🎸Please Note🎵: *THE ACTUAL TITLE OF THIS PBS PROGRAM WAS... "HOW CHICAGO ROCKED THE 60's"* as in Chicago the CITY. Chicago the BAND is featured @21:54. 😉
@@Seanakin True! But most don't even think about that. I've had quite a few since-deleted comments about how the title was "misleading" or "click bait."
@@60s70sChicagoRock I grew up near Chicago so I could understand why some people could be confused by the title of the program. Now if they only had named it "How the city of Chicago rocked during the 1960s", I believe that would have eliminated the confusion.
I grew up in the 60s listening to AM rock on WLS with my little 9V AM transistor radio hidden in my jacket pocket. I had an earphone so that I could listen to it while in class. I used to scrounge the alleys in my neighborhood looking for discarded musical instruments that I could fix and then try to play by ear. Later, in the late 60s, when I was taking basic training in the Army at Ft. Gordon, GA I could pickup the signal from WLS at night.
In the 60s, I was a teenager growing up in a suburb of Chicago. I would often listen to WLS or WCFL on a small transistor radio under my pillow at bedtime. My favorite Disc Jockeys were Larry Lujack, Art Roberts, and Dick Biondi. Once I remember one of those stations reporting a paranormal sighting nearby and even identified the location on the air. I convinced my father to drive me there. Instead of seeing any ghosts, the rock band The McCoys were playing Hang On Sloopy in a clearing of a local forest. Lots of people were also fooled. But we did enjoy the music. Also, I remember going to my local record store to pick up the WLS Silver Dollar Survey each week.
I’ve always lived on the West Coast, and in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I listened to WLS and on a good night, WCFL! The Ides Of March’s “Vehicle” is a killer! The Cryan Shames and The American Breed were great bands. Spanky and Our Gang used to play day gigs in the parking lot of my neighborhood music store in the L.A. suburbs!
Great times! I was in one of those "basement" bands they mentioned. Most of our practices were in church halls, but I do remember one practice in my parents basement that didn't go well. A neighbor called the Chicago cops because we were too loud. The cops told us that they couldn't find our location at first, but that the kids dancing in the alley gave us away. The neighbor actually apologized when she realized it was us.
As a former rock ‘n’ roll DJ in Northern California, I truly appreciate the great backstory and interviews. I have some wonderful memories of the greatest music to come out of Chicago!
Thanks for this!!! Larry Lujack...oh yeah! I grew up in Niles, in the 60's. My dad had a side job, collecting quarters from pool tables, and placing new 45's in juke boxes in north Chicago area bars and clubs. So, we had a juke box at home, and all the 45's we wanted!!!! It was so cool being an adolescent, and teen when all this artistic, and progressive music was being aired. Great times and memories!
Lived near Lutheran General hospital and went to Maine East HS. Take good care....we grew up in a cool surburb! Remember Papa Joe's in Park Ridge? It was formerly called The Deep End, when I was an early teem in the late 60's.
Remember doing the dinner dishes with my older brother listening to WLS on his transistor radio sitting on the kitchen window sill back in the mid 60s.
Holy smoke what such talent in the windy city, Chicago. I love all of them especialy New Colony Six. That band was fantastic! Must be in the water, the talent fountain. Called my " friend" Susan in 1968 and played that Buckingham song on a 45 to her via a turn table on the phone to her. She still remembers that to this day. Thanks so much for a great video. Appreciated.
Yes, we certainly had a huge amount of local talent back then! Lots of fun times seeing these bands at teen dance "clubs" in the mid-60's. Glad I was able to record this off the tv and have it to share with other fans. Thanks for watching and sharing your story! :)
"Could Be We're In Love" remains, 50 years later, my ALL Time favorite recording. This posting was very much appreciated. My teen years were spent in Chicago's Western Suburbs. Both WLS & WCFL were ON regularly. PEACE TO ALL.
k, am i th only 1 eyeballing th postee's names here? WstrnSubs, hmmm, Downers Grove perhps? i recall a Mack family near where I lvd on Grant street- 1953 to '69 era
My band, “The Field of Content”… opened for both The New Colony Six, and later… Spanky and Our Gang… at The Red Rooster club, in Indiana, PA, back in the 60s. Both bands were really good. Sounded a lot like their records, live. Couldn’t say that about all the bands we’d open for back then. Ronnie Rice, of The New Colony Six, was a really nice guy.
My cousin was in the group the Mauds. It was great to hear their records on the radio. Hold On and Soul Drippin. They did a version of "Try a little tenderness" that was great. My favorite of those days was The Cryin Shames - they could have been as big as some of the greatest bands in those days, but, there were so many problems holding a band together in the 1960's. I know from my cousin's stories.
I grew up a couple of hours East of Chicago (was in high school 66-70), and did quite a bit of listening to WLS. Great times and memories. A very well done musical, historical piece. Thanks much!
Growing up in the 60s I remember most of these groups and songs. Without a doubt, this material were highlights of the era. Music changed a lot after the 60s...but thank goodness for The Buckinghams, Spanky & Our Gang and The New Colony Six! (Great video, thanks for posting this trip down Memory Lane).
Yes this combined version is great ...Takes me back to WLS and my time living in the Chicago area...When I was stationed in 1964 at Ft. HOOD,TX. I could still recieve WLS at night ....Thxs. for sharing this ...LARRY
I saw the Buckinghams in Owensboro, Ky as part of the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars. I was well-impressed. By that time, I had a band and was writing songs. I still like the pop sound the Buckinghams did so well.
For a period of time in the 70s, the Ides of March and the Cryan Shames merged and billed themselves as the Ides of Shame. They were booked to play our senior prom in Hobart in 1974, but some dope put the wrong date on the band's contract. Pretty much summed up my high school experience.
I was a sophomore at Lane Tech when I saw Gary and the Nitelites at the YMCA at Fullerton and Central Park. That was 1963. How would I know they would eventually become the American Breed?
