Guy Mitchell Was Second Only To Elvis In 1956
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Category: Dr. J's Blog
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Published: Wednesday, 05 October 2011 00:10
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Written by Gary Johnson
Guy Mitchell’s name does not come immediately to mind when you think about Michigan rock and roll. But the popular singer had more # 1 hit singles during the first decade of rock and roll than a host of early Michigan Rock and Roll Legends inductees including Bill Haley And His Comets, Jackie Wilson, Del Shannon, The Marvelettes, Jack Scott, Hank Ballard & The Midnighters, and Mary Wells.
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Knight Moves: K J Knight Tells All
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Category: Dr. J's Blog
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Published: Wednesday, 05 October 2011 00:09
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Written by Gary Johnson
“And the drummer, he’s so shattered trying to keep on time” - M. Jagger and K. Richards
Sex, drugs, rock and roll, and crime - it’s the perfect combination for a fast and enjoyable read, and Knight Moves, K J Knight’s memoir of his days as a respected member of Michigan’s music scene, delivers the goods and then some. Born Kenny Mills, the author played drums in a number of bands as a youngster before forming K J Knight and The Knightriders and adopting the stage name that he still uses today. The Knightriders won the 1966 Michigan State Fair Battle of the Bands contest, and for the next two years the band was a popular attraction at teen clubs throughout the state.
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Battle of Mickey’s Big Bop
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Category: Dr. J's Blog
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Published: Wednesday, 05 October 2011 00:02
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Written by Gary Johnson
"Rock 'n' roll smells phony and false. It is sung, played, and written for the most part by cretinous goons and by means of its almost imbecilic retardation and sly, lewd in plain fact dirty lyrics....it manages to be the martial music of every side-burned delinquent on the face of the earth." - Frank Sinatra
As rock and roll moves through its sixth decade, it’s easy to forget that in the 1950’s it was characterized by government, religious, educational, and media spokespersons as immoral and sinful – and its purveyors as lazy and shiftless juvenile delinquents.
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