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Lee County band to be inducted into Iowa Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame
For the Daily Gate City
Keokuk and Fort Madison residents can take pride in knowing that they are now officially represented in Iowa's Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, thanks to '60's-local-favorites-gone-international-garage-band-legend, GONN.
Area residents might be surprised to know that there is an Iowa Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame. But yes, the Iowa Rock And Roll Music Association has its official Hall Of Fame in Arnold's Park near the area made famous in 1959 with the crash of the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.
GONN came to their attention by virtue of a groundswell of support of international proportions, instigated without the knowledge of GONN whatsoever, by fans from all over the USA, Europe and Japan.
GONN will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at ceremonies Sept. 5 at Arnold's Park.
Formed in 1966 by Keokuk residents Craig Moore and Gerry Gabel from the remnants of their first band The Pagans, GONN was born with the addition of Gary Stepp of Keokuk and Fort Madison's former Rogues Rex Garrett and Brent Colvin.
This line-up shook up the area music scene with their aggressive blend of British and West Coast-influenced rock 'n roll, inspired as much by The Yardbirds, Byrds, Paul Revere & The Raiders, and psychedelia as much as the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
By the winter of 1966 GONN had already written and would record its first record, "Blackout Of Gretely" b/w "Pain In My Heart." "Blackout" was the product of numerous moments of serendipity, the first being in its conception.
It was the composite result of a book title that Gerry Gabel happened to bring to practice, "The Blackout At Gretely" about an event in World War II England, Rex Garrett's fuzz-toned Standells/Count Five-influenced riff, and Craig Moore's penchant for O'Henry styled lyrics and Eric Burdon-influenced screams.
Add to that 15-year-old Brent Colvin's drumming, and pure garage band history was written in a basement on Melody Court in Keokuk and rehearsed in another basement on Avenue D in Fort Madison.
The flip side was borrowed from The Rolling Stones who had borrowed it from Otis Redding.
The second serendipitous moment came when a would-be lounge-singer-cum-pop-star from Burlington named Bill Egan approached GONN to back him up on a record. They agreed but were sharp enough to require Egan to pay for studio time to record their own record.
Egan had GONN back him on Eddie Cochran's "C'Mon Everybody" and Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City." The session was held in the back room of Bob Mefford's Electronic Engineering And Supply shop in Burlington, literally using two microphones, one aimed toward the singer and part of the band at one end of the room, and the other pointed in the general direction of the rest of the band at the other.
This is also how "Blackout Of Gretely" was recorded, with tape echo going down live, mono, no dubbing.
This primitive session has become a legend in and of itself, given the sound captured.
"I called Bill Egan in the 90's," says Moore, "to see if he still had the tape of "C'Mon Everybody", but he barely even remembered it. Too bad, he could have been a tangible, audible part of this tale. Plus, we'd just love to hear that. We never did!"
In those days there were teen dances all over the area every weekend. The competition among area bands was fierce, but the audience was relatively huge, loyal, and appreciative. Plus, Moore worked at the Daily Gate City, so every week he'd leave a schedule of the dances and other events in the editor's mailbox, usually focusing on GONN, of course. Publicity was important, but the response was always astounding.
"I still remember teenage girls dancing to "I Ain't Got You" (an obscure Yardbirds' album track that Gonn performed) at the KC Hall," recalls Moore. "They would request it! And the world may never again see anything as hip as teenagers in Keokuk dancing to "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago." This was another Gonn-performed Yardbirds' tune that is credited with being the first true heavy rock record, precursor to Led Zeppelin, and the only single to feature both Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page on guitars. "Kids in Keokuk & around the area at that time were SO hip. They were exposed to a lot of great album cuts and B-sides because bands around here like GONN, Brillo & The Firebirds, and The Gallows fit into no neat little niche, we were all pushing the boundaries of what a band ought to be. We all had our own attitude and approach, but it was the KIDS that made it possible. We could announce a dance at the KC Hall on Thursday and have 500 kids turn up on Friday. Incredible."
A second single recorded in early 1967 went unreleased for nearly 20 years, because everyone who heard it thought Craig screamed too much on it!
"'Doin' Me In" would be worth a fortune now if we had released it," says Moore. "It's a raw bloody teen screamer, garage band fans go nuts over it today. But we were always broke, back then if it didn't sell we'd have a problem. So it sat unreleased until 1985."