Johnny Bragatti How cool. :) And it was only a dollar or two to get in, depending on the band. Glad a lot of them are still around, still performing. You might want to check this out in May... forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-marty-grebb-benefit-concert-update.html
In the 60's while I was in high school, we had a weekly dance at the American Legion Hall in McDonough, GA, and each weekend usually had a different band. There were 4 or 5 different groups some from other cities. Those were the days. I was in a band for a little while before going into the Marine Corps and off to Vietnam. Cheers from eastern TN
i love this video it was awesome and brought back some beautiful memories of the good old days. my favorite was the IDES OF MARCH. My three children went to the same high as the IDES OF MARCH. MORTON WEST HIGH SCHOOL IN BERWYN, IL. Mr. Chuck Soumar who plays the trumpet in the IDES OF MARCH was my kids Music Teacher in Morton High School. A great bunch of guys. love VEHICLE my Favoirte song. Love all the Bands of the 60's what a great year.
On Edison Rd, Mishawaka IN had a place called Edison Light that played music for teens. It had movies, pictures and light shows of stuff like pulsing liquid colors on big screens.
Wonderful, what great memories. I was 17 in 1964 in Park Forest, the far south suburbs of Chicago, so all these songs bring me back to so many places. I always listened to WLS and bought the most popular 45 at 50 cents. Such a great time to grow up!
I just saw them last Thursday for the 37th time. Bob Lamm Jimmy Pankow and Lee Loughane are still pounding out the hits. Not quite as good as the first time I saw them in 1982 but pretty darn good. Go see them as I'm sure they will be in your city soon and for the next 50 years.....long live Chicago!
Wow! I grew up listening to these bands, and more through the '70's. I lived south of Chicago, in Kankakee county. Didn't even realize that a lot of these groups were actually FROM Chicago! :)
This is a fantastic video. I'm from Pittsburgh, where the scene was a lot smaller scene than Chicago. Two killer DJs in our town broke a lot of hits nationally. Porky Chedwick (along with Wolfman Jack) was one of two white DJs nationally to first play R&B music on a "white" radio station. Porky also started playing his 1950s "dusty disks" as "oldies" in the 1960s, a concept that lasted for decades. We also had Terry Lee, who produced The Swamp Rats and owned a couple dance halls in town. Terry Lee will be remembered for his show "Songs For Young Lovers", which was the soundtrack for submarine race watching for over 15 years. All gone from the airwaves now, thanks to corporate policies of uniformity. Thank the Lord for TH-cam's memory hole!
SafeSpace47 - Pittsburgh was the birthplace of Doo-Wop and some great 60's artists like Lou Christie, The Vogues, and Tommy James and the Shondells. Thanks for commenting! :)
I grew up in rural south central Wisconsin and WLS was the only station for me in the 60s. I also had the opportunity to meet Ronnie Rice long ago and created a web page for him back in the day, the only one out there at the time. He was a real gentleman and amazingly talented. I was lucky that he was appearing with the NC6 that day in the northwest suburbs.
I’m from the far south side of Chicago, grew up listening to all of these bands, it shocked me finding out some of these bands I grew up with and never knew some were from the Chicago area.
The Wild Goose in Waukegan was originally a bowling alley, later it became a health spa, and is now gone. My friends mom lived across the street, and his parent met there. My aunt and uncle were there a lot as well.
I had a tinny transistor radio that I hid under my pillow so I could listen to the Art Roberts show on WLS when I was supposed to be sleeping. Some nights I could get a Detroit station playing Motown. Listening to this is a trip down memory lane, but hey baby, the Buckinghams' cover of the Beatles tune "I Should Have Known Better" is SO painful 😬😝😬
@Rock and Roll Woman Did the same thing... mostly when Dick Biondi was on. I agree about the Beatles' cover by the Buckinghams. But that was when they were still babies!
LOVED Animal Stories and had the albums they sold of them to benefit some children's charity. Listened every night on the way home from work in the early 1980s. Great humor and great team - Larry and Tommy.
@Larry Launstein Jr I just started using the 'free' version again after several years and found your profile while looking for Chicago bands music! So now you have another follower. 😉 open.spotify.com/playlist/6CpvF9VqI24w4F6btvlA0M
I ws on the edge of my seat.I love all this music.Perfection, this is how music documentries should be. Buckinghams, American Breed, Cryan' Shames, Chicago it just gets better and better.
There was a dance club called the Rumpus Room in Belvidere il. A lot of these groups came there. Belvidere qroup was the Esquires. Rockford's group were the Grim Reapers. Aka (Cheap Trick). There was another place to play in Rockford called The Ice Chelat. They were great times. We had a lot of fun.
What a great program this is, no dull moments at all. The Buckinghams released a number of top quality tunes later in their career that didn't get the recognition they deserved. "Back in love again" failed to crack the Top 40 and after that, their subsequent singles got even less airplay. Songs like "Where did you come from" and "It's a beautiful day" had hit written all over them, but went nowhere. What happened?
@Richard Pandolfo "Back in Love Again" was probably my favorite. It did reach #32 here in Chicago, but should've done much better. Less air play may have had something to do with James Guercio leaving to manage The Big Thing/CTA/Chicago in '68. Also a couple band members had changed around that same time. Thanks for watching!
Thanks Bob….It’s so much fun to think about the Chicago Bands of the 60’s……There were lots!……Roger’s Sister knew all guys!……I met The Buckinghams in the early 60’s…..Also a Group in the early 70’s…..Aliota….Haynes and Jeremiah….Thanks….Val
Do any of you who actually WERE there at that age and time? Do you remember calling the WLS phone lines and talking to people between the beeps of the busy signal?
WLS was a power AM station, like WJR in Detroit. I remember trips down south with my parents in the late 60's, being able to get Tiger baseball games on WJR, and dialing around and picking up another station called WLS and found out it was from Chicago. That was a cool discovery for a youngster back then. 🤓
I posted this then I scrolled down and saw your comment. I grew up just east of South Bend Indiana. We could get WL in Chicago on the radio. There was nothing else like it in Northern IN.
This is some kind of quadruple-meta nostalgia, as I sit here at the end of the 10's, remembering the first time I caught this documentary in the 00's, having rediscovered these bands via CD's in the 90's, after first hearing them on WLS in the 70's and 80's and realizing the best music was from before I was even born.
In the 70s, someone had a regular thing where they booked local bands into big rooms around Chicago on Friday, Saturday Sunday nights. They played in Evanston (IIRC) on Fridays, Aurora on Saturdays and at the Sherwood Club in Sherrerville on Sundays. Styx were regulars as was Kracker. I was sitting on the floor at the Sherwood Club one Sunday night listening to Styx, and when they did Lady, I got a bit freaked out cause it looked like Dennis was staring at me while he was singing it. After the song ended, the gal sitting next to me elbowed me and said "Don't worry, that's my husband". Chicago rock was like that. I recall many a battle of the bands, and my high school clique had a garage band we called Felicia Sims. Played a few school dances around NW Indiana and fairly regularly at the South Haven Youth Center in Portage.
