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What should be the first person, band, or thing (radio station, record label, -- Alan Lewis, January 19, 2003 |
Well, the first inductee would have to be the Remains cos 1) they are one of the greatest if not the greatest 2) they are the originators of
-- Nancy Neon, e-mail message, January 20, 2003
and is a recent addition to the New England Music Scrapbook team.
More Hall of Fame thoughts from Nancy Neon
The most obvious choice for me would be Willie Alexander. Depends how far back you go...
-- Miss Xanna Don't, e-mail message, January 20, 2003
| Musicians | The Remains--Mercilessly loud, scrappy, thoroughly rehearsed, totally professional, and very, very good. Back in the mid-'60s, these guys were everything we could ask for. |
| Records | "In the Still of the Night" by the 5 Satins--Considered by many to be the definitive doo wop single, "In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)" was recorded by a Connecticut group and released on a Connecticut label. |
| Radio | WILD-AM went on the air as classical music station WBMS (World's Best Music Station) in 1946. It became WILD-AM in 1957. In between times, it featured broadcasts by one of the greatest disk jockeys ever, Symphony Sid. Donna Halper, our radio consultant and academic dean, assures me there were Boston disk jockeys, both black and white, who were mixing in some rhythm and blues records back in the 1940s. Symphony Sid did the same on WBMS in the early 1950s, the difference being that he was already a huge star of the broadcasting world. Not much later, Ken Malden of WBMS also began broadcasting R&B records--and more of them. After that, rock radio was unambiguously a feature of Boston's radio dial. Honorable mention, of course, to WBCN-FM for its early years of free-form radio. |
-- Alan Lewis, January 21, 2003
and has been with the New England Music Scrapbook from the beginning.
WOO WOO GINSBURG. His combination of music, humor, and rock and roll spirit has stayed with me till this day.
-- Blowfish, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
He is now that publication's Webmaster.
More Hall of Fame thoughts from Blowfish
| Musicians | Well I would have to say Willie Loco Alexander given his long career in NE music. |
| Records | Maybe, for me Live At The Rat. |
| Radio | Old WBCN. They taught me all kinds of awesome alternative music from wild crazy hippie stuff to old delta blues and beyond when I was a teenager. I listened to that station up until I was about 27, it always made all sorts of interesting music, news and culture available to listeners. It was great because it got to people out in the suburbs where I grew up until I moved to Boston at 20. I'm sure those early BCN DJs effected a lot of New englanders and educated them as well!! |
-- Miss Lyn, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
but Miss Lyn has been at the helm ever since.
| What | First things that come to mind are the clubs The Boston Tea Party where Led Zeppelin and other G-ds of Rock played in the 60's and where I think Don Law started his music career. Also The Rat and Paradise, and Bunratty's. I can go on with that so I'll stop. |
| Who | I suppose Peter Wolf is obvious, but worthy. He did start as dj on WBCN (when BCN was still cool) and he's stayed in Boston all these years no matter his fame or fortune. |
-- Laurie Geltman, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
An ex-Bostonian, she has been based in Maine in recent years.
Club 47 (Mt. Auburn St., of course, with the Baez connection for a SITE). Tom Rush. Jackie Washington. Taj Mahal. Arlo Guthrie (AND "Alice's Restaurant"). Indeed, Peter Wolf (and the Hallucinations). Earth Opera (Rowan & Grisman).........and yes, Barry & the Remains played there too.
-- Millie Rahn, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
but she led off with Club 47,
giving me the opportunity to plug her forthcoming book
on that subject.
More Hall of Fame thoughts from Millie Rahn
Well, for a "who" my choice would be the J. Geils Band, because they became
Boston's first truly major act with Number #1 songs and the covers of
Rolling Stone. In fact, I think it's a crime that they haven't been
inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame for their incredible live
performances and many great records over nearly two decades, as well as their
honoring and preserving the roots of rock by performing and recording so many
songs by the often-forgotten greats of the blues and R&B.
OK, OK, for a "what" I'd have to say The Boston Tea Party, because it was the home club for so many Boston musicians and The Velvet Underground, and it was the primary place where local musicians and audiences could hear the best rock and blues players from around the world. Today it's widely recognized as one of the legendary venues of the '60s, along with the Fillmore and the Avalon (proof in point: the price of BTP collectibles on eBay). As for any bias on my part, I was the manager of the Tea Party for less than a year, so I was only a small part of something much larger. My hat's off to the other people who ran it (Ray Riepen, David Hahn and Don Law) and worked in it, and who made it what it was.
-- Steve Nelson, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
He has helped with our timeline for the late-'60s Boston scene.
