The Rock and Roll revolution reached Appleton, WI when I was a teenager.

(Notes about Jack and Friends Album)

Most of this was recorded in 1957 in my parents' basement in Appleton, WI. Rock 'n' Roll was brand new at the time. We teenagers were reacting against Lawrence Welk, Pat Boone, and all that. It was liberating.

None of us could read music. We learned the music by listening to the radio and recordings. We also kinda taught each other. We were all in high school, but not the same one. Appearing on the album are the following:

Bob Timmers; Lead guitar
Marty Jensen; Lead guitar, bass guitar, and vocals
Jack Kisslinger; Rhythm Guitar
Jim Kobs; Finger Style Guitar
Dave Pozolinski; Drums
Gary Laabs; Vocals
(Can't remember); Saxophone

Some of us appear in this picture;




Bob Timmers made Rock 'n' Roll his career. He is worth Googling.

Marty Jensen still sometimes plays at The Willows in Madison.

I've lost track of the rest.

It says "White Caps" on Dave Pozolinski's bass drum, but that was not the name of our band. The configuration of the band was never stable enough to warrant a name. Sometimes Dave and I got into a pretty good groove. I went to college and almost never played the guitar again. I sold the guitar you see in the picture. A mistake.

Jim appears in the last two tracks that were recorded much later. He was strongly influenced by Chet Atkins. Jim is a master of multi-track recording in Sleepwalk.

We sometimes practiced in the backyard of my parents' house which is where this picture was taken. Notice the amplifiers-they are all homemade. Even the recording equipment was homemade. We used tubes because transistorized equipment was in the future.

I listen to this 60 years later and I am struck by the freedom and spontaneity of it all.

Instrumental
Walk Don't Run
Perfidia
Rawhide
Blues in the Night
Apache
Hold it
40 Miles of Bad Road
Sandstorm
Earthquake
Summer Time
Old Man River
Be-Bop-a-Lu-La
Whole Lotta Shakin
Poor Little Fool
Blue Moon
Stuck On You
Love Of My Life
Walk Don't Run
What Did I Say?
Whole Lotta Shakin
Instrumental with Sax
Miss Anne
Instrumental
Finger Style
Sleepwalking (multitrack)