On December 19, 1967, eighteen-year-old Howie Thayer of La Moille, Illinois travelled nearly 150 miles south to Roger Francisco's basement recording studio in Urbana, Illinois. With rented instruments and six paychecks to cover the cost of one marathon session, Thayer recorded all of the different musical parts and vocals for both sides of a single.
According to the Bureau County Republican, Thayer used "a total of eight generations (overdubs) of tape on each song - five instrumental overdubs and three vocal overdubs. The newspaper added, "Thayer played the drums, piano, organ, bass guitar and lead fuzz guitar and sang two background vocals and one lead vocal in his two arrangements."
The two songs that Thayer recorded that day were "Movin' Groovin' Fairy Tale" and "If Death Don't Get You (Then The Government Will)."
At the time, Thayer told the Bureau County Republican that the song "If Death Don't Get You" was about the saying "You only have to do two things in life - pay taxes and die." He added that it was "mainly about the plight of the factory worker." He jokingly said that "Fairy Tale" was about the plight of his love life.
Despite recording all the parts himself, the single was credited to Howie Thayer and His Psycho-Electric Happening and was released on his own Psychedelic Sounds label.
Thayer had graduated from La Moille High School earlier that same year. While in school, he had been a drummer in a teen combo, the XKE's, along with Larry Lucas, Steve Westerlin, Jim Ewalt and Dale Edlefson. After graduation, Thayer had started working as a disc jockey at a local radio station. When the single was released, the local paper mentioned that "he will be playing the two songs occasionally on his sock show on WZOE radio."
In a 2018 conversation, Thayer confirmed many of the details of the recording. He added that he had 1,000 copies pressed at the time and sold out. He also mentioned, at one point you could buy the record at Clickner's in Princeton, Illinois, where the owner had provided Thayer with a special rack to display his single.
Thayer would return to RoFran Enterprises in Urbana two more times in 1968 according to the RoFran studio log (March 9th and September 5th). The result was another single, likely recorded in the same manner as the first.
Again both song were written by Thayer - an instrumental, "Bazap!," backed with "Side 2," a tragic love story referencing LSD and suicide among other things. Once again, the single was credited to Howie Thayer and His Psycho-Electric Happening and released on Psychedelic Sounds.
It is difficult to imagine how people in north-central Illinois responded to these records in 1968. Thayer remembers "Bazap!" getting some airplay on WSDR in Sterling, Illinois at the time - another radio station where he had worked.
Whatever the reaction, these two singles would prove to be Thayer's entire recorded output as a musical performer. His radio career, on the other hand, was just beginning. From 1967 to the current day, Thayer has worked at more than 50 different radio stations throughout the country. At some point along the way, he legally changed his first name to "Dr." In 1992, he earned a doctorate degree from Florida International University, officially making him, Dr. Dr. Thayer.
In 2004, Thayer bought a radio station: 96.7 FM-WZPH in Zephyrhills, FL - "The Zephyr." The format of the station is strictly "oldies" with no commercials whatsoever. As a result, it holds a world record for playing more than 3.5 million songs in a row. The streak was sadly broken on October 10, 2024 when Hurricane Milton destroyed the station. Dr. Dr. and the Zephyr however are back on the air in 2025!
In addition to radio, Dr. Dr. is also a math teacher and a body builder... he might even be the Incredible Impressive Hulk.
In late March of 1972, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Michael Day of Bloomington, Illinois headed east to record an audition tape for Columbia Records. Day had been playing keyboards and singing in bands in Illinois since junior high. Even though he had written a number of songs by this point in his young career, Day had yet to release anything. A demo tape for one of the biggest record companies in the world would mark his debut as a solo artist.
His introduction to the prestigious label was likely arranged by local talent agent, Irving Azoff. Now one of the most powerful men in the music business, Azoff was just starting to make a name for himself beyond the Champaign-Urbana music scene in 1972. One of Azoff's earliest discoveries, Dan Fogelberg, had recently signed with Columbia. REO Speedwagon, another of Azoff's, had their first album released on Epic, a subsidiary of Columbia, the year before. Day was hoping to be the next.
Joined by a group of mostly central Illinois musicians, Day spent six days at the Connecticut Recording Studios with producers Billy Rose II and Paul Leka (the same studio and producers REO Speedwagon had used for their first album). There they recorded five of Michael's originals to present to Kip Cohen, head of A&R for Columbia Records:
Dr. Freedmont's Bone Elixir
Back On My Own
Lead Me Love
Whiskey Woman (later renamed "Let This Good Man Be")
I Can Feel It
With Day on keyboards and vocals, the rest of the musicians included Norman Zeller on guitar, Doug Mazique on bass, Bobby Carlin on drums and Gale Pelletier on flute & sax. The Freedom Soul Singers (from Connecticut) provided backing voices.
It is worth noting, Day and the other musicians had never played together as a group before these sessions. This was not a band that had fine-tuned these songs over many months of playing together on the road. Instead, most of the musicians were likely hearing and learning the songs for the first time.
Pelletier, a horn player who was attending Illinois State University at the time, had met Day in Bloomington and had only jammed with him a few times at Day's parent's house before being invited to join him on the trip to Connecticut. All these years later, Pelletier still had Michael Day's handwritten lead sheet for "Lead Me Love" from the 1972 recording session.
After the sessions were over, Pelletier remembers going with Day to the Columbia Records headquarters in New York and playing the tape directly for Cohen in his office.
You can now listen to the five songs that Kip Cohen heard that day:
Cohen was apparently impressed enought that Day would soon return to Connecticut to begin recording an album for the label. Day, along with several of the musicians, would eventually move to Bridgeport, CT during the process. There they shared a house at 394 Saunders Avenue.
It would be almost a year later before it was finally announced that Day had signed an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records. Announcements in Billboard, Cash Box and Record World all suggested that the album would be ready by May of 1973. A few of the other up-and-coming singer-songwriters scheduled to make their debuts for the label that same year included Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel.
For a time, things looked promising for Day. An album of ten original songs was completed. Cover art was prepared which included photos by the legendary photographer Raeanne Rubenstein. Columbia Records assigned it a catalog # (32555). Test pressings were produced. A possible working title for the album (according to one tape box) was First But Not Last which would prove to be deeply ironic.
Unfortunately for Day, Columbia Records was in turmoil by May of 1973. Clive Davis, then president of the label, was eventually fired amid a scandal involving payola, drugs and other misappropriation of company funds. Before the end of the summer, Kip Cohen, the man that brought Day to the label, also left Columbia Records. The album's future was suddenly in limbo. With no one at the label looking out for his interests, the 20-year-old Day was "orphaned" within the company during the shakeup.
