Musicguy247

Wanda Jackson - An interview with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Queen of Rockabilly"

Wanda Jackson 0Interview

Wanda Jackson is a pioneering female Rockabilly performer. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. After winning many talent contests she went out on tour with Elvis Presley right after high school. Wanda scored a major hit with the song "Let's have a Party". The "Queen of Rockabilly" is popular all over the world. Wanda recently recorded an album with Jack White and is still going strong today. I recently caught up with Wanda.

R.V.B. - Hello Mrs. Jackson?

W.J. – Yeah , that's me

R.V.B. - How are you? It's a pleasure to meet you. This is Rob and I'm from Long Island up here in New York.

W.J. - I see, well nice to meet you.

R.V.B. - The first thing I want to say to you is The Rock and Roll community, the country community, the blues community, and the music community in general are very proud of your accomplishments in your life.

W.J. – Well, thank you so much.

R.V.B. - And you must be proud of yourself also.

W.J. - Hahaha

R.V.B. - Can I start off by asking, when you were young in your house in Oklahoma, what kind of music were you exposed to at a very young age?

W.J. - Ah at a very young age, that would be country first, you know.

R.V.B. - That's basically what your parents played around the house?

W.J. - Yes. My dad was a guitar player and played fiddle and he sang and that's what he played was country music. So he taught me to play guitar and then eventually I was chording' while he played fiddle. So in the evenings after I learned to play the guitar, we'd make music yeah.

R.V.B. - Oh I see. Did you have any other hobbies as a little girl? What else did you like to do? Did you like to hang around the neighborhood and play with your friends and stuff?

W.J. - Oh yeah. I was living in California, let's see… when I was five they moved out there and came back when I was nine.

R.V.B. - Did you have friends out in California and Oklahoma City, that you palled around with as a young girl?

W.J. - Well sure definitely. Everybody has their friends they pal around with. When I came back to Oklahoma, I was nine. I went to school with the same kids I went to church with. We went to Sunday school class, so they were my friends and there was a pretty big group of us that ran around together and did things.

R.V.B. - Were your friends musical also? Did you sing in church or play anything in church?

W.J. - Ah … not necessarily in the church. We had after church parties at somebody's house, and I would bring a guitar and sing for them. (Cough) I sound terrible today. I woke up this morning with this awful throat. (hehehe) So I'm trying to talk and…

R.V.B. - You know take your time. If you want me to call back at another time, that's ok also.

W.J. – No, we'll go ahead and get what we can.

R.V.B. - You got caught in a storm last night on a plane? (Her husband told me that in the screening)

W.J. - No, I had been in California. I had two working dates this weekend and we came home from L.A. last night.

R.V.B. - Do you remember what your first guitar was?

W.J. – Well, I remember it but I don't know the brand for sure - but I think it was a Stella. (haha) It was kind of a little girl’s guitar.

R.V.B. – Yeah, Stella was a very popular guitar, it was inexpensive. I even have a Stella.

W.J. - Is that right? Well you know Jack White does too. (hahaha). I thought that was strange, a man like him has a Stella guitar.

R.V.B. - Mine's red... red sunburst

W.J. - That sounds pretty.

R.V.B. – Um… so obviously it was an acoustic guitar right?

W.J. - Ah ha – sure - and it had Uncle Sam's hat on it. I don't know if you know what I mean?...  Uncle Sam?. This was during war days and there used to be posters of Uncle Sam saying I want you. (haha)

R.V.B. - Oh, I remember those signs.

W.J. - So my guitar had stars on it and Uncle Sam's head.

R.V.B. - So where was your first professional gig? Was it a dance? Was it a local gig?

W.J. - Probably the paying things, I don't know - I did a lot of contests. Those used to be real popular, talent contests and if you won, you won a wrist watch or… I can't remember what else. I won a lot of the contests and I had a radio show. I don't think I got paid for that, however. So I'm sure what my first paying job was.

R.V.B. - Those contests that you are talking about, were they local community contests held in a local movie theater or something?

W.J. - Ah ha, right.

R.V.B. - So when you got that radio show, you must have become popular around your local community.

W.J. - Right... I got the radio show by winning a contest that the radio station put on and the winner of it got their own- oh - fifteen minute spot for however long it was, a month maybe. So I won the contest and did that and they said if you can keep your show sponsored, then you could keep that fifteen minute time slot. So I worked at keeping the sponsors and learned how to write copy and to read my own commercials.

R.V.B. - When you won the contest were you playing the guitar? Because I know you played the piano also.

W.J. - Oh, I don't  play the piano in public much. It's just to help me figure out chord progressions on songs, to practice, or to learn a new song. That's how I use the piano but yeah, I played guitar on the contests.

R.V.B. - Did you play the acoustic guitar or the electric ?

W.J. – Well, I don't ever play an electric guitar. The photos out there in cyberland show me playing an electric guitar, but that was in Japan on a two month tour I did. And for some reason I didn't take my guitar on that tour so they got a guitar for me and it was an old electric guitar (hahaha). So I didn't plug it in, I just hung it around my neck .(haha)

R.V.B. - Oh I see, it's like a promo thing. So when you finished high school... Is that when you started touring - sort to speak - like playing around in a wider area?

W.J. - Right, let me see. When I was sixteen, a junior in high school, I signed with Decca records. That was my first recording contract was with Decca. I had gotten that through Hank Thompson, who had heard me on the radio and invited me to sing with his band when he was appearing in Oklahoma City at a dance hall - a pretty famous one back in that day in Oklahoma City. So he had helped me get my first contract because I had a couple of songs in the Billboard Country charts. So as soon as I graduated high school, I wanted to go on the road and do that to make my living.

R.V.B. - Well that must have been very exciting for a girl just sixteen to be discovered by a famous person and then have the opportunity to do that.

W.J. – Yeah, it certainly was. I felt very fortunate.

R.V.B. - So how often did you practice? Did you play every day?

W.J. – Yeah, I'm sure I did. I sang all the time. (hahaha) And once in a while my mother would say "Wanda... why don't you go play with the kids or go ride your bike or something?". She got tired of it (hahaha). Hearing me clunk around on the piano and the guitar... singing.

R.V.B. - Did you take singing lessons or is that just natural talent?

