I've had Paul Romero's record "Sit and Cry" for years, and had tried in vain to find any information I could about this Pueblo single.
Then three years ago, I located Paul.
He was living in Texas with his wife, who had moved him into their daughter's home, so he could be cared for. She wouldn't elaborate on his condition.
Every few months I would call her back to check on him, and see if I might be able to ask him a few questions about his singing career, and his time in Pueblo. She always told me, "Not today, maybe later."
Sensing a reluctance to share his life with me, or his wife's fear that the conversation would tire him, I respected their wishes, and finally gave up.
That said, this single is too important not to share - with, or without the history behind it.
While the single garnered airplay on Pueblo's KDZA radio, it did not receive much notice beyond Colorado. A 1962 Billboard column said it had "limited sales potential," and that was that.
No idea what happened to Paul over the next several years, but he would resurface on the Rudy Guiterrez Orchestra single, "Coqueta" (audio sample in Rudy Gutierrez Orchestra story).
Left to right: Monty Baker, Murray Watson, Marty Spritzer,
and Cabell Shepard
Picture courtesy of Marty Spritzer and Joyce Nielsen
In the late 1960s, the Pueblo Colorado music scene was pretty much a family affair – everyone knew everyone, and when bands broke up, it didn’t take long before the former members found their way in a friend’s band. So was the case of Jade.
“I met Monty Baker back before he was in the Trolls,” said Marty Spritzer. “He was in his Minnesota band, the Radiants. We all knew each other when we played at the Honey Bucket. When he moved to Pueblo, The Chandells and the Trolls just hung out together.”
By 1966, while the Chandells were at the height of their popularity, the Trolls were headed for a break-up. Monty would take his bass and leave the Trolls, joining the Colorado Springs band, The New World Blues Dictionary. But by 1968 he was looking for another band.
And so was Marty.
There was talk of forming a super group with members from the now-defunct bands. Once all of the friends got together, things quickly took shape.
“We all knew each other socially. Monty brought in keyboardist Cabell Shepard from Dictionary, and drummer Murray Watson, who was playing in a Trinidad band, The Fuzz. Then I joined.”
Spritzer named the new band Jade.
“I was on a dragon kick, back then,” he said.
Thanks to Cabell Shepard's auto mechanic father, the band also soon had
an official touring vehicle - a 32-ft. long school bus. "His dad redid the whole thing. He put in a 396 motor, and we had Jade painted on the side."
The four members practiced at Monty’s house, where it became quickly evident to Spritzer that this wasn’t the Chandells.
“I really had no clue what kind of music we would play. So when they started playing the psych stuff, I literally had to learn it – stuff like ‘Purple Haze.’ This was 1969, so we had to keep up with the time, and follow the trend. Monty was so diverse, and I hadn’t really done much with the psychedelic sound of the time. He brought a lot of that from his time with the Dictionary.”
The band kept a steady pace of gigs, and perfected the stage act throughout Colorado Springs, and Southern Colorado.
“Monty’s first wife made a three-foot long sequin dragon that we used to hang on stage.”
In spite of the dictated setlists, the band was able to branch out, playing originals, penned by Shepard.
“He was the songwriter of the group. He had just written a couple of songs, and we all decided we should record them. So we went over to Summit Studios in the Springs, and laid down the tracks for the single.”
The A-side of the recording, "That Was Yesterday," is a moody, soft rock, slow-dance number, which spotlights Shepard's keyboard.
Listen to a sample of "That Was Yesterday."
The psych-tinged B-side is a stark contrast from the flip, showcasing the band's diversity, and allows each member to shine.
Listen to a sample of "I'm Leaving You."
Spritzer believes only 500 copies were pressed.
As is usually the case with local bands, Jade’s members quickly realized they could only go so far, and began to splinter.
“Monty wanted to move back to Iowa. So I bought his PA system, and we tried to move on with the band.”
Spritzer brought in Jerry Suthers, who handled some of the vocals. He had kept in touch with former Teardrops guitarist, Ernie Watta, who soon became a member of the new Jade line-up (playing keyboards), along with his wife Maxine.
“Maxine made a lot of our stage clothes. I remember once she made me a whole outfit, with bell bottoms.”
Change would continue for Jade, when drummer Murray Watson left to join the band Joint Session. He was replaced by Joe Yates.
Spritzer admits that this stage of Jade was pretty much a free-for-all, and he was unable to keep the new line-up together. The band soon broke-up.
Ernie and Maxine Watta established a home base in Denver where they performed as a duo, before later moving to California. In 1983 Maxine Watta released a self-titled LP, along with the single “Real Love” (Rockshire Records 95062). The b-side, “Give Back My Love” was written by Ernie.
Jade’s one and only single has become a rarity among collectors, looking to find obscure local rock recordings. If money is an object (the single goes for up to $100, if you can find it), “I’m Leaving You” can be found on the Garage Zone LP set, and on the 2007 CD compilation, Psychedelic States: Colorado in the 60s.
Spritzer still performs, and is currently in the group One Night Stand, which includes his daughter, Karen.
“We play a variety of stuff, and I’m still writing – but playing in bars now is much different then playing in bars back then.”
Marty Spritzer and Joyce Wickizer Nielsen interviewed January-February 2013
Marty Spritzer’s contribution to the early Pueblo music
scene is legendary.As a member of
both the Chandells, and later Jade, the guitarist’s influence spans the diverse
Southern Colorado rock genres of the 1960s.
But, as with most Southern Colorado rock and roll pioneers,
his history starts with polka.
“I was raised on it.We were surrounded by it when I was growing up, and, of course, I
learned how to play the accordion.”
But the popular music of the time quickly eclipsed his
family’s expectations that he follow in Myron Floren's or Dick Contino’s
footsteps.At the age of 16, he
asked his parents for a guitar.Armed with a Sears Silvertone, which he learned to play on his own, his
musical path would be sealed when a classmate approached him.
“I was a sophomore, when Steve Crockett, who was playing
guitar in a school assembly with Del Cunningham, asked if I knew how to play my
guitar, and if I could sing.I told
him I did, and that morphed into us playing together.”
After he graduated from Pueblo South High School, in 1962,
he and Steve met up with singer Anthony Zamora, who wanted to form a band. With
the addition of drummer Ronnie Chandler, they called themselves The Chandells
(Spritzer says contrary to the similarity, it is purely coincidental that the
name of the band bears a close resemblance to Ronnie Chandler’s name).
