Jam Factory (Peoria)

Jam Factory at Limestone Community High School, 1969

Advertisements from the summer of 1968 described Peoria's own Jam Factory as "the Newest, Hottest 6-Piece Band in Central Illinois." The group at that time consisted of:

• Dick Bush, vocals
• John Miller, guitar
• John McFarlane, bass
• George McCullough, drums
• Rodger Himmel, saxophone
• John Middleton, trumpet

Years before, Dick Bush had performed locally with Jerry Milam and the Stan'Dels.  Together they had recorded a single for Hit Records back in 1963.  John "Pops" McFarlane and Rodger Himmel had previously been in the Peoria group, the Soulmates.  McFarlane, whose sister is Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane of Spanky and Our Gang, had also previously played with local legend Wild Child Gipson.  Trumpeter John Middleton was a student at Bradley University at the time.  Middleton and Himmel were both from nearby Manito, Illinois.

Jam Factory recorded a single at Jerry Milam's Golden Voice Recording Co. in South Pekin in 1968.  Both sides were written and produced by Eddie Howard.  The record was released by October of that year.

"Give Me The Right (To Love You Baby)" b/w "Good Lovin' Woman"

 

The single was also released on Stereo Village Records, a label owned by Bill Curtis that promoted his chain of electronics stores found throughout central Illinois.

Jam Factory performed at night clubs and dances around the Peoria area for about two years.  They had regular gigs at Club Peorian, Mike's Lounge, The Elbow Room, the Flame Steak House in Pekin and the Town House in Havana.

On May 29, 1969 the Jam Factory, along with Stoned Soul, opened for the Bob Seger System at the Expo Gardens Opera House in Peoria.  Stoned Soul featured Peoria-native Danny Beard, who later joined the Fifth Dimension.

By 1970, a Syracuse, NY band also called Jam Factory released an album on Epic Records.  The group was briefly promoted across the country by Youth Beat, a syndicated newspaper column, that gave away posters of the band to anyone that wrote in.  The Peoria-based Jam Factory however seems to have called it quits by this point.   

A new group, Dick Bush & The Sack, was performing regularly at King Henry VIII in Peoria by April 1970.

The Bushes (Galesburg)

The Bushes were once billed as the "All Galesburg Group with the Big Detroit Sound."   Their combination of blue-eyed soul, psychedelia and rock made them a popular live act in western Illinois in the late 1960's.  

The group also recorded and self-released an album in 1969, Assorted Shrubbery, before calling it quits after just two years together.

Back in the fall of 1967, the Bushes started out as a quintet.  Two of the members, Joel Wilson and Ron Stockert, were students at Knox College at the time.  The other three members, John Zefo, Al Johnson and Gary Owen, all lived in Galesburg, Illinois.

The Bushes  -Dec 1968:  Al Johnson, John Zefo, Joel Wilson, Ron Stockert.  Gary Owen had left the group by then.

Wilson, the lead singer and drummer for the group, was from Upstate New York originally.   According to an article in the Knox Student, Wilson had previously been a member of a group called the In Crowd.

Ron Stockert, the talented keyboardist, was from Havana, Illinois. While in high school, Stockert played organ in A.J. & The Savages along with Jerry "Pork" Armstrong.   The teenagers released one single on Deleware Records, a Chicago-area label.   It included a cover of "Farmer John" and the original "Long Long Time," which was credited to Stockert.

In 1968, Stockert would also sit in on a recording session with Armstrong's new group, Yellow Bird.  One of the songs they recorded was a cover of "Function At The Junction," a song that the Bushes would also record for their album.  Both recordings were done at the Golden Voice Recording Company in South Pekin, Illinois.

  

A January 1968 article in the Knox Student mentions that the Bushes were hoping to record a version of "Cold Rain and Snow," previously done by the Grateful Dead.  It is unclear if that ever happened.  Instead, their first available recording was a cover of the Foundations' "Baby, Now That I've Found You."

