When I created the MercedMusic.wordpress.com website in 2009 it was a celebration and reminder of the creativity of a consequential time in the San Joaquin Valley. It was a time of creative energy when big ideas were important.
Many of my contemporaries have had long careers or avocations in some aspect of the arts, but have seen the arts losing importance in civic society.
Somewhere in the intersection between the utopian 60s and these current hard-headed times, many of the big ideas have disappeared.
The 60’s in Merced Music represented both cultural freedom and a kind of youthful enthusiasm without limits. I often think that the worldwide 60’s culture happened in Merced first but is that so crazy?
It was a crossroads town halfway between L.A. and San Francisco but also halfway between the USA and the rest of the world, thanks to the influence of Castle Air Force Base. It was as likely centered here as anywhere else.
Most importantly it was a transition between the confined and bigoted 50s and today.
That era really started in 1956 when Roddy Jackson put together one of the first interracial rock bands in the country. It was a really important first. At that time the Blue Notes records that were responsible for nearly everyone learning guitar.
Then the Brogues broke as an early 60s groups with a serious attitude problem and then it all took a straight line into psychedelic music.
For more than 15 years (1960-1975) most of the people I knew were involved in the arts in one way or another. From which it was a long string of music, bands, artists, poets, writers, promoters, and willing participants who created an era that had many highs.
Using the word “participants” lessens the importance of everyone involved. The fans were truly the parade and everyone else occasionally got out in front of it.
So…Today?
I am unsure what to do with the Mercedmusic site anymore.
I haven’t run into any more pictures, posters, or anything else relevant in quite some time.
The only news seems to be in the form of obituaries.
Bob (Robin) Caywood remembered from the Echoes passed from natural causes in mid-December 2022 in Bakersfield Ca. according to Mona Caywood. He was 75.
So if anyone can snap, or scan and share some relevant content please contact me @mlkguitars.gmail.com.
I was able to locate copies of the Modesto flyer and I am working on getting quality scans of it. The show was headlined by Love,The Doors, Eisage from Modesto and Infinity from Turlock.
Held at the Modesto Skate Arena.
Scheduled to go for 2 sets by each band the night was cut short by some kind of audience brawl. It appears to be some kind biker fight that shut it down.
California’s ‘Central Valley Fireball,’ rock ‘n’ roll icon Roddy Jackson dead at age 80
BY SHAWN JANSEN UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2022 8:16 AM
Roddy Jackson MARCI STENBERG Merced Sun-Star The Valley lost a rock ‘n’ roll legend on Wednesday as Roddy Jackson, dubbed the “Central Valley Fireball,” died after complications following surgery, according to family. Jackson, who was raised in Merced and lived there for much of his life, was 80 years old. Born George Rodrick Jackson, his musical career took him to some incredible peaks, some unbelievable lows and a surprising resurgence late in life as fans rediscovered his music in Europe and internationally.
Jackson was also a hometown music teacher who had an impact on generations of musicians in Merced and the surrounding region. Get unlimited digital access Try 1 month for $1 CLAIM OFFER “He was a great musician, a musical pioneer,” said Cheryl Lockett, whose father Kenny Craig was guitarist for the 1950s-60s era Merced Blue Notes band with Jackson. “He was a legend.” Jackson was born on April 9, 1942 in Fresno and moved to Merced when he was 1 year old with his parents Rod and Lucille Jackson. His father was a recognized jazz guitarist and his mother played piano. Jackson was a musical prodigy from a young age.