W.J. – No, I didn't take any lessons. It probably wouldn't have hurt me to take some, but I luckily the way I sing - however I do it - it's never hurt my throat no matter how much I sing, you know. I go out on long tours and sing every night or just about every night and I never have any throat problems. That's why I'm baffled this morning when I woke up and my throat is so sore.

R.V.B. – Well, you have a beautiful singing voice and that's something that you can go night after night without having issues. How long is your set approximately? Did you do more than one set back in the day?

W.J. - Oh back then? Well when I got my band, I carried my own band for about twelve years. After I formed the band, we did dances primarily around in the mid west. So I would do three thirty minute sets a night and the band the rest of the time did dance music.

R.V.B. - Oh, I got you. When did you make the transition from straight - ahead country to rockabilly?

W.J. - Well, that was because Elvis talked to me about it and encouraged me to try to sing that. And I said, "I don't think I can". He said,"Well, I know that you can if you'll try it". He said, “ You need to be recording this kind of music because it's getting very popular very fast.” And of course he was right there (hahaha). So I changed record labels when my contract was up with Decca and I went to Capitol records. When I did that, I started recording little rock songs. It was hard to find material for a girl and when you look back into my discography, you see a lot of cover songs. That's about all I had. I began writing my own rock and roll songs. So you I've written quite a few and some country songs.

R.V.B. - I see. Now did you tour with Elvis from the record company? Did they put you together? Did you meet him in venues? How did you go about playing with him?

W.J. - It was purely accidental you know. It was just meant to be, I guess. My dad decided I shouldn't go out on the road alone at seventeen and I'm an only child. Mother decided she wanted me to have Daddy along to drive for me and take care of business - which suited me just fine and so. He quit his job and he didn't know how to book anybody so he found a name on a billboard and called Bob Neil in Memphis and asked if he would be interested in booking dates for me and Bob Neil said, “yes” he would. He said, " I'm booking a young man who is getting real popular" and I could use a girl on the shows that he does. So that's how I met Elvis and began working tours with him.

R.V.B. - What would that be in the late 50"s. 57ish?

W.J. - It was 1955.

R.V.B. - Oh , that's way back. 

W.J. – Yeah, I graduated that year. Let's see… I graduated in May and in July was working with Elvis.

R.V.B. – Wow! So you moved up the ladder quickly after high school.

W.J. - Yeah, yeah

R.V.B. - So throughout the years you played with quite a few good musicians in the band. I see Roy Clark.

W.J. - Yeah

R.V.B. - Who else comes to name that you really enjoyed playing with in your band?

W.J. - Well , all of my guys were good musicians and if I told you names it wouldn't mean anything. They were just young men that maybe had a band formed and I used them and called them “The Wanda Jackson Band” or something.

R.V.B. - Were they from Oklahoma or did you find them in major cities like Nashville or cities like that?

W.J. - The first band that I used was out of Kansas.

R.V.B. - Oh really?

W.J. – Yeah, I had signed with the man that booked Hank Thompson. His name is Jim Halsey and so I signed with him and he did the booking. It was getting to where I needed my own band to play these dances because it was getting very hard night after night to have different bands. He found a little four - piece band there in Kansas somewhere and put them with me and they were called Bobby Poe and the Poe Kats. I didn't have a name for my band until I had the hit song "Let's Have a Party" - so the name of the band was Wanda Jackson and the Partytimers.

R.V.B. - That sounds like a fun name.

W.J. - Hahah

R.V.B. - And I'm sure everybody did have a fun time at the party. That song “Let's have a Party” - where did you record that?

W.J. – Ah… in Hollywood at the Capitol Tower.

R.V.B. - Oh ok. In that round building?

W.J. - Uh huh

R.V.B. - I see. Did you ever come to New York to record?

W.J. - The only thing I ever recorded in New York was a couple of songs in the Japanese language and for some reason they set me up in New York to do that. That was later in the (Oh Gosh) 80's.

R.V.B. - I went to Nashville this year, and I went to the Country Hall of Fame and I walk in on the third floor and there is a big video there of you playing "Hard Headed woman" and I said to my buddy, "Stop, we gotta watch this"

W.J. - Hahaha

R.V.B. - I absolutely love that song. You had such confidence in singing it and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves in the background. Now, where was that recorded?

W.J. - When or Where?

R.V.B. - Was that from a TV show?

W.J. – Yeah, what you saw was a Town Hall Party clip. That was in Compton in the Los Angeles area. It was a real popular Saturday night live show. It had Tex Ritter on it and Joe Maphis , The Collins Kids, and quite a few names that were popular.

R.V.B. - Right, now you mentioned that you toured Japan and did some songs in Japanese, but I see you also made an album in German. I'm sure that took you on a tour to Germany and you were very popular over there also - correct?

W.J. - Right. My very first release at Capitol Records of Germany, that's who I did it for. The first release became a number one song in Germany - also in some of the bordering countries. I think Austria- and maybe Brussels - and places like that. So yeah, it was a beautiful song and now to this day people still know that song. The younger people sing the chorus right along with me. So it came kind of what they call an evergreen song. Every generation knows it.

R.V.B. - That's fantastic.

W.J. – Yeah, that was quite a thrill.

R.V.B. - Do you go over there periodically?

W.J. - Oh yeah. I usually always go once a year - and for several years I worked... ninety percent of my work was in Europe.  Great Britain and Europe and Scandinavia. So I'm very well - known in those areas.

R.V.B. – Yeah, it's amazing how the great American artists are really appreciated almost more than in the U.S. , I guess that's just the way it is.

W.J. - Yes, more respected and admired, you know we get bigger crowds. At least I did until recently but now I have big crowds in America too.

R.V.B. - Well, that's great that you're out there still doing what you love.

W.J. - Yeah ,you betcha

R.V.B. - Now you had a long Vegas run. Did you primarily play in one hotel or various spots?

W.J. – Well, let's see… I started out in the Showboat in the lounge at The Showboat Hotel and Casino. Then after I had "Let's Have a Party", I headlined at The Golden Nugget downtown. That's where I would have long runs you know. Two and three week runs at a time. Then the last place I worked in Vegas was with Hank Thompson and we had our show in the Freemont hotel which is downtown. That's the last jobs I did in Vegas.

R.V.B. - Where did you meet your husband? It sounds like you have a nice long - lasting relationship and he's a real great guy.