For a time, Day stayed on the East Coast. In November of 1973, Billboard listed some live dates for Michael Day in New Jersey. He was still listed as a Columbia Records artist. By 1974 however, Day had returned to Illinois without an album. His debut and solo career derailed by executive turnover and bad timing.
The 1973 album remains unreleased to this day. For more on the story including photos and audio from Day's life and career see our earlier post.
Count Demon was a rhythm & blues / jazz drummer, singer and bandleader who moved to Champaign, Illinois in the 1950's.
He is perhaps best remembered these days for a series of hard-to-find R&B 45s that he recorded and self-released during the 1960's. His career and impact on the Champaign music scene however went far beyond that.
Count Demon was born William Evans in the Canton, Ohio area. An article in the Massillon (OH) newspaper from August 1940 mentions a "Count Demon Evans, a 1940 high school graduate, who plays the drums." By 1947 he was drumming and singing with Duke Jenkins' band in Ohio. Early on Demon was paired with a trumpet player (Satchmo Thompson) and billed as a "novelty duet" as a featured part of Jenkins' floor show.
In May 1949, the Duke Jenkins sextet took up residence at the Brass Rail Club in Chicago. While in Chicago, they recorded several sides for Aristocrat Records (a direct predecessor to Chess Records) though only one single was ever released.
Listed as Duke Jenkins Aristocrats on the record, the group recorded the instrumental "Bercuese" along with "Baby I'm Sick Of You" which was co-written by Jenkins and Demon.
By 1951, Count Demon had left Jenkins' band and started his own group. At first they were known as the Quadratones and then eventually the Demons of Jazz.
Members included Billy Howe (trumpet), Waymon "Punchy" Atkinson (tenor sax), Bob Reeves (bass) and Joe Bradley (piano).
By 1953, they were performing in night clubs across the Midwest. The group was touted as "the band that plays everything - Novelties - Jumps - Blues - Sweet - Rumbas - Modern Sounds." On occasion, the quartet was billed along with an exotic dancer.
Demon himself was advertised as "one of the world's maddest drummers" and "the famous composer and recorder of 'Baby I'm Sick Of You,' 'Double Barrel Boogie' and many others." Another ad lists him as being the composer and recorder of "Beanphobia," "Mi Mi Cato" and "A Woman Is A Wonderful Thing."
Other than "Baby I'm Sick of You," official releases could not be verified for any of the songs mentioned. An acetate of "Beanaphobia" however was shared on Instagram in recent years. It was recorded at James Dooley Productions in Canton, OH with the Duke Jenkins Orchestra. The song is indeed credited to Count Demon and appears to have been a duet with Satchmo (Thompson). It was produced for Revo Records.
In 1955, Count Demon put the Demons of Jazz on hold and joined Champaign-native Jack McDuff and his band on the road. Besides McDuff who was playing piano at the time, the group consisted of Bill Yancey on bass, Kilroy Beatty on sax and singer Dahl Scott. (Ads for the group featured a picture of Count Demon behind a conga drum wearing a sombrero.)
An article in the St. Paul Recorder from February 18, 1955 mentions that Count Demon had just finished a recording of "Slipping and Sliding" with Chance Records in Chicago. If true, it may have been one of the last sessions done for the label which had already folded by the time that article ran.
There is no evidence the track was ever released by Chance or any other label. Count Demon however recorded a live version of "Slippin and Slidin" several years later and released it on his own Po' Boy's Record Company. The flip side of the 1962 single was "Why Did You Leave Me."
Back in 1956 McDuff decided to quit the road and possibly music and returned to Champaign to manage a dry cleaning business. Count Demon, it seems, decided to join him in central Illinois.
Another jazz musician that relocated to the area around that same time was saxophonist Waymon "Punchy" Atkinson. Originally from Akron, OH, Atkinson had played with Count Demon in the Duke Jenkins band and the Demons of Jazz.
McDuff famously did not remain in Champaign long but Count Demon did. By 1958, Demon was performing around the U of I campus, often in the Illini Union at Jazz-U-Like-It. Count Demon's quartet around that time included Punchy Aktinson on tenor sax, Bill Yancey on bass and Joe Bradley on piano.
A review in the Daily Illini from April 1960, described the "Demons" as "a local professional group; they have recorded for World Pacific, and have engagements at places such as the Eldorado, the Porthole, and the Elks." The locations listed were all local clubs. The mention of World Pacific Records may have been a reference to Punchy Atkinson having recorded for the label with Wes Montgomery and his brothers.
The band on this particular evening in 1960 included Tim Byrnes on bass, Joe Bradley on piano, Punchy Atkinson and Roland Clark, both on tenor sax. At some point in the evening a young Denny Zeitlin sat in with the group on piano. Zeitlin was a student at the U of I at the time.
The review continues, "In the second half, Count Demon surrendered the drums to Swede Perkins, and sang three songs fairly well. The last, 'In the Evening When the Sun Goes Down,' was a slow pulsating blues of the Count Basie variety. The audience reaction was overwhelming."
All but one of Count Demon's later recordings feature him behind the mic. In 1962, he released four singles on Po' Boy's Record Company (54 E. Columbia, Champaign, Ill.):
#300 - My Isabella / I Don't Believe
#301 - Slippin' and Slidin' / Why Did You Leave Me
#302 - Take It Upstairs Pt 1 / Take It Upstairs Pt 2
#303 - Wanderin' Child / Slow Train
Other than "My Isabella" and "I Don't Believe," all of the songs were recorded live (where exactly is unknown). Most are credited to Count Demon and A. Yarber although "My Isabella" appears to be a cover of Danny Cobb's tune of the same name released in 1955.
The song, which is full of double entendres and suggestive lyrics, was clearly a crowd favorite. Advertisements for live performances in the mid-1960's often refer to Count Demon as "Mister Take It Upstairs." (Listen closely to the lyrics and you can hear him name check "Jack McDuffy" and the Elks where the two of them played often.)
In 1964 the University of Illinois changed their policy regarding the Jazz-U concerts held in the student union making them reserved for students and faculty only. Count Demon and other local musicians not affiliated with the university were no longer allowed to perform there.
