The Life and Times of Bill Engelhart
In 1955, a bunch of kids from Tacoma’s Jason Lee Middle School went to the Sunset Theater on 6th Ave to see the hip new movie about teen rebellion set to a rock n’ roll soundtrack. The song “Rock Around the Clock” by Bill Haley & His Comets inspired then 15 year old Bill Engelhart and Bruce Ormsby to meet at Bruce’s house the next day to see about making some music together.
Engelhart (guitar) and Ormsby (steel guitar) quickly recruited fellow schoolmates Lasse Aines (drums), Frank Dutra (sax), and Buck Mann (sax).
A couple of weeks later Engelhart and Dutra found Rockin Robin Roberts while the crooner was standing on a park bench giving passers -by an impromptu acapella performance.
They called themselves the Bluenotes, and immediately began practicing in Engelhart’s garage where neighborhood kids would gather to rock-out at each jam session.
Bluenotes, 1955
These garage jam sessions earned the band the distinction of being the first garage band in the northwest. A trend which defined and inspired decades of bands like Seattle’s Nirvana.
Nirvana, 1989
Dance at the Little JEM, July 1958
The Bluenotes were the first band to hold their own dances. They rented venues, hung posters, and sold tickets. There shows were a hit, netting them about $100 a night!
In 1957, the Bluenotes finally had enough money to buy some studio time, so they went to see Joe Boles at his in home recording studio in West Seattle where they recorded “I Love An Angel”. Boles recognized the song’s potential, and contacted Dolton Records in Seattle. Joe Boles in his studio, 1950s
Soon the band had a hit and a new name; they became Little Bill and the Bluenotes. The song climbed the chart to No. 66.
Little Bill and the Bluenotes national notoriety was brief; about a year. Buck Ormsby and Rockin Robin Roberts joined another iconic northwest band: The Wailers. A band that would later find success with the hit song “Louie, Louie”.
Robinson with The Wailers, 1960
Bill Engelhart became discouraged, and though he continued to perform, it was not the same “I was 19 and felt like a has-been”. (Jasmin, 2017) Bill Engelhart, 1960
Born in 1940, the Tacoma native was diagnosed with polio as a child, and was confined to a wheelchair for the majority of his adolescence. Without a television to distract him, young Bill suffered from boredom. Until the day when his father’s cousin began coming by to play guitar for the boy. The guitar became Bill’s escape.
“Being in a wheelchair, there were lots of things that I couldn’t do. I couldn’t ride bikes and all that, but I could play the guitar.” Bill Engelhart (Wilson, 1994)
The 60s were a tough time for Bill, “Musically, nothing was happening for me, I was just going through the motions…I’d go to these jobs and play, and drink, and I was using amphetamines. It was a bad time.” (Wilson, 1994)
“Everybody Jump” recorded live at the Fiesta Club, Tacoma 1964
In the 70s Bill stepped away from music and worked a series of office jobs. One day he finally let vocalized his wish that he had never had any success to begin with. The person he was speaking to asked him how many of his friends had been fortunate enough to have a hit record.
“What she was saying was you should be happy for what you did have, and she was absolutely right. It changed me.� Bill Engelhart (Jasmin, 2017)
Eventually, a friend talked Bill into playing a gig, and for him “playing again felt like magic.” (Wilson, 1994) Over the years both Little Bill and the Bluenotes have morphed. Bill has traded in the guitar for a bass and has settled back into a wheelchair which has done little to slow him down.
The Bluenotes have seen around 50 musicians come and go , and although Bill is the last original member, the band plays on. Its current configuration includes: • Billy ‘Staples’ Stapleton on guitar • Dick Powel on harmonica and keyboards • Billy Barer on drums.
Blecha, Peter. 2014. “NORTHWEST MUSIC ARCHIVES: LITTLE BILL AND THE BLUENOTES: TACOMA’S TEEN-R&B PIONEERS (1958-1960).” http://nw-music-archives.blogspot.com/2014/12/little-bill-and-bluenotes-tacomas-teen.html. “Boles, Joe (1904-1962): Seattle’s First Hit-Making Sound Engineer - HistoryLink.org.” 2017. Accessed June 3. http://www.historylink.org/File/8924. Denefeld, Duane Colt. 2015. “Fort Lewis Teen Center and the Emergence of Northwest Rock - HistoryLink.org.” HistoryLink.org. August 3. http://www.historylink.org/File/11083. Dickie, Lance. 2016. “Little Bill Birthday Wishes ahead of ‘Stormy Monday.’” The Seattle Times. March 14. http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2014/03/14/little-bill-birthday-wishes-ahead-of-stormy-monday/. dowopper51. n.d. Little Bill & The Blue Notes - I Love An Angel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ymiu3VjLxY. Little Bill & The Blue Notes - I Love An Angel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLXfbDx-rI. Little Bill & the Bluenotes “LOUIE LOUIE” (2008). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB63C7i5LV8. Jasmin, Ernest. 2017. “Little Bill Brings His Big Band to Church.” Tacoma Weekly. Accessed June 2. http://www.tacomaweekly.com/citylife/article/little-bill-brings-his-big-band-to-church. Little Bill and the Bluenotes. 2015. “The Band.” Little Bill and the Blue Notes. December 26. https://littlebillandthebluenotesmusic.com/schedule/. “‘Little Bill’ And The Bluenotes* - Recorded Live At The Fiesta Club.” 2017. Discogs. Accessed June 3. http://www.discogs.com/Little-Bill-And-The-Bluenotes-Recorded-Live-At-The-Fiesta-Club/release/6352724. “Little Bill and the Bluenotes - Tacoma, WA (1958 - Present).” 2017a. Accessed June 2. http://pnwbands.com/bluenotes.html. Little Bill and the Bluenotes. 2017b. Accessed June 2. http://pnwbands.com/bluenotes1.html. “Little Bill & the Blue Notes | Biography & History.” 2017. AllMusic. Accessed June 2. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/little-bill-the-blue-notes-mn0000306632. Northwest Guitars. n.d. Little Bill and the Blue Notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoLXfbDx-rI. Little Bill and the Blue Notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXQJjTKOeVw. “NORTHWEST MUSIC ARCHIVES: LITTLE BILL AND THE BLUENOTES: TACOMA’S TEEN-R&B PIONEERS (19581960).” n.d. NORTHWEST MUSIC ARCHIVES. http://nw-music-archives.blogspot.com/2014/12/little-bill-andbluenotes-tacomas-teen.html. Northwest Music Scene. 2015. “Award-Winning Short Film Tacoma’s Rock -N- Roll Legends.” NorthWest Music Scene. July 11. http://www.northwestmusicscene.com/2015/07/award-winning-short-film-tacomas-rock-n-roll-legends/. “OLD AND NEW PHOTOS - 2.” 2017. Accessed June 3. http://lincoln600.tripod.com/id12.html. Ponnekanti, Rosemary. 2016. “‘Little’ Bill Englehart Will Celebrate 60 Years of Music with a Blues Vespers.” Thenewstribune. July 12. http://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article89017897.html. “Roberts, ‘Rockin’ Robin’ (1940-1967) - HistoryLink.org.” 2017. Accessed June 3. http://www.historylink.org/File/9217. Sparks, Randy. 2014. Tacoma's Rock-N-Roll Legends. https://vimeo.com/108946751. Wilson, Geordie. 1994. “Little Bill Blues.” Seattletimes.com. April 19. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940419&slug=1906187.