guys:

...

Boy With A Dream (and some scissors and glue) .... The Real Joey Welz (Baltimore 1950s-70s / Lancaster 1980s-present)

Lititz, Pennsylvania, 5 minutes up the road from where I grew up in Lancaster County, home to the Victor mousetrap factory and a leading contender for World's Oldest Teenager......  Joey Welz.

So... this Joey Welz character, back in the 80s, played a regular boogie-woogie piano gig he called "Retro-Rock" at a hotel out on Route 30 amidst the Amish Country tourist traps. He released modern "hits" like Rockin' in America and a rap version of Rock Around the Clock. Joey self-released cassette box sets of his music and claimed to be an original member of "Bill Haley's Comets," Uh-huh... sure he is. And like, he was "the first rock'n'roll piano player"... and he "played with the Beatles in Hamburg." This guy can't be for real. Or can he?


For years, Joey has promoted his act out of his house and has his own rock'n'roll museum. He cuts and pastes his face into photos of famous musicians including the Comets and the Beatles for his press kits. Many of his original songs from the 50s and 60s have his more recent Roland keyboard and drum machine inexplicably overdubbed, so it's really hard to know what to make of the "Joey Welz Legend."

But then I found his name on the back of a Link Wray record. Link Wray!!! Could it all be true? So I wrote Joey and asked which records I should buy to learn about the "real" Joey Welz and how he got his start back on Baltimore.

He made me a deal on 4 CDs and I've been digging through them and a few other downloads ever since trying to make sense of it all. I wrote down some "tough questions" for The Welz and sent them off by email.  He responded (in all-caps) without any hesitation at all. I've included here the parts of Joey's story that have at least some concrete, if sometimes tampered with*, photo or audio evidence. I left out some claims, that while they could be true, are too vague or have only circumstantial evidence to back them. You be the judge.

Welcome to WELZ WORLD:

............................................

HERE YOU GO PAL.....ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS.....

THE REAL JOEY WELZ,,, THEY DON'T COME ANY MORE REAL THAN THE WELZZZZZZZ

You claim to be the inventor of your piano style, before Jerry Lee. What do you base that claim on?

IN THE JAY ROCKERS, WE HAD NO BASS PLAYER, SO I BECAME VERY GOOD AT INVENTING BASS RUNS ON MY LEFT HAND AND LEARNED HOW TO CUT THE BOOGIE WOOGIE PIE UPWARDS, BACKWARDS AND HALF UP AND HALF BACK, AND FULL LEFT HANDED OCTIVE RUNS. THIS WAS BEFORE LITTLE RICHARD AND JERRY LEE LEWIS.

The Jay Rockers - Jitterbug Rock 1955

WHEN I STARTED DOING SESSIONS IN 1955, I ALWAYS USED THIS BOOGIE STYLE AND IT WAS JUST RIGHT FOR BILL HALEY'S MUSIC BECAUSE THE BULL FIDDLE BASS DIDN'T MAKE THE NOTES AUDIBLE, ONLY THE SLAPPING. THAT'S WHY I GOT THE JOB AS BILL'S SECOND PIANO MAN, AND WHY THEY CALL ME THE BOOGIE WOOGIE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL.

I LAID DOWN THE BLUEPRINT FOR PIANO PLAYERS IN THE 50S.... IN 1954 I RECORDED THE JITTERBUG ROCK B/W BLUE ROCK, WRITTEN BY JOEY WELZ, ON BERMAN RECORDS. ONLY 10 ACETATES WERE MADE IN 1955. THE JAY ROCKERS WERE JIMMY STAGGS ON GUITAR AND SAM CATALDIE ON DRUMS AND JOEY WELZ ON PIANO. THIS WAS MY FIRST RECORD AND IT WAS ON 78....

The Rockabillies - Twangy 1957
The Rockabillies - Come On Baby 1957
The Rockabillies - Shore Party 1959
The Hi Lees - All Nite Party 1959

The Cold War is another interest of mine. What was it like for you at AFN Berlin (a US military radio station) at that time?

I WAS THE RECORDING ENGINEER FOR AMERICAN FORCES NETWORK IN BERLIN, AND RECORDED AND CO-PRODUCED RADIO PROGRAMS LIKE FROLIC AT FIVE (TOP 40/POP HITS), AND STICK BUDDY JAMBOREE (Country Music).

