The Vanguards (Mendota)

The Vanguards were five teenagers from Mendota, Illinois: Tony Martin, vocals; Jack Wagner, lead guitar; Jim Larkin, rhythm guitar; Benny Sutton, bass guitar; and Gary Fitzgerald, drums.  All were students at Mendota High School.

The combo formed in 1964 and got their start playing at the local youth center, the Mendota Kanteen.  

By 1966, the group was performing throughout the northern half of Illinois, including gigs in DeKalb, Dixon, Princeton, Ottawa, Streator and even Chicago.   

In early 1966 the group travelled to the Universal Recording Studio in Chicago for a recording session.  The end result was a single which the band self-released in the summer of that year.

The 45 included "What's Wrong With You," an original written by Martin and Fitzgerald, along with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" on the flip side.  (The audio in the YouTube videos below was transferred directly from the master tapes not from a record.)

 

The band also made several other recordings which were never released at the time.  They included covers of "Bulldog," "Hi-Heel Sneakers" and "Kansas City,' as well as two originals:

"Cool Richie" & "Peachtree"

  

Informal live recordings done at the Mendota Kanteen in 1966 show the band doing a number of Rolling Stones' covers (Paint It Black, Satisfaction, As Tears Go By, Get Off My Cloud & The Last Time) as well as songs by as the Kinks, the Turtles and the Animals.   Their sets included a number of Ventures-inspired instrumentals as well, such as “Pipeline,” “Diamond Head,” "Walk Don't Run" and “Perfidia.”

The group continued to perform through the summer of 1967 including gigs in nearby Compton and Amboy.  By 1968 however the members had all graduated high school and went their separate ways (i.e. Vietnam), bringing an end to the band.

Fast forward to 2010, when singer Tony Martin and his wife were involved in a car accident which left him with serious spinal injuries.   A benefit was planned for Martin in January 2011.  The day before the event, all of the members of the Vanguards joined Martin at his bedside.  It was the first time in 43 years they were all together again.

Around the same time, a Vanguards CD was produced and sold to help raise money for Martin.  Incredibly, the band members were still in possession of the master tapes and acetates from their '66 sessions.  The CD included "remastered" versions of the single along with unreleased tracks (see above YouTube videos).

Tony Martin passed away in 2014.  In the 40+ years after the Vanguards he continued to sing, performing with multiple area bands such as the Old News Band, Rum and Chowder and Lonwolf.

Guitarist John "Jack" Wagner continues to write and perform music in Texas to this day.  You can listen and purchase his latest release HERE.   He also writes musical stage plays.  His most recent, Dream Catcher: The Ray Scott Story, is currently being produced by the Mystic Cat Society in Houston.

The Buffum Tool Co. (Champaign-Urbana)

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."

The Inner Sanctums (Virden)

The Inner Sanctums were a teenage combo from Macoupin and Sangamon counties in downstate Illinois.  The group released a lone single in 1968 and had a brief moment of national exposure due to their appearance on the television show Happening '68.

The leader of the Inner Sanctums was bass player Dave Hogan from Virden.  Other members of the group included his younger brother, Joe Hogan, on drums; Gene Skeen of Gerard played lead guitar and sang; Mike Bates of Carlinville on rhythm guitar; and Linda Williamson from Auburn played the organ.

The band formed sometime in 1966 when most of the band members were still in high school or younger.  Other than Dave Hogan, who had been taking bass lessons at the time, the boys in the group did not know how to play their instruments when they first started.  Williamson, a former neighbor to the Hogans and the oldest member of the group, however had been playing the piano for six years when she decided to join the combo. 

By November of that year, the Inner Sanctums participated in a “Battle of the Bands” in Divernon, Illinois.  Other contestants included The Syndicates of Chatham and the Vibratones from Carlinville.  No word on who won the contest.

The Inner Sanctums would continue to perform in the area at school dances and other events for more than five years.  By the summer of 1968, the group had a standing gig at the VFW Hall in Gerard on Wednesday nights.

In an August 1967 article in the Jacksonville Journal Courier, the band was described as “having cut several records and have been extremely popular wherever they have performed.”  Despite the claim, it seems unlikely that the band had made any records at this point.

In 1968 however, the band did record a single at the Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois.  Released simply as Inner Sanctum on the studio’s house label, Thunder Records, the record included two songs written by guitarist Gene Skeen.