“It’s quite possible we were playing off of Tommy James and
the Shondells, when we named the band,” he said.
(NOTE:The Chandells are not to be confused
with The Chandelles, the Portales, NM band, which recorded on the Dot label)
The group’s first performance was a gig put together by a
friend of Steve Crockett’s. The locale needed a band to entertain a group of
people, so the band jumped at the chance to play before a live audience.
“It was at the Colorado State Hospital,” said Spritzer.“We were playing for the patients.I’ll never forget playing these fast
songs, and seeing the audience really get into it.But there was this couple, which was totally oblivious to
the beat, and there they were, slow dancing to everything we played.I’ll never forget that.”
Not all of their early gigs would find such a receptive
audience—as evident when the band played a Tuesday night at the Honeybucket.
“Our cut was the door,” said Spritzer.“It was $.25 per person to get in, and
we made a grand total of $3.25.We
weren’t asked back.”
Before the Chandells could establish themselves with their
originating line-up, life intervened.
“Ron ended up getting drafted, so we replaced him with Steve
Yamamoto, who I had met at Southern Colorado State College, where I was going
to school.Then Steve Crockett
left the band, although I don’t remember why, and we found Dave McBee, who had
been playing around town.Then
Anthony got drafted.”
The new line-up would also include Gus Trujillo, who was a
bartender at Jerry’s Keg Room.
"I was at Jerry's, with my friends Diane and Sherry," said Joyce Wickizer Nielsen. "I remember the exact date, Oct. 11, 1964. Sherry got mad and left, and Diane and I were stranded, without a car. Diane had dated Anthony, so she said he could give us a ride home. Anthony told Diane he didn't have a car, but Marty did, so he could take us home. It was the first time I laid eyes on him. The attraction was almost instantaneous." Joyce and Marty soon became a couple.
More changes would soon come, as word got out that the Hi-Fi Club needed a new house band,
after the Sting Reys left. The Chandells got the job.
"Marty never liked it when he opened at a club, because he got nervous," said Wickizer Nielsen. "So the night they opened at the Hi-Fi, my girlfriend and I sat in the car, outside, so I could hear them."
To look the part of a professional band, the Chandells took
a page from another, more established group.
“Our manager, a kid named Richard Rink, thought we should
all wear these matching Beatle suit jackets—so we went that way on stage.”
The Chandells would spend the next few years making a name
for themselves around town, while aligning themselves with other local bands–including the Teardrops.
“We were all friends with each other,” Spritzer said.“We would jam with them, and then one
day, this would have been 1965, they said they were going back to Clovis, to
record their next single at Norman Petty’s studios.We had a few original songs under our belt, and thought we
would tag along with them, and record our own single.”
“I remember taking two cars down there,” said Teardrops
drummer Ange Rotondo.“We recorded
our record first (“Armful of Teddy Bear” session), then the next night they did
theirs.That’s about all I
remember, as there was a lot of booze involved.”
The Chandells decided to record “Little Girl, Pretty Girl,”
penned by a friend of Dave McBee’s, Budge Threlkeld, and co-written by
Spritzer, who sang lead on the single. But when it came time to record, the production lacked a certain
element.
“Norman Petty said we needed keyboards on the record,” said
Spritzer.“So that’s him on the
Hammond.”
Listen to a sample of "Little Girl, Pretty Girl"
The actual A-side of the record, the psych-pop “We Are The Ones,”
was composed by Spritzer and McBee. The single, with lead vocals by McBee, was the group’s own ode to the band.
The group pressed 500 singles, on the Chanteur label (a play
on the group’s name), and sold them at local stores, and gave them out at
concerts.
“The song ‘We Are the Ones’ got quite a bit of airplay on
KDZA.We got up to #17 on Steve
Scott’s radio show.”
Listen to a sample of "We Are the Ones"
The band continued to play local gigs at Jerry’s Keg Room,
and the Hi-Fi Club but, shortly thereafter, began to disintegrate.
“Gus had a fulltime job, and Dave moved away,” he said. “We
tried keeping it together with Roger Uyeda (on keyboards), but we all
started going in different directions. So the Chandells broke up."
Spritzer had a civil engineering degree from SCSC, but music
kept calling him.He kept in touch
with Ange Rotondo, after the Teardrops broke up, and the two briefly formed Ange and
the Wild Turkeys.
But it would be a meeting with a member of another
pioneering Pueblo rock band that would begin the next chapter of Marty Spritzer's musical
biography…
(Marty Spritzer and the story of Jade coming next month)
I'm a product of Pueblo East High School (class of '79).
Lots of great memories of my time there: Tennis practice, writing for the Eagles' Cry newspaper, my basketball team boyfriend Dennis, Styx, REO Speedwagon, T.J. Swann parties, wrecking the family car trying to drive up a frozen road, near the campus... but I digress.
Back then the EHS choir group, Les Jongleurs, were considered about as cool as the chess or math club. "The L.Js," as they were called when I was there, were made up of vocally talented teens, who dressed in formal attire and performed concerts throughout the state, and won lots of awards. That's about all I remember.
I had a few friends in the group, namely Carol, Mike, Cheryl, and my next-door-neighbor, Bill. Couldn't tell you where they all are now.
Imagine my surprise when my dear friend, Pueblo record dealer Joel Scherzer, dug up an album, recorded by East High's singing group.
Songs of the Pride School was produced in 1971, on the prolific Audiocom Corporation label. Herbert Goodrich is listed as the group's director.
The selections are almost all spiritual or public domain standards, but the group gets to let loose on "Heaven on Their Minds," from Jesus Christ Superstar, and the rock cantata, "The Creation."
I'm usually not a fan of square dancing records, as they all seem to sound the same to me - that is, until I heard this happy little single from the 4 Corners Four, out of Durango.
Love their take on this Lesley Gore hit (instrumental on the flip side).
Listen to a sample of "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows"
Pressed on the 4-Corners label (not to be confused with the Kapp Records subsidiary). I came up empty on any additional information. No notation on a year, and there is absolutely no mark on the runoff.
Address shows 970 Main Street, which is now home to the La Plata Abstract Company.
Getting into the holiday spirit with this wonderful offering from the Bethlehem Baptist Church, Pueblo.
From the prolific John Law label (3868), the congregation really has a good time on this disc.
Lots of enthusiastic choir offerings here, with a few standouts, including a duet by India Jackson and Brenda Golden.
Listen to a sample of "Steal Away."