AT THIS TIME-1960-1963, I WROTE AND RECORDED MANY SONGS LATE AT NIGHT WHEN THE STUDIO WAS FREE. THAT'S WHEN MANY TRACKS WERE RECORDED ON MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS ALBUM AND THE YOUNG JOEY WELZ CD. I ALSO RECORDED GROUPS FOR AIRING AND TWO OF THEM WERE THE BATS AND THE NITE RYDERS FROM ENGLAND ON WHICH I PLAYED PIANO.

Santo & Johnny - A Soldier's Story 1960
The Jokers - Boy With a Dream 1961
The Nite Ryders - Moment Baby 1961
The Nite Ryders - Whistlin' Man's Boogie 1961
The Shimmer Trio - Telestar Tell My Love 1962

I ALSO CO-PRODUCED AND RECORDED BILL HALEY AND THE COMETS LIVE SHOW ON AFN FRANKFURT. DURING THAT TIME,I LAID THE GROUNDWORK OF JOINING THE COMETS AS FEATURED PIANIST WHEN I GOT OUT OF THE ARMY, (replacing Johnny Grande. Johnny and I were the only pianists in the history of the Comets).

I ALSO FIRST RECORDED WITH THE COMETS AT THAT SESSION PLAYING ON HONKY TONK AND SINGING BACK-UP ON SHAKE RATTLE AND ROLL. YEARS LATER, I LICENSED THE AFN MASTER TAPES TO HYDRA RECORDS IN GERMANY AND THEY RELEASED BILL HALEY LIVE ON AFN CD.

Bill Haley & his Comets on AFN Frankfurt 1962 

Rock Around the Clock
Honky Tonk (featuring Joey Welz on Piano)
See You Later Alligator (listen for Joe Welzant in the credits)

AT THE FRIAR'S CLUB IN TORONTO: RUDY POMPELLI ON THE SIDE (HE WAS OUR SAX),AND AL RAPPA ON BASS, AND JOHNNY KEY ON GUITAR AND BILL HALEY IN THE BACK MIDDLE

WE WERE SOLDIERS FIRST. ONE NIGHT I WAS ON THE AIR ALONE AND GOT THE CALL THAT THE WALL WAS GOING UP. I WAS THE FIRST TO CALL EVERYBODY IN. WE GOT OUR HELMETS ON AND ALL WENT DOWN TO THE BRANDENBURG GATE AND STOOD AT PARADE REST FACING THE EAST GERMANS AND RUSSIANS WHO BROUGHT THEIR TANKS DOWN. WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR WHO WAS GOING TO FIRE THE FIRST SHOT. NO ONE DID, THANK GOD, BUT THE WALL WENT UP. 

I WAS ALSO AT THE RADIO STATION WHEN WE BROKE THE NEWS ABOUT THE CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS, BUT KENNEDY HANDLED IT WELL AND THEY BACKED DOWN. PRETTY EXCITING TIMES FOR A PIANO MAN LIKE ME....

On some of the recordings of you with famous artists, you overdubbed your electric piano much later. This seems misleading and maybe even fraudulent to many people.  Can you explain why you do that?

I SOMETIMES OVERDUBBED MY PIANO FOR RE-RELEASING SOME OF MY CLASSIC SONGS BECAUSE, ON THE ORIGINAL RECORDING, THE PIANO WAS BURIED IN THE MIX. I ALSO OVERDUBBED DRUMS IF THEY WERE NOT LOUD ENOUGH WHEN I ORIGINALLY RECORDED IT. I ALWAYS WANTED TO IMPROVE THE SOUND WHEN I REISSUED THEM AND WANTED THE DRUMS TO BE MORE POWERFUL TO DRIVE THE BAND....

ON THE LEGENDARY FRIENDS ALBUM, IT'S A COLLECTION OF ALL THE RECORDINGS I DID WITH MY MUSICIAN FRIENDS IN ROCK AND ROLL. MOST OF THE SESSIONS I PLAYED ON WITH THE EXCEPTION OF FLOYD CRAMER/DUANE EDDY/THE VENTURES, IN WHICH CASE I ADDED MY PIANO TO THE ORIGINAL TRACKS. I WROTE ALL THE SONGS AND STILL FEEL THIS IS MY MOST HISTORIC ALBUM.