@@gtwfan52 Styx played at BOTH of my HS gyms in 73 and 74. Loralie was their big hit, Lady was out by the second show. I changed high schools over Christmas break 74 into 75
This came up and not sure how I missed this before. I know all of these bands because my parents felt it was important to love music and be proud of where I am from. I have seen several of these bands in concert (like the Buckinghams) and it's such an important time.
Wow!! WLS WCFL?? I haven't thought of those stations in a gazillion years. When my parents moved to Florida I could pick up those station on a good night, I missed home that much.
I was the drummer in my 1st college band. We played a lot of oldies. The beauty of Gloria is that just about anybody could sing it - and this song plus “Stepping Stone” by The Monkees are the two songs that I would go out front and play the bass and sing lead on.
I was born in 1971 and missed the greatness from 60's Chicago music scene. But I'm from the NW suburbs and once in a while, I run into someone who can detail facts from those times.
I listened to W L S in Chicago in Inman South Carolina as a rock n roll kid in the 60 s and 70 s , was the best station on the air and we could only get it at night.
Saw some of these bands back in the 1980’s while visiting the Taste of Chicago, we decided to take a break and eat our food and it was these Chicago 1960’s band reunion show performing on stage.
@Sue Scimeca - Wow, I lived in Park Forest from '60- '62. I was about ten when I bought my first 45 at the PF Plaza! (Johnny Crawford, 'Rumors') That's when my parents got me my first transistor radio. We ended up in the northern suburbs, where I got to see a lot of these bands at the teen dance clubs :)
Wow! Bob sirott, I used to listen to him and a.m. radio. My Mom loved the band Chicago and she still does. These early 70s songs remind me of Chicago in the summer in the early 70s. What a great time.
I remember listening to these great bands on WLS and WCFL at night down here in the south. Most of the time a got a good signal, but there was interference from a 600,000 watt station in Brazil, and a 150,000 watter in Cuba.
Oddly enough, the New Colony Six at one time shared digs with Paul Revere and the Raiders. Both groups got a shock when they found out they were wearing almost identical outfits 😀
I worked as a brand new airplane mechanic at Howell airport in Crestwood when Gary Loizzo was learning to fly there. I didn't know who he was musically until later and tried to find my old copy of Bend Me Shape Me on 45 to get it autographed but Mom had tossed it years earlier along with the old baseball cards, etc. But he was a great guy and would talk music with me whenever we had a chance. Good times, good times.
These were wonderful years! In July of 1966 I was selected to be the Guest Teen DJ on the Art Roberts Show. He was ever so nice and it was pretty cool. The #1 song of the night was Hungry by Paul Revere and the Raiders. I thought about being a DJ until I found out that the entry money was horrible. But what a fond memory!
It's a cryan shame that this documentary omitted the Del-Vetts (later the Pride and Joy). In '66, they release a few monster singles, which included "Last Time Around" and "That's the Way It Is," the latter being the b-side of "I Call My Baby STP" -- both on Dunwich Records.
Radio has always been there for me. I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg when I was in Sweden--another dynamic and influential radio station. I'm a seventies kid, but I'd have loved to be a part of this radio wave.
The music of Chicago is fabulous! You might want to listen to the Russian Tribute Band, "Leonid and Friends". It's amazing! These people are in their 20's, 30's etc. and they are carrying on the legacy of the great music that Chicago played, now that the original band members are in their 70's.
Here in the East Coast South, many of us could pull in the AM powerhouse stations, as our own stations mercifully signed off at dark. WLS, WCFL WOWO and others were the AM favorites of tens of thousands or high school and college students. This is almost painful nostalgia. Time machine, please?
Yes, Dennis Trufano. I got "Susan" played on BBC-6 back in the summer, but it didn't catch on. BBC-6 is the largest Indie station in Europe - I thought The Buckinghams might strike a chord.
Yup. Overdubs were rare, and processing did not exist. Most records were cut what we'd today call "direct to disk", with a single take and no editing of the tape.
Jim Nesta I'm so glad somebody mentioned that. Many of their little ditties are stuck in my head. What is the weather for the weekend going to be.... :)
@@billbagwell1105 In the summer of 1969 I was stationed at an Army fort near Augusta Georgia and one night when I was going through the dial of an AM radio I picked up the weak and wavering signal of WLS. I knew for sure because I heard the familiar musical jingle that I mentioned earlier. Being a lower frequency signal, the signal would normally propagate along the ground - ground wave. At night the ionosphere, a weak plasma, could reflect radio waves that would normally pass through - called sporadic E skip. This is the dominant mode of propagation for higher frequency short wave radio. Sometimes a radio wave can skip off the ionosphere and surface of the Earth multiple times.
I remember meeting Dex Card, one of the WLS DJs, at a Sears store on the North Side(Lawrence Ave) for a promotional appearance in 64 or 65. This was during the height of the British Invasion, such a cool time.
Very interesting doco. Grew up in Melbourne Australia, but still heard of quite a few of these bands and the hits they had thanks to my older sister. 3KZ and 3UZ were top 40 stations here .. my favs were 3AK and 3XY though , those were the 2 big AM rock stations here in Melbourne for me.
Wow, that's interesting that our music was heard in Australia! What's weird is that there were many parts of the US that never played this music, except for Chicago and the Buckinghams. I know people that never heard of most of these local bands, until TH-cam came along!
@clarkewi True, there were many influential Chicago area bands in this time period. See the description under the video that explains this program's primary focus, which would not include the Butterfield Blues Band.
Amazing how the Beatles unintentionally controlled the music path. Meaning the incredible power they possessed that they never tried to control but mysteriously could.. While I really enjoyed watching this, I'm glad they gave the Beatles the deserved credit they earned. Thanks You for posting.