The awwwww cut on here has to go to little James Chandler, who looks as if he's barely in grade school.
With backing from the junior choir, "Little James," as he is billed, belts it out on "Happy on My Way."
Bethlehem Baptist is still going strong in the Bessemer part of town, on Spruce Street.
Reverend Chandler retired from preaching in 2003, after almost 35 years at the pulpit, to live closer to his now-grown son James, who is also a reverend.
A few months ago I read in the Pueblo Chieftain that Elmer Swartwood passed away at the age of 87 (December 3, 1924 - July 17, 2012). Elmer was the founder of the Prairie Hornets, a local Pueblo country and western and square dance music band.
Somewhere along the way Elmer teamed up with caller/singer Al Horn, and his Prairie Recording label, out of Denver.
The partnership resulted in several recordings for the group, including "Mr. In-Between" (PR 1004), "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" (PR 1009), and "Coon Dog" / "Square Chords" (PR 2001), among others.
Al went on to be a pretty prolific caller, recording almost 100 singles for the Desert, Mountain, and Ocean labels, and later a Hillbilly bopper on the Do-Ra-Me label, "Where Does Love Go" / "It's Much Too Soon" (1424).
Rob Stokes found his way to Durango, via Louisville Kentucky, after he joined up with several friends who moved to town to be ski bums.
"I moved out there with that wave and was working one day a week at the ski area. I was playing guitar in some bands in Kentucky (the rock band Live Bait), and I wanted to see if I could play here. I thought I could make money doing music."
"They were having an open mic night at this bar in town, and that's where I met up with R.B."Stoney" Stone. He was playing there, we hit it off, and thought we could get a band together. So we hired a bass player and then we were a trio. Then we hired a drummer and it took off."
It was Rob Stokes who came up with the name of the band.
"We were sitting around thinking about what we going to call ourselves, and I thought of it--because it had “Rob” in it. And it stuck."
Stone took charge as the band's leader, booking gigs, and writing songs for the group, which would include Jeff Boyden on drums, Jimmy Candelaria on rhythm guitar, and Andy Janowsky on bass. After several months of playing around town (mainly at the local Sundance Saloon), the group decided to record an album.
(Click on photo to see entire band)
"We went up to Paragon Sound in Fort Collins, mainly because it was inexpensive."
They titled the LP Keep on Ridin' (Wild Stallion Records 12237 - 1984). The cover art was taken from a painting by Durango artist Jeff Ellingson.
The group's co-producer, Steven D. Geier provided liner notes:
Highway Robbery, a group of talented men who have chosen music as their life, their beginning. These men have done so with the need to give you happiness, a smile, that distant tear, and a longing in your heart to hear more..."
"It had some local airplay and somebody took my song (the instrumental "Joseph M. Jones"), and used it for a radio advertisement for a Farmington muffler shop. We had a little fan club, and we'd sell the album at gigs."
Highway Robbery would go on to open for Charlie Daniels, when he came though town, but they never achieved fame outside southwestern Colorado.
Soon tensions arose between band members.
"It was a little bit intense because I owned the P.A., and I got a little extra money for that. That always seemed to upset some members of the group, and one of the guys got so pissed off that he took a swing at me, and that was it. I quit."
The band would only be together two years.
According to Stokes, Stone still performs, Andy Janowsky went on to be a policeman, Jeff Boyden works with his family in Montrose. He said Jimmy Candalaria passed away.
Stokes would find success as a sound engineer, working for Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas, in Nashville.
"Being in Highway Robbery--that was just one chapter of my musical life."
As is probably the case with many collectors, I'm a sucker for those auction shows on television. You know the ones where they open up an abandoned storage room, and four type-A personalities give dirty looks at one another, and try to outbid each other for whatever junk...er, I mean potentially high-dollar collectibles, are in the locker.
On that note, here's an ode to the fast-paced talent of bid calling, courtesy of Dan Potkonjak.
Another brick wall attempt to find info on this one. After calling every similar surname in Colorado, nobody offered a hint. Oh well.
Dapam Plus label (20703-no year)
Recorded at Steel City Sound-Pueblo
"The Auctioneer" is actually a cover of a 1956 Leroy Van Dyke song, and Dan really lets 'er rip with this nice country ditty (contrary to the credit given on the single, Van Dyke and Buddy Black wrote the song).
The a-side is a Potkonjak-penned farmer anthem, "Ain't Givin' Up."
History lesson: On August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado as the 38th state. Colorado is nicknamed the "Centennial State" because it was admitted to the Union in 1876, the centennial year of the United States Declaration of Independence.
In 1976, to celebrate the state's 100 birthday, Colorado lawmakers were looking for a theme song to mark the occasion.
Ernie Kemm (who I write about in this 2010 post) penned a song, and entered the statewide contest to find the best tune - and won.
So Kemm, with help from Gunnison's Western State College singers, recorded "Here's to Colorado" (Dr. Lee Keilson, director and Perry Arnett, arranger).
The song was released on Ernie's own Ernaco label (no label number).
You'd think there would be a second Colorado celebratory song on the flip, but the b-side is the jazzy "We Met in Paris" (lead vocals by Kemm).
Red Sovine would have been 94 years old this month, so I thought it would be appropriate that I post a tribute record from a Pueblo artist this time around.
Not a lot of info on this one. Actually tracked down the family of the singer, Larry T. Coen, but they declined to talk about him, or his music. I always hate it when I hit a brick wall - especially on a record this fabulous.
Listen to "How Far is the Road Up to Heaven"
Larry's ode to Red was recorded in 1984 (Red Sovine died in 1980), at the Steel City Sound Recording Studios, in Pueblo. Joe Salazar produced the disc, and played keyboards, Bill Cohen (I'm assuming is some kin) played bass, while Jimmy Schaffer handled the fiddlin' duties. Other credits include Chris Koroshetz on drums, while Larry is on guitar.
Reg Montano is credited for the narration. Larry, along with Carolyn Tuttle are labeled as the vocalists.
Carolyn gets her own shot to standout, with the flip-side of the recording.
Listen to "Western Story"
Is it just me, or does this sound completely out of place (in a good way) for 1984 country? I mean 1984 was saturated with Alabama, Reba, and Hank Williams Jr.'s "All My Rowdy Friends..." God bless Carolyn for not going down that path.
Unfortunately, reaching out for info on her has resulted in no additional information.