W.J. - Well thank you, I think so. Well, we've celebrated fifty two years of marriage now and we're still quite happy. I met him through a girlfriend who was dating him. (haha) I used to go out with them when I was in town and you know if they had a date, I'd tag along with them. She was a singer too... is a singer. She got an offer to go to Nashville to be on The Porter Wagner Show -which was a show that was just starting. So she decided to do that and left Wendell here footloose and fancy free. So I grabbed hold of him.

R.V.B. - Hahaha  -It sounds like it was a good move.

W.J. - I chased him until he caught me.

R.V.B. = Hahaha - now as far as your influences... obviously there's country but for a while there you were playing a gospel style. How did you enjoy that?

W.J. – Well, that was very special work. My husband and I became Christians in 1971 and we were just so thrilled with our new life in Christ and I wanted to sing gospel music and Capitol let me put out one gospel album. But after that, they didn't want me recording any more gospel. I felt like I wanted to and so I got my release from Capitol and went to Word Records which was an all gospel Label. But after I signed with them - shortly after - they sold out to a big conglomerate. I got lost in the shuffle there and so I left that label and by that time my husband and I were doing ministry of where we still traveled and mostly one - nighters. We would have an evening in a church or a high school auditorium or an outdoor event where I would do a concert of gospel songs. I would give my testimony and then he would come and give his testimony and it was like a church service, but it was just all he and I. We saw a lot of lives changed. People coming to Christ like we had. It was very gratifying work.

R.V.B. - It sounds it. It sounds like a fantastic thing to do and you're up close with people and meeting new friends all of the time. That sounds fantastic.

W.J. – Yeah, it was a wonderful time. We went back into secular music when I got an invitation to go to Sweden and record an album of rockabilly, country and gospel - whatever I wanted to sing. So we went there and we did a three week tour around cutting the album. On the strength of that I worked Sweden, Norway, and the Scandinavian area for twenty two years straight.

R.V.B. – Wow!

W.J. - I had a lot of fans there and I didn't even know it. Then Germany opened up and Great Britain and places like that.

R.V.B. – Now, when you did all of this touring did you live out of hotels? Did you have a home base? How did that work?

W.J. - Well no mostly in hotels. The last couple of years we had a flat that we got for the summer months - you know - like all of July. That's usually the time I worked the most. So we had a little apartment there.

R.V.B. - I see. Currently you came out with a new album just recently. That's "The Party Ain't Over"?

W.J. – Ah - I had one since then called Unfinished Business.

R.V.B. - Oh that's another good name (hehe)

W.J. - (haha) Yeah. "The Party Ain't Over" was done with Jack White.

R.V.B. - How did you get involved with him?

W.J. – Well, he just asked me.

R.V.B. - He's a great musician and a shrewd business man.

W.J. - Apparently

R.V.B. - I just recently purchased this box set of Paramount records and I'm really enjoying it.

W.J. - Oh well, great.

R.V.B. - One other question I wanted to ask you. Did you ever get put on any bills on the tours that you played with any blues players?

W.J. - No - not really.

R.V.B. - You were always grouped with other country and rockabilly artists? I'm sure you've played a lot of festivals in your career.

W.J. - A whole bunch. Everyone that ever was I think (haha). They were mostly rock and roll I would say.

R.V.B. - Who were some of the other bands that you've met throughout your journeys?

W.J. - Oh Goodness - probably too many to name. It's like a who's who, you know. Carl Perkins … oh gosh.

R.V.B. - Did you ever meet The Beatles or any of those English guys?

W.J. - No. I didn't care for the Beatles much. They came in and took over Capitol Records. The rest of us on Capitol couldn't get a record released no matter what we did (haha). All the presses were busy printing The Beatles. So it made it real hard on the other artists.

R.V.B. - How about Johnny Cash? Were you ever on a bill with him?

W.J. - Oh yeah. He worked with Elvis and me.

R.V.B. - Did you ever meet mother Maybelle Carter?

W.J. - I don't think I met her. I knew June Carter but as far as just touring with I met Elvis, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, ah…

R.V.B. - That's some big names right there, so what do you like to do when you are not playing? Do you like to read? Do you like to go shopping?

W.J. - I'm not much for shopping. I wait until it's a dire necessity. So, oh yeah, I love to read and of course with traveling I have a lot of time to read. So at home I try to squeeze in an hour here and there to read but it's mostly just things that everybody does. Running around making appointments, um… and doctor appointments and hair appointments and nails and get ready for the next tour mainly.

R.V.B. - Are you writing any music these days?  Do you sit around and come up with new stuff?

W.J. - No. I Think I got just too lazy or something (haha) - something happened. Music changed pretty much.

R.V.B. - It's kind of a shame what happened. The internet killed releasing records and it's just like as soon as you release a record it's everywhere. Something has got to be done. It's not like the old days when you buy a 45 and play it over and over again until the grooves wear out.

W.J. - Right - right. I don't like what's happened either. But the music itself began changing I don't know somewhere in the 80's maybe. I'm not sure because I was in the gospel years ,you know, for so long. But I found I just couldn't write the type of songs that people were singing. My songs were simpler as most of them were in the 50's, 60's and 70's and I didn't know the chords they were using. Weird  chord combinations and things  - and so I just kinda gave up and I shouldn't have, but I was busy working and didn't have time to mess with it.

R.V.B. - So what's on tap? Where are you playing next?

W.J. - You know ? I don't know (haha)

R.V.B. - I'm sure it will be somewhere right before you know it.

W.J. – Yeah, I've taken it a lot easier this year because about the last three or four years I just net myself coming and going.

R.V.B. – Well, I tell you one thing ,what's a travesty is that you're not in the country hall of fame. I don't know what's up with that? That should be like an automatic. Do you think that's gonna happen?

W.J. - Oh , I don't look for it to. It'll be a nice surprise if it does, but that's just like the rock and roll hall of fame.

R.V.B. - Right, Well, I know you're in that and that's gotta be a thrill too. Did you go to the induction ceremony for that?

W.J. - Oh yeah, yeah.

R.V.B. - How was it and who presented the award to you?

W.J. – Ah… Roseanne Cash

R.V.B. - Oh very nice. That was what in the mid 90's?

W.J. - 2009

R.V.B. – Well, that's very nice and we gotta get you in the country hall of fame, and like I said at the beginning of the conversation - everybody's proud of you. You're having a great career still and it was so nice to see you on the Letterman show playing with Jack White and that was quite an unusual song. That was a rocker.

W.J. - Oh yeah, it was from the 60's.

