Halloween Sidetrack

Thriller House 2010




Monster Mash - with great video clips

New Post on October 26 , 2010 Ronnie Haig and Wes Montgomery

http://louisvillemusicicians.blogspot.com/2010/08/ronnie-haig-sessions-at-chess-records.html

General Johnson of the Showmen and the Chairman of the Board Obituary and Visitation

As  previously noted General Johnson died on Oct 13 2010 here in Atlanta . There will be visitation with the family tomorrow night, Oct 19 2010 ,  in Atlanta . Our thoughts go out to all his family and fans .
Here is the Location of Visitation

Link General Johnson Website and a 1970 Video of the Chairmen

LA Times Obituary
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-general-johnson-20101015,0,7832206.story
                                                                                                                                                                                       From General Johnson's Web site
http://www.generalnormanjohnson.com/index.html

Beach Music's Five-Star General

 "You could make a blind man see,

You could make a cripple man walk

You could make the quietest man in the world talk."

—  General Norman Johnson

"39-21-40 Shape"

     JIM NEWSOM
TUESDAY, APR. 17, 2007

Was there an actual girl with such measurements who inspired that 1960s Beach Music classic?

"I was only about 14 years old when I wrote that song," General Norman Johnson laughed when he called me last weekend from Myrtle Beach. "I don’t know—maybe it rhymed with ‘ape-itty ape.’ That came from a young teenager’s brain!"

Johnson, who comes back to his hometown this week to be inducted into the Legends of Music Walk of Fame, has been singing since he was a youngster living at 852 Washington Avenue in the Huntersville section of Norfolk.

"I started when I was about 6 years old," he said, "singing in churches and stuff. We formed our first little neighborhood group called The Humdingers. Our first professional job where we got paid a little bit of money was with Ruth Brown in a place called Chowan Beach.

"Noah Biggs from Norfolk put some money behind The Humdingers. He was our manager, and he took us down to New Orleans to record our first records—which had ‘It Will Stand’ and ‘39-21-40 Shape.’ The people at Minit Records said ‘no’ to the name Humdingers, so we had to come up with a name right on the spot. We came up with The Showmen there in New Orleans."

"It Will Stand" was a national hit for The Showmen, but around here it was "39-21-40 Shape," mislabeled "39-21-46" on the 45-rpm record, that really took off.

"Most people say they printed the label wrong," he explained, "but I think they did it as a ploy because it was more commercial, it aroused curiosity. Actually, when I wrote the song it was called ‘You.’ And ‘It Will Stand’ was ‘Rock and Roll Will Stand.’ So they just changed the names of the songs."

Johnson has one of the great voices of rock and soul, an instantly recognizable sound that wraps itself around a lyric and pulls every ounce of emotion out.

"You know what’s so funny?" he asked. "Up until the age of about 14, I sung the range of female alto. I went out at lunch one day at school, and I started coughing. I thought I had laryngitis. My voice changed and this is what I ended up with. And I thought, what am I gonna do?"

He is also a successful songwriter. When The Showmen split in 1968, he moved to Detroit where he formed The Chairmen of the Board. It was there that he hit his songwriting stride, writing lyrics that were simple yet poetic.

"I’ve always aimed for simplicity," he said. "I’ve always aimed for things that people could understand. A title that awakened the imagination like one I did for the Honey Cone, ‘Want Ads:’ ‘Wanted, young man single and free/Experience in love preferred but we’ll accept a young trainee.’ I mean everybody can understand what you’re saying.

"In Detroit they better be great lines! My bosses were Holland-Dozier-Holland, and you can’t even begin to count their successes. But I learned from them real good. They had just left Motown and were in a lawsuit, and I was stuck up there in the middle of that. But I was learning from them the art of how you write a song. It paid off, because in a year and a half I had amassed six million-selling songs that I had written. I got the Grammy for ‘Patches,’ I was the BMI Songwriter of the Year. That’s pretty heavy stuff."

The Chairmen of the Board had several huge hits with Johnson’s compositions in the early ’70s, most notably "Give Me Just a Little More Time" and "(You’ve Got Me) Dangling on a String." Hit versions of his songs like Freda Payne’s "Bring the Boys Home," "Somebody’s Been Sleeping" by 100 Proof (Aged in Soul), and the string of hits for label mates Honey Cone proved his mettle as a songwriter. But it is "Patches," a #2 smash for Clarence Carter in 1970, that remains his most recorded song.

"That came from imagination," he replied when I asked about the genesis of the song. "You put yourself in another person’s shoes, but at the same time I wanted to put it in a setting that everybody could understand. It’s a little bit about me, but I try my best not to write a song exclusively about me. I try to write a song that touches the emotions of everyone. And ‘Patches’ was that kind of song. I’m not born and raised in Alabama, but that made for a better song than being born and raised in Huntersville!"

