Michigan Music History Podcast -- MMHP989 · Scott Baker, Gary Johnson, Fred Reif, Mike Beattie

Michigan Music History Podcast--Butch Burden: Count & The Colony Through Changes Part 1 of 2

·46 min·2 clips

The band name changed after someone saw a jacket that 'looked like a count.'

1. Michigan Music History Podcast--Butch Burden: Count & The Colony Through Changes Part 1 of 2 follows Butch Burden from Saginaw teen singer to Michigan band leader. 2. Scott Baker hosts from the Rock Legends Hall of Fame in Bay City, and Butch Burden explains how Count McColony, Count and the Change, and Amphigas fit his career. 3. The episode asks how a 17-year-old from Saginaw south side turned a basement jam band into a road-working act. 4. Burden says he sang in a glee club and choir at St. Joseph's Catholic School before entering a basement practice on Fulton. 5. He names Dick Brown, Fred Bingham, Jeff Hall, Dan Wozniak, and Larry Wozniak as the early players who invited him to sing 'Louie Louie.' 6. Larry Wheatley and Don Hales later joined, and Burden says that is when he decided, 'I'm going to sing.' 7. The name story centers on a Detroit costume shop where the band found a three-quarter jacket that made them look like royalty. 8. Burden confirms the shift from 'The Colony' to 'Count the Colony' and points to the embroidered jacket in the famous promo picture. 9. He also describes the outfit package: ascots, ruffled shirts, tuxedo shoes, and a look modeled after Paul Revere and the Raiders. 10. The live debut he remembers was an assembly at Saginaw High, where the band played 'James Bond' and a James Brown song. 11. Burden says the band's stage movement came from James Brown, including dancing and splits. 12. He recalls rehearsing in Fred Bingham's basement on Fulton and later in his parents' garage at the dead end of Grant Street after neighbors complained. 13. The teen-club circuit included the Blue Light in Midland, the Blue Blazer, Band Canyon, Daniel's Den, Rose City, Alpena Armory, Houghton Lake, and Bay City Roller. 14. He remembers playing Daniel's Den while Sonny and Cher were on the bill and says Rose City felt like a house band job. 15. Burden describes an orange Chevy step van with bunks and a propane space heater that carried the band to shows. 16. He says Band Canyon stood out because it was built strictly for teens and still had the sunken floor, game room, and gossip room when he later saw it. 17. The road story expands to Lily Gonzalez, Bob Dyer, Dick Fabian, battle-of-the-bands wins, and a Michigan State contest in Detroit. 18. Burden says he and the band won against about 50 groups, earned a $50,000 recording contract, and warmed up for Diana Ross and the Supremes. 19. The interview stays conversational and memory-driven, with Scott Baker prompting details while Burden moves quickly from names to places to money to recording studios. 20. Listeners who like Saginaw rock history and 1960s teen clubs will get the most from it. 21. Listeners wanting a tightly focused single-band story may skip it.

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