R.V.B. – Right, that took me by surprise.

W.J. - That whole album I did with Jack, they're all cover songs but that was from that album.

R.V.B. - I appreciate you taking the time to talk with me. It was a thrill for me and thank you very much for taking this time with me.

W.J. - Ok that's quite alright Rob. Thank you.

R.V.B. - and tell your husband I said, “Thank You” also.

W.J. - Ok will do.

R.V.B. - Have a nice day.

W.J. – Bye, Bye - you too.

Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz

Visit Wanda Jackson's website for more information www.wandajackson.com

To order Wanda's music click the Amazon ad to the right.

This interview may not be reproduced in any part or form

email me at musicguy247(at)aol(dot)com for more information

 

The Chantels - An interview with Lois Harris from the pioneering girl group from the Bronx. "We were all in the choir. That's really how we got started singing together."

The Chantels - Lois Harris

The Chantels are a historic Bronx, New York cultured African-American girl vocal group. The quintet formed in the late 50's while they were in Catholic School and named themselves after a rival school. After being discovered on Broadway in matching dresses, they went on to record and hit it big with the song "Maybe". The Bobettes and the Chantels were the first African American female vocal groups ever to make it nationwide. I caught up with original member Lois Harris.

R.V.B. - This is Rob from Long Island. How are you?

L.H. - I'm good - how are you?

R.V.B. - Well not so hot - looking out my window and seeing an inch of snow on the ground.

L.H. - Oh haha - that's not good.

R.V.B. - No it's not - I mean I thought this stuff was over.

L.H.  - I know

R.V.B. - Where do you live?

L.H. - I'm in Delaware.

R.V.B. - Oh you're in Delaware. Once again the weatherman said rain and it's snowing heavily right now.

L.H. - (Hahaha) I saw that.

R.V.B. - So anyway, you were originally a Bronx girl right?

L.H. - Yes. We are all from the Bronx.

R.V.B. - How old were you when you started singing?

L.H. - I was fifteen. I was sixteen when we recorded.

R.V.B. - What kind of music were you exposed to as a little girl?

L.H. - The music I was exposed to was classical music, and we would listen to make believe ballroom, which was basically popular music from the day. I was classically trained. I took piano lessons and we all went to the same Catholic school. We were all in the choir. That's really how we got started singing together.

R.V.B. - When you got together to learn your own songs, did you practice in somebody's living room?

L.H. – Yeah, we were either at my house or Arlene's house or Jackie's house. I mean, went around to different houses. Jackie, Arlene and I had pianos in our houses, so that's pretty much where we did most of our rehearsing. It was either of the three houses.

R.V.B. - Now obviously at that time singing groups were real popular. Did you run into any groups on street corners in your travels? Did you see any of the male groups?

L.H. - Oh yeah, my cousin was in a group with some neighborhood guys, that all of us knew, and we used to listen to them. Sometimes we would mimic them. Yeah, that was going on all over the Bronx at the time. We saw the guys and said , ”well, if they could do it, we could do it”.  That's basically what got us started.

R.V.B. - Where did you sing out in public with the other girls for the first time? Was it at a school function?

L.H. - We did a lot of neighborhood contests at the public high school. We went to - as I said - the Catholic school, and we went to the public school because they gave these contests - singing group contests at P.S. 99, P.S. 63. So we would go, and a lot of contests we won.

R.V.B. - Do you remember any of the competition that you went up against?

L.H. - No - (hahaha) unfortunately, no. Because we really weren't out on the streets that much. We were not allowed to be just hanging out. So that's why we sang in our living rooms. Unless we were going someplace like skating, we would stand in the vestibule of the trains, which they no longer have any more these days, but we used to stand out there and sing. But that's really where we would... unless we were on a bus we would break out into song but we really didn't just hang out in the streets and sing.

R.V.B. - When you had these contests, was it all singing groups or was there a variety?

L.H. - It was all singing groups. Mostly guy groups.

R.V.B. - How did you break out of the pack from doing these types of contests, to actually getting a recording contract?

L.H. – Well, we ran into Richard Barrett from the Valentines. He's the guy who discovered Frankie Lymon.  We were on Broadway, headed for a theater that somebody was having a rock and roll show. I can not remember - it might have been the State theater? I don't know for sure, but we saw a guy or a guy saw us and asked us if we were sisters and we said no, we sing - because we were dressed alike and then he started to give us you know - "I can get you a record contract and blah blah blah". So we went up to his studio, and he started to sing and I looked out the window and saw Richard and two of the other Valentines. I told the girls "There's Richie Barrett". So we go down to them and they said, "Come Down" and we went down. Richard said "What are you doing? How come you are dressed alike?" and we said "Because we sing". So he said sing something and we did.

R.V.B. - So it was kind of just a chance meeting?

L.H. – Yeah, it was purely accidental.

R.V.B. - That's really how it happens sometimes though.

L.H. - Yep. Well he said that he could get us a recording contract. We didn't really believe him and he said ,"I didn't lie to Frankie Lymon". We knew he discovered Frankie, so we gave out our phone numbers and he did call. It felt like about six months, but it was really about three weeks. He called Arlene's house and we set up a meeting. So we went, and he talked to her parents and said that he could get us a recording deal, but we had to really work hard. He was gonna rehearse us before he introduced us to the person that he thought would be the best person to hear us. That's what we did. When he thought we were ready, we went for an audition with George Goldner, from Gone Records at the time. And he created a record label and recorded us. It was us, and shortly after that it was Anthony and the Imperials. Then on and on and on.

R.V.B. - You girls were teenagers at this time right?

L.H. - Oh yeah, Rene was only twelve. She wasn't even a teenager then. Sonya was about fifteen and Jackie and I were about the same age... we were sixteen. Arlene was sixteen.

R.V.B. - How did your parents feel about it?

L.H. - My mother was not happy, and she was not impressed.

R.V.B. – Yeah, I kind of figured. You're going through a nice upbringing in a Catholic school. Did she have other plans for you? What did you want to be?

L.H. – Well, I always wanted to be a nurse... and I am a nurse. (haha) So that's what I did. I went on eventually... after the Chantels, and I became a nurse. I went back to school and got a graduate degree and became a nurse practitioner. Everybody went on to great careers. Sonya is a Special Ed teacher, and Rene is in Real Estate. Jackie was a court reporter in New York, the Bronx, and Manhattan, and Arlene became a teacher. So we all went on to wonderful careers.