He credits his father, whose name was General Johnson, for his career in music.

"I owe it all to my father," he said, then laughed, "Every slap beside the head for hitting a flat note! My father is the one who taught me how to sing, and I was singing on the radio and singing in churches from Norfolk to New York City.

"He was working over at the Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth. He wanted to be a singer, he was singing with a spiritual group. But that could not be a career because he had a family. So I think he lived through me."

Though he was born General Norman Johnson, he was called Norman when he was growing up. A record company executive changed that.

"I was working at a record company called Swan Records in Philadelphia," he remembered. "The owner of the company, a big Italian guy, said, ‘General is your name and furthermore, General is more marketable.’

"It was the kind of name that you don’t want to use in school. I absolutely hated that name. That just goes to show you—I hated my name, and my name turns out to be marketable. I hated the way my voice had changed, and my voice has been said to be one of the most distinctive. You never know when you’re being given a blessing."

For the last 30 years, General Norman Johnson has been one of the biggest names in Beach Music. But when he first moved down to his current home base, Charlotte, he didn’t know what "Beach Music" was.

"Later on," he said, "I found out that way back when, black music was known as ‘blue music,’ and it was forbidden fruit for the Caucasian race. It was no different from when they couldn’t listen to Little Richard sing ‘Tutti Frutti’ but Pat Boone could sing it. Those people that wanted to hear the authentic sound could go down to Myrtle Beach to those jukeboxes and they could listen to rhythm & blues music. So that’s how it got the name as being ‘Beach Music.’

"It’s been a blessing for me because during the time of disco and all the different changes in music, I didn’t have to worry because I had a vast audience that loved the music that I loved to do. If you’re looking for melody and a strong song structure, where the singer is still the main focal point, then you’re talking about the music that I love to do."

From  1970
 Wait until 0:40 when the camera cuts back from the closeup of General Johnson. Lots of groovy camera angles and gogo dancing girls.


I wish I were at this party! Hey , maybe I was and just can't remember . We got married in Washington the year before .

In Memory of General Johnson May 23, 1943 - October 14, 2010 of the Showmen and the Chairmen of the Board

The Showmen originated in Norfolk, Va under the name of the Humdingers led by General Norman Johnson ( his given name ). The group  went  to New Orleans  in May 1961 and  Allen Toussaint produced their first hit and one of the all-time great Rock and Roll tunes, "It Will Stand", a song that became an anthem not only for rock and roll, but also for  Carolina Beach Music. 

The following year, April 1962 , the Showmen recorded "39-21-40 Shape",  a huge success  especially on Carolina beach jukeboxes. "39-21-40 Shape", or 39-21-46 if you prefer, has one of the most memorable guitar intros in all of rock and roll. 

Here are 3 songs from the New Orleans Sessions of 1961 and 1962  :

The Wrong Girl 

It Will Stand 

39-21-40 Shape 

"The Wrong Girl " take 5 Minit 45-643 recorded in New Orleans at Cosimo Studios 521 Governor Nicholls Street May 19, 1961 with Allen Toussaint on piano and organ . Lesser known but one of my favorites



' It Will Stand " Minit 45-632 take 9 -recorded in New Orleans at Cosimo Studios 521 Governor Nicholls Street May 18, 1961  Allen Toussaint 
Original release on the MINIT Label. with Country Fool as the a side . Written by lead singer  General Norman Johnson. Reached #61 on the Billboard Pop Chart 1961, and when rereleased on the Imperial label in 1964 it recharted at #80. 

39-21-40 Shape 

Minit 45-682 take 12 -Recorded April 10, 1962 in New Orleans at Cosimo Studios 521 Governor Nicholls Street. Allen Toussaint 
Whether you know this tune by the title "39-21-40 Shape" or the title that was actually placed on the 45 rpm record when it was released, "39-21-46", this is a Carolina Beach Music classic of the first order. 
And as to the line " you got me going ape ity ape over you " asked about the figure General said " Don't know about the measurements but it sure rhymes with ape ity ape " He will be missed 
Great Voice , a terrific talent and a giant of Beach Music May 23, 1943 - October 14, 2010

The Demensions - My Foolish Heart

Continuing with some of our favorite songs .From the group that did Over The Rainbow . The group includes Lenny Dell, Phil Del Giudice, Howie Margolin, and Marisa Martelli.( the wonderful soprano) 
At the height of their popularity in the early 1960s, The Demensions played often in Palisades Park, New Jersey, as well as on American Bandstand and The Clay Cole Show. They first scored radio airplay as a result of Cousin Brucie, a disc jockey at New York radio station WINS, who began spinning their version of "Over the Rainbow". The song became a hit, peaking at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960.Their only other chart hit was 1962's "My Foolish Heart", which peaked at #95 early in 1963 and appears here . Text from Wikipedia

Venues :Clubs in Jasper Indiana Calumet Lake and Rustic

One of our musicians remembers "There were two clubs in Jasper, Calumet Lake and the Rustic.
The Carnations and Trendells played at Calumet Lake"
Here is some information on The Calumet Lake and Pavilion from the website ,http://www.joelorey.com/Calumet1.html ,as well as pictures of the Calumet Ballroom and the Rustic.