Aerosmith--the band who I grew up with, still rockin and cranking out the tunes, and still gets the most recognition for a band out of NEW England. They have outlived the Beatles and are right up there with the Stones but still going strong in my book.
-- Luanne, e-mail message, January 21, 2003
She has a standing invitation to join our team.
| What | V66. Rival to MTV in the mid-80s, provided very strong support for local acts. Everyone who remembers The V has fond memories. Whoever has tapes--host a party! Let's see those hairstyles and fashion don'ts again! And listen to some great music that got alot more attention thanks to The V. |
| Radio | BCN, when they did the Local Lunch or Local Top 3 (or whatever it was called) in the 80s. Playing local music in the middle of the day? Unheard of! And I miss it terribly. Local radio shows on commercial stations shouldn't be relegated to late Sunday night. |
| Honorable Mention | www.radioboston.com--innovative internet only station dedicated to supporting acts from Boston and New England. You can't beat that kind of support for the local scene. |
-- JoEllen, e-mail message, January 23, 2003
hosts the Rockin' in Boston broadcast Friday evenings
on Allston-Brighton Free Radio.
[I]f I had to nominate one, it would be Bobby "Boris" Pickett because I loved the "Monster Mash" when I was a kid.
-- Michael Scott, e-mail message, January 23, 2003
including the Vandals, the last lineup of Darling, an early version of Macey's Parade,
and the 1987 WBCN Rock 'n' Roll Rumble band, Rapture of the Deep.
You know, fresh from seeing A&E's documentary on NRBQ, I'm going to have to throw my vote their way. I like to think of a Hall of Fame selection as someone/someband with a lifetime of achievement. Folks who are just as creative, innovative and unique today as they were when they started. And, as the Q is the greatest rock n roll band on the planet (the Rolling Stones, despite Keith, gave up the title about 1981-2, I believe), I think they deserve enshrinement in the NEMS Hall of Fame.
-- Paul Kochanski, e-mail message, January 27, 2003
the Lines, the Drive, and the Swinging Steaks
(which latter outfit has a forthcoming album).
Jonathan Richman. Other acts mentioned by Johnny Angel are Aerosmith, Mission of Burma, the Modern Lovers, and the Pixies.
-- Johnny Angel, e-mail message to Nancy Neon
| Band | Barry & The Remains. They were the first live rock and roll band that I ever saw, and I still feel one of the best there ever was. Honorable mentions go to The Rockin' Ramrods, The Lost (featuring Willie Alexander), and The Hallucinations (later to become The J Giles Band). |
| Club | There were several great clubs, but one that hardly ever gets mentioned is the Psychedelic Supermarket that was on Commonwealth Ave. by B.U.. I remember Cream, the Mothers of Invention, and Sly and The Family Stone kicking ass there! |
| Eats | For me it has to be the Hoodoo Bar-B-Q. Many an hour was whiled away there upstairs at The Rat chewing on great ribs and chicken. |
| Person | Oedipus. He's gone commercial these days, but I remember how passionate he was about Punk and New Wave at the beginning. He was responsible for pushing the "old rock hacks" at WBCN to play this new music that they initially wanted no part of, pushing to the point that they fired him. I walked the picket line in front of the Prudential Center when the dj's went on strike to protest the firing. I'd love to see something like THAT happen in radio today! |
| Late 70's - early 80's WBCN. They were playing an unbelievable amount of local music all during the day, not just confined to an hour late Sunday night. And every Friday at lunchtime Ken Shelton did the national countdown, then the top 3 local songs. It was a local musicians wet dream! | |
| Label | Ace of Hearts. They released a lot of really cool local music. |
| Song | There are so many great songs, but if pressed I guess that I would make a first year nomination of either "Don't Look Back" by The Remains or "That's Why I Always Dress In Black" by The Blackjacks. Both have stood up over the years under repeated listening. |
-- Fred Pineau, e-mail message, March 11, 2003
He is still known for his days in the gifted '70s/'80s new wave outfit, the Atlantics.
| Venue | I would have to say The Channel, "Boston's Best Live Rock". |
| Group | The J. Geils Band |
| Late 60's and 70's WBCN | |
| Buzzy's (Big, Greasy French Fries) |
-- Allston Dave, e-mail message, March 15, 2003
having served for years
with the J. Geils Band and the Stompers.
