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| | | In the early-seventies, the Bee Gees were little more than the a washed-up sixties nostalgia group and nobody could have predicted how they would completely dominate the Billboard charts just a few years later. The style of music that would soon become known as "disco" was evolving and bowling alley nightclub bands these days were expected to perform the latest hits by KC & the Sunshine Band, Tower of Power, and the Ohio Players, along with music from Lynyrd Skynrd and Wet Willie - and of course, that new Bee Gees song, called "Jive Talkin'". | |
In the early-seventies, the Bee Gees were little more than the a washed-up sixties nostalgia group and nobody could have predicted how they would completely dominate the Billboard charts just a few years later. The style of music that would soon become known as "disco" was evolving and bowling alley nightclub bands these days were expected to perform the latest hits by KC & the Sunshine Band, Tower of Power, and the Ohio Players, along with music from Lynyrd Skynrd and Wet Willie - and of course, that new Bee Gees song, called "Jive Talkin'".
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| 1974 Home Free a.k.a. Skyline This usually required a couple of trumpets and saxes - and Bob had one of each. Bob disbanded Skyline #2 and joined the group calling itself "Home Free". Two musicians soon left that band including the guy who owned the "Home Free" name, and thus "Skyline" was given its third musical incarnation.
Marc, Mike, Bob, Paul, Johnny Guitar and Steve were all instrumental in popularizing this new musical dance club format that would soon be known as "disco". Nightclubs and bowling alleys throughout the Twin Cities and especially shows
at Flaherty's, the Chain Link, and Duffy's (on their revolving stage!) made this group a popular staple in the midwest entertainment market. | |
| 1975
Rush Hour
The Twin Cities demanded a new horn band super group, and Bruce "Mardi Gras" Pfiefer
created the band "Rush Hour" to fill the void in the metropolitan nightclub scene. Bands such as Average White Band, Barry White, Earth, Wind & Fire, and KC & the Sunshine Band had people dancing like never before and Rush Hour performed the music and packed venues like the Leaning Post, Dibbo's, George's in the Park, and the Iron Horse.
Featuring band leader Bruce Pfiefer on lead vocals and trumpet, Bill Carson on vocals, keyboards
and trumpet. Paul Crookes on drums, Jim Behringer on guitar, Neal Judkins on vocals and bass, and Bob Burtis on vocals, trumpet, sax, flute, and trombone, Rush Hour quickly became a hot item in the Midwest music scene. | |
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Their signature song was a classic disco
hit called, "7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Blow Your Whistle" by the Gary Toms Empire, and blow it
they did! "Rush Hour" had nowhere to go
but up, with a career that began as a six
piece horn group at Dibbo's in Hudson,
Wisconsin and ended as a duo at the
Starlite Lounge in south Minneapolis.
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1976-1977
Spangle
Hall & Oates, the Ohio Players, Boz Scaggs, the Spinners, and Earth, Wind & Fire were topping the charts in 1976, and the Bee Gees were back with a new energetic sound and style that would soon merge with the "Saturday Night Fever" craze to radically change the Midwest music scene for many years to come.
One Minnesota group was at the cutting edge of this new trend that spotlighted the blue-eyed soul of the seventies and recreated the original rhythm & blues sounds of the 60s, and that band was "Spangle". Lauren "Larry" McArthur recruited Gail Hensley, Ron "The Pickle" Pekrul, Dick "The Rev" Erickson and Eddie "Wah-Wah" Wells to create a new first-class dance and show group that would both pack the dance floor with popular high energy music and entertain their audiences, with flashy costumes, professional arrangements, and talented performers. | |
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With a band made up of some of his best friends and a musical perspective that matched his own, Bob talked Spangle into expanding to six members and they went on to amaze and astound fans at popular Midwest venues such as Mr. Nibs, the Hippogriff, the Tempo Bar, Pudges, and the Maplewood, Hopkins and Burnsville Bowls.
Patriotic and colorful red, white & blue stage costumes helped them to gain recognition as the "Official 1976 Bicentennial Band of America". Spangle also distinquished itself with medleys by the Diana Ross & the Supremes and the O'Jays, a sermon by "The Rev" talking about that "Bad Luck", drummer Ron Pekrul telling everyone how to "Feel the Need", and worst of all, Bob as the mysterious, obnoxious, and always entertaining, "DangerMan"!
In their second year, Spangle spotlighted a fresh new talent from the cornfields of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by the name of Kathy Corning. With Kathy and Lauren out front, a talented group of musicians and entertainers backing them up, unique arrangements of classic R&B hits, show-stopping medleys and the latest and greatest hits of the day, Spangle dominated the Twin Cities nightclub scene during this time.
And they might have done so for many years to come - but the "Saturday Night Fever" tsunami was on the horizon, and only the versatile and the strong would survive the DiscoMania that lie ahead. |
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PART IV
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