The song was included on a double 7" compilation that came with the Knox College literary magazine, Siwasher, in 1968.  The recording was likely done on campus during one of the group's live performances.  The records were "mastered" and pressed by the Fredlo Recording Studios in Davenport, IA.

  

Sometime in late 1968 or early 1969, the Bushes traveled to the Golden Voice studio in South Pekin to record their only album.   By this point, Gary Owen had left the group and they were performing as a quartet.

Most of the songs on the album were soul covers originally done by the Temptations, the Impressions, the Miracles and others.

The three originals on the album were "The Hopes, The Dreams, The Tears" (music by Stockert, words by Johnson & Wilson), "Most Girls" (music by Stockert, words by Wilson) and the brief instrumental, "Polphony" (credited simply to Bushes).

The album was released on Growth Records (LP S 200-08) in the spring of 1969.   Listen to the FULL ALBUM:

In April the LP was listed as a top seller in several Galesburg record stores.  Despite their local popularity, the Bushes did not last.   

 

Stockert eventually got back together with Jerry "Pork" Armstrong to form a new group, the Light Brigade, in Decatur, Illinois.

The group featured Steve Hunter on guitar as well as Bruce Horn and Randy Luckenbill (Darwin's Theory, Heavy Gun).  The group went on to be part of the thriving Champaign-Urbana music scene.  They even recorded at Golden Voice but the recordings were never released.

After the Light Brigade, Stockert joined up with some fellow Champaign musicians and eventually moved to Chicago to form the band Rufus.  Stockert would go on to write and sing about half of the band's debut album which was released on ABC Records in 1973.

  

The band's second album, Rags To Rufus, which prominently featured Chaka Kahn's vocals, went gold and earned Stockert and the group a Grammy.   Stockert left soon after.   He eventally went on to play with Three Dog Night and many others.

For more on Ron Stockert's musical journey:

WESN Show #72

ARTIST	TRACK	LABEL	YEAR	TOWN / CITY
Freddie Tieken & The Rockers	You Can't Sit Down	Standfire	[1965]	Quincy
Backstreet Majority	Running From People	unreleased	196?	Bloomington/ Champaign
Pisces	A Flower For All Seasons	Numero	1969	Rockford
The Inside Out	Fire	Out	1968	Monmouth
The Knights Of Soul	Different Strokes	Drocer	1968	Springfield
The Ravins	I Had A Feeling	Syndicate	1967	Gibson City
The Creepers	Elizabeth	C.R.C.	1966	Granite City
The Vengeance	You Cheated On Me	Thor	1966	LaSalle-Peru
The Stingrays	In The Midnight Hour	Van	1967	Springfield
$1,000,000 War Babies	You Don't Know Like I Know	Dante	1968	Champaign-Urbana
The Iron Gate	Get Ready	Mobie	1968	Rockford
Junior Jive Kings	Hold On I'm Coming	Drocer	1968	Springfield
The Blue Boys	I Know	Feature	1966	Sycamore
The Mod 4	Midnight Hour	[Fredlo]	1967	Aledo
Johnny & The Impalas	It's Been A Long Time	Drocer	1968	Springfield
Night Riders	I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore	Drocer	1968	Springfield
Rod & The Satalites	I'm Telling You Right Now	Irish	1965	Quincy
The Cavaliers	Open The Door To Your Heart	Drocer	1968	Springfield
The One-Eyed Jacks	Getting In A Groove	Roulette	1969	Champaign-Urbana
Mystery Meat	Profiles	Director	1968	Carlinville