The Calumet Lake and Dance Pavilion was built by the parents of Joe Lorey, the late Edward J. and Dorothy R. Lorey in 1941 East of North Mill Street in Jasper (County of Dubois), Indiana. They owned and operated its business until 1954 when he sold it to Ed & Rosie Rees. Sadly, we lost Ed Rees in 2002.
EDWARD J. REES
March 14,1932 - November 15,2002
Currently Rosie Rees continues the Calumet tradition. Over the years the Calumet has housed record crowds attending the performances of many bands including The WYLDS who performed at the Calumet and Rustic from 1965 until 1972. In 1991 the WYLDS returned for an anniversary performance for two nights (May 31 and June 1) to a sell out crowd for the Calumet's 50 Year Anniversary and the 25 Year Reunion for the WYLDS who initially performed in the Dubois County area from 1965 through 1972.

Professional Midwest singer, Joe Lorey, who was lead singer and front man for the WYLDS and who was also lead singer for the showbands CARNIVAL and Mateus, as well as Happy, Captain Howdy, and Shotgun, is the son of Edward J. Lorey, who originally built the Calumet Pavillion in 1941. Edward J. Lorey was also elected mayor of Jasper, Indiana in 1951 for two terms until 1959. He also ran a dry-cleaning plant on the southwest corner of Seventh and Main Streets in Jasper.

Interesting Stories From The Band

We are looking for some of those " What the heck happened here ? " stories from the venues the bands played including up in Jasper , over in Lebanon and around Kentuckiana including the Say When ( you know who you are -- the sax player ) .

One of our readers and a good friend Nick Muller wrote "I remember attending a dance or performance of Monarchs or Cosmo and during SHOTGUN somebody fired a shot. All ducked but band picked back up soon and all had good time " We asked around and got the information from one of the band members .

Let's hear from all of you all .

Please send more stories and your memories

Here is the story :

May have happened to Cosmo too but I know it definitely happened to us.

Babes Patio Lounge was in the Mid City Mall Bardstown Road Shopping Center that now houses the Baxter Avenue Movie theaters. It was in its heyday and was the nightclub of choice at the time. I agreed to book the Monarchs there in the early 70’s after we “regrouped”. Night Clubs were not our cup of tea at that time but the “Hubcap Nights”as Babe aggressively advertised them drew standing room only crowds every time we appeared. It was the glory days of American Graffiti’s revitalizing old 60’s rock so we continued to appear frequently as it really clicked with the community….and us! The performances were always a blast as it opened the door to 1000’s of new fans that did not frequent the traditional dance venue circuit that we played year round. We did two one hour sets and the fabulous house band filled out the evening.

I believe it was the fourth occasion we appeared and it was late fall. Fan folklore has created the story surrounding “Shotgun” as the tune that we were performing…none of us recall which tune, but a shot did ring out during one of our songs.
My wife and Mother who we called our ‘Band Mom” happened to be sitting front table on the edge of stage that evening and our Attorney Bob Benson was sitting with them. The room held about 300 sitting and who knows how many standing. Fire capacity laws existed but it did not seem to be enforced in this club.
Anyway when it occurred because of the low ceiling the shot consumed the room with its volume and there was no question about what it was…everyone hit the floor as if a tidal wave had crashed through the club! Benson took both my ladies to the floor ,under the table and total chaos broke out instantly. Within minutes( or seconds or hours or days) when it was obvious that no one was hurt…the band instinctively started playing to bring back calm to the room. We then took a quick intermission/break . The resulting din from all the deliriously chattering and bewildered questions about: “What was that!’..was deafening. The smell of the gunpowder filled the room.
The pulsating adrenalin in the room took a long time to settle…you heard gasps ,laughter and lots of very shrill high voices all talking at the same time… Cops appeared at all four doors and everyone asking everyone else if they were Ok is a scene with red and blue lights that will never be forgotten.
The guilty party was never identified…no shell casing was found ,no hole in the floors or walls, and to this day to anyone who recalls it is still a mystery how someone firing a shot in a room packed to the wall resulted in no one being hurt. Mr. Benson never has let me forget and has always claimed he saved my wife and Mother’s lives and that I owed him plenty ….!


Mike Gibson 1960 -1980 Monarchs