Induction In The Kansas Music Hall Of Fame

Chet's Induction Into The Kansas Music Hall Of Fame

MUSIC | Kansas Music Hall of Fame
Star News Services
 
The Kansas Music Hall of Fame will honor 12 bands, performers and songwriters at its fourth annual induction ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. General admission tickets cost $35. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Among the honorees: jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, who just played a sold-out show in Lee’s Summit.
 
Six of the inductees will perform: Beth Scalet; Friar Tuck & the Monks; the Soul Express; Chet Nichols; Garry Mac & the Mac Truque; and the Classmen. The full list of inductees with bios, courtesy of the Kansas Music Hall of Fame:
 
Ann Brewer & the Flames, Baldwin.
One of the first female vocalists and bandleaders to affect the rock ’n’ roll music scene in Kansas, Ann was equally at ease singing rockabilly or covering the latest James Brown hit. She later moved to Las Vegas, where she found success until damage to her vocal cords ended her singing career. She now lives in California.
The Classmen, Kansas City
The harmonies of this group led by the Dimmel brothers made them local favorites in Kansas City and across the Midwest. Their old records bring big bucks these days online from collectors around the world. Their song “Graduation Goodbye” still gets radio airplay each spring.
Big Al Downing, Coffeyville
In a career that stretched from the late ’50s until he died in 2005, Big Al had hits on the pop, soul, disco and country charts.
The Fabulous Four, Kansas City
A band best remembered for their vocal harmonies, they played in Kansas City clubs and beyond from the early ’60s until just a few months ago.
Friar Tuck & the Monks, Dodge City
Out of the Western plains, this band moved to Emporia at one point and found the same success it had enjoyed at home. The band was popular at dances all across Kansas.
Garry Mac & the Mac Truque, Kansas City
This popular rhythm and blues band released an album on Capitol Records back in 1969, which featured a hot horn section and the searing hot lead vocals of Dani Gregory. Some of the guys are still playing.
Pat Metheny, Kansas City
When he played a Wichita jazz festival as a 14-year-old, he surprised a lot of people. He’s no longer a surprise but one of the top jazz guitarists in the world. Metheny has won 17 Grammys in categories from rock to New Age.
Chet Nichols, Lawrence
This singer-songwriter, who eventually went home to Chicago, was a part of the Good Karma stable of acts in Kansas City, touring with Brewer & Shipley, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Danny Cox, before recording his first album for Kama Sutra Records. Since then he has continued to record 20+ albums, written novels & scripts and acted in many movies and TV shows.
Beth Scalet, Ottawa
This folk and blues singer moved first to Lawrence, then to Kansas City, building a solid reputation for her songwriting and crystal-clear vocals. She has cut back on her live performing in recent years but continues to write and record.
The Soul Express, Hays
One of the best of the many horn bands in Kansas back in the 1960s, this band was at the top of the heap in Hays. They toured extensively and always drew large crowds. Several veterans of the band continue to perform across the country.
Directors Award: Lou & Betty Blasco, Kansas City
This couple was a big part of the Kansas City music scene for many years, with a music publishing company and a record label, and as songwriters. “My Happiness” was written by Betty Blasco and Borney Bergentine in 1933 and became one of the most popular songs in the country in 1948. Several other acts hit the charts with it that year, and Connie Francis took it to No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1959. It’s also recognized as the very first song ever recorded by Elvis Presley in 1953.
Bob Hapgood Award: Bill Post, Geuda Springs
Songwriter Bill Post is the first winner of this award, named for the 2006 Hall of Fame inductee and founding member of the Hall of Fame board of directors, who died last year. Post’s career began during World War II, when he entertained troops in India and Burma before starting his own publishing firm in Los Angeles. He and his first wife, Doree, wrote and recorded many songs for several major labels, and more than 100 of their songs have been recorded by other artists.
Connie Stevens had a huge hit with their song “Sixteen Reasons” in 1960. “Song for Young Love” was a hit for the Lettermen the same year. Eddie Cochran recorded “Weekend,” and Country Music Hall of Famer Don Robertson recorded “Life Goes On.” After Doree’s death in 1961, Bill returned to Kansas, where he continued to write and record. His farm near Arkansas City has been turned into a musical museum that has drawn thousands of visitors.
 