R.V.B. - That's really a fantastic story. You girls have to be proud of yourselves. You have great careers, and also you were trailblazers in the music industry. So I guess you always kept in contact with the other girls. When did you re-form and start playing again?

L.H. – Well, I left the group early on, as soon as the record company went bankrupt. There are stories out in the papers, and in books, that say that the record company dropped us. They did not drop us. They told us that they were bankrupt, and they in fact, stole a lot of our money. So, (haha) to keep the record straight, once that happened I was very, very disillusioned, and I went back to school. The girls reformed and they sang and they did some more recording. They did  "Look in my Eyes" but it was without Arlene Smith. She went solo at that point. The girls continued to sing, and it wasn't until 1995 that I rejoined the group, and we reformed as the Chantels.  We got the "United In Group Harmony" award from Ronnie Italiano... who is known as Ronnie I. He used to do the shows in Jersey  - and the very next year The Rhythm and Blues Foundation called and said that we were getting the Pioneer award for 1996. There was a lot of press, because that was the night after the Grammys. They were out in California that year. So a lot of the people who were at the Grammys, were at these awards. There was a lot of press. So right after that, we started getting calls about "Are you ladies gonna sing again?". So we thought about it and decided yes, we would re-group. We called Arlene and we told her. We asked her to re-join us and she said no. So we said we're gonna sing regardless, and since we owned the name we performed as the Chantels. So we got together and then we said, “well, we need a lead singer”,.. even though Rene is capable of doing it and does many of the leads now, when we perform. By accident again... Ronnie I. got married, and when we went to the reception. Ronnie had a request that we sing his favorite song, which I think was "I Love You So". We said "There's only two of us here. How are we going to sing because Sonya is in Florida and we need somebody to do the lead?". It was Jackie and me. So Sandy... Ronnie I's wife said,  “My best friend sings, and she knows all your songs.”  So we went into the kitchen, and Ami sang as if she had been singing with us for years. She was a lot younger than us but we went out and sang,  "I Love You So". So that was the year of the new Chantels.

R.V.B. - It was just like a magical happening? It just worked. You could sense it right away right?

L.H. - Yeah. We had no music and the three of us went into the kitchen and started singing. It was like we had been singing forever. So we went out and we did that. There was a band behind us at that time, and they knew the music. From that point on, we started singing again. Since then, we have received several other awards. Two nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We got the 2002 Bronx Walk of Fame which we were inducted into. That year was with Danny Aiello, a young actress, and several other people who were born and raised in the Bronx. So we did the Bronx walk of Fame.

R.V.B. - You have a street sign at the Courthouse, I was reading.

L.H. - There was a street sign at the courthouse for a year. Every year there was an induction... the person honored got a street sign like we did... for a year and then somebody else gets it. It continues that way, but we are told that we are trying to get a permanent street sign in our neighborhood. I'm not sure about that. We've received several other awards, and so we have been working pretty steadily.

R.V.B. - So do you make friends with some of the other groups that share the same bill?

L.H. - Yeah...we've been friends for years with a lot of the groups. The Harptones, we're good friends with... at the time - Anthony of the Imperials. There's kind of been a split off I guess... so I've heard. Actually Jackie, Sonya, and I did some background on one of Jimmy Castor's albums, "The Jimmy Castor Bunch". We did about four or five tracks. Jimmy and I were like brother and sister. We were really, really good friends. I was good friends with Darlene Love... Still am. I mean, just a lot of groups. Many of the groups - The Platters - both groups. Most of the people we are going to be singing with next week. There are a lot who we have traveled together over the years. Jay Siegal’s Tokens, The Marcels... both groups, The Doves... both groups hahaha, The Drifters, Charlie Thomas's Drifters in particular, The Coasters, The original Coasters we've been friends with and we've done shows with them so it's kind of a reunion when we get together.

R.V.B. - What are some of the memorable shows you've played through the years? Do any of them stick out?

L.H. – Well there were so many shows... I don't know, I mean the memorable ones were not the happy ones necessarily because it was during segregation. If we were down south, it was a whole different experience for us. We couldn't do the shows in the main theaters. We had to be split into the white audience and the black audience. And in many cases, the show was in the basement of the theater for the black audience and then, for the white audience it was in the main theater... or it was a theater where the black people had a separate entrance, and were way up in the top of the theater where they could hardly see anything.  So that was not a happy experience, but it was memorable. We were again - from New York - and discrimination was a lot more subtle than in your face, but when we got down south it was really in our faces. We read about it but we really didn't experience it per say. So that to me was the most memorable.

R.V.B. - It's a shame that it happened. I'm sure it was in the 60's. We have come a long way and I'm happy about it. It was a bad time period.

L.H. - Touring with groups like: LaVern Baker, Joanne Campbell, The Crests... as they were known then... then eventually Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge, Paul Anka, you know it was great. During those times we were traveling. We would go up north, out to the mid west, Ohio and Cleveland. So those were nice. After the first year after "She's Gone" and "Maybe" hit, I was in my senior year in High School. I was seventeen then and I was graduating that June. The nuns and my mother decided I wasn't gonna be traveling with the girls on the road, and they pulled me out of the group. I still recorded with them if they were in New York, or if it was during Easter vacation. I was able to make the shows. For that, or for the last two or three shows at the Apollo because they would have five shows a day. On the weekend they had about seven shows. I would be able to do that after school but for the most part, but if they were traveling anyplace... I couldn't go. Once I graduated in June, I re-joined the group full time. This continued until the record company went bankrupt.

R.V.B. – Now, did you play all five shows a day or did you just play one portion of the day?

L.H. - The girls did. I got out of school at 2:30 and then I would take a cab down to the Apollo and do the last two shows.

R.V.B. - That must have been exciting.

L.H. – Yeah,  it was interesting - it was fun. I mean we all had to do homework. The girls were all in school, but they went to a professional children's school and that was not my mother's plan for me. I had to stay in my high school which was a Catholic high school.

R.V.B. - So are the rest of the girls in the group today local? Do you get to rehearse? How does that work?

