Our Monthly Club Meeting will be Sunday, June 14th at the Homewood Public Library. 2:00 PM
*****Next club meeting will be July 12th, 2009, the second Sunday******

WE’RE JUST 2 MONTHS AWAY FROM ANOTHER FUN FILLED WEEKEND WITH ALL THE BRC FRIENDS AND FAMILY DOING WHAT WE ENJOY DOING, LOOKING FOR AND LISTENING TO MUSIC. MAKE PLANS NOW TO BE A PART OF IT ALL. ONCE AGAIN WE WILL HAVE OVER 75 TABLES FULL OF MUSIC AND MEMORABILIA FOR ALL TO LOOK THROUGH. DEALERS FROM ALABAMA TO NEW JERSEY, FLORIDA TO TEXAS, NORTH CAROLINA TO PENNSYVANIA WILL BE THERE WITH THEIR ITEMS TO SELL.

WE WILL NEED VOLUNTEERS TO WORK THE FRONT DOOR, IN THE KITCHEN, THE REFRESHMENT COUNTER AND SET-UP ON FRIDAY. BE READY TO HELP OUT WHEN ASKED.

WE HAVE FLIERS READY TO DISTRIBUTE AND POSTCARDS READY TO MAIL-OUT. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP ADVERTISE THE SHOW THROUGH THE PRINT MEDIA OR OVER THE AIR WAVES PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN GET THE INFO TO THEM.

THERE ARE SIGNS THAT CAN BE PLACED IN YOUR YARD, CAR OR ALONG THE ROADWAYS AVAILABLE ALSO. CONTACT ME TO GET YOURS OR DROP BY AT THE JULY MEETING. IF YOU STILL HAVE A SIGN YOU USED PREVIOUSLY, BRING IT TO THE MEETING SO WE CAN CHANGE THE DATES ON IT.

LETS ALL HELP MAKE THE SHOW ANOTHER BIG SUCCESS FOR THE DEALERS, THE PUBLIC AND BRC.

INTRODUCING THE 2009 BRC HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
WE NEVER RUN SHORT OF TALENTED PEOPLE FROM THIS AREA TO INDUCTEE INTO THE BRC HALL OF FAME. THIS YEAR’S GROUP OF INDUCTEES INCLUDE TWO BANDS AND A RADIO PERSONALITY.

TOMMY CHARLES
FIRST OFF WE WILL MENTION OUR RADIO PERSONALITY, OR WHAT WE CALLED A DJ. WHETHER YOU CALLED HIM TC OR TOMMY CHARLES HE WAS ONE OF THE GREATS WHEN IT COMES TO LOCAL RADIO DJ’S. HE CAME TO BIRMINGHAM IN THE LATE FIFTIES AND STAYED UNTIL HIS DEATH IN 1996. WORKING AT WSGN, WYDE AND WAQY. HE PLAYED MUSIC FOR US, MADE US LAUGH WITH HIS WIT, ENTERTAINED US AT DANCES, SERVED AS MASTER OF CEREMONIES AT MANY EVENTS THROUGHOUT TOWN AND EVEN HAD A CAR DEALERSHIP.

THE DISTORTIONS
THE DISTORTIONS PROBABLY RECORDED MORE 45’S THAN ANY OTHER LOCAL GROUP. THEY WERE ON THE LABELS SUCH AS SEA, MALCOMB Z. DIRGE, SMASH AND CAPITOL. ORIGINAL MEMBERS INCLUDED NED BIBB, ROY ZACHERY, ROBERT ALEXANDER, BOBBY MARLIN AND ROY ALEXANDER. THEY RECORDED SONGS LIKE “BEHIND MY WALL”, “TAKE THIS RING”, “LET’S SPEND SOME TIME TOGETHER” AND “THANK YOU JOHN”.

LEN WADE & THE TIKIS
THE TIKIS. I BET THAT NAME BRINGS BACK SOME GREAT MEMORIES WHEN IT COMES TO MUSIC. LEN WADE, CLYDE MASTERS, GLENN HAYES HOPPER, AND BILLY SELF WERE THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP. THE GROUP HAD CHANGES AS TIME WENT ON AND HAD PHILLIP SCOTT, DWIGHT ANDERSON, BO FOWLER, TIM SMITH, DALE KHARR, STEVE HARP AND OBED WAYNE AS MEMBERS AT OTHER TIMES. THEY WERE VERY POPULAR ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST DOING GIGS AT NIGHT CLUBS, HANGOUTS AND COLLEGE CAMPUSES. THEY ALSO RECORDED ON MANY LABELS INCLUDING MINARET AND ASCOT. WHEN WE HEARD THE SONG, “I WAS DOIN’ ALRIGHT”, IT MADE US FEEL ALRIGHT.