Side One:
Here We Are
Love Grew Where the Blood Fell
Mercy Rewrote My Life
It Made News in Heaven
A Vessel of Honor For God
Side Two:
There is a River
He's Ever Interceding
I Have to Worry
Spirit Song
I Love Him Too Much
Velma Stapleton loved country music. In fact, her dream had always been to be a country performer, and record an album.
She would eventually record an album – but it wasn’t country.
“Back in my day it was all I wanted to do – sing country,” she said. “But I realized the words were not positive, so I discovered gospel music.”
Velma’s move from secular to spiritual music wasn’t an overnight switch. She had already been singing Christian songs at an early age, growing up in Lamar (she graduated Lamar High School in 1971).
When she married, her family, which included her boys Michael and Steven, would take to the road to perform in Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
“Wherever I could perform, I did. My husband ran the sound.”
In 1983, at the urging of her pastor, she recorded her one and only album.
“My pastor foot the bill for me to record,” she said. “I recorded it in Denver. I think it took about two hours to make.”
She said her back-up musicians were actually pre-recorded songs, of which she simply sang to in the studio.
“I think we pressed 500 copies of the record.”
Standard issue gospel here, but Velma gets to use her country chops on at least one song, "It Made News in Heaven."
The picture on the front cover of what was to be titled Mercy, Love and Praise, was taken at her church.
"The picture on the back was done in a studio,” she said.
Velma gave up singing to care for her husband, who has been ill for the past 12 years.
She currently resides in Pueblo.
“It was always on my bucket list to record an album,” she said. “And I did.”
Side One:
Overture and "Te Deum Landamus"
Terzetto: "Te ergo quaesummus"
"Salvum Fac Populum Tuum"
Side Two:
"Dignare Domine"
In te Domine speravi"
March from The Magic Flute
Chorale and Fuge
Performed on January 23, 1972, Memorial Hall, Pueblo.
Listen to a sample of "Te ergo quaesumus"
Lori Von Gundy - soprano
Charlene Vecchio - mezzo soprano
Kathie Marcum - alto
John Pinner - tenor
Jerry Matthew - bass
Gerhard Track and Sid Rosen - conductors
The festival, which was started in Pueblo in 1971 by former
Pueblo Symphony director Gerhard Track, returned the following year with a performance of "Te Deum," by Johann Friedrich Reichart (1752-1814).
The concert featured a 300 voice choir, made up of high school students from Crowley (Ordway), Fountain, Lamar, Las Animas, Lake County (Leadville), La Junta and Rye. The Pueblo Youth Symphony accompanied the performance.
Jerry Dolby and Clara Reida interviewed March 2012.
On my most recent trip back home to southern Colorado, Pueblo-based record dealer, and dear friend, Joel Scherzer presented me with an album for my collection – one that would turn out to be probably my favorite find of the weeklong record search.
Dave Jackson Singing Folk Style Music- Morning Town Ride (Valerie VR 7000) is a collection of 16 songs of the genre. "Many of the songs selected are personal favorites, but there has been no attempt to display any of my own views or personal feelings," he writes on the back cover.
Included are Jackson's renditions of songs penned by Donovan ("Colours"), Tom Paxton ("I Wonder Where I'm Bound"), Rod McKuen ("Two-Ten, Six Eighteen"), Pete Seeger ("Turn Turn Turn"), as well as several traditional folk numbers.
The LP isn’t produced well. In fact, I dare say there is any production whatsoever to this album. It almost sounds like the recording was made in a closet. But the sad, loner vocals, and the barely audible guitar easily makes the record memorable.
Listen to a sample of "Man of Constant Sorrow"
I had to find out who Dave Jackson was. But there were few clues to go on. The album appeared to be a product of the Custer County Independent School District, based out of Westcliffe. The school’s science teacher, Jerry Dolby, is listed as the school sponsor of the recording.
“I did find the 1969 yearbook for Custer County High,” Dolby said. “The picture of Dave Jackson is the same as the one for a sixth grade teacher of the same name. I can find no evidence of his being on the faculty for more than one year.”
According to Dolby, the annual also shows a “Mrs. Dave Jackson” on the faculty, who was the pep club sponsor.
“I'm confident the class sold Dave's album as a fund raiser for a class trip.”
The cover art was done by Margaret Locarnini.
“Margaret was quite an artist, she was a super talented person,” said Clara Reida, who also worked at the school, and later bought a ranch with her, to raise horses. I remember there was a big brewhaha in the area, and she had to leave her job at Custer County, to go teach in Florence. Apparently the valley was being developed and a billboard was cut down, and how it was pinned it on Margaret I don’t know. But she had to leave her job.”
Attempts to locate Dave Jackson were unsuccessful.
Taking a few months off. Headed back to Colorado to visit family and friends....and do some record diggin'. Going to take some time to reevaluate the blog, and decide what the next phase of it will be.
Every December I like to feature something of the non-secular nature, to get into the spirit of the holiday season. In this post I found two quite nice, but obscure Southern Colorado recordings that I'm hoping someone can shed a bit more light on.
Side One: He is the Way Con Que Pudiera Yo Pagarte Stumbling Stone Ya No Es Tiempo De Jugar I Never Want to Forget Ya Ven Senor
Side Two: Brother, Won't You Help Me Maniana The Mame of my Friend Jesucristo Lord Help Me Love Ten Misericordia
The album (Alta Vista 8890/1976) is apparently the second from the group, who are made up of Emily, John, Linda, Gene, Elva, and Nick. No last name is shown on the disc. The notes on the back indicate that they are all from the same family.
LP is a nice blend of English and Spanish language folk gospel. Lots of guitar.
Recorded at Alta Vista Studios in Albuquerque, that's pretty much it on this one. Again, any information would be helpful.
Listen to "He is the Way"
The next find is from Joyce Griesel, a sweet folky femme vocalist, who appears to be out of Salida (back notes from Pastor Keith Frederickson at the 1st Baptist Church there, and who apparently passed away in 2008). LP was recorded at Summit Studios in Denver, and pressed by the prolific folks at Rite in Ohio (33372-1974).
Side One: I Looked for Love Put Your Hand in the Hand Holy, Holy Victory in Jesus It's Love He's Got The Whole World in his Hands Like a Lamb
Side Two: He Touched Me Happiness Is The Old Rugged Cross For God So Love the World In The Garden Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul Give Me Oil in My Lamp
"I have been singing since I was seven years old, and began voice lessons at the age of 15. I have wanted to record from the age of 13, but never figured it would be possible. Then in April 1974, we were in Albuquerque where we met and listened to the Kings Quartet. After visiting with these gentlemen and their giving me the name of their recording company in Denver, the ball began to roll."