L.H. - Well we could sing pretty much all our songs in our sleep. (hahaha) We get to rehearse when there's a show. We rehearse at the sound check. We pretty much do the same songs, except if we are doing our own show. Then we do about an hour's worth of songs that we have. But for the Doo Wop shows, they want us to sing the popular songs for that particular area. So if we are in - let's say the southern areas, we'll do some of the songs that are not quite as popular as in New York. If we are in Pittsburgh - we sing the songs that they like. Rene sang in her church choir, I sing with a classical chorus. I have done that for most of my adult life. So with vocal training and what not, it's a little bit easier. I just kinda go with the flow with the girls. We all just know what we know.

R.V.B. - Is there anything else you enjoy doing other than music? Do you have any hobbies?

L.H. – Yeah, I collect gem stones... different and rare gem stones. I do a lot of holistic nursing. I do a lot of guided imagery with patients and with people and that kind of thing. I love music. I listen to classical music. I go to concerts and I love jazz. As a matter of fact, we have the biggest jazz show here in Delaware... the biggest in the country they say. We have a Jazzfest every year in October, and for the first three years that I was here, I worked the show in some capacity. I was an usher or a ticket taker. I would get to hear great jazz. There's a lot of places to volunteer here. I try to volunteer as much as I can. I'm very active in other things. I do Tai Chi (haha) so I have a lot of interests.

R.V.B. - That's good. So you're feeling good and healthy?

L.H. - Absolutely. I am healthy, and hopefully I'll stay that way. All of us... considering we're all not spring chickens... except for Ami. Ami could be our daughter. She's that much younger than us, but yeah - we all do what we do, and we're all healthy as far as we know. We enjoy singing together. We get on the stage, and the audience is really wonderful, and so that pumps us up as well.

R.V.B. - Well I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys. I think it's in two weeks. The music community is really proud your careers and what you've accomplished and of course you guys should be proud of yourselves. Now, I just have one ignorant question. On the picture of you girls on the album cover with the gloves…

L.H. - Yes?

R.V.B. - Which one is you? (haha)

L.H. - (haha) Um… let me think. I have to go look at the picture because I don't even remember where I am. Let's see I am the one on the right. Next to me is Jackie, then Sonia, then Rene, and Arlene.

R.V.B. - Awesome. So now I know who to look for next week. (hahaha)

L.H. - I don't know if I look like that. (hahaha) I'm the only one in the group that performs with my hair in its natural color which is gray. (hahaha)

R.V.B. - Oh ok.

L.H. - Nobody else does so that's how you know who I am.

R.V.B. - Now I know how to pick you out. (hahaha)

L.H. - Right exactly (hahaha) and I'm the oldest in the group too. People like to make that known because Rene always says "I'm the baby in the group" but she really isn't any more because Ami is the baby now. But Rene is the youngest - then Sonya, and then me.

R.V.B. - Is that part of your stage schtick?

L.H. - Sometimes we do it (haha) sometimes we don't

R.V.B. - Again I'm really looking forward to meeting you and thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

L.H. - In your research have you ever heard of a group called The Four Cheers? They recorded a long, long time ago.

R.V.B. - The Four Cheers?

L.H. - The Four Cheers. They did a record called "Fatal Charms of Love". One of the guys who was the leader of that group... he's a guitarist as well - he has a great voice. His name is Tony Salveggi. I did the backround on that record.

R.V.B. - I'll have to look into that. Is it on You Tube...do you know?

L.H. - I don't know if it's on You Tube. It might be. It's four guys I think and Richard Barrett used to do stuff like that. He used to call one of us if Jackie wasn't available "I want you to do backround on this record". He would call me in to just do the backround and I would just make it up. The reason why I say that is because Tony and I are still friends today. He used to be one of the Jimmy Castor bunch as well after The Four Cheers. He used to be a member of The Casals which was a mixture of his name and Jimmy's name.

R.V.B. - Oh I see. I'm also a record collector. I have 45's up the gazoo and I'm in the process of alphabetizing them so I might even have this because I do have a lot of 45's from the late 50's. So I'll be on the lookout for it.

L.H. - Ok

R.V.B. - But anyway, I'll see you in two weeks.

L.H. - Alrighty

R.V.B. - Alright Lois

L.H. - Nice talking to you.

R.V.B. - Take care, goodbye.

Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz

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Eric Burdon - An interview with the former singer of The Animals and War. "They say I came out of the womb shouting the blues."

 Eric Burdon

Eric Burdon is the former lead singer of The Animals and War. With the Animals he sang on major hits such as "The House of the Rising Sun, We Got to get out of This Place, Don't let me be Misunderstood" and more. Eric joined the band War and produced a very popular song "Spill the Wine". Jimi Hendrix had his last live performance with Eric and War. Eric is still very active writing and performing music.

R.V.B. - Where did you grow up and what kind of music were you exposed to at an early age?

 

E.B. - I grew up in Newcastle, mostly hearing the popular music of the day and Jazz from an early age until I was exposed to imported 45 American Blues and Rock and Roll. My first long player was Joe Turner's Boss of the blues on Atlantic records. 

 

R.V.B. - When did you start playing music? What was first few instruments? Who were your influences? The Blues?

 

E.B. - I started playing trombone however, my instrument has always been my voice. I am and always have been a vocalist. They say I came out of the womb shouting the blues.

I started singing when I was a child. I was kicked out of my school choir for having too loud of a voice. When I first heard Muddy Waters live in my hometown during a soundcheck, I knew that was the direction I wanted to take.  

 

R.V.B. - When and where was first few gigs?

 

E.B. - I started by singing with a local jazz group (View Care) in Newcastle as a teenager.

 

R.V.B. - How did you get your first big break?

 

E.B. - Doing TV appearances and performing locally. When the Animals got chosen to open for Chuck Berry while he was touring the UK, we snuck-off to a studio to record "House of the Rising Sun." The rest, as they say, is history.

 

R.V.B. -  You put on very dynamic stage performances, Did this just come naturally?

 

E.B. - Thank you. What I do on stage is  natural. I just sing the songs with honest emotion. If that comes across as dynamic, I'm happy to hear that. I just do my best to sing from my heart.

 

R.V.B. - What songs that you recorded and performed are you most proud of?

 

E.B. - "Don't Bring Me Down". Still feels fresh and cutting edge to me. Of course, "House of the Rising Sun" is a hugely influential and widely revered. "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" is a favorite among the guys who served in Vietnam, so it remains close to my heart. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" for connecting me with Nina Simone and for all the Bo Diddley songs I've done since the beginning. But truly, I'm most proud of the new album, 'Til our River Runs Dry. Who would have thought that after 50 years I would come up with an album that was so widely praised. I'm truly grateful to still be doing the work that I love.