BE SURE TO BE IN ATTENDANCE FOR THE INDUCTION CEREMONIES AT 2:00 PM ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 16TH. AS I HAVE TALKED TO ONE OF THE TIKIS’MEMBERS AND HAVE HAD MESSAGES RELAYED TO ME FROM MEMBERS OF THE DISTORTIONS, YOU CAN’T IMAGINE HOW EXCITED THESE GUYS ARE TO BE HONORED AND REMEMBERED THIS WAY AND TO BE ABLE TO SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN, SOME FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 30 OR MORE YEARS. WILL ANY OF THEM PERFORM AT THE INDUCTION? MORE ON THAT LATER.

ONE THING IS KNOWN FOR SURE AT THIS TIME. THE MEMBERS OF THE TIKIS WILL BE PERFORMING AFTER THE INDUCTION CEREMONY ON SUNDAY AT HOGAN’S IRISH PUB AND GRILL FROM 5:30 – 8:00. $5 COVER CHARGE. COME EARLY TO BE SURE YOU CAN GET IN.

ANOTHER MEMBER’S TOP 5 ALABAMA’S MOST SIGNIFICANT RECORDINGS

Continuing with some more of our member’s Top 5 Alabama’s Most Significant Recordings, this month we have Johnny Powell’s list. We’ve had quite a selection so far and Johnny adds his flavor this month but with a little different spin.

#1 - Alabama - The group from Fort Payne who took over country music during its heyday in the 80's. With a career that to date has resulted in 21 gold, platinum and multi-platinum albums, 42 number one singles and over 73 million records sold, Alabama has received over 150 industry awards including 8 country music "Entertainer of the Year" honors, 2 Grammys, 2 People's Choice Awards and their very own star on the "Hollywood Walk of Fame." They were named the "Artist of the Decade" by the Academy of Country Music in 1989 and "Country Group of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America in 1999. Theirs is an amazing career, stretching across more than two decades and for three of the guys, it's been more than 30 years. They rank as one of the 10 biggest-selling bands in the annals of popular music and ahead of such rock greats as Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Queen, Pink Floyd and The Who. Alabama has more No. 1 records than any band in country-music history and has sold more concert tickets than any other country group. And they honored and promoted their home state of Alabama through their long journey by choosing their band name to be the name of their beloved state. Who can top that - I don't know... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEu1t4oeR7E

#2 - Bill Justis - first most people do not know that Bill was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Secondly, most people don't realize that Sam Phillips, the genius that he was - with all of his Sun Studio musical accolades - also, with Justis, recorded and produced the very first rock and roll instrumental. Bill Justis was born in Birmingham on October 14, 1927, later growing up in Memphis, studying music and English at Tulane University while playing trumpet in local jazz and dance bands. In 1957 the legendary Sam Phillips hired Justis to serve as the musical director for his Sun Records label. At age 30, he was a good decade older than most of Sun's artists and had little interest in rock-and-roll until he learned just how lucrative the music had become. With guitarist Sid Manker, Justis composed a wild, primitive instrumental they dubbed "Backwoods". Phillips renamed the tune "Raunchy," releasing it as a single in November 1957. Although Justis' honking tenor sax assumed center stage, what made "Raunchy" so unique was Manker's guitar - he forged the song's distinctive riff not from the traditional middle strings but from the bass strings, creating a cavernous, resonant sound further buffered by studio echo. The single proved Sun's best-selling instrumental release ever, staying in the pop Top 40 for 14 weeks and going to #1on most national charts. Justis also is credited for discovering Charlie Rich at the Memphis nightspot "The Sharecropper Club" and brought him to Sun and in 1960 arranged Rich's first major hit "Lonely Weekends. In the years to follow Justis would arrange records for everyone from Patsy Cline to Dean Martin to Tom Jones. In 1977, he scored the smash Smokey and the Bandit, reuniting with star Burt Reynolds a year later for Hooper. Bill Justis died of cancer on July 14, 1982. A lot of unknown history here on a Birmingham-born icon. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfDUw3UyEkE

#3 - Bobby Mizzell - born in 1937 in Childersburg, Bobby played piano with local bands throughout his youth - his biggest stint being with Jerry Woodard's band. He recorded songs on many local labels - some vocals but mostly rocking piano. Bobby even had a label of his own - "Kim" - named after Kim Novak. During his life, he did much studio work - backing too many famous people to mention. Eventually he ended up in California playing at his night club, but still recording with artists of all genres. Bobby was ALWAYS in demand as a studio piano man - he played the background and long piano breaks in Rick Nelson's last recording "You Got Me Gone". Truly a great in our local eyes, but we have no idea how many artists Bobby really has worked with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt4LlNqn9Rs