Count Demon went back on the road that year. He performing in Indiana with the Blue Knights Combo which included Joe Bradley on organ, Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet and Tony Zamora on tenor sax. Also, sometime in the mid-1960's, Count Demon opened the Star Record Shop on First Street in Champaign.
In July 1966 Count Demon and His House Rockers played the 3rd Ward Club in Bloomington, Illinois. Later that year he was back in Indiana, performing live with a group billed as the Jazz Members. At times they were promoted as Count Demon and His Four Members.
The next year he released a single on Star Record and Recording Company (206 1/2 North First Street, Champaign) under that moniker:
Count Demon & His Four Members - "I Got To Work With It" / "C.C. Rider"
The single was recorded at RoFran Enterprises in Urbana, Illinois on March 6, 1967. It was produced by George Tinsley. The band included Count Demon (vocal & drums), High Priest (Hammond organ), Chuck Fields (tenor sax), LaMonte Parsons (guitar), Freddie Davis (drums, tambourine) and Victor Maguire (bongos).
The group performed regularly in Indianapolis, Lafayette and Kokomo, Indiana throughout 1967. They also spent a few weeks at Sasto's in Des Moines, Iowa and Allen's Showcase in Omaha, Nebraska that same year.
In the late 1960's and early 70's, Count Demon stayed closer to home, playing and singing around Champaign with the Tony Zamora Ensemble. Pictured below: LaMonte Parsons, Count Demon, Cecil Bridgewater, Dee Dee Garrett (Bridgewater), Tony Zamora and Milton Knox. (Date unknown)
In 1968, Count Demon, along with Cecil Bridgewater and LaMonte Parsons, filmed a performance for WILL-TV in Urbana-Champaign. "Justice: Color Blind...or Just Blind?" was used in a 1969 documentary series entitled African-American Life in Central Illinois:
In a 1977 Daily Illini article about black jazz musicians in Champaign, several people commented on Count Demon's life and legacy. "Count Demon was one of the 'connecting links.' He stayed a long time, he played a lot of places, he gave jazz a continuity in the black community. " George Pope Jr. remembers his as "a helluva sing and entertainer. He wasn't a song and dance man, but he sang real good jazz, very similar to Mose Allison."
Richard Davis, described as one of the Count's best friends, remembers him as being "tall and thin. He could eat a lot but he'd never eat right. He led that musician's life. He didn't drink that much, he didn't use drugs or anything. He just didn't need those crutches."
Regarding his place in the community, Davis adds, "He used to operate a record store across the street from Tommy's Barber Shop (at First and Church Streets in Champaign). A lot of people used to confide in Count Demon. He was not only a musician, he was also a teacher. At the same time he was helping you learn about music, he could also help you learn about all that stuff out there (in the world), because he'd been there. Lot of people that set up shop in that record store turn out to be very involved in the civil rights movements of the '60s."
Candy Foster, a Champaign-area soul and blues legend that is still active today at age 89, regards Count Demon as a mentor. In a 2015 interview, Foster said this about Demon:
"He did a whole lot for me, took me under his wing as a young man, 19, 20, and...and showed me the ropes, ‘cause he was an entertainer, he get up there and he’d sing, and dance, and do everything, people were crazy about him. And he did novelties, songs. And all kind of things to keep people laughing, and when he danced, he had long legs, well he goin’ down, had a Mexican sombrero (laughter), he was a great hit, and – and, so, he just – he just knew how to entertain."
Earlier this year Illinois Public Media produced the documentary, Candy Foster: A Musical Witness. At the 15:30 mark, Foster and others talk directly about the life and legacy of Count Demon.
The Buffum Tool Co. were a 1960's folk-rock group made up of students from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. They played mostly original material with a sound that was heavily influenced by groups such as the Byrds, Love and Buffalo Springfield.
Band members included Phillip Ross, Frank Pytko, Frederick Thady, Donald McCrea Kennedy and Gerry Smith. An early lineup of the band reportedly included a drummer named Snake Larsen.
The group performed primarily the circuit of bars and small venues throughout Illinois and around the Midwest. During the "Summer of Love" however the group travelled to San Francisco and spent three weeks performing at the Matrix while crashing in Steve Miller's attic. There they met bands such as Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape and Quicksilver Messenger Service before returning to Illinois.
Only a few years earlier, the band was playing dances and frat parties on the campus of the University of Illinois. In those early days the group was known as the Barbarians.
For several months in early 1966, the group was being represented by G & G Enterprises, a booking agency based in Champaign. Eventually the group was picked up by promoter Ken Adamany and his Wisconsin-based agency.
Around that same time the band decided to change their name. For a brief period they were known as Our Mothers Children before settling on the Buffum Tool Company.
By the end of 1966, the group began to perform more in Chicago, Northern Illinois and Wisconsin. In December of 1966 and into the new year, the group played a number of shows at the Cellar in Arlington Heights. They also performed at other Chicagoland teen clubs such as the Crimson Cougar.
In late June of 1967, the band opened for the Five Americans on a few dates including Sterling, Illinois and Janesville, Wisconsin. In July, the band continued to perform in various Wisconsin locations including La Crosse and Appleton.
By early August, the group headed west for a gig in Colorado. (Ken Adamany's agency maintained a satellite office in Aspen.) Inspired however by the mass migration of young people to San Francisco that particular summer, the band left Colorado and headed straight to California.
Within days, thanks to a few key connections, the band was on stage at the Matrix, a Haight-Ashbury nightclub owned in part by Jefferson Airplane's Marty Balin. For several weeks in August of 1967, the Buffum Tool Co served as the unofficial house band for the venue. During that period, the group opened for the Sons of Champlin on several occasions.
While in San Francisco, Adamany likely helped arrange for the group to stay at Steve Miller's house. Miller and Adamany had been in a band together in Wisconsin in the early 1960s.
Miller, who was renting an old Victorian mansion in Haight-Ashbury, had multiple beds set up in his attic and the house served as a gathering point for musicians and friends. Others living there at the time included Albert King and Boz Scaggs (another former bandmate of Adamany).
The Buffum boys however were eventually asked to leave the house when the group's road manager got involved with someone else's girlfriend. After that the band slept on the stage of the Matrix before making their way back to the Midwest.
Despite the fact that they wrote a lot of their own material, the Buffum Tool Co never officially released any music. However they did make some informal recordings. Phillip Ross, in a 2020 interview with the internet radio show Acid Flashback, shared two of their songs. According to Ross, they were recorded live in a barn in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1967. Both songs were written by Gerry Smith.