Don't forget, the beatles were influenced by Buddy Holly the stones Loved all the blues from America. The beatles and stones were copying music from America!
we had a large console am/fm radio in the 60's..big speaker sound and incredible AM pull..at night my brothers and i would spin the dial..and lo and behold WLS//WKBW..WOWO..we were thunderstruck and had to be scolded to turn it off and get to bed..but the sound of new music that touched my soul was born..thanks for the video and especially the beginning of Rock..i never will forget that initial feeling..still strong today but with a touch of nostalgia and knowing it will never be that good again..
@iamrichrocker Those were the days, right? I was so lucky to be a young teen when the bands in this video were playing to the high school crowds and I got to see them all. Will never forget those times. Thanks for your story!
I live near Madison WI. There's a show on WORT FM on Saturday night, Rockin' John's I Like It Like That. Tonight he did pretty much everything on here. Great tunes. When he played You Wouldn't Listen by Ides of March, totally blew me away, the same band (somewhat) that released Vehicle in 1970. Mainlined WLS back when I was a little kid in the 60s and 70s.
I saw this program on WTTW when it was aired. It's great to see some of the people I saw in person at the time. We visited Roselle Music often. Len used to give Lyle a hard time, asking for deals that he knew were outrageous.
Went to LTJC with some of the Cryan' Shames back in 65-66, they were then the Travelers (changed name when they got a label), Tom Doody, Gerry Stone (had a class with), Dave Purple. They were almost the junior college house band for Friday night mixers up on the 3rd floor, North Campus in LaGrange. Met Bob Hale. Didn't Howard Miller on WIND play some R&R music in the late 50's before WLS switched from Farm reports?
Michael Long - Thanks for sharing those memories about the Shames from way back. I first saw them at a high school dance venue in late '66 and several dozen times since! Good question about Howard Miller... I vaguely remember the name, but I was only 8 in '60 when we moved to the Chicago area. (The first DJ I listened to was Dick Biondi, lol.) Miller may have played some r&r, but from what I've read, it sounds like he was more of a Pat Boone/anti r&r kinda guy!
![The History of The Seeds | 60s Punk Pioneers [Mini-documentary]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5iCgFDskiyI/mqdefault.jpg)
![The History of The Seeds | 60s Punk Pioneers [Mini-documentary]](/img/tr.png)
🎸Please Note🎵: *THE ACTUAL TITLE OF THIS PBS PROGRAM WAS... "HOW CHICAGO ROCKED THE 60's"* as in Chicago the CITY. Chicago the BAND is featured @21:54. 😉
In fairness, they didn’t change their name to Chicago until around 1970.
@@Seanakin True! But most don't even think about that. I've had quite a few since-deleted comments about how the title was "misleading" or "click bait."
@@60s70sChicagoRock I grew up near Chicago so I could understand why some people could be confused by the title of the program. Now if they only had named it "How the city of Chicago rocked during the 1960s", I believe that would have eliminated the confusion.
@@jaybee5659 Yes, it probably would have! 😄
I lived in Chicago in 1965 and it was wo nderful ....💖 we went to Rush street every weekend...😀
I grew up in the 60s listening to AM rock on WLS with my little 9V AM transistor radio hidden in my jacket pocket. I had an earphone so that I could listen to it while in class. I used to scrounge the alleys in my neighborhood looking for discarded musical instruments that I could fix and then try to play by ear. Later, in the late 60s, when I was taking basic training in the Army at Ft. Gordon, GA I could pickup the signal from WLS at night.
Wow dude that’s groovy
Ditto on WLS, I could pick them up in Sioux City, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska at night. Very powerful station!!
Picked them up at times in eastern pa.
The Shadows of KNIGHT were from my high school, Prospect High. The "knight" in their name was homage to our HS team, the Prospect Knights.
In the 60s, I was a teenager growing up in a suburb of Chicago. I would often listen to WLS or WCFL on a small transistor radio under my pillow at bedtime. My favorite Disc Jockeys were Larry Lujack, Art Roberts, and Dick Biondi.
Once I remember one of those stations reporting a paranormal sighting nearby and even identified the location on the air. I convinced my father to drive me there. Instead of seeing any ghosts, the rock band The McCoys were playing Hang On Sloopy in a clearing of a local forest. Lots of people were also fooled. But we did enjoy the music.
Also, I remember going to my local record store to pick up the WLS Silver Dollar Survey each week.
I’ve always lived on the West Coast, and in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I listened to WLS and on a good night, WCFL! The Ides Of March’s “Vehicle” is a killer! The Cryan Shames and The American Breed were great bands. Spanky and Our Gang used to play day gigs in the parking lot of my neighborhood music store in the L.A. suburbs!
@@edryba4867 that’s AMAZING that WLS carried that far!!!
Great times! I was in one of those "basement" bands they mentioned. Most of our practices were in church halls, but I do remember one practice in my parents basement that didn't go well. A neighbor called the Chicago cops because we were too loud. The cops told us that they couldn't find our location at first, but that the kids dancing in the alley gave us away. The neighbor actually apologized when she realized it was us.
As a former rock ‘n’ roll DJ in Northern California, I truly appreciate the great backstory and interviews. I have some wonderful memories of the greatest music to come out of Chicago!
Thanks for this!!! Larry Lujack...oh yeah! I grew up in Niles, in the 60's. My dad had a side job, collecting quarters from pool tables, and placing new 45's in juke boxes in north Chicago area bars and clubs. So, we had a juke box at home, and all the 45's we wanted!!!! It was so cool being an adolescent, and teen when all this artistic, and progressive music was being aired. Great times and memories!
+Dale Stroker You are welcome.... and were quite lucky to have all that free music back then!
Sorry that I didn't know you,
I grew up in Niles in the 60's as well, over on Shermer Rd.
Lived near Lutheran General hospital and went to Maine East HS. Take good care....we grew up in a cool surburb! Remember Papa Joe's in Park Ridge? It was formerly called The Deep End, when I was an early teem in the late 60's.
Yes, I do remember The Deep End, and The Green Gorilla. Good times, and great music.
A wonderful time, and place in space to grow up in.
The Cellar Club, Arlington Hts!
Remember doing the dinner dishes with my older brother listening to WLS on his transistor radio sitting on the kitchen window sill back in the mid 60s.
Holy smoke what such talent in the windy city, Chicago. I love all of them especialy New Colony Six. That band was fantastic! Must be in the water, the talent fountain. Called my " friend" Susan in 1968 and played that Buckingham song on a 45 to her via a turn table on the phone to her. She still remembers that to this day. Thanks so much for a great video. Appreciated.
