ROCK CRITIC JANE SCOTT: University of Michigan graduate (May 3, 1919 - July 4, 2011)
"The World’s Oldest Rock Critic."
Photo courtesy of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Photographer: Larry Hamel-Lambert, Plain Dealer staff
"The thing about rock is, it gets you up on your feet and dancing and you forget everything else," she said. "The beat gets you going." --Jane Scott
Jane Scott graduated from the University of Michigan in 1941 where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, Speech and Drama: Scott’s first experience with journalism was as a staff member of the school newspaper, the Michigan Daily.
In 1958, she inherited the “Boy & Girl” column; at the time, it was a full page in the newspaper each Saturday. Aimed at seven- and eight-year-olds, it was the beginning of the present day rock coverage in The Plain Dealer. The column name became “Young Ohio” and eventually was called “Teen Time.” Scott described her reporting beat as “covering everything from pimples to pensions.” Scott covered the Beatles' first Cleveland performance at Public Hall on September 15, 1964 and traveled to England in 1966 to cover their tour. She also interviewed the Beatles before their August 14, 1966 show at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. “When the Beatles appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show, I knew what the kids really wanted to read. Once I found rock, I was never interested in anything else.” At the time, The Plain Dealer was the only major American newspaper to have a full time music critic on staff, thus Scott is considered to be the world’s first rock critic. In the 1960s, in preparation for her eventual work as The Plain Dealer's Rock Editor, she spent every Saturday night for six straight years at the WEWS television station for the tapings of the "Upbeat" show.
Jane Scott, rock reporter for The Plain Dealer, poses with Adam Clayton, bass player for U2, during U2's Popmart tour at OSU Stadium in Columbus May 24, 1997.
Photo by Mary Cipriani.
Over the years, she interviewed many of the biggest names in pop music, including Paul McCartney (“such a nice boy,” she said afterward); Mick Jagger (“sweet and funny”); and Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix (“I loved them both”) and The Who...
In four happy decades as a rock writer for The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ms. Scott, who died on Monday at 92, braved mud and mosh pits, foul weather and fouler language, “a drop of bleached blond and pink polyester in a roiling sea of blue denim and black leather,” as The Philadelphia Inquirer once described her
She appreciated all forms of rock and made friends of many musicians. Lou Reed said she was one of the only people to treat him with respect in his early years as a performer; Lyle Lovette called her a "true friend"; she herself often told the story of accompanying Jimi Hendrix to buy a blue Corvette.
Jimi's blue Corvette
In 1987, The Plain Dealer attempted to replace Scott but was met with strong public outcry and backlash, including feature stories in People Magazine, MTV News and The Wall Street Journal, resulting in the newspaper’s editors backing down from their plans. Scott was inducted in 1991 into the Cleveland Press Club Hall Of Fame, Scott retired in April 2002, after 50 years at The Plain Dealer. Scott estimated that she had attended over 10,000 concerts and music events during her career. Jane’s signature interview question was: ‘What was the name of your high school?’
What others have to say:
·Growing up in Cleveland, I devoured every word she wrote: about Jackson Browne, Gil Scott Heron, Springsteen, the Ramones, the Stray Cats and Heart. She made me feel like I knew them, because she did. Not only did she, she got the very best out of exhausted, often cranky, certainly entitled stars. Because she could -- and did with unwavering dignity -- I believed I could too. -- Los Angeles Times: Holly Gleason
·She was always one to take the high road. I heard a story about Elvis Costello being less than kind to her backstage at an Agora show - Jane's response on the following day didn't involve slamming Costello in print, but instead, she gave additional column space to the young opener, Eddie Money. -- Addicted to Vinyl: Matt Wardlaw
·She was one of a kind in an era where an emerging music scene in a vibrant music city met the perfect woman at the perfect time. -- Honesty is such a shallow grave: Eric Broz
·I remember sitting next to her at a Kinks concert. Jane opened up that tote bag and offered a stack of photocopied pages from some encyclopedia of rock on the Kinks. “I have extras,” she said. -- Warren Tribune Chronicle: Andy Gray
OBIT By: Dave Gapinski, newsnet5.com
CLEVELAND - Jane Scott wrote decades worth of rock 'n' roll news for Cleveland and beyond. She spent her career writing for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, and she died early Monday morning at the age of 92.
Scott began working at The Plain Dealer at the age of 33. She originally covered the Cleveland social scene and worked as a general assignment reporter. One of Scott's first concert assignments was covering the Beatles in 1964. All in all, Jane is said to have attended over 10,000 concerts during her 50 years as a journalist.