"Hiding In Your Mind" & "Yesterday's Dreams"
Sometime after returning from California, Phillip Ross left the band. He was replaced by singer Brian Cook and bassist Larry Minton. Both had been members of the Champaign group, Somebody Groovy.
According to comments left by Frank Pytko on the website Hollywood Hangover, the Buffum Tool Co. were the replacement act for Otis Redding after his plane crashed over Lake Monona in Madison, WI on December 10, 1967. The Madison club where Redding and the Bar-Kays were scheduled to play was the Factory, which was owned by Ken Adamany. The other group on the original bill was another Adamany group, Rockford's Grim Reapers (which included a young Rick Nielsen).
The Buffum Tool Co continued to perform around the U of I campus into 1968. In February, they were listed in the Blytham Ltd. roster of bands which suggests they may have parted ways with Adamany at some point.
It is unclear when exactly the band called it quits but it was likely sometime before the end of 1968.
The Hollyood Hangover site includes a comment from Donald McCrea Kennedy which describes the bands last few gigs: "After four years of gigging, and having decided to hang it up, we played a packed farewell gig at the McKinley YMCA gym [in Champaign], to our throng of adoring fans, and then foolishly played one more gig - a high school dance in Dixon, Illinois, where, afterwards, we had to defend ourselves with mace while fending off an attack from some 30 or so drunken redneck factory workers of that fine town."
Arlie Neaville aka Dean Carter is responsible for some of the wildest sounds to come out of downstate Illinois (or anywhere else for that matter) in the mid-1960's.
Neaville, originally from Champaign, gravitated east to Danville, Illinois in the early 60's where he surrounded himself with a gang of talented, like-minded musicians. One of those people was drummer Richard "Kookie" Cook.
Cook, a member of Neaville's backing band - The Lucky Ones, was also part of the unofficial house band at Arlie Miller's Midnite Sound recording studio located on the outskirts of Danville.
It was there that Miller, Neaville and Cook, along with a handful of other area musicians, recorded dozens of late night sessions, experimenting and honing their unique sound.
Cook, however, was not strictly a session man. Kookie was also a bandleader and a singer that released at least two singles under his own name. In addition, Cook wrote and recorded several incredible songs that went unreleased at the time but eventually saw the light of day.
Other members of Kookie's band (according to the above promo photo) included Karl Reed, Mark James, Johnnie Dee and Dave Diamond.
Cook's first single, released as Kookie and Satalites, was a cover of the Duane Eddy instrumental "Rebel Walk" backed with "Boy Meets Girl," an original song penned by Neaville and Miller. The two Arlies also produced the record which was released on the Chicago label, GMA, in 1964.
In the spring of 1964, Kookie recorded two more instrumentals in Chicago, again under the name the Satalites. Both songs, "Space Race" and "Space Monster," were again credited to Neaville and Miller. Both would remain unreleased for 40 years.
The next year, Miller and Neaville started their own record label in Danville, Milky Way Records. While the label only released a handful of singles, one of them was by Cook.
Listed simply as Kookie on the record, the single included a cover of Roy Orbison's "Ooby Doody" with the original "You Took Her Love" on the flip side. The song was credited to Miller, Neaville and Cook.
The single was reviewed in the November 13, 1965 issue of Cash Box. Both songs received a grade of B, with "Ooby Dooby" labelled a "lite tuned reading of the Roy Orbison oldie," while "You Took Her Love" was described simply as "mournful lost love."
Nothing in Kookie's official releases however can adequately prepare the listener for the songs that Cook recorded but never released.
In 2004, Ace subsidiary Big Beat Records released The Midnite Sound of the Milky Way. Researched and compiled by Alec Palao, the collection gathered a number of unissued songs recorded at Arlie Miller's studio, including several tracks by Kookie.
The liner notes do not provide specific dates for Kookie's unissued songs, but it appear that many were recorded in 1966 or early 1967 - sometime after "Ooby Dooby" but before the Milky Way label folded.
Several songs bare a sonic resemblance to the Dean Carter releases around that same time. Kookie's pounding drums and tortured screams even match Carter's intensity and wild abandon. Prime examples include Cook originals such as "Working Man," "Revenge," "Misery," and "Don't Lie."
In the liner notes of Midnite Sound of the Milky Way, Arlie Miller said this about the songs, "On most of his stuff, Kookie had the original idea, and Neaville and I would help on it, or one of his band members. I had 'Workin' Man' all leadered up and ready to send to [pressing plant] RCA, but Kookie said forget it, he knew that we weren't gonna get any hits."
Just like that it was over. Soon after, for a few reasons, the Milky Way label came to a sudden demise. There is no evidence that Cook recorded ever again. If not for the Midnite Sound of the Milky Way compilation, the far out sounds of Kookie Cook would have been completely lost and forgotten.
In 1969 Richard "Kookie" Cook dedicated his life to Jesus. After graduating from Bible college, he became a full time minister for the next 35 years. Cook passed away in 2025.
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The last single released on the Milky Way label was Dean Carter's mind-blowing take on "Jailhouse Rock." For more about "one of the most otherworldly rockabilly singles ever made" see Plastic Crimewave's recent edition of The Secret History of Chicago Music.
In addition to Midnite Sound of the Milky Way, please be sure to check out Big Beat's other compilation, Dean Carter - Call of the Wild!
The Arkansas Travelers were, oddly enough, not from Arkansas at all. Instead, the popular Illinois country band originated from the Champaign-Urbana area.
Ben Cooley of Seymour, Illinois was the band's leader and guitar player. His brother, Ken Cooley, was also in the group along with Bill McManners and Lyle Dillman.
By 1963, Tommy Morgan had replaced Dillman. Ron Riddle of Bloomington also joined the group on pedal steel at some point.
In the 1960's the Travelers were regulars on WHOW radio in Clinton as well as Uncle Johnny Barton's "Corn Belt Country Style" television show on WAND-TV in Decatur. The popular program was broadcast across several stations in the Midwest and lasted for nearly six years. As a result the group had their own fan club at the time and even released a newsletter, Travelers Trails.
The band performed regularly at festivals, fairs and hillbilly jamborees around the state alongside Barton and other local country and bluegrass groups. They were often on the bill when stars of the Grand Ole Opry and other country performers came through central Illinois.
In 1960, the Arkansas Travelers opened up for a 15-year-old Brenda Lee at the Champaign County Fair. Also performing that weekend was Webb Pierce, Carl Smith, Red Sovine and Stonewall Jackson.