Yes, we certainly had a huge amount of local talent back then! Lots of fun times seeing these bands at teen dance "clubs" in the mid-60's. Glad I was able to record this off the tv and have it to share with other fans. Thanks for watching and sharing your story! :)
James Cavender , Ronnie Rice!
"Could Be We're In Love" remains, 50 years later, my ALL Time favorite recording. This posting was very much appreciated. My teen years were spent in Chicago's Western Suburbs. Both WLS & WCFL were ON regularly. PEACE TO ALL.
@Martha Mack I was a teen in the northern 'burbs... what a fun time that was! Thank you for visiting. 😊
Love Cryan Shames.
k, am i th only 1 eyeballing th postee's names here? WstrnSubs, hmmm, Downers Grove perhps? i recall a Mack family near where I lvd on Grant street- 1953 to '69 era
Best music ever
Great time to be a teenager and living only 100 miles south of Chicago listening to WLS
Dx ed to WLS and CFL any nites in eastern Michigan as a kid and listened to Uncle Larry's animal stories when I worked in Chicago. Good times
@@erbewayne6868 hahaha
“Is the dog gonna be alright, Uncle Lar?”
“Of course he is, little Tommie! Now here’s a shiny new dime for ya’!”
My band, “The Field of Content”… opened for both The New Colony Six, and later… Spanky and Our Gang… at The Red Rooster club, in Indiana, PA, back in the 60s.
Both bands were really good. Sounded a lot like their records, live. Couldn’t say that about all the bands we’d open for back then. Ronnie Rice, of The New Colony Six, was a really nice guy.
what a great show, i'm glad i tuned in. i never realized all these groups came out of chicago, alot of awesome sweet tunes from my era.
My cousin was in the group the Mauds. It was great to hear their records on the radio. Hold On and Soul Drippin. They did a version of "Try a little tenderness" that was great. My favorite of those days was The Cryin Shames - they could have been as big as some of the greatest bands in those days, but, there were so many problems holding a band together in the 1960's. I know from my cousin's stories.
Great to hear these bands again and their stories until now I thought the Buckingham's were British!
Being from Mt. Prospect and went to PHS, I sure do miss those days. Class of 70.
I grew up a couple of hours East of Chicago (was in high school 66-70), and did quite a bit of listening to WLS. Great times and memories. A very well done musical, historical piece. Thanks much!
Growing up in the 60s I remember most of these groups and songs. Without a doubt, this material were highlights of the era. Music changed a lot after the 60s...but thank goodness for The Buckinghams, Spanky & Our Gang and The New Colony Six! (Great video, thanks for posting this trip down Memory Lane).
@Scott Meli Thanks for watching!
Man!! Awesome documentary!!! These songs invoke an imagery and nostalgia for Chicago back then that's gone now!!
Yes this combined version is great ...Takes me back to WLS and my time living in the Chicago area...When I was stationed in 1964 at Ft. HOOD,TX. I could still recieve WLS at night ....Thxs. for sharing this ...LARRY
I saw the Buckinghams in Owensboro, Ky as part of the Dick Clark Caravan of Stars. I was well-impressed. By that time, I had a band and was writing songs. I still like the pop sound the Buckinghams did so well.
For a period of time in the 70s, the Ides of March and the Cryan Shames merged and billed themselves as the Ides of Shame. They were booked to play our senior prom in Hobart in 1974, but some dope put the wrong date on the band's contract. Pretty much summed up my high school experience.
I was a sophomore at Lane Tech when I saw Gary and the Nitelites at the YMCA at Fullerton and Central Park. That was 1963. How would I know they would eventually become the American Breed?
Thank you for posting this video! As a garage rock musician from Chicago myself this was very insightful and a history lesson for me
You're welcome, thanks for watching. I was one of those teens, frequenting the area dance clubs. :)
60s70sChicagoRock Loaded all the equip for the Knights, Colony, Hams ect ect. ...got in the show for free. Still hurts.
Johnny Bragatti
How cool. :) And it was only a dollar or two to get in, depending on the band. Glad a lot of them are still around, still performing. You might want to check this out in May... forgottenhits60s.blogspot.com/2015/02/the-marty-grebb-benefit-concert-update.html
In the 60's while I was in high school, we had a weekly dance at the American Legion Hall in McDonough, GA, and each weekend usually had a different band. There were 4 or 5 different groups some from other cities. Those were the days. I was in a band for a little while before going into the Marine Corps and off to Vietnam. Cheers from eastern TN
Thank you for your service.
@@w.rustylane5650 Glad you made it back in one piece, brother!
i love this video it was awesome and brought back some beautiful memories of the good old days. my favorite was the IDES OF MARCH. My three children went to the same high as the IDES OF MARCH. MORTON WEST HIGH SCHOOL IN BERWYN, IL. Mr. Chuck Soumar who plays the trumpet in the IDES OF MARCH was my kids Music Teacher in Morton High School. A great bunch of guys. love VEHICLE my Favoirte song. Love all the Bands of the 60's what a great year.
On Edison Rd, Mishawaka IN had a place called Edison Light that played music for teens. It had movies, pictures and light shows of stuff like pulsing liquid colors on big screens.
Brought back Memories. I enjoyed watching this. Thanks for the post.
You're welcome!
Wonderful, what great memories. I was 17 in 1964 in Park Forest, the far south suburbs of Chicago, so all these songs bring me back to so many places. I always listened to WLS and bought the most popular 45 at 50 cents. Such a great time to grow up!
I just saw them last Thursday for the 37th time. Bob Lamm Jimmy Pankow and Lee Loughane are still pounding out the hits. Not quite as good as the first time I saw them in 1982 but pretty darn good. Go see them as I'm sure they will be in your city soon and for the next 50 years.....long live Chicago!
WLS and WCFL were known to those in the South. We could hear the both of them after dark, we couldn't wait till dark!