Appears she is accompanied by "Smokey Len" Kapushion.
Listen to "I Looked for Love"
Unfortunately she passed away in October. I located her ex-husband's family, who told me that Joyce had hoped the recording would help establish herself as a professional singer. After her divorce she moved to Aurora, remarried, and became a computer technician. This was her only recording.
The Trolls (left to right, Fred Brescher, Richard Gonzales, Doug Rymerson, Phil Head, and Monty Baker)
Monty Baker interviewed August-November 2011
Monty Baker’s contribution to the Southern Colorado music scene is legendary. As a member of the Trolls, The New World Blues Dictionary, and Jade, it’s often assumed that he was a native of the region.
The fact is, he’s a product of the Hawkeye State.
“I went to high school in Iowa, and went to college in Minnesota – that’s where I got together with the band I was in, The Radiants,” he said.
The Radiants were made up of Richard Northrop (formerly of The Night Crawlers) on drums, Doug Rymerson on lead guitar, Ryan Carter on rhythm guitar, and Monty Baker on bass. Monty, Doug, and Richard were attending Mankato State College at the time, while Ryan was attending the Glamour Beauty Academy in Minneapolis.
(Click on picture to enlarge)
July 9, 1964 issue of the Lake Park News:
Monty Baker and the other members of The Radiants and their manager are guests the remainder of the week at the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Baker. The Radiants played during a three-hour broadcast over KSUM radio in Fairmont, Minn., Monday evening. The group played during intermissions at the Roy Orbison show at the Roof Garden in Arnolds Park Tuesday evening. The musical group will perform at the teen dance at the Skyline Ballroom near Estherville Sunday night. The men are now living in Owatonna, Minn.
April 1, 1965 issue of the Lake Park News:
Monty Baker visited Sunday with his parents Sheriff and Mrs. Bob Baker. Monty, a member of The Radiants band had a just completed a five-week engagement in Cedar Rapids, and was en route to Ispedmina, Michigan, for an engagement at The Roosevelt Hotel. The Radiants will return to Iowa City to appear at The Hawk, April 22, 23 and 24.
The Radiants, who were all under 21, worked around their age limitations at 6-percent clubs-- thanks in part to fake IDs.
“I was Denny Blake, and I guess I had that fake ID until I turned 21. When I turned 21 and got a license under my real name, Monty Baker, and they wouldn’t accept it,” he said. "So I used my fake ID to get some real beer."
While touring the United States, The Radiants ended up playing a gig in Pueblo, and got to know The Trolls.
“After the gig, we went back home…and then Uncle Sam and the draft broke up The Radiants,” he said.
“So Doug Rymerson and I called up Phil Head of The Trolls and asked him if he wanted a lead guitar and bass player. So we went to Pueblo. I guess this was 1965.”
The Trolls (left to right: Monty Baker, Fred Brescher, Richard Gonzales, Doug Rymerson, and Phil Head)
“We all were known by our nicknames. Lead vocalist and guitarist Richard Gonzales was ‘Speedy,’ keyboardist Fred Brescher was ‘Brush,' and drummer Phil Head was ‘Flip.’ I was ‘Denny,’ and lead guitarist Doug Rymerson was ‘Digger’."
The band portrayed themselves as having a harder edge than most local bands, at the time - playing covers of Kinks and Stones songs.
“We had members of our fan club in California get us their newly-released records, before anybody ever heard of these songs in Pueblo.”
The Trolls were regulars at The Columbine, and Jerry's, where they were the house band.
“We were working all of the time, doing weekends and special gigs. We were working five hours a night, most nights. We’d make $400-$500 in one weekend.”
Baker says several of their live shows were taped.
"I think I have eight reels somewhere, with about ten shows on them.”
In the early stages of the reformed Trolls, Baker took the lead as the group’s manager.
“We never signed a contract. When we said we would do a job, we did. We gave our word, and we were there. I remember a particular gig we were playing at East High School. They wanted a contract and with much prodding from the members, I signed it, because it was good money. Our normal thing was play 50 minutes, with a 10-minute break. So we played the 50 minutes and took our break, and this teacher comes up and she’s irate as hell because she said we had to play four hours without a break—it was in the contract. She got the principal and I explained that if he screwed with me, and the band, I was going to tell the kids why we were packing up and leaving, and he would have a riot on his hands. The principal tore up the contract, and we got our check, before the next set.”
Then Southern Colorado promoter Tony Spicola stepped in, and took the band under his wing as its manager.
“I remember we won a recording session in a Battle of the Bands contest, that was held at a Pueblo movie theatre. I think there were about 15 or 20 bands competing. We kind of rigged it. We had a bunch of our fans in the audience, and they started screaming like were the Beatles, or something. So when it came to vote, we won.”
“We ended up meeting this guy named Ray Ruff, who had a studio in Amarillo. We went down there to record our first single. I thought Iowa was flat. I remember getting into an argument with Digger about whether or not the road was sloping, or not, on the drive down. To prove the point, we peed in the middle of the road. It didn't move."
The band’s first single included two Fred Brescher compositions "That's The Way My Love Is" / "Into My Arms.”
Listen to "That's The Way My Love Is"
“I think we recorded, oh what, maybe a dozen more songs, but they are all lost – from the fire.”
In 1968 the Ruff studios burned to the ground. Countless masters, from numerous recordings, were lost.
“The Ruff sessions were different, as compared to the first time Digger and I were in the studio with the Radiants. We made a record for the SOMA label – in fact, we were in the studio the same time The Trashmen were recording “Surfin’ Bird” (In December, 1964 The Radiants released "Special Girl" / "Ain't Got No Home"). The Ruff recordings were difficult because the Trolls played “on” each other live—we played as a band. We kind of fed off each other and Ray Ruff had us recording each of our parts separately. So the drummer did his thing, the guitarist did his thing, I did my thing – it was actually pretty traumatic.”
A few months after the Ruff sessions, the band traveled to Clovis, New Mexico, to record at the Norman Petty Studios.
"I think this would have been 1965 or early 1966. I really don't remember much about that recording session."
The studio time resulted in one single, the Speedy Gonzales-penned "I Don't Recall," and a cover of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards composition, "Stupid Girl."