In 1964, the Travelers shared the stage with a young John Hartford at the Le Roy Fall Festival. Hartford, who had been a DJ at WHOW, would have been well known to the group and country fans in the area, long before "Gentle On My Mind."
In a 1996 article, Ben Cooley mentions that the band in its heyday performed on shows with Loretta Lynn, Tex Ritter, Ray Price, Smiley Burnett, Porter Wagoner and Billy Walker.
In addition to playng live, the Travelers produced more records than nearly any other country act from downstate Illinois in that era. Between 1958 and 1964 the group recorded and released at least 10 singles on three different labels.
Their first record, "My Blue Eyed Baby" b/w "The Sun Shines Brighter," was released in 1958 under the name Bill & Ben and the Arkansas Travelers. It was a Starday Custom pressing (#715) released on their own Traveler Records. The address on the label was 601 E. University, Champaign, Illinois.
The second 45, released in 1960, was also a Starday Custom pressing (#878) on Traveler Records. This time they were credited simply as the Arkansas Travelers. The address given was P.O. Box 61, Seymour, ILL.
"You Ask Me" was written by Ben Cooley, while "Just One More" was written by Bill McManners.
Next the Arkansas Travelers recorded at least four singles for Ben Baldwin Jr. and his Benz Record Company in Champaign. The label produced primarily records for square dancing.
Between 1961 and 1963, the group also released three 45s on the Nashville label, which essentially consolidated the Starday Custom pressings under a single label name. The recordings were done at the Starday Studios in Nashville, TN. It was very likely during one of these trips to Tennessee that the Travelers performed at the Grand Ole Opry as well as Ernest Tubbs Record Shop.
5013 Ben & Bill and the Arkansas Travelers - "My One Mistake" / "Monkey See Monkey Do" 1961
(Some later pressings list the artist as Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers. )
"My One Mistake" was written by Ben Cooley. "Monkey See Monkey Do" was written by McManners.
For the next few releases, the group dropped "Arkansas" from their name and were simply known as the Travelers, at least on record.
5110 The Travelers - "Make Believe World" / "Lips That Do The Talking" 1963
"Make Believe World" was written by Ben Cooley and Tom Morgan, with vocals by Cooley. "Lips That Do The Talking" was written and sung by Bill McManners.
5154 The Travelers - "Most Of The Time" / "Passions Over Conscience" 1963
Ben Cooley handled the vocals for both sides and wrote "Passion." McManners penned "Most Of The Time.
The group's last known release was in 1964 on the Midwest Record Company out of Champaign. Other central Illinois artists on the label included Marvin Lee (Flessner) from St. Joseph, Junior Garner from Decatur and Jack Reno who was a radio personality that worked at WHOW at the time.
4004 The Travelers - "I Even Fooled Myself " / "Keep Your Money (And Save Your Breath)" 1964
Both songs were were written by Tom Morgan. Vocals for "I Even Fooled Myself" by Ben Cooley while Morgan sang "Keep Your Money."
Ben Cooley and the Arkansas Travelers continued to perform live until at least 1975. However, there is no evidence that the band recorded anything after 1964.
The Arkansas Travelers at WHOW circa 1963: Bill McManners, Ben Cooley, Ken Cooley, Tom Morgan
While attending the University of Illinois, Dan Fogelberg became a popular performer in the Champaign-Urbana area, especially at the Red Herring Coffeehouse. The Daily Illini once described him as "astounding audiences with his versatility and magnetic stage presence as a folksinger in the David Crosby-Neil Young mold."
By the summer of 1971 however, it was clear that Dan Fogelberg had outgrown the local folk scene. He had dropped out of school earlier that year and was starting to perform in Chicago more than Urbana.
As a result, his return to the area in late June of 1971 was already newsworthy. A Daily Illini article wrote "a regular Red Herring performer until he made it big in Chicago, Fogelberg will return Wednesday at 9 pm for a benefit concert."
A few weeks after the show, while still in town, Fogelberg approached local musician and sound engineer Roger Francisco about using his studio to record some demos. Dan explained that his manager, Irving Azoff, wanted to take them to California in search of a record deal with a major label.
The RoFran Enterprises Studio would have been well known to Dan at that time. Some of his earliest studio recordings were done there as part of the Red Herring Folk Festival compilation albums. This includes early versions of his songs "Looking For A Lady" and "Hickory Grove."
Thanks to an interview conducted with Roger Francisco in 2015 by the Sousa Archives and the Center for American Music, we have a few details about how the 1971 demo session came about. Here is the story in Francisco's own words:
Dan Fogelberg ‐‐ he was always helpful for other people. He'd come in and play
on sessions with other people. And then all of a sudden, one day, “I've gotta have this demo tape for Irv
Azoff is taking it out to LA, and I'm gonna do that. I don't have any money to pay it.” “Okay.” “Come on,
you can – you know, day at the studio, we’ll hold it for you.” So we spent a day in the studio and he took
the album out."
The RoFran Enterprises sessions log book shows the exact recording date to have been July 21, 1971. What Fogelberg recorded that day however was not preserved in the ledger.
Incredibly, a tape bearing that same date and Dan's name (misspelled as FOGELBURG) has recently surfaced. The tape contains three songs, all studio recordings, feature Fogelberg with a backing band.
The names of the other musicians playing on the session are not known at this time. The song titles, according to a handwritten note inside the box, appear to be: "Another Daydream," "There Is A Reason (Who Has The Time)," and "Little Miss Mindy."
Two days after the recording session, the Daily Illini, somewhat prophetically, ran an article about the impending success of some of the area's talent. "Don't be surprised if you walk into a record store one day and find an album recorded by a former Red Herring regular. It may soon be a reality."
The article tells of Mormos and their new album released in France. Members of the group, many of which were former Red Herring performers, included Jim Cuomo, Elliott Delman, Rick Mansfield and Annie Williams. Regarding Dan, the article proclaimed that he was "likely to be recording soon under a national record label."
In fact, Fogelberg soon left Champaign and headed to Los Angeles himself where he waited for months while Azoff worked on securing him the right deal. Fogelberg wrote about this period in his life on the Super Seventies Rock Site:
David Geffen had just formed Asylum, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel had just been signed to Columbia, and Irving was trying to sell me.
I was a big fan of Joni Mitchell's. She was a big influence on my songwriting. I'd seen that Geffen had set up this label for singer-songwriters, and I said, "What a great idea. This is where I want to be."