The Upbeat Show, which aired on WEWS in the 1960's and early 70's, was another one of her regular stops. Scott was in attendance for most all of the Saturday night tapings to interview up-and-coming artists like Simon and Garfunkel and Otis Redding.
Scott interviewed the biggest names in the business like Brian Wilson, McCartney, Springsteen, and Dylan. She also spent a lot of time with lesser known local musicians. Scott was an early supporter of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. She campaigned hard to make sure that it was built in
Cleveland. She even appeared on ABC's Good Morning America the day the Rock Hall had it's grand opening in 1995. Funeral services will be held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. A memorial service will be held in Cleveland at a later date.
Jimmie's blues resume was long and illustrious. Born in Chicago's Cook County hospital and raised in the nearby Maxwell Street neighborhood, he began playing guitar on the bustling Maxwell Street market scene when he was in his early teens in the mid 1940s. By the late '40s he was good enough to have played behind blues legends Memphis Minnie and Big Bill Broonzy among others. Around 1950 he formed his first band, The Every Hour Blues Boys, which consisted of Frank "Sonny" Scott on drums, with Jimmie Lee and a young Freddie King sharing guitars and vocals. In the mid 1950s Jimmie was playing on local gigs with Elmore James when Little Walter recruited him into his band, where he spent the next few years. He recorded on a couple of sessions with Little Walter, appearing on "Confessing The Blues", "Temperature", "Ah'w Baby" and several other of Walter's well-known recordings. He also moonlighted on sessions with his long-time friend Eddie Taylor on the Vee Jay label. In the late '50s Jimmie left Walter's band and joined up with Magic Sam for a while, and around this time cut a few singles of his own for the local Bandera label (backed by Luther Tucker and Eddie Clearwater, among others.) It was for Bandera that Jimmie Lee recorded his single "Times Getting Harder" and "Twist it Baby", notable now because future Delmark label-mate Jimmy Burns was then a member of The Medallionaires vocal group that provided the backing vocals.
In the late '80s, he was working as a cab driver. He got back into music, sitting in on the regular gigs at a club called Lilly's with The Ice Cream Men. This led to appearances on the Chicago Blues Festival in 1991 and '93, and eventually to Jimmie Lee's his first full-length album, LONLEY TRAVELER released on Delmark in 1994 to widespread praise. He took off from there and started working again pretty regularly, but found it both financially and artistically advantageous to work as an acoustic solo artist rather than in a full band setting as he had for most of his professional career. Over the last decade he stayed busy doing festivals and short tours, including numerous trips overseas, and released four or five CDs of mostly acoustic material on various labels, including his own Amina Records. He retired from cab driving, but continued to drive his cab, emblazoned on the sides with "Delmark Recording Artist Jimmie Lee Robinson - The Lonely Traveler", around town as a rolling advertisement for his musical comeback. In addition to his own recordings, he also occasionally recorded as a sideman for several of his old friends and musical cronies on the Chicago blues scene. Play LONELY TRAVELER video
In the early 1990s he wholeheartedly threw his support behind the fight to preserve what little remained of the historic Maxwell Street neighborhood he grew up in during the '30s and '40s, and became one of the most active and vocal spokespersons for this cause in his final years.
"Maxwell Street gave the world and Chicago its blues.Those buildings are very historic and important to me. When I seen that wrecking ball, it made me feel like my soul was being destroyed and my neck was hanging from a tree..."--Jimmie Lee Robinson
On July 6, 2002 Jimmie Lee was found dead in his car, a single gunshot wound to the head. The death was ruled a suicide. R.I.P. Jimmie Lee Robinson "The King of Maxwell Street"
Caught this Dallas-Fort Worth bluesman jamming with "Group Therapy" at Fort Worth's KEY LOUNGE (with Bobby Counts on bass, Danny Ross on keyboards, Gonzy Trevino on drums, Mace Maben on guitar and the Mabenettes on vocals).
Hash Brown has been playing the blues since 1973. He moved from Connecticut to Dallas, TX in 1983. Since moving to Dallas, Hash Brown has played with many of Texas's finest bluesmen, including ZuZu Bollin, Sam Myers, Henry Quails, Ray Sharpe, Big Al Dupree, Robert Ealey, and U.P. Wilson just to name a few.
Hash Brown has toured Europe many times, and appears on no less than 25 different recordings as a sideman and under his own name.
Hash Brown has been written about in many national and international blues publications including: Living Blues magazine, Blues Review, and Block (the Netherlands).