"Can't Make It Without You"  /  "Times Are Getting Better"

 

The group's big break came that same year when  a cousin of the Hogans attended a taping of American Bandstand in California and mentioned the Inner Sanctums to the show’s producers.  Incredibly, the show reached out to the band and asked for a tape which the group happily supplied.

Out of hundreds of submissions, the band was chosen to appear on Happening ‘68, a musical variety show hosted by Mark Lindsay and Paul Revere that aired after American Bandstand on ABC.  (For another Downstate band to appear on the show, see the Mod 4.)

In May of 1968, the band flew to Los Angeles for four days, to tape two episodes of the show.  While in California, the group reportedly met Moby Grape, the Electric Flag, Stevie Wonder and Carol Burnett.

On Saturday afternoon June 1st, 1968 the band's episode aired nationally.  Michael Christian (Peyton Place), Stephen Young (Judd) and Christopher George (Rat Patrol) were the judges for the amateur band contest.  Unfortunately, footage from the episode does not appear to have survived.   

It is unclear what song the Inner Sanctums performed on the show but apparently it went well because they advanced to the next round of the contest and appeared in another episode a few weeks later.

Despite the national exposure and a new single, not much seemed to change for the band.  An article in the Illinois State Register around the time mentioned that a St. Louis firm was going to take over distribution of their record.   If true, the distribution was fairly limited.  Fifty-plus years later, copies of the record remain scarce.

The group eventually simplified their name to just Inner Sanctum for live appearances.  They continued to perform in the Virden area at least until early 1972.

For more on the band including some details about other recordings the band made, see the Golden Voice Recording Co.'s post from 2014.

Kookie Cook (Danville)

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 clearly 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. 

_

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 Blue Boys (Sycamore)

The Blue Boys were a popular teen combo from Sycamore, Illinois that was active from 1965 to 1966.

Band members included Steve Bassill, Steven Wynn, John Jeffries and Wendall Mattis.  Additional members of the group were Doug Breunlin and Dave Wildenradt.

The Blue Boys regularly played high school and junior high dances in northern Illinois during their brief time together.

They also headlined a series of outdoor dances held in Brown's parking lot in Sycamore on Saturday nights in the summer of 1966.   At their last show in July, there were over 500 kids in attendance.

In August of 1966, it was reported the band would split up as members left for high school, college and the service.  Before doing so however, the combo left us with one incredibly fuzzed-out garage two-sider:  "I Know" b/w "Hey Ho."

Their single was recorded sometime in 1966 for Feature Records, a label based in Janesville, Wisconsin.  Both songs were written by Wynn and Jeffries.

 

Additional Info:
Feature Records was owned by the legendary promoter and band manager Ken Adamany.  The Blue Boys were just one of several Illinois groups featured on his Wisconsin-based label.   The Inspirations from the Rock Falls / Sterling area, the Komons from Rockford, the Esquires from Belvidere, the Intrigues from Joliet and the Heard from Peoria all had releases on Feature Records.

The Meat Department (Decatur)

In April of 1967, a teenage combo from Decatur, Illinois known locally as the Mystics pooled their money for one hour of studio time at Universal Studios in Chicago.   Members of the group included Skip Huston, Nate King, John "Polar Bear" Sauter, Don Jackson and Steve Whitaker.   

John Sauter's father drove the boys and their equipment the three plus hours to Chicago where they were able to record two songs, enough for a single.  To avoid any confusion with a Chicago group (and countless others) using the same moniker, the Decaturites changed the name of their band to the Meat Department for the release.  The band joked, at least they would get free publicity on supermarket PA's.

Meat Dept., "This Weeks Children" / "Janet" Polar Bear, 41967

The single was released on the band's own Polar Bear Records.  It included an original song written by King and Huston, "Janet," along with a cover of the Electras' "This Week's Children" (written by Warren Kendrick).  The Electras also re-released the song under a different band name, 'Twas Brillig, just a few months before the Meat Dept. single.

The Mystics / Meat Department performed mainly around the Decatur area.   The group doesn't seem to have lasted more than a year.  

John Sauter eventually went on to play bass with Mitch Ryder, Ted Nugent and John Lee Hooker.