I swear those bands from Chicago are hugely influenced by the diverse scene they grew up with. All of them are amazing
Wow! I grew up listening to these bands, and more through the '70's. I lived south of Chicago, in Kankakee county. Didn't even realize that a lot of these groups were actually FROM Chicago! :)
"Gloria" was a big hit ...... for sure! (and all the garage bands were playin' it at the dances)
This is a fantastic video. I'm from Pittsburgh, where the scene was a lot smaller scene than Chicago. Two killer DJs in our town broke a lot of hits nationally. Porky Chedwick (along with Wolfman Jack) was one of two white DJs nationally to first play R&B music on a "white" radio station. Porky also started playing his 1950s "dusty disks" as "oldies" in the 1960s, a concept that lasted for decades. We also had Terry Lee, who produced The Swamp Rats and owned a couple dance halls in town. Terry Lee will be remembered for his show "Songs For Young Lovers", which was the soundtrack for submarine race watching for over 15 years. All gone from the airwaves now, thanks to corporate policies of uniformity. Thank the Lord for TH-cam's memory hole!
SafeSpace47 - Pittsburgh was the birthplace of Doo-Wop and some great 60's artists like Lou Christie, The Vogues, and Tommy James and the Shondells. Thanks for commenting! :)
I'm originally from Chicago but left there in the early 80s. Didn't know most of these bands were from Chicago, good program!
I grew up in rural south central Wisconsin and WLS was the only station for me in the 60s. I also had the opportunity to meet Ronnie Rice long ago and created a web page for him back in the day, the only one out there at the time. He was a real gentleman and amazingly talented. I was lucky that he was appearing with the NC6 that day in the northwest suburbs.
I’m from the far south side of Chicago, grew up listening to all of these bands, it shocked me finding out some of these bands I grew up with and never knew some were from the Chicago area.
The Wild Goose in Waukegan was originally a bowling alley, later it became a health spa, and is now gone. My friends mom lived across the street, and his parent met there. My aunt and uncle were there a lot as well.
I had a tinny transistor radio that I hid under my pillow so I could listen to the Art Roberts show on WLS when I was supposed to be sleeping. Some nights I could get a Detroit station playing Motown. Listening to this is a trip down memory lane, but hey baby, the Buckinghams' cover of the Beatles tune "I Should Have Known Better" is SO painful 😬😝😬
@Rock and Roll Woman Did the same thing... mostly when Dick Biondi was on. I agree about the Beatles' cover by the Buckinghams. But that was when they were still babies!
Top radio show was Dick Biondi at WLS. I interviewed him at the studio. Also saw Beatles live in ‘64.
I remember Larry Lujack and Tommy Edwards on WLS. I remember they did a morning skit called animal stories.
LOVED Animal Stories and had the albums they sold of them to benefit some children's charity. Listened every night on the way home from work in the early 1980s. Great humor and great team - Larry and Tommy.
Snot nosed Tommy!
'Ol uncle Larr.... and there he is, little snot nose Tommy...
@@lawrencefure2102 is the dog gonna be alright, uncle Lar?
@@lawrencefure2102 and here’s a shiny new dime for ya, little Tommie!
At long last, I found the music of The Flock and have added it to my Spotify feed - The best of 60s Chicago-area bands. At the end of the feed!
@Larry Launstein Jr I just started using the 'free' version again after several years and found your profile while looking for Chicago bands music! So now you have another follower. 😉 open.spotify.com/playlist/6CpvF9VqI24w4F6btvlA0M
I grew up just east of South Bend Indiana. We could get WLS or WCFL in Chicago on the radio. There was nothing else like it in Northern IN.
Loved LS while attending ND
@@jamesr.donovan7644 Go Irish!!!
I ws on the edge of my seat.I love all this music.Perfection, this is how music documentries should be. Buckinghams, American Breed, Cryan' Shames, Chicago it just gets better and better.
There was a dance club called the Rumpus Room in Belvidere il. A lot of these groups came there. Belvidere qroup was the Esquires. Rockford's group were the Grim Reapers. Aka (Cheap Trick). There was another place to play in Rockford called The Ice Chelat. They were great times. We had a lot of fun.
Oh Now this is right up my alley. Thanks many times over and so much more!!!
If you're thanking the bands... they deserve it a million times over!! If you're thanking me for the upload... well, you are very welcome!! :)
What a great program this is, no dull moments at all. The Buckinghams released a number of top quality tunes later in their career that didn't get the recognition they deserved. "Back in love again" failed to crack the Top 40 and after that, their subsequent singles got even less airplay. Songs like "Where did you come from" and "It's a beautiful day" had hit written all over them, but went nowhere. What happened?
@Richard Pandolfo "Back in Love Again" was probably my favorite. It did reach #32 here in Chicago, but should've done much better. Less air play may have had something to do with James Guercio leaving to manage The Big Thing/CTA/Chicago in '68. Also a couple band members had changed around that same time. Thanks for watching!
Thanks Bob….It’s so much fun to think about the Chicago Bands of the 60’s……There were lots!……Roger’s Sister knew all guys!……I met The Buckinghams in the early 60’s…..Also a Group in the early 70’s…..Aliota….Haynes and Jeremiah….Thanks….Val
Do any of you who actually WERE there at that age and time? Do you remember calling the WLS phone lines and talking to people between the beeps of the busy signal?
WLS was a power AM station, like WJR in Detroit. I remember trips down south with my parents in the late 60's, being able to get Tiger baseball games on WJR, and dialing around and picking up another station called WLS and found out it was from Chicago. That was a cool discovery for a youngster back then. 🤓
I posted this then I scrolled down and saw your comment.
I grew up just east of South Bend Indiana. We could get WL in Chicago on the radio. There was nothing else like it in Northern IN.
I always look forward to a clear winter night when I lived in Philadelphia and was able to pick up a strong signal from WLS 😄😄😄😄😄😄
Clear channel designations. Many still operate that way.
This is some kind of quadruple-meta nostalgia, as I sit here at the end of the 10's, remembering the first time I caught this documentary in the 00's, having rediscovered these bands via CD's in the 90's, after first hearing them on WLS in the 70's and 80's and realizing the best music was from before I was even born.
I grew up in Chicago attended Calumet High School from 1962 to 1966. Listened to WLS and WCFL. Loved it.
@@gomezesmorticia where was Calumet HS located? Do you mind if I ask?
I really enjoyed this video.
Thanks for the upload, I enjoyed this very much.
You're welcome... thanks for watching! :)
A piece of music history. Thanks for posting!