 
 
Lawrence Journal World Article
March 21, 2008
By Jon Niccum
 
 
Hall pass - Kansas Music Hall of Fame inducts latest class
 
Upcoming Event
2008 Kansas Music Hall of Fame Induction
 
* When: Saturday, March 22, 2008, 7 p.m.
* Where: Liberty Hall, 644 Mass., Lawrence
* Cost: $35
 
 
Bill Lee remembers the first time he ever saw live music played in Lawrence.
 
During the mid-1960s, the freshman student at Kansas University stepped into a club and crossed paths with Ann Brewer and the Flames.
 
“Ann was dancing on a table at The Village Green at the corner of 23rd and Naismith streets,” Lee recalls. “She was this little gal with a beehive doing James Brown songs. I was in love.”
 
More than 40 years later, Lee will be reuniting with his musical “love” at the 2008 Kansas Music Hall of Fame ceremony. Lee is president and founder of the organization, which has selected Brewer and the Flames (of Baldwin City) as an inductee into its fourth class of honored musicians.
 
“I thought last year was a wide spectrum, but this year is definitely an interesting mix. We’ve got two singer-songwriters, a couple of horn bands, a jazz guitarist, a pop group and more,” Lee says.
 
In addition to Brewer and the Flames, 2008 honorees include:
 
• The Classmen (Kansas City)
 
• Big Al Downing (Coffeyville)
 
• The Fabulous Four (Kansas City)
 
• Friar Tuck and the Monks (Dodge City/Emporia)
 
• Garry Mac and the Mac Truque (Kansas City)
 
• Pat Metheny (Kansas City)
 
• Chet Nichols (Lawrence)
 
• Beth Scalet (Ottawa)
 
• The Soul Express (Hays)
 
• Directors Award: Lou and Betty Blasco (Kansas City)
 
• Bob Hapgood Award: Bill Post (Geuda Springs)
 
The induction ceremony will take place Saturday at Liberty Hall, 644 Mass.
 
Dancing on the tables is optional — and not necessarily improbable. Singer Ann Brewer, since renamed Ann Crosta, now makes her living as a dancer and choreographer in California.
 
“Ann Brewer and the Flames started in the basement next to Liberty Hall in 1962. It was called The Catacombs, and we played every Friday and Saturday night,” Crosta says.
 
“We were unique in that there were no other female singers doing rock and roll at that time, and also we played really good dance music.”
 
The group toured throughout the Midwest during the Beatlemania era. But a chance meeting with Jimmy O’Neill, host of the primetime musical variety show “Shindig!,” lured the band to a steady gig at Las Vegas’ Thunderbird Hotel. From there, the ensemble shuffled its lineup and moved to Los Angeles, with Crosta continuing to front the act until 1973.
 
“Unfortunately I suffered an injury to my vocal cords (related to a mugging) that ultimately ended my professional singing career. However, 24 years ago, I met Tom Potts, who was a disc jockey and dance instructor, and I’ve been teaching dance classes with him,” says Crosta, who has worked professionally with Bill Medley of The Righteous Brothers.
 
“I feel truly blessed that I’ve been given the opportunity to stay in the music business that I love so much. Music has been and will always be my life.”
 
Nichols’ bag
 
Crosta is not the only connection Lee has to the talent being honored by the Kansas Music Hall of Fame.
 
Inductee Chet Nichols used to live upstairs from Lee in a house at 1016 Ohio when the pair attended KU.
 
“Chet was the heartthrob of Murphy Hall during that era when he was a student. He’d hang around with his 12-string guitar, and the girls would all swoon over him. So there was this parade of women up the stairs,” Lee remembers.
 
Guitarist/Pianist/Slide Guitar Specialist Nichols grew more nationally well-known through his association with other Good Karma Productions artists The Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Brewer & Shipley and Danny Cox.
 