In 1995 a few members of the original Meat Department got back together and performed in Decatur for a series of shows known as Flashback.  The reunion concerts, which were organized by Huston, featured a number of 1960's groups from the area such as the Fugitives, the Dutchmen, the Castels and the Reel Blues.

In 1996, Nate King (vocals), Skip Huston (guitar) and John Sauter (bass) re-formed the Meat Department with new members Ed Hemrich (guitar), Randy Luckenbill (drums) and Terry Willis (vocals).

Thirty years after their first single, the Meat Department released their first album on CD called USDA Prime.  All eleven songs on the album were written by Huston.  

You can listen to the group's 1967 cover of "This Week's Children" below.  If anyone knows where I can find a copy of the single or their CD, please contact me at downstatesounds@gmail.com.

The Furniture, Uncle Billy & The Vagrants (Peoria)

The Vagrants from Garbagepool, England were in fact a popular Peoria, Illinois band that was active from 1965-1967.  The group was often billed as Uncle Billy & The Vagrants and was later known as The Furniture.

In addition to the name changes, the group went through a number of lineups over the course of a few short years.

According to WWCT Basement Tapes Who's Who (The Gilded Book), the group included Greg Williams and "Uncle Billy" Kendall on guitars, Dave Taylor and Robyn Sleeth on drums, "Snake" King and Ken Anderson on bass, Rick Henson on keyboards and Mike McCabe on sax.

A Garage Hangover post regarding another Peoria group, North Bridge Company, mentions the Furniture may have briefly included NBC's Gary Shawgo as well Ron Stockert and Jerry "Pork" Armstrong (though both were likely in A.J. & The Savages NOT The Vagrants around this time).

Starting in the summer of 1965, the Vagrants played a number of dances around the Peoria area.  They also performed regularly in Galesburg, Illinois at Wayne Dennis' Teen-A-Go-Go.  Dennis appears to have been the group's manager.

On Sunday October 9, 1966, The Vagrants opened for Paul Revere and the Raiders at Spaulding Auditorium in Peoria.  Tommy Roe also performed along with two other Peoria groups - The Coachmen and The Shags.

 

Sometime near the end of 1966 the Vagrants recorded their only single in Chicago for Stature Records.  Sam Cerami, the label owner, is said to have changed the band's name to The Furniture.  By December of 1966, the group was starting to be billed under the new name.

On December 28th, the Furniture (along with the Coachmen) opened for the Yardbirds at the Expo Gardens in Peoria for two shows.   The Yardbirds lineup for the show included Jimmy Page on guitar, Keith Relf on vocals and harmonica, Chris Dreja on bass and Jim McCarty on drums.  Jeff Beck had left the tour prior to the Peoria performance.  

The Furniture's 45 was eventually released in early 1967.   The a-side was a cover of the Spencer Davis Group's "Keep On Running."  The b-side was an original tune, though strongly-influenced by the Kinks, called "I Love It Baby."

  

"I Love It Baby" is credited to Randy Moody who doesn't appear to have been a member of the band.  Thanks to a comment that Moody left on the above YouTube video for the song, we have his version of the story:

I wrote this song in 1966 for a group from Peoria, Il. who at that time were named Uncle Billy and The Vagrants. Sam Cerami, the owner of Stature Records, re-named them "The Furniture" which I wasn't wild about...We recorded this at Sound Incorporated Studios in Chicago...The engineer was the great Stu Black, who was famous for making many hits for other artists...I was approached on a Wednesday night by the agent of the Vagrants (The Furniture) who told me he needed two brand new songs sounding similar to the Kinks for a recording session THAT Saturday!...I wrote "I Love It Baby" that night and "Maybe I'm Trying Too Hard" the next night...I intended for "Maybe" to be the "A" side, but it was never released..."I Love It Baby" was receiving great airplay by DJ's who liked it even though it was the "B" side...Then for unknown reasons, Sam pulled it out of publication and off the air, so it never became as popular as it would have been otherwise...

The rumor was that Sam was an A.R. man for London Records and they viewed his label as a conflict of interests...Footnote: I never made a penny from this song despite my contract, which is typical of the Music Industry...Please forgive me if I've bored anyone with this history of the song...David R. (Randy) Moody.

Curiously the group went back to being billed as Uncle Billy (listed here as Uncle Billie) and the Vagrants in March 1967 despite having a record out as the Furniture.   