 

R.V.B. -  Did you enjoy playing with the band War? And was it a breath of fresh air writing the material with them.

 

E.B. - It was exciting to work with a multi-ethnic band from L.A. We created a new hybrid of soul, funk, R&B and explore the possibilities of combining spoken word poetry with Latin rhythms. It was a new idea when we did it and I think it had some influence on popular music.

 

R.V.B. - Who are some of the other famous people that you had the pleasure of playing, jamming or recording with? 

 

E.B. - Jimi Hendrix, a friend who I still miss to this day. Being on stage with him was always an electrifying experience. I've played with Jimmy Witherspoon, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Otis Redding, Chris Barber, Chuck Berry, Elvis's band (Bill Black, DJ Fontana), Bruce Springsteen, Andy Summers, Brian Auger and many other great artists.

 

R.V.B. - I understand you played with Jimi Hendrix. How was that experience? No pun intended

 

E.B. - Jimi Hendrix and I were close friends and we jammed together a few times, as well as the very last time, the night that he died. Obviously, that was a very dark time in my life. I loved singing with him. He was the greatest guitar player to inhabit human form but he was an alien, a meteor passing through this atmosphere.

 

R.V.B. - What are some of your favorite performances that you had in your career?

 

E.B. - Monterey Pop Festival has to stand out as one of the high points. It was so fresh, so exciting, and so full of promise for the young generation of artists and listeners. We were all one force at that moment. I shared the stage with friends such a Jimi Hendrix, who was making his American debut. It was the coming together of our generation in the spirit of peace and creativity. Paris Olympia. From the first Animals performance to my recent return there this past November. San Sebastian festival. The Apollo Theater in Harlem NY with the Animals.    

 

R.V.B. - What are your current plans? Any records coming out? Are you touring?

 

E.B. - I'm always working. I am touring constantly, so I always look forward to some time at home. When at home, I am writing my memoirs and working on new songs. I have a new limited edition single I recorded in New Orleans for my return at the Olympia Paris. The two featured tracks are No Regrets and Shame Shame Shame, a homage to the great Édith Piaf.

 

R.V.B. - What is in your CD player right now?

 

E.B. - Get Up (Ben Harper) Alabama Shakes, Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise; Eric Bibb; Buddy Guy; Leonard Cohen; Bruce Springsteen; but my jukebox is stocked with all the 45's I've always loved,  from Ray Charles to James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard.

 

R.V.B. -  What do you like to do when you are not playing music?

 

E.B. - I'm an avid reader and film buff. I love time spent with my wife and a few close friends, a good meal, a crackling fireplace, a good glass of wine, and a nice walk in nature.

  

Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz. 

 

Please visit Eric Burdon's website www. ericburdon.com and check out his latest album 'Til Your River Runs Dry. Photo copywrite by Mariana Burdon.

 

Interview Conducted by Robert von Bernewitz 

 

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George Gee - An interview with the big band leader from New York City - Jazz

George Gee Interview

Big Swing Band Leader

George Gee is a Chinese-American jazz big band leader. While attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh he got the chance to interview Count Basie and from that point on he has concentrated on jazz. Although George is an accomplished Double Bass player, he prioritizes his efforts on conducting a big jazz band. The George Gee Orchestra is one of the top lindy hop bands in the world.

 

G.G - George Gee Music

R.V.B. - Hi George - it's Rob calling

G.G. - Rob, thanks for calling me back.

R.V.B. - No problem, it's a pleasure to speak with you. So whereabouts in New York are you from?

G.G. - I'm a native New Yorker, but I'm based out of Astoria Queens right now. I've been out in Queens pretty much for a while.

R.V.B. - That's where the Steinway factory is right?

G.G. - Oh yea - I'm somewhat close to that. I'm like a mile and a half away from that - yes.

R.V.B. - Do you own a Steinway?

G.G. - (hahaha) No (hahaha) I'm sorry I don't mean to laugh. Not only do I not play the piano but I have no room for a piano.

R.V.B. - Oh I see (hahaha). So when you were growing up - what kind of music did you like?

G.G. - I mean, I've always liked swinging big band music since I was growing up. As a teenager in New York City in the 70's, I played bass and learned in the public school system. I got my first taste of big band jazz I guess in High School in the mid 70's.

R.V.B. - Uh - ha. Then you went to Pittsburgh right?

G.G. - Yes, I went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

R.V.B. - How did you enjoy that experience?

G.G. - Well I love Pittsburgh. Believe it or not, it's a great jazz town. A great jazz and blues town, deep rooted in music heritage but being a native New Yorker, you know New York was always calling me to come back. It gave me a great chance to hone my craft, start my first band, play some gigs - but I always realized that the next step was to come back home to New York City.

R.V.B. - How did you find the people for your band? Where they students also or were they just in the music community in Pittsburgh?

G.G - Well, I mean the first George Gee Big Band started at Carnegie Mellon Campus and was staffed by collegiate musicians that eventually bloomed into more of a professional group. It kinda was a natural evolution to go off campus. I was in Pittsburgh for ten years, believe it or not. I did the whole circuit of private events, jazz festivals and even the very beginning germination of swing dance events - like Lindy hop and swing dancing was sort of having it's beginnings back in the mid or early 80's. That was kind of a stepping stone for me to come back and do gigs in New York City. Some of my first gigs back in New York City were swing and big band dance events.

R.V.B. - Now were you the manager? Did you go out and get all these gigs?

G.G. - I still do.

R.V.B. - How do you sell such a big band?

G.G. - By being good, entertaining, and understanding that jazz and blues is show business - giving the people what they want. Giving them a beat that they can snap their fingers and tap their toes to and being personable. You know - not taking this stuff too seriously.

R.V.B. - Right, so did you bring a lot of the guys from Pittsburgh back with you to New York?

G.G. - Ah no. None of them came back with me to New York. They were all based in Pittsburgh. I developed some pretty good ties with the Lionel Hampton band in the beginning years. Actually my first New York band was three quarters of the Lionel Hampton band. Musicians that I developed a relationship with. So when I came back to New York, I was fortunate enough to have that tie with a pretty echelon of big band musicians in New York City.

R.V.B. - Did you ever meet any of the great masters?

