First Day Of May
A special Tunesday
One of my favorite “didn’t make it” Detroit bands (actually Alpena … but where’s Alpena? NE mitten) from the late 60s/early 70s.
Dick Wagner was the front man for the 4-man band. Their first big gig was at Meadowbrook Pavilion in the Detroit suburbs with MC5 and The Stooges (Iggy Pop).
[I’m attending a wedding at Meaadowbrook in August. Meadowbrook was the estate of John Dodge of auto fame; it is now “a place”]
They became a popular band in the Detroit region. The band was pursued by record companies; they recorded 3 albums for Vanguard Records. They were one of the top bands in the region but Vanguard did a poor job in promoting the band nationally – the missed the success their contemporaries Bob Seger, Grand Funk, Alice Cooper, and Ted Nugent enjoyed.
The band broke up in 1970 after the release of their 3rd album; Dick Wagner went on to become a player for Lou Reed, Kiss, Alice Cooper and others.
Dick Wagner died age 71 in 2014.
Thanks for the many good concerts, Dick.
A very good friend of mine, who was born and lived in Alpena through his high school years, always told me “Alpena is the center of the universe.” I always laughed at him about this, and told him Alpena was only a major player in the cement business. I’ll have to ask him about this band. After high school, he never went back to Alpena, so there’s that.