The group does not appear to have lasted much longer under either moniker.  

Guitarist Greg Williams would go on to join the Galesburg group the Buster Browns.  The Buster Browns released one single on Golden Voice in 1968 with  both songs being written by Williams.

According to the Gilded Book, which was published in 1981, Uncle Billy Kendall "went on to become a Berkeley grad" and "is now in the recording and production business." 

One additional note:   Randy Moody mentions in his comment above that the Furniture recorded his other original "Maybe I'm Trying Too Hard" but it was never released.   The Gilded Book however refers to "Maybe I'm Trying Too Hard" as the band's first 45.   It erroneously credits the song to Williams.  It refers to the "Keep On Running" as the Vagrants' second disc.

I've never seen any proof that "Maybe I'm Trying Too Hard" was ever pressed, even as a demo, but it is certainly possible.  If you have any additional information please reach out to us at:  downstatesounds@gmail.com

3's A Crowd (Springfield)

Three's A Crowd from Springfield, Illinois recorded two singles between 1966 and 1968.  At the time of their first release, the trio had never performed in public together.

The group consisted of Roger Humphrey on bass and vocals, Bob Cellini on guitar and vocals and Mike Bertucci on drums.  

Humphrey, who was 37 at the time of the first single, had been a trombone player in Bill Cellini's orchestra (Bob's brother).  In the early 1960's, Bob Cellini led his own band, the HI FIs, before joining his brother's group.

Humphrey and Cellini began playing together for fun, working on original material.  By 1966 they were joined by Bertucci.

They recorded their first single, "Making Do" b/w "I Don't Mind At All" for Ro-Do Records.  Both songs were written by Humphrey.

The single was released in the spring of 1967.  Despite being virtually unknown in the Springfield area, the single did well on the local charts.

An article in the Illinois State Journal from May 29, 1967 mentions that the group had another song ready to go called "Run, Sheep, Run" and were hoping to cut an album.  

There is however no evidence that the group recorded an album or ever played live.

In 1968, they did record two of Cellini's originals at the Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin, Illinois.  "Keep On Walking" b/w "No Where" was released on the Golden Voice label.   

 

Note:  Bob Cellini is the nephew of Al Cellini who was featured in our recent post about Space Records.

RoFran Records Volume One: 1965-1966

ARTIST	TITLE	YEAR
The Intruders	Deception	1965
The Rogues	Gone To Stay	1965
Lee Rust	Did You Ever Kind Of Wonder	1965
Lee Rust	Mystery House	1965
Lee Rust	Try, Try to Leave	1966
Lee Rust	She’s Gone Tonight	1966
The Prodigies	Kysmyph (KIS-MIF)	1966
The Impalas	Kristina	1966
The Prodigies	I Want To Do It	1966
The Quaternotes	My Baby Left Me	1966
The Prodigies	Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer	1966
The Lindsey Triplets	Tomorrow’s Another Day	1966
Al Ierardi	Drifter	1966
The Intruders	Intrudin'	1965
The Rogues	Wait Till the Summer	1965
Lee Rust	Scramble	1965
Lee Rust	Come on Back	1965
Lee Rust	I’m Spoken For	1965
Lee Rust	World Made of Romance	1965
The Prodigies	Don’t Look Back	1966
The Impalas	Lost Beat	1966
The Prodigies	What’d I Say	1966
The Prodigies	Sleigh Ride	1966
The Lindsey Triplets	Terry	1966
Al Ierardi	Dureen	1966

RoFran Enterprises (Urbana)

SESSIONS LOG -CLICK TO VIEW

RoFran Enterprises was a recording studio and record label owned and operated by Roger Francisco in Urbana, Illinois from 1965 to 1973.

Over the course of those nine years, the studio produced roughly 120 singles, EPs and albums combined, with almost all of them pressed in very small quantities.  The majority of the musicians found on those releases were from downstate Illinois or associated with the University of Illinois in some way.

In the late 1960's, the Champaign-Urbana music scene was exploding with talent.   Blytham Ltd, a local booking agency led by Bob Nutt and Irving Azoff, represented nearly every major rock and pop group in downstate Illinois and was quickly making Champaign-Urbana the music hub of the Midwest.   