Next: The second version of GONN.
Keokuk and Fort Madison residents can take pride in knowing that they are now officially represented in Iowa's Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame, thanks to '60's-local-favorites-gone-international-garage-band-legend, GONN.
Area residents might be surprised to know that there is an Iowa Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame. But yes, the Iowa Rock And Roll Music Association has its official Hall Of Fame in Arnold's Park near the area made famous in 1959 with the crash of the plane carrying Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.
GONN came to their attention by virtue of a groundswell of support of international proportions, instigated without the knowledge of GONN whatsoever, by fans from all over the USA, Europe and Japan.
GONN will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at ceremonies Sept. 5 at Arnold's Park.
Formed in 1966 by Keokuk residents Craig Moore and Gerry Gabel from the remnants of their first band The Pagans, GONN was born with the addition of Gary Stepp of Keokuk and Fort Madison's former Rogues Rex Garrett and Brent Colvin.
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By the winter of 1966 GONN had already written and would record its first record, "Blackout Of Gretely" b/w "Pain In My Heart." "Blackout" was the product of numerous moments of serendipity, the first being in its conception.
It was the composite result of a book title that Gerry Gabel happened to bring to practice, "The Blackout At Gretely" about an event in World War II England, Rex Garrett's fuzz-toned Standells/Count Five-influenced riff, and Craig Moore's penchant for O'Henry styled lyrics and Eric Burdon-influenced screams.
Add to that 15-year-old Brent Colvin's drumming, and pure garage band history was written in a basement on Melody Court in Keokuk and rehearsed in another basement on Avenue D in Fort Madison.
The flip side was borrowed from The Rolling Stones who had borrowed it from Otis Redding.
The second serendipitous moment came when a would-be lounge-singer-cum-pop-star from Burlington named Bill Egan approached GONN to back him up on a record. They agreed but were sharp enough to require Egan to pay for studio time to record their own record.
Egan had GONN back him on Eddie Cochran's "C'Mon Everybody" and Wilbert Harrison's "Kansas City." The session was held in the back room of Bob Mefford's Electronic Engineering And Supply shop in Burlington, literally using two microphones, one aimed toward the singer and part of the band at one end of the room, and the other pointed in the general direction of the rest of the band at the other.
This is also how "Blackout Of Gretely" was recorded, with tape echo going down live, mono, no dubbing.
This primitive session has become a legend in and of itself, given the sound captured.
"I called Bill Egan in the 90's," says Moore, "to see if he still had the tape of "C'Mon Everybody", but he barely even remembered it. Too bad, he could have been a tangible, audible part of this tale. Plus, we'd just love to hear that. We never did!"
In those days there were teen dances all over the area every weekend. The competition among area bands was fierce, but the audience was relatively huge, loyal, and appreciative. Plus, Moore worked at the Daily Gate City, so every week he'd leave a schedule of the dances and other events in the editor's mailbox, usually focusing on GONN, of course. Publicity was important, but the response was always astounding.
"I still remember teenage girls dancing to "I Ain't Got You" (an obscure Yardbirds' album track that Gonn performed) at the KC Hall," recalls Moore. "They would request it! And the world may never again see anything as hip as teenagers in Keokuk dancing to "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago." This was another Gonn-performed Yardbirds' tune that is credited with being the first true heavy rock record, precursor to Led Zeppelin, and the only single to feature both Jeff Beck & Jimmy Page on guitars. "Kids in Keokuk & around the area at that time were SO hip. They were exposed to a lot of great album cuts and B-sides because bands around here like GONN, Brillo & The Firebirds, and The Gallows fit into no neat little niche, we were all pushing the boundaries of what a band ought to be. We all had our own attitude and approach, but it was the KIDS that made it possible. We could announce a dance at the KC Hall on Thursday and have 500 kids turn up on Friday. Incredible."
A second single recorded in early 1967 went unreleased for nearly 20 years, because everyone who heard it thought Craig screamed too much on it!
"'Doin' Me In" would be worth a fortune now if we had released it," says Moore. "It's a raw bloody teen screamer, garage band fans go nuts over it today. But we were always broke, back then if it didn't sell we'd have a problem. So it sat unreleased until 1985."
Next: The second version of GONN.
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