@Harold Fridkis Thanks for watching! 😉
Dex Cards Wild Goose Friday, Saturday & Sunday ,and Sunday was at the Armory in Hammond some of the best music ever
In the 70s, someone had a regular thing where they booked local bands into big rooms around Chicago on Friday, Saturday Sunday nights. They played in Evanston (IIRC) on Fridays, Aurora on Saturdays and at the Sherwood Club in Sherrerville on Sundays. Styx were regulars as was Kracker. I was sitting on the floor at the Sherwood Club one Sunday night listening to Styx, and when they did Lady, I got a bit freaked out cause it looked like Dennis was staring at me while he was singing it. After the song ended, the gal sitting next to me elbowed me and said "Don't worry, that's my husband". Chicago rock was like that. I recall many a battle of the bands, and my high school clique had a garage band we called Felicia Sims. Played a few school dances around NW Indiana and fairly regularly at the South Haven Youth Center in Portage.
Mondays were in Joliet
@@gtwfan52 Styx played at BOTH of my HS gyms in 73 and 74. Loralie was their big hit, Lady was out by the second show. I changed high schools over Christmas break 74 into 75
This came up and not sure how I missed this before. I know all of these bands because my parents felt it was important to love music and be proud of where I am from. I have seen several of these bands in concert (like the Buckinghams) and it's such an important time.
Wow!! WLS WCFL?? I haven't thought of those stations in a gazillion years.
When my parents moved to Florida I could pick up those station on a good night, I missed home that much.
Why? Music programs. Music programs in high school. Earth Wind and Fire also started in Chicago.. Great program. I miss Chicago and Bob Sirott!
"GLORIA" was the song that all garage bands of the day, would play!
That and "The House of the Rising Sun" and "Little Black Egg".
I was the drummer in my 1st college band. We played a lot of oldies. The beauty of Gloria is that just about anybody could sing it - and this song plus “Stepping Stone” by The Monkees are the two songs that I would go out front and play the bass and sing lead on.
All three chords of Gloria but I still like playing it.
Gloria was first recorded by Them featuring Van Morison.
@@angelaackerman8934 He wrote it too. Other claim that. They just adjust lyrics for air play.
I was born in 1971 and missed the greatness from 60's Chicago music scene. But I'm from the NW suburbs and once in a while, I run into someone who can detail facts from those times.
Listened to WLS as a teen and LOVED these songs!
I listened to W L S in Chicago in Inman South Carolina as a rock n roll kid in the 60 s and 70 s , was the best station on the air and we could only get it at night.
Saw some of these bands back in the 1980’s while visiting the Taste of Chicago, we decided to take a break and eat our food and it was these Chicago 1960’s band reunion show performing on stage.
@Sue Scimeca - Wow, I lived in Park Forest from '60- '62. I was about ten when I bought my first 45 at the PF Plaza! (Johnny Crawford, 'Rumors') That's when my parents got me my first transistor radio. We ended up in the northern suburbs, where I got to see a lot of these bands at the teen dance clubs :)
Wow! Bob sirott, I used to listen to him and a.m. radio. My Mom loved the band Chicago and she still does. These early 70s songs remind me of Chicago in the summer in the early 70s. What a great time.
Thea Jones me too! I grew up in Lagrange and Hinsdale early 1970s. Great times! Bozo, the dirty dragon show and ray Rayner!!!
He is now the morning host on WGN radio.
In Mexico the song “Vehicle” of The Ides of March was a big big big hit.
I remember listening to these great bands on WLS and WCFL at night down here in the south. Most of the time a got a good signal, but there was interference from a 600,000 watt station in Brazil, and a 150,000 watter in Cuba.
I lived in the Chytown burbs in the 60's and it was great! We thought it would never end.
My sister dated Jerry Stone from the "Cryin Shames" and he would come over to our house with his cool Honda CB450 motorcycle. Very cool!!!
'Stonehenge'! (as he was called, when I saw them for the first time in early 1967🙂)
Clark Weber, Art Roberts, Dick Biondi, Larry Lujack, etc.. were all in my rock’n roll hall of fame growing up as a young teen in Dixon.
I use to listen to those DJ's all the way from Texas on my transistor radio.
Oddly enough, the New Colony Six at one time shared digs with Paul Revere and the Raiders. Both groups got a shock when they found out they were wearing almost identical outfits 😀
I worked as a brand new airplane mechanic at Howell airport in Crestwood when Gary Loizzo was learning to fly there. I didn't know who he was musically until later and tried to find my old copy of Bend Me Shape Me on 45 to get it autographed but Mom had tossed it years earlier along with the old baseball cards, etc. But he was a great guy and would talk music with me whenever we had a chance. Good times, good times.
John Taylor Great story. RIP Gary 😢
Payola... still great music. ... I enjoyed this so much
I remember getting in trouble for cutting out a 45 of Gloria by the Shadows of Night from the back of a box of breakfast cerial before it was empty.
@@allenshively6374 hahaha I forgot all about those!!!
These were wonderful years! In July of 1966 I was selected to be the Guest Teen DJ on the Art Roberts Show. He was ever so nice and it was pretty cool. The #1 song of the night was Hungry by Paul Revere and the Raiders. I thought about being a DJ until I found out that the entry money was horrible. But what a fond memory!
@@billcavalier1243 “Don’t be nervous, don’t be rocky, you’re our teenage guest disk jockey now!!!”
It's a cryan shame that this documentary omitted the Del-Vetts (later the Pride and Joy). In '66, they release a few monster singles, which included "Last Time Around" and "That's the Way It Is," the latter being the b-side of "I Call My Baby STP" -- both on Dunwich Records.
Radio has always been there for me. I used to listen to Radio Luxembourg when I was in Sweden--another dynamic and influential radio station. I'm a seventies kid, but I'd have loved to be a part of this radio wave.
CHICAGO HAD AND STILL HAVE THE BEST HORN SECTION EVER!!! THERE NONE LIKE CHICAGO EVER WILL BE
The music of Chicago is fabulous! You might want to listen to the Russian Tribute Band, "Leonid and Friends". It's amazing! These people are in their 20's, 30's etc. and they are carrying on the legacy of the great music that Chicago played, now that the original band members are in their 70's.
Excellent horns to be sure but please check this out: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memphis_Horns
Tower of Power from Oakland, CA will give them a real run for their money.
...and longevity.
Here in the East Coast South, many of us could pull in the AM powerhouse stations, as our own stations mercifully signed off at dark. WLS, WCFL WOWO and others were the AM favorites of tens of thousands or high school and college students. This is almost painful nostalgia. Time machine, please?