At the same time, Clive Davis had heard about me through Irving, and Clive was offering me a singles deal. I said, "No, I want an album deal, or we don't do it."
Geffen's label sounded like a haven for progressive artists, so I showed Irving an article about Geffen in Rolling Stone, and Irving said, "OK, I'll call the guy."
We got David's number and got him on the phone. He said, "I have no idea who you are, or what you're talking about, but if you send me a tape I'll listen." The rest is pretty much history. Irving went to work for David, and they hollered at each other across Sunset Boulevard.
But the ironic thing was, I didn't go with Asylum. It didn't feel exactly right, and Irving was saying, "Look, there are a lot of places to go here." He wanted to play the record companies, and for six months he just made the rounds. Every day I'd be sitting out in the Valley, in this little apartment, eating chili and waiting for a record deal.
Irving would come home and say, "Well, it's A&M, definitely." I'd say, "Oh, great. When do we start?" And Irving would say, "We'll talk about it tomorrow." The next day he'd come home and tell me about another record company.
He did this to me for about six months. Finally I said, "I'll believe it when I see it." In the end, we went with Columbia and Clive, but for an album, not just a single.
Fogelberg returned to Champaign-Urbana briefly in October of 1971 for a concert at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. He opened for REO Speedwagon and the All Star Frogs at the first ever rock concert held in the Great Hall.
In ads promoting the concert, Dan was bill as being "Back from California." An article in the Daily Illini mentions that he had been on the West Coast "studying with Neil Young."
A review of the concert in the Daily Illini a few days after the show was however less than impressed with the "new" Dan Fogelberg.
"Seeing Fogelberg perform used to be an almost mystical experience. He'd come on stage looking dragged out and sullen, say hardly an audible word during his entire set, giving nothing but his music and the feeling in it. The cheerful, clean, talkative Dan Fogelberg of Saturday night seemed like a different person altogether, and not necessarily a better one. The California experience polished him, but it took some of the mystery and appeal away from his stage personality."
The reviewer conceded that "neither his songs nor his playing lost any of their sensitivity or beauty during his stay on the West Coast."
Fogelberg would return to perform one last time at the Red Herring in January of 1972. That night he shared the stage with Elliott Delman and Annie Williams, both back from Paris. Like Dan, the two were only in town briefly. (Recordings of the concert appear to exist and it may have been broadcast live on WPGU. Later, the three went to the radio station and had a late night in-studio jam session.)
The Daily Illini review of the Red Herring performance was titled, "Fogelberg, Delman Unchanged." Despite the sentiment, things would never be the same again. In many ways the concert served as Dan's farewell to his "college years" and to his home state.
Still, Fogelberg shared a new song that night proving he had not forgotten where he came from: "Three thousand miles east / I may miss the harvest / But I won't miss the feast." The chorus adds: "It looks like your gonna have to see me again / Illinois, oh, Illinois / Illinois, I'm your boy."
UPDATE: On April 3, 2025, WSIU removed most of my Session videos from YouTube for broadcast and copyright reasons. The videos I posted were originally given to my by Bruce Scafe, creator and producer of the show, who specifically asked that I share them. Thankfully, most of the videos posted here were already available elsewhere.
2nd UPDATE (May 27, 2026): WSIU assures me that the original master tapes for the Session are safely stored on the Carbondale campus. They hope to re-air some of the episodes as money and time allows. In fact, they plan to rebroadcast the complete Billy Joel show during the upcoming pledge drive.
The Session, one of the first nationally televised music programs to feature up-and-coming artists, was filmed and produced by WSIU-TV (Channel 8) in Carbondale, Illinois. The half-hour show aired weekly on PBS stations across the country between 1971 and 1973. It featured primarily rock, jazz and folk groups from downstate Illinois as well as the St. Louis area. On occasion the show presented new artists from around the country, including a young "Piano Man" from New York.
The Session was the brainchild of Bruce Scafe, WSIU's television producer at the time. Scafe was an Aurora, Illinois native that held a bachelor's degree in music and a master's in radio-television from the University of Illinois. Before being hired at WSIU in 1970, Scafe played trumpet for two years in Les Elgart's band. He was also a member of the U of I Jazz Band for several years. The Session was a natural marriage of Scafe's two main interests, music and television.
Between August 1971 and August 1972, Scafe directed and produced 67 episodes of The Session. All of the camera and audio crew were students at Southern Illinois University. Hosts of the show included London Branch, Larry James and David Langdon.
Initially the program was broadcast in Carbondale and re-shown on public television networks around the Midwest. By the summer of 1973, PBS selected 17 programs to broadcast nationally. Before they aired however, Scafe left WSIU for a television job in Texas.
When asked about the show in 1973 for a syndicated article promoting the program, Scafe said, "We only had two cameras available. It would have looked great if we had three. I look at the program now and I find a lot that's lacking." He added, "But we did the best we could and I think we actually pulled off miracles with the equipment we had."
A year later, Scafe went on to help create another music show for public television in Texas. That show, now the longest-running music program in television history, was Austin City Limits. In a recent correspondence with Bruce Scafe, he reflected on his time directing and producing The Session more positively than he did in 1973, saying "Everything I learned about directing music came from that show. I had to be quick on my feet. With only 2 cameras I had to make every shot count and be able to anticipate what was next. I think we accomplished that…making 2 cameras look like 3.” Scafe added, "I can honestly say there would be no ACL without that experience."
Thanks to Bruce, we can now watch more episodes of The Session than any time in the last 50 years. He has shared with us several complete episodes which you will find below. Also, Bruce has shared a treasure trove of photographs taken by Myers Walker, art director at SIUC-TV at the time. Walker was responsible for the variety of different sets used on The Session. His photographs provide a unique view of the show and the musicians. The descriptions below come directly from the PBS press releases and/or newspaper TV listings.
Recorded in Carbondale, Illinois in 1972 and aired nationally by PBS in June of 1973. The band members included: Tony Driggins (bass), Michael Lutz (vocals, rhythm guitar), Henry Weck (drums) and Cub Koda (lead guitar). The Session was produced and directed by Bruce Scafe. The songs performed:
Recorded in Carbondale, Illinois sometime in 1972 and aired nationally on PBS in June of 1973.
0:00 Knock On My Door
5:37 Hey Bulldog
9:48 Ain't That Peculiar
14:14 The First Time
18:47 Borrowed Time
22:31 Charity BallBelow is the original PBS press release:
Fanny, an all-girl rock band who write, sing and play today's music will perform on "The Session," a new summer series of rock and jazz programs produced by public television station WSIU, Carbondale, Illinois.