“I was an oddity because I was a solo singer-songwriter,” Nichols says. “So many of the acts at that time were horn bands ... but there were also some interesting experimental bands and a number of great cover bands. I was dedicated to creating and performing what was in my soul, which were very unique songs, unique melodies and unique guitar tunings ... and fortunately, the people in Lawrence really embraced my music.”
 
Nichols eventually moved to Los Angeles and put out a solo disc on Karma Sutra Records. This led to tours with artists such as The Jefferson Airplane, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt.
 
Though Karma Sutra folded in 1976, Nichols remained dedicated to music, later expanding his repertoire to include acting and writing.
 
“I started working as a live-action, animation and special-effects producer. I commuted between L.A. and Chicago for years. I have also written several novels, a couple books of poetry, worked as an actor in commercials, feature films, TV shows and the stage — which I really love. I am also producing a lot of healing and meditative instrumental work,” he says.
 
“As long as I am alive, I will be creating.”
 
Mac attack
 
Relocating from Kansas to California is a link shared by many of the 2008 inductees.
 
For Garry Mac, leader and guitarist of Garry Mac and the Mac Truque, being based in the K.C. area didn’t prove to be an initial hindrance.
 
“When I first started (in the late 1950s), it was time when you could make a recording and get it on the radio. A lot of local groups did,” Mac says.
 
His high-energy R&B band became popular enough to court the interest of Capitol Records, who released a single called “Along Came Love” in 1967. This led to marquee gigs opening for fellow Capitol act The Beach Boys.
 
The group began spending more of its professional time in Los Angeles, eventually recording an album live at the Ambassador Hotel within the same year Robert Kennedy was assassinated there. Mac’s full-length debut came out in 1969.
 
“The band was very successful. We traveled a lot. We had a lot of good times on the road,” Mac says. “But we should have been writing more songs instead of just doing covers.”
 
Ultimately, Capitol dropped the band in 1971.
 
“We were in Hawaii when we got the word they had released us. It was kind of bittersweet,” he says.
 
Mac spent many years thereafter as a booking agent in Kansas City. And he continues to perform live with his latest act The Atlantic Express.
 
As for being honored by the hall, the 64-year-old bandleader admits, “It makes me feel old.”
 
Concrete hall
 
Although the Kansas Music Hall of Fame is still lacking a location that will serve as its permanent venue, Lee believes that shouldn’t hinder the mission of the organization.
 
“We’re not even worried about it. The topic comes up from time to time. We wouldn’t have a lot to put in it — our memorabilia collection was lost in the (Boardwalk Apartments fire) — so what’s the rush? It took Iowa 10 years to get their hall.”
 
Lee says it’s even less of a concern for the hall to try and find enough deserving artists from Kansas to honor.
 
“I was figuring out a list one day of people we haven’t inducted yet. I decided to just limit the list to people who I could identify that have recorded for a national label. There were over 100. Now that goes back 75 years. But that shouldn’t matter,” Lee explains.
 
“People like Count Basie is an obvious marquee name that deserves to be in the hall of fame. Charlie Parker, too. I’m in no particular hurry to induct them because I’d rather induct people who are still alive and can perform for us. I’d rather get them in while they’re still alive than wait until they’re gone.”
 
Kansas songwriter Bill Post will be honored with the inaugural Bob Hapgood Award. Post wrote hits for artists such as Connie Stevens and Eddie Cochran.


BACK TO ROCKVILLE
The Music Blog of The Kansas City Star
 
Kansas Hall of Fame to honor Metheny, 11 others
 
The Kansas Music Hall of Fame will honor 12 bands, performers and songwriters at its fourth annual induction ceremony on March 22 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence. General admission tickets are $35. Doors open at 6 p.m. Among the honorees: jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.
 