The Ventures - Save Your Love, Save Your Kisses 1963*
The Cruisinaires - I Ain't Got a Thing 1963

The Comets - You Changed 1964*

PHOTO TAKEN AT A RADIO STATION IN TEXAS TO PROMOTE OUR NEW SINGLE IN 65 ENTITLED TOUNGE-TIED TONY

The Upsetters - Maybe You're the Girl 1964
The Kidd Brothers - Wooly Bully Rides Again 1966

Joey & the Time Machine - Big City 1967
Joey & the Time Machine - Caught By Love 1967
Joey & the Time Machine - Psychedelic Happening 1967


I'll Do Anything For You WAS A HIT IN NORFOLK, VA. IN 1969 AND THAT'S ME ON DISCOTEN TV RUN BY GENE LOVING FROM WGH RADIO WHO JUST CAME OFF MY LAST HIT OF I WILL SING A RHAPSODY FOR A SUMMER NIGHT.  DICK LAMB WAS THE HOST ON THAT TV SHOW WHERE I LIP SYNCED MY VOCALS


I was excited to find your name on the back of my Link Wray album!

Link Wray and I became good friends in the early 60s and I was a silent WRAY MAN on some of his records playing piano and organ. He and I made a few albums together where he backed me up, as well as did Roy Buchannan.



Link Wray & the Wray Men - Week End 1963
Link Wray & the Wray Men - Run Chicken Run 1963
Link Wray & the Wray Men - Blue Eyes Don't Run Away 1968*
Link Wray & the Wray Men - Turn You On to Sunshine 1968
LinkWray & the Wray Men - I'm a Wheel 1969
Link Wray & Joey Welz - Rippin' "Em Off in the Name of Love 1970*
Link Wray & Joey Welz - Jesus, Be My Friend 1970*
Link Wray & Joey Welz - Rumble '69 1970

*Keyboards and/or drums overdubbed later

Were you really a Yo-Yo Champion? 

I practiced yo yo from the 7th grade in grammar school to the last year in high school. I was really gone on the yo yo. I worked for the Filipino Champions, holding contests and demonstrating in dept. stores on the weekends in downtown Baltimore.

In 1957, after winning many contests, I entered into a contest between the 3 company champions; ROYAL, CHEEREO AND DUNCAN. The best man was BOB ROLA from DUNCAN YO YOS and I finally beat him in the last contest for world champion. I RECEIVED THE HIGHEST AWARD, THE DUNCAN SILVER EAGLE PATCH WHICH I STILL HAVE IN MY YO YO COLLECTION.

How did you come to settle in Pennsylvania?

I came to Lancaster in the 80s to play gigs and liked it, I opened CAPRICE RECORDING STUDIOS in Lititz in 1990 and became the owner of CAPRICE INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN AMERICAN RECORDS and produced many other national and local acts including JIMMY JONES, DANNY AND THE JUNIORS, FREDDY CANNON AND THE 4 TOPS....

My new album is DANCING WITH THE STARS featuring TEN YEARS LATER a memorial for the 10th anniversary of 9-11. THERE WERE 2 RELEASES OF JAY ROCKER RECORDS. AND 4 OF THE ROCKABILLIES WITH ME BACK IN THE 50S on Bat Records.

FANS AND MUSICIANS WHO REALIZED WHO I REALLY WAS WERE STARTING TO CALL ME THE LEGEND AND THE BOOGIE WOOGIE KING OF ROCK AND ROLL. WHEN I STARTED MY ROCK AND ROLL DANCE SHOW I CALLED RETRO ROCK, I CAME OUT FROM BEHIND MY EQUIPMENT AND SANG LIVE OVER MY RECORDS AND ALSO PLAYED LIVE KEYBOARDS OVER THE CLASSIC ROCK RECORDS OF MY FAVORITE BANDS. THIS WAS BEFORE KARAOKE SO I GUESS YOU COULD SAY I INVENTED IT. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE WAS, WHEN I WAS SINGING TO MY RECORDS, THEY WERE REALLY MY RECORDS AND SONGS. I WAS NOT SINGING OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF WHEN I DID THE HALEY NUMBERS, WHICH I ALSO PLAYED ON....

You must have had a day job, right? What career(s) have you had outside of music (and yo-yo)?

MY OTHER JOBS WERE ALL IN MUSIC WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 6 MONTHS WHEN I WAS A PRISON GUARD IN BALTIMORE AT THE STATE PENN. I WORKED IN SALES AND DISTRIBUTION AND HAD THE TERRITORY OF DEL. MARYLAND, WASHINGTON, VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA FOR THE HANDLEMAN COMPANY, JOSEPH ZAMOISKI CO AND D&H DISTRIBUTORS. I ALSO WAS A JUKE BOX MAN FOR JACHAM MUSIC IN BALTIMORE, AND A RECORDING ENGINEER FOR MONUMENT STUDIOS IN BALTIMORE, AND A&R DIRECTOR FOR WEDGE, DOME, MONUMENTAL, MUSIC CITY, AND PALMER RECORDS IN DETROIT.