RoFran Enterprises was in prime position to be the go-to studio for the burgeoning scene and yet that never happened exactly.  RoFran instead operated on the periphery, producing far more school and church recordings than rock albums.     

While the studio eventually became closely associated with the U of I folk scene centered around the Red Herring coffee house, RoFran appears to have had little overlap with the larger rock scene happening in the area.  That is, if we only look at the records that were released.

The studio's log book (above) however offers an alternative view.  One that demonstrates the full scope of the studio's operation.  Not only does it provide a complete (?) list of the official releases (pages 2-5) but it reveals dozens of sessions by area rock groups, most of which never saw any type of release or pressing.

This includes "lost" sessions by REO Speedwagon, Finchley Boys, One-Eyed Jacks, Head East and Arlie Neaville.  Other lesser known Champaign bands such as Feathertrain, Bluesweed, Uncle Meat and Backstreet all recorded there.  In fact, Irving Azoff and Bob Nutt  appear to have used the studio regularly to record demos of the many downstate groups in their stable.   These sessions represent only the tip of the iceberg.

RoFran Enterprises, these days, is probably best known amongst hardcore record collectors for a handful of difficult-to-find 45s.  Now, with the help of this log book, hopefully a more complete story can start to be told.

_____________

Roger Francisco was born in Decatur and grew up in Springfield, Illinois. He moved to Urbana in the 1950's to pursue a degree in electrical engineering at the Univerity of Illinois and eventually worked at the Magnavox plant in Urbana.  Francisco was also a musician and audio engineer who, in 1964, had spent time in a Nashville studio playing bass with Mike Brewer and the Galaxies.  

Inspired by what he saw in Nashville, Francisco built a modest recording studio on the lower level of his bi-level home at 5 Rainbow Court in Urbana.  There he began recording local groups as well as jingles and commercials for area businesses.

By the end of the first year of operation, RoFran had released several 45s on the RoFran label including singles by the Intruders, the Rogues, the Impalas and Lee Rust.  In addition, RoFran also produced a number of  LPs with most of the early albums being remote recordings of area choirs and school bands.

Francisco's own group, the Prodigies aka Sound Studio One, recorded and released a total of four singles during this early period as well.  Most of the members in the group would help serve as the studio's house band.    This included: Fredrick "Bill" Steffen III on drums,  J. Gordon Wilson on keyboards and Howie Smith on saxophone.   At the time, Smith was also a member of the University of Illinois Jazz Band.

Another important addition to the RoFran family was guitarist Al Ierardi.  Ierardi recorded his own single at RoFran in December of 1966.  He would go on to work at the studio as a session player as well as a staff artist and a producer.  Ierardi is credited with writing the 1967 Ravins' b-side "I Had A Feeling" recorded at RoFran as well as designing the album jacket for one of  J. Gordon Wilson's albums. 

According to the October 21, 1967 issue of Billboard magazine, "RoFran Enterprises in Urbana. Ill., is expanding its operation and has moved into new offices at the Masonic Temple Building, 115 West Main Street, Urbana. President Roger Francisco, whose record releases are distributed by M -S Distributors in Chicago. says the firm is expanding its pop music production under a&r man Howard A. Smith."

RoFran's expanded services included arranging, composing and song publishing.  In late 1966, Francisco is credited with helping write, arrange and produce a single with the Lindsey Triplets (aka ABC Triplets) from nearby Philo.

While the music operation was growing, the advertising side of the business took off as well.  Francisco, who had been doing radio jingles and commercials from the very beginning, listed his business in the local yellow pages under the heading of "Advertising Agencies."  

Soon the business was taking on ad work beyond just radio jingles.  In early 1967 RoFran was hired to do all of the advertising for the local MacDonald's including newspaper ads, radio spots and even personal appearances.   As a result, saxophonist and a&r man Howie Smith also served as Ronald MacDonald for many years in the Champaign-Urbana area.

By early 1967, the studio had for the most part stopped using "RoFran" as a label name and instead used "A Custom Product of RoFran Enterprises" or simple Custom on the label.  Often the artist would choose their own label name such as Psychedelic, Star, Shades, Soul, Syndicate, Golden and Folksound.