Currently, Hash Brown runs no less than 3 blues jams a week, and plays in a multitude of different arrangements of musicians, everything from solo Texas and Mississippi style blues, to a trio playing a wide range of modern sounds, 4,5 and 6 piece bands playing Chicago style blues or jump style big band. Hash Brown is a multi-instrumentalist, and besides being a great talent on guitar, he is a superb harmonica player and vocalist.
What Happened!?!? The years have gone by and the building is gone and replaced by, well, you can see for yourself. But THE ODYSSEY lives on in the hearts and minds of all who survived it (and, I can only imagine, by those who didn't...) ROCK ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In June 2011 my good friend Yvette Beausoleil sent me some old ODYSSEY photos which I forwarded to Kim "Retro Kimmer" Maki.: Retro Kimmer's ODYSSEY link
!
ODYSSEY ALUMNI (The Bands):
MICHAEL ERLEWINE
CARNAL KITCHEN
Steve Mackay (Sax) The Stooges, The Mojo Boogie
Band, The Moonlighters
*Steve Mackay (Sax) Billy C. & The Sunshine
*Robert Sheff (K) The Prime Movers
FLOATING OPERA Gary Munce (Bass), Artie Campbell (Drums)... \
WOLFGANG
Larry Mandeville (guitar, vox)
BLACK ENSEMBLE
I-94
Loughlan (Louck) Campbell Drums, Bob Webb bass, Pete Stanger guitar, and Bill Schostak keys. This was essentially the same touring band that backed up "Chairmen of the Board"--NOTE: Louck did not play drums in the touring band of Chairmen of the Board, that was KC Black (Thanks Dennis Allen for background info)
GEYDA
A fine rock+roll unit (my first rock band gig) Lead by FRANK LOWENBERG drums,ROBIN MILLER guitar, JOEL SHANKAR guitar, THAD JONES bass or JOHN something bass, MARCUS lead vocal, MARTIN SIMMONS on keys (Thanks to Martin Simmons for the background info and R.I.P. Brother)
MANCHILD
John "Ozzie" Nelson on keys,
THE RABBITS Martin Simmons and Company
SRC
Top Row: Glenn Quackenbush (Organ) & Scott Richardson (Vox)
Bottom Row: Richard Michael (bass),
E.G. Clawson (drums) and Gary Quackenbush (lead guitar)
Jim Tate on vox/guitar/harp, Bill Lynn on rhythm/lead guitar, Steve MacKay sax, Dough Stoughton on bass, Donnie Backus on keyboards, Jerry Myers, drums (J.C. Crawford was also a drummer with Mojo)
NEW HEAVENLY BLUE
Dave Mason, Steve Dudash, Peter Bonnisteel
Madcat Ruth, Chris Brubeck, Chris Brown
In the early 70's Peter Madcat Ruth moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he was a key presence in two of Ann Arbor's finest progressive rock bands: New Heavenly Blue and Sky King (http://www.madcatmusic.net/about.html)
Chris Brubeck, bass, trombone, piano, guitar and sings, composer; b. Los Angeles, CA, 19 March 1952. Chris attended High School at the Interlochen Arts Academy where he was in orchestra 2 hours a day,
Big Band Jazz rehearsals three times a week, Concert Band, Small Brass Ensembles and led various student rock-n-roll groups. During his days as a bass trombone performance major at The University of Michigan, Chris led, toured and recorded with his innovative "rock" bands, New Heavenly Blue (with releases on R.C.A. and Atlantic Records) and in 1975 Sky King on Columbia. (Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians)
SKY KING Madcat Ruth (vox/HARP!), Rick Jacobi, Chris Brubeck
TNT
Flood's, Free Concerts and the ODYSSEY showcased a lot of the same bands...
WALRUS
Bill Etten (singer), Mike Mckelvey (guitar), and Jim Bowers (keys guy with the beard), Randy Tessier (bass) and Donnie Kuhli on drums...
