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

Michigan Music History Podcast--Ross Helco--The Beat Behind The Sunday Funnies Part 1 of 2

·48 min·3 clips

Ross says the Sunday Funnies were offered an Ed Sullivan call, but their mothers turned it down so they could finish school.

1. Michigan Music History Podcast--Ross Helco--The Beat Behind The Sunday Funnies Part 1 of 2 follows Ross Roscoe-Helcoe from Dearborn Heights to the Sunday Funnies. 2. Scott Baker hosts the interview at the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Studio inside the Historical Museum of Bay County, with Dr. J, Sir Fred, and Mr. Mike also named in the opening. 3. The episode asks how a Detroit-area kid became a drummer, joined teen-club bands, and ended up tied to Michigan rock history. 4. Ross says he was born in Detroit at Herman Kiefer in 1946 and grew up in South Dearborn Heights. 5. He describes a troubled early period, including breaking into a school and a dime store, before his stepdad sat him down for a "father and son talk" in December 1961. 6. Ross says his stepdad told him he needed to "change your life" and asked what he wanted to do before he turned 16. 7. He asked for a snare drum for Christmas, and his stepdad also bought his sister Corrine a guitar. 8. Corrine pushed him into a junior-high talent show in ninth grade, where they played the instrumental songs "Walked Alone" and "Apache." 9. Ross says two other players, including Ron Aiken, approached him at the tryouts and asked whether he played drums. 10. That talent-show contact led to the Regents Three and then Regents Four, with John Laleo and later Jan Whistmiller joining the lineup. 11. Ross says the group saw Bobby Dayton and the Parisians and recruited Bobby Dayton as lead singer after a Livonia Teen Club show. 12. Gary Stevens at WKNR then began booking jobs and asked the band to learn Beatles songs from albums that arrived before the Beatles did in the United States. 13. Ross says they learned both Beatles albums back to back in 1963 and played them at high schools, sports centers, and other Detroit-area events. 14. He says the band took second place at the 1964 State Fair Battles of Bands behind Billy Lee and the Rivieras. 15. Ross describes the teen-club circuit, naming the Chatterboxes, The Mump at Northland Theater, Daniel's Den, and the Blue Light in Bay City. 16. He recalls playing for crowds with lineups that also included Dave Clark Five, the Beach Boys, the Supremes at Cobo, and backstage time with Dennis Wilson. 17. Ross says the Beach Boys were rehearsing "He's the Man with All the Toys" in a shower stall because the echo helped the harmonies carry. 18. The interview stays conversational and detail-heavy, with Scott Baker prompting names, venues, and dates while Ross answers with long personal stories. 19. Listeners who like Michigan teen-club history and Detroit rock names will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting polished studio analysis or short summaries may skip this one.

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