#4 - Sandy Records - of Mobile Alabama was owned by Johnny Bozeman and Paul Dubois. Its first release was written by Johnny Bozeman himself. It was definitely a local label that was about to have a huge hit in it hands. Word got around that a great rock-a-billy sound recorded in a garage in Gulfport Mississippi by two guys named Travis and Bob was a local hit for Sandy. Travis Pritchett and Bob Weaver of Jackson recorded “Tell Him No”, a record that soon brought them to international attention. To ensure that it would get national distribution a deal was arranged by Sandy with Randy Wood's Dot Records. That's all it took to push “Tell Him No” to #8 in the Billboard charts and even inspire a cover version on Atco by The Jackson Brothers. Sandy retained its autonomy, merely adding 'Distributed by Dot Records' to its label text. In Canada, a deal was arranged with Barrel records of Toronto. Barrel produced both 78s and 45s of this disk and it went to Number 1 in the CHUM charts in Toronto.

More than this, Sandy recorded many collector-known rockabilly 45's that are widely sought. One such record was recorded by a 14-year-old playing country and leading the house band at Al Cottrill's club in Mobile. In 1959, he signed with Sandy - recording his first hit single "Rockin' Satellite". Eventually Ray Sawyer progressed to the height of lead singer of the 1970's rock group "Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNQ3C-fDWrU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdiAFRZf0N0

#5 - Ed Boutwell – Having an early love of electronics, Ed Boutwell was hired at the Birmingham radio station WAPI in the mid-50’s. Since there was no place to record commercials in the area, Ed began recording radio jingles for WAPI and later formed the first independent studio locally. He later resigned from WAPI to pursue his interest in recording and later opened the first recording studio in Birmingham. He not only recorded most of the local commercial jingles during the 1960’s, he worked with musicians wanting to record their sound for radio. He recorded countless songs from local groups as well as groups that were just starting that would go on to music fame. Some of these included The Allman Joys, who later recorded as The Allman Brothers and The Candymen who later became The Atlanta Rhythm Section.

Ed’s recording of commercials also led to 3 Clio awards in 1975 which is an award for creative excellence in advertising and design. He has written over 850 jingles and also invented a device that made multi-track overdubbing less difficult called the Rolling Punch.

Ask many of the groups who tried their hand at the music industry in the Birmingham area during the 60’s and 70’s and they will probably have a story about recording at Boutwell Studios. Just ask The Distortions, The Rockin’ Rebellions, The Hard Times, The Premiers and Larry & The Loafers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzmIipXdjJ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvLTxB5VybY

Very enlightening list, Johnny. Thanks. Next month we’ll have another member’s list of the 5 most significant recordings in Alabama history.

AT THIS MONTHS MEETING

WE WILL BE SPENDING THE MONTH’S MEETING TRYING TO FIGURE OUT “WHO IS THIS”. MEMBERS WILL BE BRINGING SOME 45’S TO PLAY AND SEE IF YOU CAN NAME THE ARTISTS. SHOULD GIVE US AN EDUCATION ON HOW SOME OF THE WELL KNOWN ARTISTS SOUNDED LIKE IN THEIR EARLY YEARS AND WHAT TYPE MUISC THEY WERE DOING.

JULY’S MEETING

WE WILL NEED YOUR HELP DURING THE JULY MEETING LABELING AND PUTTING STAMPS ON OVER 2000 POSTCARDS ADVERTISING OUR UPCOMING RECORD SHOW BEING SENT OUT TO THOSE ON OUR MAILING LIST. PLEASE DROP BY AND LEND A HAND.

MUSIS, MUSIC, MUSIC

LOOKING FOR SOME GOOD MUSIC ON THE INTERNET. TRY JIM’S DINER. WEEKLY SHOWS NOW AVAILABLE. JIM HAS ATTENED SOME OF OUR MEETINGS AND SURE KNOWS HIS MUSIC. GIVE HIM A LISTEN.
http://jimmydee.org/diner.aspx

UPCOMING RECORD SHOWS

JUNE 14TH, ATLANTA, GA. Mariott Century Center I-85 & Clairmont Rd exit 91
10am-4pm (EST) $3 admission.

AUGUST 15 – 16, BIRMINGHAM, AL. BRC Record & CD Show

See ya,

Charlie

Thanks to Jerry “Boogie” McCain for being our guest at the May meeting. He had lots of stories to pass along. 79 years of age and still full of life and still “The Boogie”. He had just played at the Ponderosa Stomp in New Orleans days before being with us. There are lots of fans world-wide that would give a lot to be able to see and hear Jerry. Thanks again “Boogie”.