The Adventures and Legacies of The Fabulous Wailers

The Adventures and Legacies of The Fabulous Wailers

Sathoun Sok TARTS 225: Musical History of Tacoma Professor Kim Davenport June 6, 2018

Sok 2 Introduction Have you ever wondered what type of music came through the City of Tacoma over the past years? How exactly did the genre of rock ‘n’ roll and garage rock get introduced in Tacoma? Well in this paper, we will be learning about on one of the most influential band dating back to the late 1950s, The Fabulous Wailers (The Wailers). Known to be one of the first American garage bands who formed within the Pacific Northwest (Wikipedia, 2017), The Wailers’ music presented a “distinct surge in grungy energy” (Blecha, 2008) from kids who wanted to just “rock out” during their times (Minster, 2009). And it is believed that without them or their fellow musicians who also came through during the late 1950s, the foundation of Northwest garage rock in Tacoma would not be present back then or today (Jasmin, 2009). With that being said, we will now talk about how The Wailers came to be, followed by their fame and music, later years, their influence within the music industry, the legacies they hold and pass on, a brief personal reflection of our listening experience to The Wailers’ hit songs, and a conclusion.

Starting of the Band The Wailers officially formed in 1958 “out of a series of jam sessions held at McChord Air Force Base” after a successful recruitment of their fifth member, Kent Morrill, who astonished them when he played his song “Dirty Robber” (Jasmine, 2009; Wikipedia, 2017). After the recruitment, members of The Wailers consisted of Kent Morrill, Rich Dangel, John Greek, Mike Marush, and Mike Burk (Jasmin, 2009; Wikipedia, 2017; NMA, 2018, Revolvy, 2018). Creating an instrumentaloriented combo band that brought together the sounds of vocals, piano, saxophone, guitars, and the drums (Blecha, 2009; Jasmin, 2009; Wikipedia, 2017; NMA, 2018, Revolvy, 2018), the young five musicians gave their developing fan base and their supportive community a “saxophone-driven rock ‘n’ roll with a jazz tinge” (NMA, 2018) and a hint of R&B (Wikipedia, 2017; Revolvy, 2018) musical experience. But, prior to their rise in popularity, The Wailers were first known by their

Sok 3 prior band names, M.G.s and/or the Nightcaps who performed at local venues found in the City of Tacoma (Jasmin, 2009).

After multiple performances at their local venues, The Wailers meet Art Mineo, a highly influential person in the music industry, who helped The Wailer set foot into the music industry and signed a contract with the recording label, Golden Crest (Ormsby, 2015). However, Golden Crest label weren’t the only recording label The Wailers signed contracts with. Due to the tensions that occurred between The Wailers and the Golden Crest over the issue of the band having no intention to move to the East Coast (Blecha, 2009; Ormsby, 2015), The Wailers receive no further promotion of discs or new recording from Golden Crest. Upon their return to Tacoma after their disagreement with The Wailers, the band then recruited Lawrence F. from the R&B group Little Bill and the Bluenotes, followed by Gail Harris, a 13-year old powerhouse singer and Bluenotes’ bassist, Buck Ormsby in late April 1960 (Blecha, 2009; Ormsby, 2015). On the edge of being disbanded from not being signed with a recording label, Lawrence, Morrill, and Ormsby came together not only as fellow bandmates but also co-owners of Etiquette Records which they founded and signed The Wailers to (Blecha, 2009; Ormsby, 2015). It doesn’t stop there though. Despite all the struggles they went through to remain active and continue playing music, they also signed with other recording labels such as Norton, Sundazed, Trip, Viva, United Artists, Collectables, Imperial, Bell, and the Four(4)-Dot Label (NMA, 2018; Wikipedia, 2017; Revolvy, 2018) to further expand their music and make themselves known.

Now that we had seen a brief beginning of how The Wailers started and who they signed recording labels with, lets dig deeper into the adventure of how and what made The Wailers wellknown.

Fame and Music Initially signing with Golden Crest label when they first started in the music industry, Golden Crest promoted two instrumental songs that soon became radio hits. The first instrumental

Sok 4 hit that became well-known and was the starting point of fame for The Wailers was the song, “Tall Cool One” (Blecha, 2009). Reaching #36 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #24 on the R&B chart upon the first release (NMA, 2018), the “Tall Cool One” became a popular song that many recognized.

Following the great achievement and fame that the “Tall Cool One” brought upon The Wailers, their next instrumental song “Mau Mau” also made it to Billboard pop chart as #68 under Golden Crest label (NMA, 2018). Although their time with Golden Crest was limited, the Colden Crest was like a grounding foundation for The Wailers to the music industry—for it was this initial introduction of The Wailers to the public on a larger scale.