LIGHTNIN' I
Mark Gougeon - bass, lead vocals, Jeff Jones - lead guitar,
Tim McCoy - keyboards, vocals, Dave Morgan - drums
Lightnin', as well as playing at THE ODYSSEY, toured extensively in the south and opened for Wet Willie, Guess Who, Black Oak Arkansas and so many others. BTW: Their 4 song EP sold for $60 recently! (Thanks for this info goesto Al Jaquez)
GUARDIAN ANGEL
Jeff Jones- lead guitar
AL Jacquez - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Dave Morgan - drums
Scott Morgan - lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Terry Trabandt - bass, vocalls
BOB ROSENTHAL BLUES BAND
Bob Rosenthal (harp & vox), George Bedard (lead)
BAD LUCK & TROUBLE
LUTHER ALLISON
WILLIE DIXON
CHIP STEVENS GROUP
The final lineup for THE Chip Stevens Group was Frank Leto vocals & percussion, Dave Leonhard guitars, Tom Berd piano, Clark Pardee drums and either Andy Brucker or Peter Persechino on bass.(Thanks Clark Pardee for info)
STONEFRONT
This was THE Detroit jam band of the 1970s. Heavily influenced by the California scene, they were fairly unique in the Motor City. Their home was the GAR WOOD MANSION (a whole story in itself!). With their nutty "road manager Stanley," they brought a lot of great music and musicians to play at THE ODYSSEY...
Stonefront at home at the GAR WOOD MANSION
(Early Stonefront 1970)
Vocals : Rick Stockwell, Larry Merryman (and an extraordinary "cast of characters")
(1974-75)
Guitar: Larry Merryman
Guitar: Harry Bourlier
Drums & Conga Drums: Eddie Saenz
Bass Guitar: Mark Swanberg
Vocals: Larry Merryman, Natalie Morgan,
Guitar : Harry Bourlier
Guitar : Larry Merryman
Guitar : Gary Markley
Saxophone : Robin Welch
Conga Drums : Darryl Bradley
Drums : John Bredeau
Bass Guitar : Mark Swanberg
Vocals : Gary Markley, Mark Swanberg, Larry Merryman.
Guitar : Chuck Mahoian
Guitar : Larry Merryman
Bass Guitar : Mark Swanberg
Drums : Eddie Saenz
Vocals : Larry Merryman, Mark Swanberg
Gary Rasmussen on bass, Bob Rasmussen on lead guitar, Scott Bailey on drums and Frank Bach on vox--Hiawatha Bailey on equipment! NOTE: Although originally managed by David Sinclair (R.I.P.), by the time these shows were happening Sister Anne LaVasseur, one time MC for the UP, was actually managing the band--The FIRST female manager in R'n;R history (or so I've been told). Anne still ROCKS as a gemologist in Hawaii!!!
UPRISING
(Poster by Gary Grimshaw)
Uprising 1972-1973
"Little" Leon Mills (V) Brat
*Bob Rasmussen (G) The Up
*Don Benson (G) Brat
*Gary Rasmussen (B) The Up
*Wilson Owens (D) Brat
…we (The UP) had been playing gigs with this band Brat from Mount Clemens. Really, we called up Leon [Mills], he was the singer, and we told him, “This is what we want to do. We want to have a band. We’ve got me and my brother, and what we need is you and your drummer and your guitar player. Let’s do it.” We moved ‘em up to Ann Arbor and put ‘em in the carriage house between the two houses and started the band from there. It turned right from Up to Uprising, and that band was managed by John Sinclair and Peter Andrews. John was out of jail by then and he was managing Mitch Ryder and the Rockets--Gary Rasmussen
Uprising 1973
*"Little" Leon Mills (V)
*Bob Rasmussen (G)
*Don Benson (G)
*Nate Peterson (V, B)
*Wilson Owens (D)
...a lot of stuff pissed off Leon (Mills) and what they decided they'd do is get Nate Peterson, who's a good singer and bass player. So basically, they fired me and got Nate Peterson--Gary Rasmussen
NOTE: Leon passed away in 2013. R.I.P. Little Leon. You never really got your props, but those who know REALLY know...
MARCUS Marcus on vocals (just Marcus, one name), Jeff? on guitar and K.C. Black on drums (K.C. also was the drummer for Chairman of the Board) (Thanks to Wayne Dabney for jogging my memory on this one!)
DETROIT (WITH RUSTY DAY)
Rusty Day on vox, Wilson Owens on drums. Nate Petersen on bass
RADIO KING & HIS COURT OF RHYTHM
Richard Dishman on drums, Lowell? on congas, Crispin Cioe on Sax, BuzzThrelkeld on trumpet, Richard Lehfeldt on keys, ?? Guitar, Steve Chall on Bass, Rita, Pat & Jodie on vocals and others. ALSO Wayne Dabney and David G on equipment.