Listen to "I Don't Recall"
The single was released on Chan Romero's start-up label, Warrior. The band posed for the picture sleeve photo in a Pueblo park - minus one member.
The Trolls, left to right: Richard "Speedy" Gonzales, Phil "Flip" Head, Monty "Denny" Baker, and Doug "Digger" Rymerson
“Freddie wasn’t in the picture. Two nights before we took that shot, he touched his amp with one hand, while he played the organ with the other, resulting in a violent jerk of his arms, collapsing his lungs, and he ended up in the hospital."
"Our manager, Tony Spicola took that picture. He wanted us eating ice cream. When he took the shot, Phil’s ice cream came out of his cone.”
Baker estimates only 500 copies were pressed.
The flip side of the jacket features art from Baker's then-wife, Leryln (she signed "LKB" on the far right sleeve).
“We made it and they played it on the local radio station in Pueblo, and if we had a prom or a show out of town, we would take some to the local station where we were playing – of course we had to put some money under the table so they would play it.”
The band split up in 1966, shortly after the release of the record. Baker didn't want to elaborate on the reason why.
“Things just fell apart, and we just went our own way. I joined up with The New World Blues Dictionary.”
The Colorado Springs-based NWBD originated as The Persuaders, in 1964. The band was made up of Dave Julian on guitar, Lynn Larson on bass, Bob Crowder on keyboards, Jim Boitos on saxophone and Denny Townsend on drums.
After going through a number of name changes (including Filthy Five, and Goguenard) they settled on their new name, and a new lineup, with Baker replacing Larson on bass. Cabell Shepard replaced Bob Crowder.
“We played primarily psych rock, and was booked quite a bit at the Honeybucket in town.”
In July 1967 the band opened for Jefferson Airplane at The Broadmoor Hotel.
“I can tell you quite a bit about that show. The Airplane’s crew drove over the mountains, and lost one of their trailers with the light show in it. We were the opening act, and the local union was running lights for us. It was nothing fancy, just your standard lights with different colors."
"So Grace Slick comes out and berated the light guys, and embarrassed everyone with her tirade. Our manager went up to the light guys and got them to mix the lights, and when we came out of the second break, we had these great colors. When Airplane came out, they just had this one white light on Grace, and she was pissed."
"The local newspaper came out to cover the show, and said that we blew Airplane off the stage.”
It wouldn’t be the only time the band would share the stage with future hall of famers, opening for Eric Clapton and Cream, and Chuck Berry.
“We were asked to join Chuck Berry on a five day tour. So we get there at 1:00, expecting to practice with him. He shows up five minutes before the show, and I go ballistic. When I got done, he looked at me and said, 'Do you know how to play that thing?' I answered 'You bet your ass.' So he said, 'Let's go impress these people.' The guy is a total pro. We get up on stage to join him and we’re trading licks back and forth like we had been playing together for 20 years. He offered to pay us $2,000 a week to come on his one month tour of Germany, and he would pay all expenses. Jim and Dave refused to go because they were college guys."
"The night we did the show with Clapton we got done playing and Dave and Jim came up and said, ‘We’re done,’ so we broke up that night."
NWBD disbanded in 1968. Baker would go on to join the Pueblo band Jade, with Cabell Shepard, Marty Spritzer (who had been in The Chandells), and Murray Watson on drums.
“I think at one time we actually had two drummers in the band.”
Jade lasted about two years, resulting in one single “That Was Yesterday” / “I’m Leaving You.”
“The band wanted to get me replaced, so they kept playing with other bass players, but what they didn’t know was that I owned 90% of the equipment. By that time my marriage was going south, and we went our separate ways, and I went on a vacation by myself. I decided to go back to Iowa and get a real job, using my other occupation, as a respiratory therapist. So I said the hell with it, and became a respiratory therapist."
Baker is now semi-retired from the health care industry, and continues to live in Iowa.
Interview with Cameron Devries and Billie Devries conducted September 2011.
Back in June I posted one of those mystery records, one I couldn’t seem to locate any information about, by Jack Shiplet and the Blue Ridge Boys. The singer on the disc was Jim Cox. A few months later I received an e-mail:
My name is Cameron DeVries and wanted to see if you would be interested in running an article of my grandfather, Jimmy Cox.
Born in Illinois, in 1925, Cox’s family ended up in Colorado. At the age of 16, he lied about his age, and joined the U.S. Navy.
“Somewhere he taught himself to play the guitar,” said his daughter, Billie. “Then he started doing radio.”
In 1948 Fred Milton Cox began his radio career at KCSJ in Pueblo. Using the name Jim Cox on the air, he was better known as Jimmy Cox, the Colorado Troubadour.
“He had a manager who helped him get started,” said Billie Devries. "Jim Smith was his name, and for some reason they decided to call my dad, Jimmy Cox.”
The popular announcer played his guitar, read livestock reports, and kept his listening audience entertained in the mornings, beginning his show with his familiar theme “My Colorado Hills Are Calling.”
While holding down a job as an appliance salesman at Sears, he continued to perform both on the radio, and at bars around town. In 1952, Cox signed with Blue Ribbon Records, operated by Chaw Mank, out of Staunton, Illinois. He recorded (at least) three 78 rpm records for the label, "My Colorado Hills Are Calling" / "Can I Take My Pony To Heaven" (with Buddy Johnson and the Colorado Rangers--J.C. A/AA), "I Had to Love You” (backed by Don Mason) / “Blue Ribbon Waltz “ (backed by Don Mason on guitar) - Blue Ribbon 1912 and “I Look in the Mirror”(backed by Bud Watkins and his Buddies) / “This Orchid Reminds Me of You” (backed by Gaylon Mize on guitar) - Blue Ribbon 1922.
A quick Internet search finds that Gaylon Mize died in 1956. Bud Watkins was the Buddy in Buddy and his Buddies, who recorded on the Canyon label with vocalist Paul Moyers “Out of Sight Out of Mind” / “I Didn’t Even Cry” – Canyon 101/102, no information could be obtained on guitarist Don Mason.
When KCSJ television signed on the air in 1953, the station was looking for local programming to fill the nine-hour broadcast day. They turned to Cox.
Management had an idea for a children’s show to entertain the kiddos when they returned home from school. So every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday afternoon, from 4:00-6:00, Jimmy Cox (and his sidekick Cliff Hendrix) would sing songs, play games, and introduce the popular “Howdy Doody Show."