| Who | Revere's own Freddie "Boom-Boom" Cannon (Picariello). His version of Tallahasee Lassie is so HEAVY, and that was from 1959 when things were getting pretty whimpy. Of course, 1962s Palisades Park will always have a special place in my heart. |
| Band | J Geils Band and Barry and The Remains for first ballot along with Aerosmith, but a bit later Jonathan Richman, The Cars, The Real Kids, DMZ, The Nervous Eaters, and a bit after that The Neighborhoods, were all bands that had serious impact on our emotional states. |
| Radio | WBCN. I noticed that a lot of folks mention the "old" BCN, and of course, that was an incredibly special time for Boston music and Boston radio. Musicians from other places would come here and be amazed that the local bands were in rotation and getting airplay. I think the success of the Cars and Geils had a lot to do with that. But BCN today is playing music which is made now and is important now. It may not cater so much to us old farts but it has Maintained. |
| Buzzys Roast Beef - I can't begin to tell you the pounds of knishes and fries I ate there after late nights at The Rat and Cantones. | |
| Places To Play | It has to be The Rat. I'm sure there were great places that I never made it to as I didn't get to Boston until 1974 but The Rat was IT for introducing bands with balls to the scene. I also loved Cantones but it's lifespan was too short. And The Paradise brought in some fabulous acts, Richard & Linda Thompson, Elvis C. Joe Jackson, Blondie just to name a few. A bit later The Channel opened and it became the place to play locally during the mid 1980s. Wild Nights!!! |
| I guess for first ballot stuff you have to go with the most influential along with earliest chronologically but damn, it's really hard to pick when the pool is filled with such incredible music makers, including those who helped to make the music. Don Law for one, Mickey O'Halloran, Jim Harold, Tim Collins, it wasn't just the musicians. |
-- Stephen L. Gilligan, e-mail message, March 20, 2003
from his years in the band, the Stompers.
You really got me thinking here. Before I start qualifying let me give you the main response that keeps hitting me.....WOO WOO GINSBURG. His combination of music, humor, and rock and roll spirit has stayed with me till this day.
OK now I got lots of other things....
.............the CYO dances..our high school connection to rock in the early 60.s
.............Bright Lit, Blue Skies by The Ramrods....proved you could be local and sound as good as anyone.
..............WBCN...in the late sixties...sometimes it was just magical.
..............Willie Loco Alexander...he da MAN.
...............The Boston Tea Party on Berkley St....smoking in the balcony...'nuff said.
...............WMBR Late Risers Club. late seventies...sort of a cheat .I was there..but it was thrilling.
...............Cantones...great music..great company.
Ok I'll stop.....I know you only want one or two...feel free to chose..Woo Woo will be my first pick...This was fun to do and I'll be thinking of this for days....
Blowfish..
Club 47 (Mt. Auburn St., of
course, with the Baez connection for a SITE). Tom Rush. Jackie
Washington.
Taj Mahal. Arlo Guthrie (AND "Alice's Restaurant"). Indeed, Peter Wolf
(and
the Hallucinations). Earth Opera (Rowan & Grisman).........and yes,
Barry &
the Remains played there too.
Boston Tea Party
Unicorn coffeehouse (the old Unicorn sign on Boylston St., its last
location; sign's disappeared; no one knows where it is)
Harvard Square Theatre: Springsteen AND Rolling Thunder Revue there.
"Dirty Water" [Amazingly, Millie, a folklorist, was the first to bring in "Dirty Water."--A.L.]
Charles River Valley Boys' Beatle Country
Festival film (Newports mid-'60s)
Newport Folk Festival ('59 intro Joanie, '63 civil rights, '64 country
blues, '65 BD goes electric, '68 Joplin)
Betsy Siggins (Club 47 in '60s; Club Passim in '90s and '00s)
WCAS-AM (and the old CAS song, "CAS in County Cambridge......")
Hillbilly Ranch AND the Lilly Brothers
WBCN (Peter Wolf again)
Jack's
Veritas Records (Folksingers Round Harvard Square); Prestige (Paul
Rothschild)
Rounder in its hippie years
Sandy's Music (AND Sandy Sheehan); think of him hawking records at all
the
old folkie concerts round town)
Peter Johnson (AND Living Folk Concerts; brought us first wave of
Watersons,
Battlefield Band, Clannad, Boys of the Lough, Peter Bellamy, Louis
Killen........)
Dick Pleasants (esp. his Sat. AND Sunday broacasts of Folk Heritage)
that'll do it for now...................
Millie Rahn
Radio station/dj: Then--Oedipus at WERS & WBCN (don't forget WOO WOO GINSBURG?), Now--Dinos at HRB, Nancy at MBR, Alex at MFO, Dj Vinny as club DJ-Pandora's Box and his An Tu Nua, Phoenix Landing and Common Ground gigs
Venue: Then--Rat, Now--Abbey
Publication: Then and now--BOSTON GROUPIE NEWS
Writer: Then--James Isaacs, Now--Brett Milano
Record Label: Polaris
Rock 'n' roll chow joint: Charlie's Kitchen...
Nancy Neon
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