I WAS THE PRESIDENT AND OWNER OF BAT RECORDS, CAPRICE INTERNATIONAL AND CANADIAN AMERICAN RECORDS.... I RAN MY BUSINESS OUT OF MY HOME IN LITITZ UNTIL IT GREW OUT OF THE HOME AND NEEDED MORE SPACE IN THE 80S. SO I OPENED CAPRICE INTERNATIONAL RECORDS AND STUDIO AND MY MUSEUM IN THE LITTLE RED BRICK BUILDING BEHIND THE GENERAL SUTTER INN IN THE ALLEY.

You've been on the edges of stardom your entire career and recorded great music with great people, but you never quite made it to the Big-Time yourself (yet). How do you feel about that? 

Bill Haley's Comets - Shake Rattle and Roll 1981

MY MUSIC, LIKE ALL ARTISTS HAVE HAD ITS GOOD RECORDS AND ITS BAD. WHEN I HAD A COUPLE OF GREAT POP RECORDS, HEY LITTLE MOONBEAM, RHAPSODY FOR A SUMMER NIGHT. HEY RATTLE SNAKE, IN MY CAR, ROCKIN'IN AMERICA, I NEVER HAD THE DISTRIBUTION OR PUSH FROM A MAJOR LABEL. AS YOU KNOW THEY HAD THE MONEY AND POWER TO BUY A RADIO HIT. I WAS NEVER PUT THROUGH THE MAJOR PUBLICITY MACHINE. I HAD TO RECORD, MANUFACTURE AND PROMOTE MY OWN RECORDS. ACTUALLY, WHEN YOU STOP AND THINK ABOUT IT, THAT MEANT I WAS MORE TALENTED THAN MANY OF THE POP STARS LIKE FABIAN AND FRANKIE AVALON WHO DIDN'T EVEN WRITE THEIR OWN SONGS.

ANYWAY, I AM THE ONLY ARTIST LIVING TODAY, THAT HAS MADE NEW MUSIC AND RELEASED NEW RECORDS EVEY YEAR SINCE 1955 TO 2013. I HAVE OVER 90 ALBUMS, MADE 75 45s AND WRITTEN OVER 1000 SONGS AND STILL ROCKIN' AROUND THE CLOCK TODAY AND SINGING ALL OF BILL HALEY'S HITS TODAY WHEN I PLAY WITH MY LONG TIME COMET FRIEND, AL RAPPA. THATS MY LEGACY AND I'LL STAND ON IT.

I GUESS IT'S BETTER TO BECOME A LIVING LEGEND THAN A DEAD POP STAR. I WILL NEVER STOP MAKING MUSIC. IT'S MY REASON FOR LIVING, AND LIVING IS THE KEY TO BECOMING A LIVING ROCK AND ROLL LEGEND.

WHEN THE ROLLING STONES DIE, I'LL BE THE ONLY ONE LEFT. OF THE 5 STAND UP 50s PIANO/SINGERS, I AM NOW THE ONLY ONE STILL PERFORMING....JERRY LEE LEWIS, AND LITTLE RICHARD AND FATS DOMINO HAVE ALL RETIRED AND RAY CHARLES UNFORTUNATELY PASSED AWAY, SO THAT LEAVES ONLY JOEY WELZ STILL DOING CONCERTS....THAT'S MY LEGACY.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD, I'M STILL ROCKIN' AROUND THE CLOCK. I STILL CAN HAVE THAT ONE BIG HIT BEFORE I DROP.......

ROCK ON---- the welz man

Joey Welz - The Ballad of Link Wray 2009


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The songs in this post represent a small fraction of the musical genres and albums that Joey has put out over the years. You can purchase them all directly from Joey Welz's expansive CD Baby site:
First Impressions
Top 12 Radio Hits of the 50s
Top 15 Radio Hits of the 60s
Legendary Rock & Roll Friends
Brothers and Legends: Link Wray and Joey Welz

A Joey Welz and the Time Machine 45 was reissued by Frog and Rabbit Records by Billy Synth who also did his own versions of You Changed and Rockin' in America.

More about Joey Welz:
JoeyWelz.com
Canadian American / Caprice International Records
The Bill Haley Who's Who