G.G. - Oh of course. Benny Goodman- I was very dear friends with - Count Basie, Milt Hinton, B.B. King, Billy Eckstine, Joe Williams, Maxine Sullivan, Ella Fitzgerald, Anita O'day. You know I've met Lionel Hampton, Hank Jones. I'm good friends with Timmy Heath, Dizzy Gillespie...

R.V.B. - That's an impressive list.

G.G. - Yeah, I've been very fortunate. I can't regret any of the connections or the bonds I've made through the music. I'm fortunate. I'll never forget fortune Rob, my good fortune you know what I mean.

R.V.B. - Well, the music community, I'm sure you're proud of yourself. The music community is proud of what you accomplished.

G.G - Oh Thank you , well you know it's not my place to be proud of myself because I'm just flattered by the attention that we get. I'm always striving to do bigger and better things.

R.V.B. - So where has your travels taken you? Is there any particular places that stand out of gigs that you played?

G.G. - Um… New York City is my favorite home town I mean obviously -but we've been all around the world. I met my wife when I was touring in Japan back in 2000. So that always has a big part of my personal history. I developed a relation with Quincy Jones when I played in Amman, Jordan for the Prince of Jordan. He actually recommended us for a gig in the Middle East. Quincy Jones was a connection that I made through Frank Foster, who I did an album with ten years ago. I was always fortunate to have Frank Foster in our corner. I've been to Switzerland and parts of Europe and I've been all across the United States. The West Coast is one of my favorite places to play in the continental United States. I love southern California, Los Angeles. I have a fantastic fan base out in Los Angeles, California. Um… and I guess I've been to Canada. We were in Brazil two years ago for a big jazz festival. That was really amazing. Brazil has a lot of lovers of American big band jazz and blues.

R.V.B. - Was there a big crowd?

G.G. - Oh the biggest audience we had was fifteen thousand. In Belo Horizonte we played in front of an outdoor jazz festival for fifteen thousand people. That was really electrifying. So um, my dream actually is to play in China. Believe it or not, being of Chinese American heritage, I've never had the good fortune to go to Shanghai. That's been on my plate for a while, to try to get the band into Shanghai. I have a new CD that's coming out next month, that's a little bit more... It has a lot of original big band jazz and blues on it. So I'm hoping that will be kind of a stepping stone for me to reach out to some of these other territories that we haven't been able to reach out to yet.

R.V.B. - That's awesome. Now I'm sure you play in a lot of theaters and hotels. Do a lot of people dance to your band?

G.G. - We have the reputation to be... I don't want to sound to pretentious or self-indulgent, but we are in the swing - lindy hop - big band dance community around the world. We are recognized as one of the top bands in that style for dancing. Next month, Memorial Day weekend, there's gonna be like three to four thousand Lindy Hoppers from around the world congregating in New York City for the celebration of the centennial of Frankie Manning. Frankie Manning was one of the original Savoy Ballroom dancers and he's quite revered among the swing dance community and we are the featured band for multiple events in New York City. That's why I'm trying to rush out my CD in anticipation of that centennial celebration on Memorial day weekend.

R.V.B. - Where is that happening?

G.G. - There's one event going on May 23rd at the Edison Ballroom in Time Square, which is a big 1930's ballroom. Then on Saturday May 24th there's an event happening at Terminal 5, which is a big venue at 12th avenue and 55th street in Manhattan. So what I can do Rob is after this conversation I can send you a bunch of links so you can check it out.

R.V.B. - Awesome, now you set up residency in one place in New York right? You play at a supper club?

G.G. - Yeah, in Times Square at Swing 46 Jazz and Supper club. It's on restaurant row on 46th street between 8th and 9th avenues. We've been there every Tuesday night since 1997. We were there the first week it opened in May of 1997. We play there every Tuesday night to a nice crowd of tourists, music lovers, dancers and every other Friday night we are there also but Tuesday night is our steady residency there. It's always great Rob, to have a home base especially in the middle of the city. It's great for the band and the brand and everything.

R.V.B. - I'm so happy for you. One more thing I wanted to ask you is, how was it playing for Ozzy's birthday party? (haha)

G.G. (hahahaha) Pretty tame. It was one of the most tamest parties I've ever played in my life. You can quote me on that.

R.V.B. - Everybody was well behaved?

G.G. - A harmonized behavior, that it was such a high security well orchestrated production. To tell you the truth, I can't remember if there was booze there. I think Ozzy was in rehab or...

R.V.B. - Yeah, I think he was on the wagon for a while.

G.G. - Yeah, this was back in ‘99 I think? It was in the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills California. Mind you, it was a nice party, but I guess there was just so much that we were imagining that it would be but it was really pale to what we imagined. It must have been we had a wild imagination before we went into the event.

R.V.B. - Well George, I'm gonna try to make it down there one of those Tuesday nights to try to introduce myself.

G.G. - Yes, please

R.V.B. - I'm looking forward to hearing your band and I appreciate jazz also. I'm a vinyl collector - you know - I'm partial to Glenn Miller. He had a nice dance band and came from humble beginnings and went out a hero. You know, I like the Tommy Dorsey stuff also and Jimmy Dorsey's Latin stuff. So I'm looking forward to hearing you guys.

G.G. - Yes, yes- you know I never shy away from the commercial big bands of the era because they were successfully commercial for a reason. They were able to reach to the general public and give them what they want. Mind you, there were so many great big bands of that era and I know it was pretty segregated in that time between the black bands and the white bands. I really think that some of the bands that crossed over racially like Benny Goodman and...

R.V.B. - Well he was one of the first, right?

G.G. - Yes, Benny Goodman... Charlie Christian was one of the guys he used in the very beginning, and Lionel Hampton. He was really one of the first. He didn't see color as much as the ability to swing and I think it was sort of a stepping stone to civil rights, decades before it became a mass movement.

R.V.B. - That's a good point. Thanks for sharing this time with me George.

G.G - No problem. If there's any contests that people need swinging big band music - because we're anywhere from a ten piece band to a seventeen piece band. If you know of any concert series or events that are looking for something like that, you know, throw our hat in the ring out there.

R.V.B. - Yeah. I network myself around the town and I'll see what I can do.

G.G. - Please do. Rob, thank you for calling and if you have any questions give me a yell.

R.V.B. - Alright George, It's a pleasure to meet you and I'll talk to you soon - bye.

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Interview conducted by Robert von Bernewitz

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