WESN Show #61 - September 30, 2021

ARTIST	TRACK	LABEL	YEAR	TOWN / CITY
McKinley Sandifer	Got To Obey	Sand-I	1979	Peoria
The Water Brothers Band	Have You Ever Been Lonely?	Sky	1975	Champaign-Urbana
Daphine Williams	I Love You	Yodi	1969	East St. Louis
Coalkitchen	Keep On Pushin'	Epic	1977	Champaign-Urbana
The Montclairs	Hung Up On Your Love	Paula	1973	East St. Louis
Leroy Knox & The Gaypoppers	Here I Am	Soul Sounds	1969	Champaign-Urbana
Luther Ingram	If It's All The Same To You, Babe	Hib	1966	Alton
Joey Irving	What's The Use	Vincent	1972	Rockford
Sharen Clark And The Product Of Time	Mama Didn't Lie (Sho Come True)	Apt	1972	East St. Louis / Carbondale
T.C.B.	How Long (Will It Take)	RPI	1980	Galesburg
Third Flight	Love Love Love	Yodi	1970	East St. Louis
Larry Bonds	Why Did IT Take So Long	Enjoy	1979	Quad Cities
W.Q.B.C.	Love Me Anyway	Thunder Bay	1985	Danville
The James Family	We've Got It Made	Shoestring	1983	Alton / St. Louis, MO

WESN Show #55 - July 8, 2021

BOOGIE, FUNK & MODERN SOUL 1977-1985
ARTIST	TRACK	LABEL	YEAR	TOWN / CITY
Chapter IV	Don't Stop That Love	Starstream	1981	Springfield
Sugar Brown Connection	What It Be Like	Golden Eagle	1979	Collinsville / Metro East
Billy Chears	Free Your Mind	Chearston	1978	Rockford
T.C.B.	Heart Attack	RPI	1980	Galesburg
Coalkitchen	Chained To The Train Of Love	Epic	1977	Champaign-Urbana
Champaign	Party People	Columbia	1981	Champaign-Urbana
Midnight Express	Danger Zone	Tri-Fire	1983	Quad Cities
Larry Bonds	Dance Dance Dance	Enjoy	1979	Quad Cities
Breakaway	There's A New Group In Town	Golden Eagle	1977	Lebanon
Jimmie Green	Dance Part 1	Shoestring	1980	Alton
Funky Thought Band	Funky TB	Silver Dollar	1978	Champaign-Urbana
W.Q.B.C.	I'll Be Loving You	Thunder Bay	1985	Danville
The Force	Real Good Old Lovin'	Aferton	1981	Springfield
Creative Arts Ensemble	Caveman Lover	Creative Arts	1984	Bloomington-Normal

WESN Show #49 - April 29, 2021

ARTIST	TRACK	LABEL	YEAR	TOWN / CITY
Wild Child Gipson & The Peoria Soul Merchants	Boogaloo Train To Peoria	C.A.B.	1966	Peoria
Luther Ingram & The G-Men	I Spy (For The F.B.I.)	Smash	1966	Alton
Smokin' Brain	Benny's Crib	Vincent	1973	Rockford
LaVel Moore	The World Is Changing	Yodi	1972	East St. Louis
Leroy Knox & The Gaypoppers	The Mistakes I Made	Soul Sounds	1969	Champaign
The Ebonies	He Didn't Want To Lose (His Good Thing)	Mid-West	1968	Springfield
The Young Disciples & Co.	Crumbs From The Table	Gateway	1968	East St. Louis
Brother Jack McDuff	Let My People Go	Cadet	1968	Champaign
Birdlegs & Pauline	Too Much At Stake	Numero	196?	Rockford
The Montclairs	Hey You! Don't Fight It!	Arch	1969	East St. Louis
Count Demon & His Four Members	C-C Rider	Star	1967	Champaign
Chuck Wallace	I Need Your Love (To Help Me Out)	Rudy	1969	Cairo
Wayne Carter & Organ Twisters	Wahoo, Wahoo, Wahoo	Mootrey's	1973	Decatur
Major & The Lieutenants	Love, Peace and Soul	HHH	1970	Rockford
Illini Connection	Your Mother Understood	Silver Dollar	1977	Champaign
Capitol Express (Don Smith)	If I Ever Needed Your Love	- no label -	197?	Springfield