He joined his first band “The Dreamers” at the age of 12. The band played swing and dixieland jazz tunes and was featured on a local radio station. When he was 14, Jackson helped form The Merced Blue Notes after a chance meeting in a Merced High School music room. Jackson was inside the building playing boogie-woogie-style piano while another student played drums. Moments later, two more students walked into the room carrying a guitar and a saxophone. Another arrived with a stand-up bass. “My father Kenny Craig was playing in the music room,” Lockett said. “Neither one really knew about each other. My dad heard Roddy playing and he thought, ‘Who is this white boy getting down with all this soul?’ They never said a word, they just started playing.” The music attracted a crowd of students. “Next thing you know, there’s all these high school students, coming in there, screaming and yelling. The place filled up, they were outside placing their faces against the window,” Jackson told the Sun-Star in 2008. “This was like a total shock to us. We were just having fun.” From that initial meeting, the jam sessions became more frequent, and a core group was formed. The 1950s lineup of the group, which would change over the years, included Jackson, Gil Fraire, Clarence Lewis, Buddy Wiggins, Kenny Craig and James Burkes.
The band moved forward under the wing of then-Merced Fire Chief George Coolures. They did shows in auditoriums and civic halls up and down the Central Valley. With three Black members, one Hispanic and Jackson, who was white, The Merced Blue Notes were one of the first integrated rock bands in the area. “That was a multiracial band that broke racial barriers here in Merced in the 1950s,” Lockett said. “The Blue Notes were family. (Roddy) was like an uncle to me.”
This photo, from the Courthouse Museum’s Music History in Merced County exhibit, shows the band Blue Notes posing for a picture during a practice session at the house of Fire Chief George Coolures, at right, in 1958. Roddy Jackson is shown standing in the back, with guitarist Kenny Craig to his left. Merced Sun-Star File Submitted Photo As a white boy singing Black music, Jackson received many threats and verbal hits from whites and a few others. “Most of the Blacks and Hispanics liked it. But there were some that didn’t. And I got threatened and everything,” Jackson told the Sun-Star.
It was Jackson’s style and raspy voice that eventually led to him being signed by Sonny Bono and Specialty Records, the label that helped launch the career of Jackson’s idol Little Richard. Despite Bono’s insistence to drop The Merced Blue Notes, Jackson was signed to Specialty Records. He would commute between Merced and Los Angeles, staying at Bono’s home while recording. Although Jackson recorded with studio musicians, he frequently stuck with his band when playing live — a decision that restricted many of his performances to the Central Valley. Under Specialty Records, Jackson released songs like “Love at First Sight,” “Hiccups,” “Any Old Town” and “Moose on the Loose.”
Jackson also co-wrote the song “She said Yeah” with Bono that was later covered by The Rolling Stones, The Animals and Paul McCartney. “Roddy was one of the few musicians to make it big and put Merced on the map in terms of music,” said musician Mikel Soria, who is also from Merced. “The thing is, Roddy never left for a big city. Instead of staying somewhere like Los Angeles or San Francisco or New York, he chose to stay here. He would travel around the world but he always returned.”
RODDY JACKSON ON BRINK OF STARDOM Jackson was on the cusp of national stardom with a scheduled 1958 appearance on Dick Clark’s “American Bandstand,” but a money dispute between his record company and show producers resulted in Jackson’s appearance on the show being canceled. Jackson eventually felt the cancellation possibly saved his life. Jackson admitted he dove head first into the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle, getting involved with drugs and alcohol. In hindsight, he said fame and fortune would have given him unlimited access to those pitfalls. “The first part of his life he was an alcoholic, his life was about sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll,” acknowledged his wife of 28 years Kate. “The second part of his life was about improving himself.”
After Jackson was dropped from Specialty Records, he joined the Army in 1961 and served three years, receiving an honorable discharge in 1964. Jackson played in a few bands while moving around throughout the 1960s but decided to take a break from music in 1968 and worked different jobs over the years. In 1981, Jackson moved back to Merced and began his career as a music teacher. He landed his first teaching job at Dorothy’s Music Center. In 1992 was hired as a music and theater teacher in Ballico, a job he held for 15 years. “He knows how to teach,” Lockett said. “A lot of great musicians can play what they feel or hear by sound but they can’t teach. He knows how to teach. He won’t let you move on until you learn it.”
