A.J. & The Savages (Havana)

Like so many downstate Illinois bands, A.J. and the Savages are often misidentified as being from Chicago by record collectors and garage rock aficionados.  It is somewhat understandable in this case given that their only record, an obscure 1967 single, was released on a Chicago-area label that featured several bands from the city and its suburbs.  A.J. and the Savages were an exception.

The five teenagers in the group (none named A.J.) were instead from a cluster of small towns in central Illinois, far from the Windy City.  Three of the band members were from Havana in Mason County:  Ron Stockert on organ, Jerry Armstrong on drums and Paul Glick on bass.  The two guitar players in the band were from nearby towns in Fulton County:  Jack Simmons (St. David) and Ray Fidler (Cuba).

A.J. and the Savages formed sometime in early 1965 and were playing at school dances and teen centers before the end of the year. In 1966, the band played regularly in central and western Illinois especially in nearby Canton and Galesburg.  In August, they participated in the "Combo Clash" at the Young America Illinois State Fair and were voted as one of the top five groups in the contest which earned them a trophy and other prizes.

Sometime in late '66 or early '67, the group recorded two songs for the Delaware label based in Roselle, Illinois.  The single was released in March 1967.  The A-side contained a Ron Stockert original tune, "Long Long Time."  The flip side is a cover of the Premieres' "Farmer John" (originally written and performed by Don and Dewey).  

In 2000, "Long Long Time" was included on Volume 15 of the Teenage Shutodwn! compilation series.  Listen to the song here:

(There is no online source for "Farmer John."  If anyone has this record or has even a recording of the b-side please get in touch at downstatesounds@gmail.com.  We'd love to be able to add the song here.)

The group continued to perform in Illinois and ever promoted their single for a period (see advertisement).  Before the end of 1967 however the group split up.  Despite the obscurity of the record and the fact that the band was fairly short-lived, several of the members went on to have lifelong musical careers.

After the Savages, Ron Stockert went on to form The Bushes while attending Knox College in Galesburg.  A few years later he joined up with some Champaign musicians and eventually moved to Chicago to help form the band Rufus.  Stockert would go on to write and sing about half of the band's debut album which was released on ABC Records in 1973.  

The band's second album, Rags To Rufus, which prominently featured Chaka Kahn on vocals, went gold and earned Stockert and the group a Grammy.   Stockert left the group soon after.  He eventually went on to play with Three Dog Night and many others over a long successful career.  He passed away in April 2020.

Drummer Jerry "Pork" Armstrong's next band after A.J. and the Savages was Yellow Bird.  The group was together just long enough to release a single on Stereo Village in 1968 (Stockert plays on it as well).   

  

Armstrong did not remain a drummer for long however.  Over the next few years he played in a few central Illinois bands (Light Brigade, Mackinaw Valley Boys) but eventually became a frontman, singing and playing guitar as Pork and the Havana Ducks.  Armstrong released three albums in the late 70's and early 80's and was a legendary live performer known throughout the Midwest.  Armstrong passed away on September 13, 2003.

Guitarist Jack Simmons was also a talented guitarist and singer that was in multiple central Illinois bands over the years, most notably the Spoon River Journeymen.  He passed away on June13, 2024.