With four albums to their credit, Fanny has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe where they are well-known. A hit single, "Charity Ball," put the group at the top of the charts.
Of the group, two Manilla born sisters, Jean and June Millington play bass and guitar respectively, with Nicoel Barclay on organ and piano and Alice deBuhr on drums. Nicoel (Nickey) does most of the song-writing for the group.
For "The Session" the group does several numbers from their third album, "Fanny Hill," including "Knock on My Door," "Hey, Bulldog," "First Time," "Ain't that Peculiar" and the aforementioned hit, "Charity Ball."
"The Session" is a production of WSIU, Carbondale, Illinois. Dave Langdon is host, produced and directed by Bruce Scafe. The program is transmitted nationally by PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service.
Fanny, an all-girl rock band who write, sing and play today's music will perform on "The Session," a new summer series of rock and jazz programs produced by public television station WSIU, Carbondale, Illinois. With four albums to their credit, Fanny has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe where they are well-known. A hit single, "Charity Ball," put the group at the top of the charts. Of the group, two Manilla born sisters, Jean and June Millington play bass and guitar respectively, with Nicoel [sic] Barclay on organ and piano and Alice deBuhr on drums. Nicoel (Nickey) does most of the song-writing for the group. For "The Session" the group does several numbers from their third album, "Fanny Hill," including "Knock on My Door," "Hey, Bulldog," "First Time," "Ain't that Peculiar" and the aforementioned hit, "Charity Ball."
John Hicks Quartet (PBS Ep. 103 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 6/23/73)
Besides being an excellent jazz pianist, John Hicks does a great deal of composing and arranging. He is joined by Julius Hemphill on alto sax and flute, Gerald Brantley on bass, Phillip Wilson on drums, and Marcella Hooks, vocalist.
Mike Murphy and the One-Eyed Jacks (PBS Ep. 104 Tape Date: ? Air Date: 6/30/73
Mike Murphy and the One Eyed Jacks, a rock group with a good measure of rhythm and blues in their act, will be featured on The Session. Group leader Mike Murphy does all of the song writing for the One Eyed Jacks and plays a total of 13 insturments, including calliope, accordion, French horn and of course guitar. Through the years Murphy has played with such rock superstars as Janis Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane, Blood, Sweat & Tears and many others. Other players in the group are: Van Gray, congas; Terry Murphy, organ; Bruce Hall, bass; and Greg Sagesser, drums. For The Session, Mike Murphy and the One Eyed Jacks perform "You Don't Seem to Realize," Untitled," "You've Got Your Nerve," "La La Song," all Mike Murphy tunes and Burt Bacharach's "The Look of Love."
Don Crawford (PBS Ep. 105 Tape Date: 3/22/72 Air Date: 7/7/73)
Folk-rock singer Don Crawford will appear on "The Session," the PBS series of popular music. Crawford, a native of San Francisco is known as a singer of folk songs, rhythm and blues oriented music and is also an actor, monologist and composer. A professional performer since the age of 14, he is adept at six and twelve string guitar and is an accomplished jazz bassist. Among others, he has performed with musicians John Handy, Paul Horn and Gerald Wilson. For "The Session," Crawford performs "I I See You Inside My Mirror," "The Colorado Sweet / Suite," "Gonna Buy You A Music Box,"
"Lady Anne," "4th Of July Party Song," "For All The Ladies," and "All Because Of You."
Ray Burton and Gino Cunico, a folk-rock duo from Sydney, Australia, on WSIU-TV's The Session. The program was taped in 1972 in Carbondale, Illinois and aired nationally in July of 1973. Hosted by Larry James, the Session was produced and directed by Bruce Scafe.
The songs performed:
Gypsy Lady
How In Love Am I?
Astral Plane Ride
Grandfathers
(I Live In A) World Of Fantasy
Dream For A Love
Run For Your Life
Jake Jones (PBS Ep. 107 / Tape Date: 5/3/72 / Air Date: 7/21/73)
"a rock band whose instruments include a mellotron"
Recorded May 3, 1972 in Carbondale, Illinois and aired nationally on PBS in July of 1973. The band included Chuck Sabatino (bass, vocals), Joe Marshall (guitar), Phil Jost (keyboards, mellotron) and Don "Barney" Biver (drums). The Session was directed and produced by Bruce Scafe. Some of the songs performed:
The Boat Song Kiss of Death Why Do I Cry Speak To Me Lady Don't Let Lost Time Bring You Down
Gerry Grossman, a singer-guitarist-comic from Chicago, will perform on The Session. Twelve years of guitar experience, plus an extensive knowledge of rock n' roll all the way back to the Big Bopper, provide Grossman with an impressive repertoire. He is continually called upon to defend his claim that he can perform ninety-five percent of all pop songs recorded since 1955. Comedy figures prominently in Grossman's act as well. During a performance he parodies the subjects that are amusingly close to us all - pop music, television, social customs and adolescence. Grossman has appeared at many clubs in the Midwest and has performed on college campuses across the country. For The Session Grossman sings "Rock n' Roll Medley," "When She Smiled," "I Found You," "Watching the World Go By" and "Christy."
Dub Crouch, Norman Ford, and the Bluegrass Rounders (PBS Ep. 109 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 8/4/73)
Dub Crouch, Norman Ford and the Bluegrass Rounders, a veteran bluegrass group from St. Louis will provide a rousing program of entertainment on The Session. The group has been together for sixteen years, and in 1971, were the winners of both the National and International Bluegrass Band Festival, held in Oklahoma. Along with Dub Crouch, who plays the 5 string banjo, and Norman Ford, who plays the flattop guitar, are Stan Wagganer, mandolin, Bob Wagganer, fiddle and Jesse Sanson, bass fiddle. For their appearance on The Session, the group performs "Panhandle Country," "Midnight Train," "Just A Used-To-Be To You," "Doin' My Time," "Roll On Buddy, Roll On," "Rawhide," "Live and Let Live" and "Ozark Breakdown."