As the label names suggest, a wide variety of music was being captured at the studio in the late 1960s.  Country artist Marvin Lee recorded an album and at least one single at RoFran.  The studio also recorded a number of Champaign-area soul and gospel groups including Count Demon, Leroy Knox and the Gaypoppers, the Soul Brothers, the Golden Star Singers and the Holy Zyrnes.  Jazz trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater would record and release a single in 1968.

The studio also attrached bands from nearby communities such as the Shades of Blue and the Keepers (both from Danville), The Quarternotes (Rantoul), The Ravins (Gibson City), The Cameros (Petersburg) and Howie Thayer (an Illinois State University student originally from La Moille in north-central Illinois).

The "lost" sessions from 1966-1969 include a who's-who of Blytham artists:  One-Eyed Jacks, Finchley Boys, The Regiment, Seeds of Doubt and Somebody Groovy.   Multiple sessions are simply listed under Blytham, Bob Nutt or Irv Azoff.   Other bands that made demos at the studio during this period include The Bacardis, The Chandras, Fat Daddy Five, Reel Blues and Arlie Neaville.

By the late 1960's, RoFran became closely connected with multi-instrumentalist Jim Cuomo and his avant-garde group, Spoils of War.  So much so that Roger Francisco and Al Ierardi both performed and recorded with the group.  

In 1969, Spoils of War released a 7" EP containing two nine-minute pieces that combined psychedelic songs with electronic textures.  According to an interview in It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine, Cuomo said a 1,000 copies were pressed at the time.  Cuomo would record another EP under his own name the next year.

By 1970, the RoFran records were starting to be pressed by Century Custom Recording Service.   In a 1970 Daily Illini article, RoFran Enterprises was mentioned as being a subsidiary of Century Records.

Around that same time, the RoFran studio moved out of Francisco's basement and into a new location at the corner of Race and Washington (117 W. Washington) in Urbana.  

By October of 1970, neighbors of the new location filed a petition against the studio.  They claimed that "loud sounds and vibrations come from the studio until 2 or 3 am, making it difficult for them to sleep."  An article in the Daily Illini mentions that police had been called 15 or 20 times.  Francisco's wife was quoted in the paper saying the real issue was that the neighbors didn't like "long hairs."

Blytham Ltd continued to use the studio to record demos at this time, undoubtedly contributing to the "noise" and "long hair" complaints.  This included sessions by REO Speedwagon, Bluesweed, Feathertrain, Backstreet, Esquires, Uncle Meat and Sunday.  A few of these recordings still exist and have been archived by the University of Illinois at the Sousa Archives. 

It was around this same time that RoFran began to produce a series of live albums from the Red Herring Folk Festival, several of which contain early recordings of Dan Fogelberg.  Another performer, Peter Berkow, soon joined RoFran Enterprises as an engineer.   A Daily Illini article comments that Berkow had practically moved into the studio.

Francisco and Berkow also began working with a group of folk musicians from that same scene on a concept album / band that would eventually be known as The Ship, a Contemporary Folk Music Journey.  Both Francisco and Berkow would become managers of the group and recorded a demo of the concept piece in the Fall of 1971.

The group eventually signed with Elektra Records and recorded the album with producer Gary Usher at the label's studios in Los Angeles.  The group however was unhappy with certain "special effects" added by Usher and flew Francisco out to Los Angeles to help remix the album.  Released in October of 1972, the final version of the album contains Francisco's mix.

The Ship was one of the last big projects of RoFran.   Some of the lost sessions from 1971-1973 include Mackinaw Valley Boys, All Star Frogs, Heavy Duty, US Kids, Hound Dog Moses, One-Eyed Jacks, and The Guild.  Unreleased sessions by Head East and Sunday from December 1972 are preserved at the Sousa Archives.  

In 1973, Francisco sold the studio to Al Ierardi who renamed it the Tape Factory.  Over the next decade, Francisco went on to work as an engineer at two other Champaign-Urbana studios: Silver Dollar and Creative Audio.   

As if that wasn't enough, Francisco had a long and fascinating career beyond recording studios.  For some, Francisco is best known as the voice of the FitnessGram PACER test.  For a recent interview (Aug 2023) with Francisco see the WKIO Homegrown podcast.

Special thanks to Al and Carla Ierardi for preserving and sharing the RoFran Enterprises studio ledger.

For a more concise list of 45s released by the studio see our RoFran Records discography.   Now you can also listen to many of the early RoFran records.