Rock 'n Roll Is Here To Stay.........

[W2DR]

Rock 'n Roll. The real thing. The 50's. Bill Haley and The Comets. Here I sit, an old coot of 81 years remembering how 60 years ago

today was the last performance of the Monarchs. And who the heck were they you may ask. Well, the Monarchs were the rock band that I

was a member of all those years ago (1957-1959). There were six of us. Lead guiter, bass guitar, alto sax, tenor sax, drums and

me...the keyboard player.

 

During those years we played 200+ gigs all over central and northen California. Our manager (a guy named Jerry McCloud) should have

been a Marine Corps DI. He was one of the toughest SOB's I ever met. But he got us bookings and that's all that mattered.

Our biggest problem in those days was that, in California, anyone under 21 years of age couldn't play in any venue that served

alcohol. That was a very limiting factor as none of us, in the early days, met the age requirement. So we played in the

private clubs, the VFW halls, high school and college dances, and anywhere else we could make gas money. We even played behind the

chicken wire a couple of times so the beer bottles thrown by the dissatisfied customers wouldn't hit us.

 

All of our music was original. No covers. Everything we played was written by our two guitar players. Some of it was good enough

that we were asked to cut a couple of 45's. Recorded by Fostoria Studios in Pacific Grove, CA, and pressed by Monarch in Los Angeles

this was, in 1959, really heady stuff. Neither sold very well but how many folks can say they recorded a 45 RPM rock 'n roll record

in the 1950's?

 

If anyone is curious enough to know what we sounded like in those days just take a listen to John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band.

Especially the song Some Like It Hot. John came along 15 years after we last performed but when I heard his music I couldn't sleep

for a week. That was our sound. I just wish we could have made it your sound..............Doug

[Rodger Pettichord]

W2DR. Rock on, Dude.

[Aussieflyer38]

Here I sit, an old coot of 81 years, I'm sitting along side you mate. I remember The Monarch's, unfortunately not as well as I'd like to - memory is fading fast. Played drums with a small R&R band in Melbourne. 

 

Don

[flyingleaf]

I too love Rock'n Roll. My wife tells me to sing Solo.but then she unfortunately adds: Sing solo that I can't hear you

[W2DR]

She obviously has no appreciation for fine music nor for your talents as a performer.........................

[Doc_Z]

Wife and I went last night to an event headlined by a local oldies band known as Remember Then.  Very good sounds until they were drowned out by the arrival of a storm that almost drowned all of us.