(Thanks Wayne Dabney for some input)
Left to Right: Buzz Threlkeld, Richard Lehfeldt, Crispin Cio, Richard Dishman
The four members of Radio King shown above were more or less the "core group" but this act was a true R&B Revue. As many as a dozen performers would be on that ODYSSEY stage putting on a real SHOW!!! (I need some help on this one y'all--There were a LOT of performers in this revue! I apologize to those whose names I can't pull up right now, but I KNOW we'll get all of this act on this page sooner or later--Jon Campbell, ODYSSEY)
The Rockets as they appeared at THE ODYSSEY, Red Carpet, Rainbow Room, etc...
The Rockets a few years later...
THE THE ROCKETS came to THE ODYSSEY when they were associated with Peter Andrews and The Rainbow People (Rainbow Productions). The ODYSSEY was the hottest venue and THE ROCKETS--with Bee, McCarty, Marc Marcano and Fraga the only four in the line-up--were the hottest act in town at the time They split their time between THE ODYSSEY, Red Carpet and the Rock & Roll Farm, but they were Ann Arbor cats for awhile. Fraga (R.I.P.) spent a lot of time at our (ODYSSEY staff) houses on Miner Street and Brooks Street on the westside of A2. Later on, Donnie Backus of THE MOJO BOOGIE BAND (pretty much the house band at the ODYSSEY for awhile) replaced Marc while they were still playing the ODYSSEY on a regular basis. One of the COOLEST shows the ROCKETS did at THE ODYSSEY was the night that Jerry LeCroix sat in with the band--But EVERY night (usually weekly) that THE ROCKETS played this club was INCREDIBLE!!! Unfortunately Dave Gilbert (R.I.P.) never played the ODYSSEY with the ROCKETS, he came on after the ODYSSEY's demise... THE LEOPARDS
BROOKLYN BLUES BUSTERS
Johnny Ace on bass and vox, John (Nuzzo) Leslie harp & vox, Howard Levine, guitar and Frannie Kristina on drums--Tino Gross (Howling Diablos) was also off and on with the band)
One of my first Odyssey memories - Cheryl Kaiser & me standing at the bar in front of a freshly made Tequila Sunrise; Cheryl - "Grab a straw!" and we'd race to the bottom ...Joanne Shumeyko Johnson 6-15-11
That's where I met Mike Gould one night in 1973 leading to the formation of the Martian Entropy Band .--Hugh Hitchcock 6-19-11 (Check 'em out by following the link below, JC/ODYSSEY) http://martianentropyband.com/YouTubeMovie.aspx?movieurl=http://youtube.com/v/WQ_pq7WlZyc&title=Pandemonium%20Ballet%20Pt.%201
We called it 208 Odyssey because of the neon # in the window. I remember seeing the Rockets there before they hired Dave Gilbert. Johnny B was doing the lead singing. -- T. Kinks Heiss 1-12-11
THE ODYSSEY!!!!!...YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --Johnny Ace 1-12-11 (Check out 2011 Johnny Ace in San Francisco JC/ODYSSEY) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBJ8woBVKq4)
I remember dancing my ass off during and in between sets.Then everynight i would order 3 double vodka collins sour. No wonder i'm a recovering alcoholic! Alot of good and crazy memeories there! --Robin Scott 1-18-11
Actually, during that period I was so busy & broke trying to cobble together my own bands, I didn't make it to the Odyssey as much as I wanted
--Jeff Alder 6-18-11
It's so complicated to put together in writing, how one thing led to another, landing me on Bowie's Ziggy Stardust Tour and back to the Odyssey - and all because of the Odyssey... --Billy Goodson 6-18-11 (NOTE: Check out more about Billy Goodson) --Jon Campbell/ODYSSEY
THE ODYSSEY!!! OH GOD....I'M HAVIN' A FLASHBACK!!!..... ......we came,we played,we left.....--Martin Simmons 6-19-11
Hi Jon, Thank you so much for the picture from 1972. That was the year I graduated from high school and moved to A2. I turned 18 at The Odyssey and Angie Bowie was there. What a trip. Those were definitely the days!!!!! Good to see you are healthy and happy. Take care and thanks again!! Cordi. --Cordi Cole Frei 6-19-11
Hi Jon--I was the drummer in the last incarnation of the Chip Stevens Group and we played a few times at the Odyssey back in the day... I write this as I'm getting ready for a gig this evening @ The Grove in Anaheim with one of the two bands I'm currently in - still at it after all these years .--Clark Pardee 6-25-11
I was pretty young. Between the Fourth Ave people in the day to the fabulous bookings at night, I took it all for granted. Now they are all some of my best memories. --Patty O'Rorke 8-31-11 (Patty was on the staff at THE ODYSSEY pretty much at the beginning. She remembers those "Fourth Avenue People"--Cool...)