Six of the inductees will perform: Beth Scalet; Friar Tuck & the Monks; the Soul Express, Chet Nichols, Garry Mac & the Mac Truque; and the Classmen. The full list of inductees with bios, courtesy of the Kansas Music Hall of Fame:
 
Ann Brewer & The Flames, Baldwin
 
One of the first female vocalists and band leaders to affect the rock and roll music scene in Kansas, Ann was equally at ease singing rockabilly or covering the latest James Brown hit. She later moved to Las Vegas, where she found success until damage to her vocal chords ended her singing career. She now lives in California.
 
The Classmen, Kansas City
 
The harmonies of this group led by the Dimmel brothers made them local favorites in Kansas City and across the Midwest. Their old records bring big bucks these days online from collectors around the world. Their song “Graduation Goodbye” still gets radio airplay each spring.
 
Big Al Downing, Coffeyville
 
In a career that stretched from the late '50s until he died in 2005, Big Al had hits on the pop, soul, disco and country charts.
 
The Fabulous Four, Kansas City
 
A band best remembered for their vocal harmonies, they played in Kansas City clubs and beyond from the early '60s until just a few months ago.
 
Friar Tuck & The Monks, Dodge City
 
Out of the Western plains, this band moved to Emporia at one point and found the same success they had enjoyed at home. The band was popular at dances all across Kansas.
 
Garry Mac & The Mac Truque, Kansas City
 
This popular rhythm and blues band released an album on Capitol Records back in 1969, which featured a hot horn section and the searing hot lead vocals of Dani Gregory. Some of the guys are still playing.
 
Pat Metheny, Kansas City
 
When he played a Wichita jazz festival as a 14-year-old, he surprised a lot of people. He’s no longer a surprise, but one of the top jazz guitarists in the world. Metheny has won 17 Grammys in categories from rock to New Age.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Chet Nichols, Lawrence
 
This singer-songwriter, who eventually went home to Chicago, was a part of the Good Karma stable of acts in Kansas City, touring with Brewer & Shipley, the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and Danny Cox, before recording his first album for Kama Sutra Records. Since then he has continued to record 20+ albums, written novels & scripts and acted in many movies and TV shows. Chet’s music continues to rack up sales awards and good reviews.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 
Beth Scalet, Ottawa
 
This folk and blues singer moved first to Lawrence, then to Kansas City, building a solid reputation for her songwriting and crystal clear vocals. She has cut back on her live performing in recent years but continues to write and record.
 
The Soul Express, Hays
 
One of the best of the many horn bands in Kansas back in the 1960s, this band was at the top of the heap in Hays. They toured extensively and always drew large crowds. Several veterans of the band continue to perform across the country.
 
Directors Award: Lou & Betty Blasco, Kansas City
 
This couple was a big part of the Kansas City music scene for many years, with a music publishing company, a record label, and as songwriters. “My Happiness” was written by Betty Blasco and Borney Bergentine in 1933 and became one of the most popular songs in the country in 1948, the biggest hit was by Jon and Sondra Steele; the Pied Pipers, Ella Fitzgerald and the Marlin Sisters also hit the charts with it that year. It’s been revived a number of times since. Connie Francis got to No. 2 on the Billboard chart in 1959, and it’s recognized as the very first song ever recorded by Elvis Presley in 1953.
 
Bob Hapgood Award: Bill Post, Geuda Springs
 
The first winner of this award, named for 2006 Hall of Fame inductee and founding member of the Hall of Fame board of directors, who died last year, is songwriter Bill Post. Post’s career began during World War II where he entertained troops in India and Burma before starting his own publishing firm in Los Angeles. He and his first wife, Doree, wrote and recorded many songs for several major labels and more than 100 of their songs have been recorded by other artists.
 
Connie Stevens had a huge hit with “Sixteen Reasons” in 1960. “Song For Young Love” was a hit for the Lettermen the same year. Early rocker Eddie Cochran recorded “Weekend,” and Country Music Hall of Famer Don Robertson record “Life Goes On.”
 
After Doree’s death in 1961, Bill returned to Kansas where he continued to write and record. His farm near Arkansas City has been turned into a musical museum that’s been visited by thousands."

 
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