By the 1960s, The Wailers produced their next hit recording called “Louie Louie” under the Etiquette Records (Blecha, 2008). Similar to the “Tall Cool One,” “Louie Louie” made a lasting impact to The Wailers’ fame and their audiences as it became a No. 1 regional smash hit song once it was released (Blecha, 2008). “Louie Louie” was the world’s first garage-rock version of the song and when the song was released by The Wailers, it became an “instant local best-seller” which sold up to 40,000 copies just regionally (Blecha, 2009). Due to the song’s popularity, locals in Tacoma at that time and over the years came to believe that the song was Washington’s unofficial state song (TNS, 2007).

Yes, The Wailers’ fame may have had grown over the years due to their hit songs, but their overall popularity increased over the years because of how their music incorporated “teen dances and sock hops” which were originally seen played at venues in Tacoma such as the Spanish Castle, the Crescent Ballroom, and other local venues (Jasmin, 2009) from the beginning. As their music style and sound further developed along with the music they produced, The Wailers not only performed more at different venues but the crowds who came to see them perform kept growing over the years (Minster, 2009). So then the next question is, what are The Wailers currently up to now of all these years?

Later Years

Sok 5 As of today, The Wailers are currently inactive. Disbanding officially in 1969 (Wikipedia, 2017; Revolvy, 2018), Kent Morrill was the last standing original member of the band (NMA, 2018).

Since this section is dedicated to what The Wailers did during their active years (1958-1969) and after their split, we must first look at how over the years members within the band changed. Along with these changes, we must also look at the impact and influences the members brought upon The Wailers and then how they were still connected to one another even when the band discontinued.

Now let’s see how over the years the band members changed.

Changing of members As we had seen previously mentioned in the section where we discussed how the band started out, the band was originally formed by Kent Morrill, Rich Dangel, John Greek, Mike Marush, and Mike Burk (Jasmin, 2009; Wikipedia, 2017; NMA, 2018, Revolvy, 2018). And then a couple of years later after the formation of the band and the fallout with the Golden Crest record label, The Wailers recruited Lawrence F., Gail Harris, and Buck Ormsby (Blecha, 2009; Ormsby, 2015). After some success within the music industry, Harris left the band to pursue a solo deal/career in Hollywood (Blecha, 2009). Then by the late 1963, Roberts wanted to continue his studies at the University of Oregon in biology and chemistry and left the band (Blecha, 2009). In the following year, Marush, one of the founders of The Wailers and the sax player, left the band and was replaced

by Ron Gardner (Blecha, 2009). Along with the addition of a trio of girls as backup singers, known as the Marchans, The Wailers finally released their Etiquette’s second LP which came to be known as The Wailers & Co. (Blecha, 2009; NMA, 2018). Further into the year of 1964, Dangel and Burk left the band (NMA, 2018) and Dave Roland and Neil Andersson were recruited as the new drummer and guitarist for the band respectively in the late 1965 when Out of Our Tree LP was released (Blecha, 2009). Two years later, Andersson was then replaced by Danny Weaver (NMA, 2018).

From this relatively quick crash course of The Wailers’ band member history and their contributions to the group, we see that The Wailers brought together various musicians during

Sok 6 their active years. And along with their addition to the band, they also helped create and record new songs under The Wailers which were released (NMA, 2018). Now that the band had disbanded for many years, let’s look at what they may be doing now in the next section.

The creation of music after disbanding Previously mentioned at the beginning of this section, The Wailers disbanded in 1969 (NMA, 2018; Wikipedia, 2017; Revolvy, 2018). However, this doesn’t stop them from officially playing music. Music still lived within them and continued to do so even after the entire band was disbanded. Occasional reunions between Morrill, Dangel, Ormsby, and many other musicians would occur starting from the 1970s which later resulted in concerts that played some of The Wailers hit songs. One of the greatest reunion that occurred within the Northwest was the May 14th, 1972: Northwest rock ‘n’ roll reunion concert known as the Northwest Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival taking place at Seattle’s Grand Paramount Theatre (Blecha, 2012). Cosponsored by KJR radio and Rainer Beer, the Northwest Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival brought together first-generation Pacific Northwest rockers and gave these influential rocker bands such as The Wailers, The Ventures, and The Sonics to relive their glory days and to have their audience see how music had changed within a decade though the local scene (Blecha, 2012).

This wasn’t the only live performances for these influential bands to showcase their accumulated skills. On The Wailers side of the spectrum, they came together to collaborate with The Ventures (another garage rock band who debuted before them) to celebrate 50 years of being in the record biz by not only performing their hit music at the Seattle’s Moore Theatre but they also released a joint CD called “Two Car Garage” that composed of their “most influential, most prominent, and most fun songs” throughout their music career (Jasmin, 2009; Minster, 2009).

Because The Wailers would occasionally get together, they can be sometimes seen performing at Tacoma’s local tavern such as the Swiss back in 2010 (TRC, 2010); but now that the years have

Sok 7 passed, the appearance of The Wailers had decreased (this will be discussed in the legacies section).