St. Louis Ragtimers (PBS Ep. 110 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 8/11/73)
St. Louis Jazz Quartet(PBS Ep. 112 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 9/8/73)
Formed four years ago, the Quartet has made several appearances with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and has performed more than 200 concerts for the St. Louis Chapter of Young Audiences, Inc., in addition to numerous special concerts on college campuses throughout the Midwest. Jeanne Trevor is the vocalist for the quartet. Other members are David Schrage, pianist, Terrence Kippenberger, bass, and Charles Payne, drums. Their program on THE SESSION will include “I Got Love,” “Green Dolphin Street,” “A House Is Not A Home,” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” Mike Murphy and the One Eyed Jacks, a rock group with a good measure of rhythm and blues in their act, will be featured on The Session. Group leader Mike Murphy does all of the song writing for the One Eyed Jacks and plays a total of 13 insturments, including calliope, accordion, French horn and of course guitar. Through the years Murphy has played with such rock superstars as Janis Joplin, the Jefferson Airplane, Blood, Sweat & Tears and many others. Other players in the group are: Van Gray, congas; Terry Murphy, organ; Bruce Hall, bass; and Greg Sagesser, drums.
The Ship(PBS Ep. 113 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 9/15/73)
An unusual folk-rock opera called "The Ship" embarks on a "a voyage through the human emotional range." Authors Steve Melshenker and Steve Cowan - who also perform on the program - describe "The Ship" as a "a contemporary folk music journey, a journey of the mind." Their opera uses a voyage metaphor to involve the listener in "an exploration and penetration of the senses." Segments of the opera are entitled "The Storm," "The Calm," "Lost," and "The Island." Performing "The Ship," which will soon be released by Elektra Records, are Todd Bradshaw, electric bass; Steve Reinwand, guitar, dobro, harmonica and vocals; Mark Hamby, piano, flute and vocals; and composers Melskenker and Cowan, guitar and vocals.
Ron Elliston Trio (PBS Ep. 114 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 9/22/73)
The Ron Elliston Trio - all members of the University of Illinois Jazz Band - are Fred Atwood, bass; Chuck Braugham, drums; and Elliston, piano. Braugham won the "Best Big Band Drummer Award" at the Mobile (Alabama) Jazz Festival in 1969, and the same year was named "Best Drummer" at the Notre Dame Collegiate Jazz Festival. Bassist Fred Atwood has appeared with Phineas Newborn, Jr. and toured with the Maynard Ferguson Band. Elliston appeared with Dick Schory at Carnegie Hall and worked with the Al Cohn - Zoot Sims Quintet. Their program will include "Skating in Central Park" by John Lewis; a medley of Miles Davis' "All Blues," Bach's Prelude in E Minor and "Django" by John Lewis; and "Minha Saudade.
Band members: Carla Peyton, vocals; Kevin Cox, flute and congas; Harry Washburn, guitar; Bob Pina, keyboards; Andre Mossotti, bass; and Billy McMullin, drums
Oliver Lake and BAG (Black Artists' Group) (PBS Ep. 116 / Tape Date: ? / Air Date: 10/6/73)
Modern variations on a classical form - the string quartet - are offered by the Illinois Quartet, as they perform two compositions.
There were roughly 50 additional episodes of the Session that aired in Carbondale and around the Midwest in 1971-1972 that were not selected by PBS. This includes some of the earliest known footage of the "Piano Man."
Billy Joel & Friends(Tape Date: 2/10/72)
Billy Joel would just as soon chuck the whole music business, buy a boat and spend the rest of his life fishing. But now that he's in music, he writes all of his own music and displays unusual versatility and range of expression on both his vocals and the piano. Backin up Billy Joel are Al Hurtz on guitar, Larry Impelletiere on bass and Rhys Clark on drums. Numbers include "Travelling Prayer," "Everybody Loves You Now," "Captain Jack" and "Tomorrow is Today."
Listen to a podcast about the Billy Joel & Friends episode which includes an interview with Bruce Scafe:
"Rocky Maffit is a composer-lyricist-singer-guitarist. His music is on the quiet side, but not without a distinctively underlying rhythm and an interesting and unusual blend of voice and guitar. The numbers he performs include 'Gasoline Rainbows,' 'On the Boulevard' and 'Only Suckers Worry'"
James Barton & Friends
"sing his original folk songs"
Ron Bridgewater Quartet
"perform 'Naima' and 'Arman,' characterizes its music as the black man's experience through jazz"
Many of the other performers featured on The Session were from southern Illinois or the St. Louis area.
Magna Crunch
"a six man rock band that blends rock and jazz with choreography and unique musical instruments"
"a St. Louis rock band plays a program of entirely original music incorporating a wide range of styles from ragtime to an Old English Round"
David Earl
"composer-singer peforms his own work. Puts his poetry to music"
Bob Rembke
"folk-rock guitarist and comedian presents his own works and some by Bob Dylan"
Dalphene McAdory
"sings in a small nightclub atmosphere"
Oldfield, Branch & Company "The jazz trio performs four original compositions, plus Simon and Garfunkel's 'Bridge Over Troubled Waters'"
Fee
The Singing Sphinx & The Souvenir Sounds
"The Carbondale, Ill. chapter of the Sweet Adelines of America, who call themselves the Singing Sphinx, combine with their barbershop brothers from Herrin, the Souvenir Sounds, to bring an evening of barbershop harmony."
Ed Jenny "sings excerpts from his three rock operas"
Spoonriver Band "'Funky rock 'n' roll plus a little touch of soul' is one way of characterizing the music of The Spoonriver Band from St. Louis. The varied backgrounds of several of its members presents a tasteful blend of styles"
Frank Bellino
"plays the viola d'amore"
Gand Family Singers (Tape Date: 4/12/72)
"Bob Gand and his daughter Gale and son Gary are joined by Joan Berstein in a performance of traditional American folk songs"
The Group
"a small jazz trio"
Rich Crandall Trio "a contemporary jazz-rock group"
Stanton, Sullivan & Riley "freedom and intense involvement are the cornerstone of this group, a folk trio from Carbondale, Illinois"
Corey Jones "guitarist plays folk-rock and bluegrass"
Kay Pace & The Inspirational Wonders "gospel singers from Freewill Baptist Church, Carbondale"
Olive Brown "blues singer"
SIU Baroque Ensemble
"performs Bach, Handel"
The Riverfront Ragtimers
"features Jean Kittrel on piano, Don Frantz on banjo and Don Summers on tuba"
London Branch Quartet
Don Brown & The Ozark Mountain Trio
The Country Sounds
Diamond Rio
Equinox
Vince Huffman Quartet
The Jazz Progression
SIU Faculty Brass Quintet
The Session - Behind The Scenes
The original story was posted in July 2023. Special thanks to Bruce Scafe for generously sharing videos, photos and documents from The Session.