Jimmy Cox (and his sidekick Cliff Hendrix, sitting)
"He was very busy during that time of his life," said Billie DeVries. "He was a state fair marshall, and he was always doing grand openings. I remember when he appeared at the grand opening of the old Chet’s Market.”
The “Time for Adventure” show, and later his music show “Colorado Hayride” were so popular that Jimmy Cox had his own fan club. For $1, admirers received a newsletter, a membership card, 8X10 photos, and four issues of Cox’s newsletter. The first 100 members received a free western tie, signed by Cox. The first newsletter, published in the fall of 1954, introduced his fans to Jimmy’s family, wife Wilma Mary, and daughter Billie Marlene.
Jimmy Cox, who recently augmented his country & western music spinning at KCSJ, Pueblo, Colo., has been notified that he was voted Star of the Month by the servicemen and women of the U.S. Armed Forces in Africa. Jimmy's recording of "I Look in the Mirror" was the month's most popular recording on the Armed Forces station, according to requests received by Kenny Wilder, the station DJ. --Billboard, November 13, 1954
Just six years later his TV shows ended, and so did Wilma and Jimmy's marriage. Wilma passed away in 1978.
“My mom and dad just grew apart when he got into the music business,” she said. “He ended up in Denver, and then moved to the Pacific Northwest, where he worked in radio, and later remarried.”
By the way, Jimmy Cox is not be confused with Jim Cox and the Outlaws, the Casper, Wyoming country outfit who recorded around the same time on the Outlaw label (see record below).
After 20 years away, Jimmy Cox returned to Pueblo in 1980, when he and his second wife divorced. He moved into a home on West 6th Street. It was a chance to reconnect with his now-grown children, and grandchildren.
(Click to enlarge)
“We’d have him over to the house for family dinners, and it was a chance to get to know him again,” Billie Devries said. “He was enjoying playing when he came back. He played a the Uptown Theatre, and he got involved in the church downtown and played his guitar."
On July 4, 1985 he died. He was just 60 years old.
“He had problems with his health, and his family had a history of heart problems,” said Billie Devries. “He’s buried at Fort Logan cemetery."
Jimmy Cox’s musical legacy lives on with his grandson, Cameron, who plays in the local band Double Down with Curtis Pacheco. He was previously in the rock band, Obsybian.
“It’s funny that I was never really in to country, I was more rock and roll,” said Cameron Devries. “But my grandfather really gave me a new respect for the genre – the older stuff. Today’s country is too rock and roll. I’m leaning toward performing more country.”
(Author's note: I was unable to secure any audio for this post. If you have these discs and can provide audio, please let me know. Thanks!)
Interview with Chan Romero conducted October 2011.
For the past two years, since I started this blog, I’ve had numerous people write to me suggesting I talk to Chan Romero, the former teen sensation who, in 1959, scored a huge hit with “Hippy Hippy Shake” (later covered by the Swinging Blue Jeans and The Beatles, among many others).
“You might not know this, but he’s from Pueblo,” the e-mails would always say. However in all of the biographies I could find on him, there was absolutely nothing that indicated he spent any time in the Steel City.
Through a series of events, that spanned several months, I was able to track down Chan, to set the record straight.
“My parents met in Trinidad, and later married in Pueblo,” he said.
Lloyd Romero, and his wife Rachel, both migrated to Montana to find work as farm workers. There they stayed and raised ten children.
A student at Central Catholic High School, in Billings, he was a member of the teen band The Bell Tones.
The Bell Tones (Richard "Chan" Romero second from right)
“I taught myself to play the guitar, and one day in my bedroom, I wrote this catchy little number called “Hippy Hippy Shake.”
The song became an instant local hit, as the Bell Tones would perform it at school dances in the area. In December 1958 local disc jockey Don Redfield singled out Romero as a star, and helped the teen make a demo of the song to send to Bob Keene, who was busy promoting another teen sensation, Ritchie Valens.
Two months after he sent the demo, Valens was killed along with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
That summer, Keene released the 17-year old singer’s “Hippy Hippy Shake,” which shot up to No. 1 in Europe and Australia.
After a world wind tour to promote the record (he opened for Jerry Lee Lewis), Romero returned home to Billings, where he graduated high school, and formed a band, The Challengers.
“I was too young to play clubs, so my friends told me about the 3.2 clubs in Colorado,” he said. “I had relatives in Denver, and that’s where I met the Cordova brothers, Billy and Frank.”
The Challengers also included Andy Baca on saxophone, and Ray Madrano, a guitar player out of Dalhart, Tex.
“We heard about all of these 3.2 clubs in Pueblo, and since the Cordovas had relatives in nearby Trinidad, we decided to head south.”
The Challengers were regulars at The Honey Bucket, and the Hi-Fi Club, where they caught the eye of local Pueblo promoter Tony Spicola.
“I guess this was around 1960, or so, and Tony became our manager,” he said. “We had a good time in Pueblo. We would play in these battle of the band contests, and I have lots of great memories about those.”
While the band would always play Chan’s hit song, the group started to branch out and perform more soul numbers. “We thought "Hippy Hippy Shake” was pretty bubble gum, so we really wanted to diversify the set list, and started doing more James Brown and Ray Charles stuff.”
The Challengers packed in the audiences, but they yearned to play to more than just the local college crowd.
“We turned 21 and Tony thought we should head to California,” he said.
“I wouldn't say I'm from Pueblo, but guess I was actually in Pueblo for about a year, or two, total.”
Working with a booking agency out of Hollywood, the band signed on for a six month engagement at the 49 Club in El Monte, where they opened for acts including Ike and Tina Turner, and the Righteous Brothers.
“We also discovered that there was another band in town called The Challengers, so we had to change our name,” he said.
They renamed themselves The Limits.
The band broke up when the reformed Crickets asked Romero to tour with them. “Glen Hardin’s wife was having a baby, and they asked me to take his place for the tour – so I left the band.”
Romero would later return to California where he recorded on Gene Autry’s Challenge label, “The Funniest Things” and the flip side “It’s Not Fair” (Challenge 59285 – 1965). “I think shortly after we recorded that, the label folded,” he laughed.
In 1962 while home in Billings, he decided to start his own record label, Warrior.
"My first artist on the label was my paperboy," he said. There was this Greek kid named Kostas who used to bug me to teach him to play the guitar, so I did. We went into the studio and recorded "Something We Call Love" and the flip side was "Jane." I think we made about 500 of them - they got a lot of airplay, in Billings.