That vocalist for The Buckinghams had talent. Funny, to have a hit record fifty years ago, you had to know how to SING!
Russ G - And how! Dennis Tufano still tours and he still has the chops! artistecard.com/DennisTufano#!/bio
Yes, Dennis Trufano. I got "Susan" played on BBC-6 back in the summer, but it didn't catch on. BBC-6 is the largest Indie station in Europe - I thought The Buckinghams might strike a chord.
Yup. Overdubs were rare, and processing did not exist. Most records were cut what we'd today call "direct to disk", with a single take and no editing of the tape.
I still love the Cryan shames and shadows of knight - and the Young Rascals (non chicago) were in Florida years ago
I played golf with JC Hook this Spring in Lombard this year. "Sugar &spice and everything nice🎵"
2024, 23yrs later, Peterik looks more like he's in a rock band now than he did in 2001:^)
WLS in Chicago: will it be hot , cold, rain, snow. I met Dex Card from WLS at a promotion in a Sears store on Lawrence Avenue in 1965.
Jim Nesta I'm so glad somebody mentioned that. Many of their little ditties are stuck in my head. What is the weather for the weekend going to be.... :)
WLS was the station to listen to in the 60’s. Top 3 songs at 10 o’clock every night. Great times
I grew up on WLS and CKLW in the sixties, great time to be alive
WLS’s signal would fade in and out from time to time depending on where you lived. I live in Tennessee
@@billbagwell1105 In the summer of 1969 I was stationed at an Army fort near Augusta Georgia and one night when I was going through the dial of an AM radio I picked up the weak and wavering signal of WLS. I knew for sure because I heard the familiar musical jingle that I mentioned earlier. Being a lower frequency signal, the signal would normally propagate along the ground - ground wave. At night the ionosphere, a weak plasma, could reflect radio waves that would normally pass through - called sporadic E skip. This is the dominant mode of propagation for higher frequency short wave radio. Sometimes a radio wave can skip off the ionosphere and surface of the Earth multiple times.
Larry Lujack -- My favorite DJ of all time.
+Tully Bascombe he was the best
+Tully Bascombe I grew up listening to WLS and Larry Lujack. Great times and memories.
They sure were, Phil
Tully Bascombe , Turn into Peanut butter!
Berwyn, There IS No Berwyn!
I remember meeting Dex Card, one of the WLS DJs, at a Sears store on the North Side(Lawrence Ave) for a promotional appearance in 64 or 65. This was during the height of the British Invasion, such a cool time.
FAR better than the old 3-part version. Better video. Better audio. 2 Thumbs up. Thank you.
Very interesting doco. Grew up in Melbourne Australia, but still heard of quite a few of these bands and the hits they had thanks to my older sister. 3KZ and 3UZ were top 40 stations here .. my favs were 3AK and 3XY though , those were the 2 big AM rock stations here in Melbourne for me.
Wow, that's interesting that our music was heard in Australia! What's weird is that there were many parts of the US that never played this music, except for Chicago and the Buckinghams. I know people that never heard of most of these local bands, until TH-cam came along!
no triple N back then? in Australia
No mention of the Butterfield Blues Band. One of the most innovative bands of the 60's.
@clarkewi True, there were many influential Chicago area bands in this time period. See the description under the video that explains this program's primary focus, which would not include the Butterfield Blues Band.
Amazing how the Beatles unintentionally controlled the music path. Meaning the incredible power they possessed that they never tried to control but mysteriously could.. While I really enjoyed watching this, I'm glad they gave the Beatles the deserved credit they earned. Thanks You for posting.
@Patrick O'Conner How true... and thanks for watching!
Don't forget, the beatles were influenced by Buddy Holly the stones Loved all the blues from America. The beatles and stones were copying music from America!
we had a large console am/fm radio in the 60's..big speaker sound and incredible AM pull..at night my brothers and i would spin the dial..and lo and behold WLS//WKBW..WOWO..we were thunderstruck and had to be scolded to turn it off and get to bed..but the sound of new music that touched my soul was born..thanks for the video and especially the beginning of Rock..i never will forget that initial feeling..still strong today but with a touch of nostalgia and knowing it will never be that good again..
@iamrichrocker Those were the days, right? I was so lucky to be a young teen when the bands in this video were playing to the high school crowds and I got to see them all. Will never forget those times. Thanks for your story!
I live near Madison WI. There's a show on WORT FM on Saturday night, Rockin' John's I Like It Like That. Tonight he did pretty much everything on here. Great tunes. When he played You Wouldn't Listen by Ides of March, totally blew me away, the same band (somewhat) that released Vehicle in 1970. Mainlined WLS back when I was a little kid in the 60s and 70s.
Stuart Ross - I've heard some of their shows and interviews with 60's Chicago area band members in the past few years.
WOW,, I remember K-Tel used to advertise these compilation albums and a lot of these bands were on it,,so cool to know they're from my home town.
That was good I grew up in the sixties great memories and two older brothers who bought all the records and comics I got to read and listen to.
REALLY ENJOYED THANKS JAMES
Great memories…still listen to Bob Sirott on WGN radio each day...
Best decade, best music!
I saw this program on WTTW when it was aired. It's great to see some of the people I saw in person at the time. We visited Roselle Music often. Len used to give Lyle a hard time, asking for deals that he knew were outrageous.
The 60's, My Bike, and my Purple Transistor Radio.
For sure, that's what it was, mine was blue though. 🤓. I still have it in my shoe box of memories, also have my little carry case of 45's. 😊
Went to LTJC with some of the Cryan' Shames back in 65-66, they were then the Travelers (changed name when they got a label), Tom Doody, Gerry Stone (had a class with), Dave Purple. They were almost the junior college house band for Friday night mixers up on the 3rd floor, North Campus in LaGrange. Met Bob Hale. Didn't Howard Miller on WIND play some R&R music in the late 50's before WLS switched from Farm reports?
Michael Long - Thanks for sharing those memories about the Shames from way back. I first saw them at a high school dance venue in late '66 and several dozen times since! Good question about Howard Miller... I vaguely remember the name, but I was only 8 in '60 when we moved to the Chicago area. (The first DJ I listened to was Dick Biondi, lol.) Miller may have played some r&r, but from what I've read, it sounds like he was more of a Pat Boone/anti r&r kinda guy!