Tim Barnes – guitar Kriss Kovaks – keyboards Terry Davis – rhythm guitar Mike Hamm – bass Dave Brown – drums
From Contra Costa, the Immediate Family were active between 1965 and 1967. They recorded at least two numbers at Leo Kulka’s Golden State Recorders, Wet Chant and the excellent Rubaiyat which eventually were released on the Big Beat Nuggets From The Golden State collection What A Way To Come Down. They later changed their name to The Fox. Tim Barnes was a member of Stoneground.
Eponymous Salinas band, the E-Types featured Bob Wence, Don Sheppard, Danny Monigold, Jody Wence and Reggie Shaffer.
The group’s pop oriented blend of British Invasion and Birds-esque garage rock, coupled with polished musicianship quickly secured the E-Types’ popularity among the Bay Area and San Joaquin teen community
Plying their trade in the fertile San Francisco scene of the late 60’s, Crystal Syphon’s name was only known to aficionados through viewing copies of old SF gig posters and through the index of bands at the back of Ralph Gleason’s book on the rise of Jefferson Airplane. Then both their studio and live 1967-1969 archival recordings were discovered that replaced the imagination with true grooves in 2012 & 2015 with the release of the 2 lps below on vinyl on Roaratorio Records. Trying to find comparison with other Bay area bands from that era has proven a bit fruitless as they don’t specifically evoke any of the heavy hitters of the era. They have a bit of a dreamy, stoned vibe with some great harmonies and some have compared their style to Quicksilver Messenger Service (John Cipollina was their idol!!) as well as H.P. Lovecraft. As with so many bands of the era, the draft, time and declining fortunes signaled the end of the band. There is some great guitar work alongside the Farfisa organ in the extended jams, and fans of the west-coast sound should delight in these recordings.
Disk 2
Sparked by spooky organ passages, ‘Jose & Fuzzy’ soon turns into a hard-hitting trip of acid-baked ecstasy before changing course again and melting into waves of mellowness. ‘Elephant Ball’ is a spellbinding instrumental dominated by the intoxicating interweaving of hypnotic keyboard and guitar notes, while ‘Have More Of Everything’ buzzes with brain-bending riffs, and ‘Paradise’ shimmers and swirls with psychedelic beauty, supported by a cast of feathery harmonies. On ‘Winter Is Cold’, Crystal Syphon crank the volume and power, resulting in a rocking ride of piercing bluesy guitar licks and penetrating rhythms.The collection also contains a selection of tracks taped live at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, such as the jazz flavored ‘There Is A Light There’ and the high energy gospel styled folk rock of ‘Don’t Fall Brother’. Clocking in at over an hour and a half in length, ‘Family Evil’/’Elephant Ball’ is required listening for fans of the freewheeling West Coast sounds of the sixties. Had these awesome songs been publicly available when they were originally produced, there is no question Crystal Syphon would have attained worldwide recognition.Beverly Paterson
The reissue tracks are:Disc 1: Family Evil1)Marcy, Your Eyes 2) Paradise 3) Have More Of Everything 4) Try Something Different 5) Fuzzy And Jose 6) ) Are You Dead Yet? 7) In My Mind 8) Family Evil + 9) Fails To Shine+ 10) Winter Is Cold+ 11) Winter Is Cold+++Total Time- 53:16
Disc 2- Elephant Ball1) Dawn Sermon 2) For All Of My Life 3) Tell Her For Me 4) Elephant Ball++ 5) Sing To Me++ 6) It’s Winter++ 7) Snow Falls++ 8) Don’t Fall Brother++ 9) There Is Light There++Total Time- 39:35
New! 8/29/11 I was able to locate copies of the Modesto flyer and I am working on getting quality scans of it. show was headlined by Love,The Doors, Eisage from Modesto and Infinity from Turlock. Held at the Modesto Skate Arena.
Scheduled to go for 2 sets by each band the night was cut short by some kind of audience brawl. I don’t think it involved Jim Morrison!
Merced Music 