Influences Being considered as one of the first American garage rock band who laid the foundation down for Northwest garage rock in Tacoma (Jasmin, 2009; Wikipedia, 2017), during the eleven years they were active and after they disbanded, The Wailers became a very influential band among other artists/musicians within the music industry. For instance, during the era of garage rock/grunge within Tacoma, The Wailers influenced The Sonics in one of their performances held at the Tacoma News Tribune’s Paperboy Banquet (Blecha, 2008); as well as helped The Sonics release albums under Etiquette Records (NMA, 2018). Lastly, The Wailers also influenced fellow artists and was considered as inspirations and/or heroes by The Beatles, Elton John, The Eagles, Ted Nugent, and John Forgorty (Minster, 2009); and their album cover photographer, Jini Dellaccio (Revolvy, 2018). Following the influences The Wailers had on others, they themselves also carried with them some legacies that is well remembered by their fellow companions and neighbors residing in Tacoma which we will now discuss next.

Legacies

LouieFest and the Wailers Performing Arts Foundation (WPAF) Influencing many artists/musicians within the music industry, The Wailers also made a lasting long impression and impact to their local community through the LouieFest and the Wailers Performing Arts Foundation (WPAF) (TNS, 2007; Wikipedia, 2016). Functioning as a nonprofit organization created by Ormsby and Morrill, WPAF seek to “provide musical instruments and mentoring to young people” and promote “the joy of playing music to young people all around the Northwest” (TNS, 2007). Alongside with this goal, WPAF also provided youth scholarships, instruments, music lessons, and mentoring for those interested in music education (Wikipedia, 2016). Working side-by-side the WPAF was a festival organized also by Ormsby and Morrill called

Sok 8 the LouieFest, which started since 2003, serving as a fundraising event for the organization (Wikipedia, 2016). Even though the “Tall Cool One” was The Wailers initial hit songs, “Louie Louie” was another breakthrough song for The Wailers during their career and was believed to carry a legacy of itself; thus, creating the LouieFest (Wikipedia, 2016). Just like the goals of WPAF, LouieFest encourage people of all ages to unite together as an ensemble and play “Louie Louie” in unison as a remembrance of the “rock and roll’s eternally youthful anthem of the Baby Boomer generation” (Wikipedia, 2016).

Regrettably, we do not know whether LouieFest and the WPAF are still active for the two founders are now not with us anymore. Upon Kent Morrill’s passing, a memorial concert was held for him at the Tacoma’s Temple Theater (Sailor, 2011). And just as an influential person Morrill was to his fellow artists and colleagues, another memorial concert was held for John Ormsby at the Temple Theatre on March 26th, 2017 after his passing in 2016 (Davison, 2017). Without these two members of The Wailers, and the entire members of The Wailers, some of the opportunities that The Wailers had wouldn’t have had been possible and they wouldn’t have had left the legacies or influences they had within their hometown and fellow musicians.

Conclusion In conclusion, The Wailers helped introduce Tacoma to garage rock/grunge during the late 1950s to early 1960s and contributed to the era in Tacoma to what became known as the rock/grunge era. Their popularity ranged from locals residing in Tacoma, to the past’s and today’s most influential artists in the music industry we mentioned back in the Influences section of the paper. They gave their best in performing their style of music to fellow music lovers and in the meantime gave back to their community by reaching out and helping youths who may carry an interest in music. Although losing The Wailers due to time, their legacies and what they brought to Tacoma over the years is still remembered by many.

Sok 9 References

Blecha, P. 2008. Sonics, the: Tacoma’s ‘60s garage-rock teen titans [internet]. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: http://historylink.org/File/8844.

Blecha, P. 2009. Etiquette rules! The northwest’s reigning ‘60s garage-rock record company [internet]. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: http://www.historylink.org/File/8947.

Blecha, P. 2012. The first-ever Northwest rock ‘n’ roll reunion concert is held on May 14, 1972 [internet]. The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: http://historylink.org/File/10106.

Davison, D. 2017. The year in review [internet]. Tacoma Weekly News [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: https://tacomaweekly.com/featured-city-life/the-year-in-review/.

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(NMA) Northwest Music Archives. 2018. Wailers, the [internet]. Northwest Music Archives Discography & Labelography [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: http://nwmusicarchives.com/artist/wailers-the/.

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Sailor, C. 2011. Concert a rockin’ sendoff. McClatchy – Tribune Business News; Washington.

Available from: https://search.proquest.com/docview/863906966?accountid=2289.

(TNS) Targeted News Service. 2007. Tacoma, Wash.: Wailers invite TPS students and staff to participate in drum fest. Targeted News Service; Washington, D.C. Available from: https://search.proquest.com/docview/468230842?accountid=2289.

(TRC) TacomaRockCity. 2010. The Fabulous Wailers “Dirty Robber” at the Swiss Tavern. YouTube.

Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTQU8HM8ro.

Wikipedia. 2017. The Fabulous Wailers [Internet]. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia [cited 2018 June 6]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fabulous_Wailers.

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Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LouieFest.