(Kostas would later go on to write songs for Patty Loveless, Dwight Yoakum, Travis Tritt, The Dixie Chicks, and many other country acts).
“I had started a publishing company called Warrior Tunes, so I just liked the name, and just called the label that,” he said. “The horse logo on the label was done by a really good friend of mine out of Billings, Bill Stands.”
After he had the label up and running he received a call from his old friend Tony Spicola, who was looking for a label for his latest find, the Pueblo Colorado rock band, The Trolls (note: Trolls story in an upcoming issue).
(Romero’s Montana-based label is often confused with other labels of the same name. For more on other Warrior labels, see the outstanding Garage Hangover site.)
Romero would also have his hand in another of Tony Spicola’s Pueblo finds, Patti Jo Martinez, who had just left The Teardrops.
“I wrote her song “I’ll Sleep Tonight,” and I was there at the Ruff Studios in Amarillo when they recorded it for her,” he said.
Romero would continue his relationship with Spicola, when the two teamed up during his Phillips label recording sessions.
“We recorded five or six tunes. Tony was with me for those," he said. "But the one that was released was “Humpy Bumpy” (and the flip “Man Can’t Dog a Woman" – Phillips 40391/1966). “We had Leon Russell doing the keyboard overdubs on that one.”
Romero decided to give up the secular music business in 1968. He restarted the Warrior label in 1971, releasing Christian music.
“I haven’t been back to Pueblo in ages,” he admitted. “I was in Trinidad a couple of years ago, doing music with Frankie. I hope to get back there soon.”
Interview with Bob Fredregill conducted August 2011.
In the mid 1960s brothers Jim and Bob Fredregill were looking for a franchise opportunity.
"Both of us had worked in restaurants," Bob Fredregill said. "Our company, that was started in 1962, managed restaurants for absentee owners. Most of the those were in the mountains, like the Red Lion Inn in Vail, but we also had management contracts in Denver."
Originally from Sterling, the two set their sights on Pueblo, where they would open the city's first Red Barn restaurant.
"Red Barn was a franchise establishment started by a group of men from Ohio. We thought it was very innovative, and we were excited by the concept. They had an expanded menu, with not only hamburgers, but also chicken and fish."
On Nov. 1, 1966 the first Red Barn was opened at 215 E. Abriendo. The following year a second location started serving customers in the Belmont Shopping Center, on Bonforte.
The chain was an instant success, with hungry diners lining up for the diverse menu options, including Big Barney or Barnbuster burgers, $.99 fried chicken, and fish sandwiches.
The Red Barn capitalized on their diverse menu (and its instant appeal to children) with three mascots, Hamburger Hungry (complete with hamburger head), Fried Chicken Hungry (a chicken leg) and Big Fish Hungry (a blue fish).
"We actually had our own Hamburger Hungry costume," said Fredregill. "We would enter the State Fair parade driving a golf cart, with someone dressed in the costume. It was a fun attention-getter, but very hot to wear in the summer months."
Before Burger King patrons ever learned the lyrics to "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce," The Red Barn had their own catchy jingle, "When the hungries hit / When the hungries hit / Hit the Red Barn."
By 1974 the brothers opened their third location, in the Sunset Shopping Center on South Prairie.
Like many other family food chains, the Red Barn offered premiums to its customers. In the early stages of the restaurant, plastic hand puppets, yo-yos, comic books, plastic cups, and kites were popular with children.
Enlisting the help of local marketer, Jack Holden, the Pueblo chain branched out with its own promotional give-aways.
In 1969 the Pueblo Red Barn franchise release a red flexi disc, entitled "Sounds of The American West."
Listen to a sample of "Sounds of the American West"
The 33 1/3 single, complete with life on the range sound effects, was narrated by a folksy storyteller who managed to sneak in a few mentions of the restaurant's signature food items.
(Dinner bell sound effects) "You know there weren't any Red Barn restaurants handy like there are now, so we had to chop our own wood, and mother had to cook over an unpredictable wood stove. But it tasted all pretty darn good, all the same. What I wouldn't have given for a delicious Big Barney."
Fredregill doesn't recollect the specifics of how the promotional record came about, who recorded it, or how many were made.
The paper cover of the flexi was covered with scenes of the west, from noted Southern Colorado photographer, John Suhay. In 2010 Suhay was honored by The Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center as photographer emeritus.
It wouldn't be the last time the restaurant offered a record.
"Remember the old jingle for Coke ["I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing"]? Well, we got a whole bunch of those records and gave those out as a premium, with a sandwich and coke. But Coke found about it, and said we couldn't do it."
By the 1970s, glassware replaced records as the more popular premium offerings to customers.
"One of the biggest promotions we had was our patriotic glasses we had in 1976. Those were very popular." By the late 1970s, the Red Barn company changed hands, and sold to Servomation, who later sold it to Motel 6. The new owners ceased advertising for the chain and the franchise leases were allowed to expire with the last of the leases expiring around 1986. At its peak, Red Barn had 400 restaurants in 19 states.
"We closed the one in the Sunset Shopping Center a couple of years after we opened it - it just wasn't a good location. We broke our franchise in 1979, and renamed the two we had left J.R Poteet's, after a character in James Michener's Centennial [trail boss R.J. Poteet]. We ran it that way for two years. We kept the same concept, and made a few changes. Then in 1981 Paul Jones and Sam Sharp, who owned Loaf and Jug, bought the business."
While the Red Barn is no more, there are numerous remnants of the restaurant. Most of the distinctive Red Barn buildings were converted for other uses. While the Belmont location is gone, the Abriendo building is now a Mexi-Deli.
By 1972 the brothers started a catering business in town. In 1974 Jim and Bob Fredregill purchased an old church at the corner of Michigan and Routt, in the Mesa Junction area of Pueblo, a few blocks from Central High School. The property would be used for office and kitchen space for their expanding businesses.
After refurbishing the structure, the Fredregills opened the upscale La Renaissance Restaurant in 1978. This year marks their 33rd year in business.
"We came to Pueblo to start the business. It’s a great town, a good place to raise a family, and we just stayed."
COMING NEXT POST: Chan Romero - The Pueblo Connection
Springs Music
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*Springs Music* is a 1981 Colorado Springs local artists compilation,
designed to unite the two dominant music genres prevalent around the Pikes
Peak reg...
5 days ago
About this site
Obscure vinyl recordings, and the stories behind them, from Southern Colorado. We're talking along Highway 50, Holly to Montrose, and south to the New Mexico state line.
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