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JOHNNY POWERS |
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From MICHIGAN ...
Mr "Long Blond Hair " is
coming back to GOOD ROCKIN ' TONIGHT !
Born John Leon Joseph Pavlik in 1938 in East
Detroit, MI,
he was the oldest of five children. The family later moved to the
small town of Utica, MI, just north of Detroit.
Pavlik was
exposed to music from an early age by members of his father's family,
who all played music for weddings and local dances. It was country
music, however, that first drew Pavlik into music on a personal
level; he discovered Lonnie Baron, a veteran country singer with a
show on local radio and would listen and try to play along with a
guitar that he'd bought for $2.50 from a school mate Tony Lawson who
is now a neighbor. He later got some helpful instructions from Marvin
Maynard, a musician who moved from West Virginia to Utica, MI.
In
1953, at age 15, Pavlik met Russ Williams Jr., a guitar player for
his brothers band, Jimmy Williams and the Drifters, a local country
band that played at a local venue called Bill's Barn and got a
featured radio show on WDOG, a radio station out of Marine City, MI.
They became good friends. Pavlik then joined the band as a rhythm
guitar player. He also played rhythm guitar on two single records
recorded by the band, "Rainbow Heart," "Teardrops and
Memories," and "Loveless Kisses," and " Dream on
Little Heart." But it wasn't long before rock & roll
attracted Pavlik; it was Jack Scott's recording, "Baby She's
Gone," that drew him into rock & roll.
Courtesy of
Russ Williams Jr., Pavlik discovered Elvis Presley when he was still
a Memphis-based phenomenon. He heard his song "Milk Cow Blues
Boogie," which really interested him. It was a country song with
a rock & roll beat. Soon after he heard Carl Perkins "Blue
Suede Shoes" and "Honey Don't." Before long he was
adding the beat to his own country songs.
In 1955, he got an
audition with Fortune Records with Jack and Devoera Brown in Detroit.
He paid $100.00 for his own session to record a pair of songs, "Honey
Let's Go, to a Rock and Roll Show" b/w "Your Love,"
which was released on the Fortune label. When he finished his
recording session, Mrs. Brown said to Pavlik, you need to change your
name. She then noticed he was eating a candy bar, and said to him,
what kind of a candy bar are you eating? He said, Power House. That's
it! Your new recording name is Johnny Powers.
He named his
band the Rocket's. In 1957, Johnny Powers changed the band's name to
the Tom Cats, which consisted of Marvin Maynard on bass, Clark
Locker, AKA, Johnny Clark on drums, and Stan Getz on lead guitar.
They played at Bills Barn and went on to the Fox label with a pair of
regional hits, "Long Blond Hair" b/w" Rock Rock ."
They recorded a lot of song demos,, some of which have surfaced as
bootleg releases in recent years.
Among his strongest work
from this period were a pair of originals, "Mama Rock," and
"Indeed I Do," released on Leedon Records, Lee Gordon's
Australian record label. On both recordings, he sounds like the
young, wild Elvis Presley that just arrived at RCA, and the group
sings uncannily like the Jordanaires.
Things began to happen
for Johnny Powers when his manager, Tommy Moers, and a Detroit radio
personality, Mr. Don Zee as he would say, "two ee's if you
please," got Johnny a contract with Sun Records on July 6th,
1959, heralded with the release of "With Your Love, with Your
Kiss" b/w "Be Mine." A second single never followed.
It's been believed that Mr. Sam Phillips started losing interest in
releasing new product when the music started to change. He later sold
Sun Records to Shelby Singleton.
In 1960, Johnny was asked to
meet with Barry Gordy. He later became the first white artist signed
to Motown Records and the only artist in history to have recorded for
both, Sun Records and Motown Records, the two most historic
independent, legendary record companies In the world.
Power's
reputation as one of Michigan's preeminent progenitors of rock'n'roll
was secured by a May 1999 article in the Detroit News, in which he
was included with Bob Seger, Berry Gordy, Jr., and the MC5 in a
"Michigan at the Millennium" list of the state's musical
heroes. Powers also was the subject of a lengthy profile in the
October 1994 issue of New Country magazine.
Powers is perhaps
best known as the music legend who recorded a rock'n'roll classic
seminal hit, "Long Blond Hair," a song that continues to
thrill rockabililly aficionados witnessing Powers' live performances,
listening to reissues of the original recording, or tapping their
feet while enjoying the song's appearance on the soundtrack to the
ShowTime Cable Network's film, Reform School Girls. The song's
infectious popularity is evidenced by the anecdote Powers relates in
which he was approached after a Detroit gig. "I just finished a
show with Aaron Tipin, and a guy told me he finally got a chance to
hear me do "Long Blond Hair." It was one of his all-time
favorite songs." The fan turned out to be Ed Salamon, Westwood
One's radio network president of programming.
While at
Motown, Powers worked with producers and songwriters Eddie Holland,
Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder's producer, mentor and author of
"Fingertips," Clarence Paul. His five-year tenure at Motown
enabled Powers to develop his talents as a songwriter and producer,
abilities that flourished at Sound Incorporated and Sidra/Drew
Records, the Detroit-area studios and record companies he co-owned in
the 1960s and '70s. He also oversaw the label's recording-pressing
and distribution operations. The many recordings he mastered for such
labels as Epic, Capital, Warner Brothers, Roulette, Private Stock,
Philly Groove, Ariola America, and many other labels evidence Power's
brilliance as a producer of rock'n'roll, rhythm-and-blues and
soul-tinged music. In his long and varied career, Powers also
performed selective independent music promotion in Michigan and
Ohio.
In addition to his successes as an artist and producer,
Power's entrepreneurial skills resulted in the publishing companies
begun by him. Powerhouse Music and his current enterprise, Jet-Eye
Music, Inc. With Jet-Eye, Powers played a pivotal role in
revitalizing the career of his friend George Clinton by licensing
Clinton's music to various labels around the world. Jet-Eye is also
responsible for reissuing classic recordings by numerous rock, jazz
and doo-wop acts of the 1950s, '60s and '70s with internationally
recognized labels in the United States, Europe and Asia. Powers
negotiated and placement his performance of "Say It" in the
Hemdale Film's production of Mosquito which aired originally on USA
Cable Network and it continues to air on U.S and international
television networks.
While becoming a musical
jack-of-all-trades, Powers confesses that his first love is
performing this music in front of live audiences. Each visit he says
results in a growing legion of international fans. One of his
favorite memories is playing a country music festival in France,
which was hosted by a TV star, Patrick Duffy. The enthusiastic
audience response resulted in Powers receiving an invitation to the
event's VIP tent, where high-ranking French politicians and
celebrities entertained him.
Johnny Powers boasts a career
that encompasses every facet of the music industry. The ever-youthful
Powers continues to tour the United States and Europe today,
perform
ing new and classic recordings with a voice recently Described
by the LA Time's music critic Mr. Robert Hilburn as "big as Lake
Superior."
Click here to listen : Rock Rock
Do you want to listen more JOHNNY POWERS songs ? Click on each band / artist french page !