If you enjoy what I have put together please consider donating any amount to support and help me to keep this valuable research going. Thanks!!
This day-by-day diary of The Chosen Few’s live, studio, broadcasting, and private activities is the result of three decades of research and interview work by Bruno Ceriotti, but without the significant contributions by other kindred spirits this diary would not have been possible. So, I would like to thank all the people who, in one form or another, contributed to this timeline: Scott Richardson, James Williamson, Ron Asheton (RIP), Stan Sulewski, Alan Clarke, Patti Quatro, Dick Rosemont, Daniel O’Connell, Michael Erlewine, Andy Sacks, Ken Shimamoto, Steve Miller, Paul Trynka, Susan Tait, Detroit Free Press, Lansing State Journal.
Spring 1965
The story of the Chosen Few, a truly seminal rock and roll band from the Detroit area, begins in the spring of 1965 when an aspiring singer named Scott Richardson (b. John Scott Richardson, Monday, November 15, 1948, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan) and an aspiring guitarist named James Williamson (b. James Robert Williamson, Saturday, October 29, 1949, Castroville, Medina County, Texas) meet by chance one day at Marty’s Records, a record store located at 191 South Woodward in Birmingham, a northern suburb of Detroit, in Oakland County. “I was a junior at Avondale High School in Auburn Hills at the time,” recalls Richardson. “I hated going there and had very few friends, pun intended. So after school I hitch hiked into Birmingham and went to Marty’s Records. That’s where I met James. We were there both checking out disks and the amazing beatnik blonde clerk, Fran. We just dug each other and started hanging out right away at the Hunter House, a vintage burger stand right behind where Marty’s was located. That little area was our hangout spot at the time. You know, two good looking, smart, ambitious young guys looking to find a way into the music scene. We both loved the Stones, the Pretty Things, the Who, Dylan and deeply sarcastic dark humor. The atmosphere was electric. Pop Music was the happening art form. The Beatles had already changed the world.” “I attended Bloomfield Hills Junior High School in Bloomfield Township at the time, but I was just expelled for having long hair,” also recalls Williamson. “My vague memory is that I did meet Scott at the Raven Gallery, a coffee house in Southfield which had the folkie vibe that was popular at the time. But, very likely Scott is correct and it was Marty’s Records as his memory of our meeting rings true. Anyway, we hit it off since both of us were into Beatles, Stones, etc.” “We started getting together, and I spent time in the basement at James’ house, listening to records and picking out the chord changes,” continues Richardson. “He lived with his parents at Telegraph Road and West 14 Mile Road in Bloomfield Township, right behind the Machus Red Fox Restaurant where Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975.” “Yes, I lived there, however I don’t recall listening to records at my house so much as to listening to records in the garage at Scott’s house which was in Auburn Hills,” points out Williamson.
The story of the Chosen Few, a truly seminal rock and roll band from the Detroit area, begins in the spring of 1965 when an aspiring singer named Scott Richardson (b. John Scott Richardson, Monday, November 15, 1948, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan) and an aspiring guitarist named James Williamson (b. James Robert Williamson, Saturday, October 29, 1949, Castroville, Medina County, Texas) meet by chance one day at Marty’s Records, a record store located at 191 South Woodward in Birmingham, a northern suburb of Detroit, in Oakland County. “I was a junior at Avondale High School in Auburn Hills at the time,” recalls Richardson. “I hated going there and had very few friends, pun intended. So after school I hitch hiked into Birmingham and went to Marty’s Records. That’s where I met James. We were there both checking out disks and the amazing beatnik blonde clerk, Fran. We just dug each other and started hanging out right away at the Hunter House, a vintage burger stand right behind where Marty’s was located. That little area was our hangout spot at the time. You know, two good looking, smart, ambitious young guys looking to find a way into the music scene. We both loved the Stones, the Pretty Things, the Who, Dylan and deeply sarcastic dark humor. The atmosphere was electric. Pop Music was the happening art form. The Beatles had already changed the world.” “I attended Bloomfield Hills Junior High School in Bloomfield Township at the time, but I was just expelled for having long hair,” also recalls Williamson. “My vague memory is that I did meet Scott at the Raven Gallery, a coffee house in Southfield which had the folkie vibe that was popular at the time. But, very likely Scott is correct and it was Marty’s Records as his memory of our meeting rings true. Anyway, we hit it off since both of us were into Beatles, Stones, etc.” “We started getting together, and I spent time in the basement at James’ house, listening to records and picking out the chord changes,” continues Richardson. “He lived with his parents at Telegraph Road and West 14 Mile Road in Bloomfield Township, right behind the Machus Red Fox Restaurant where Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975.” “Yes, I lived there, however I don’t recall listening to records at my house so much as to listening to records in the garage at Scott’s house which was in Auburn Hills,” points out Williamson.
Scott Richardson, senior class of 1966, Avondale High School
Summer 1965
At some point, during the summer of 1965, Scott Richardson and James Williamson started seriously thinking to form their first band together as both of them dreamed to be rockstars one day or another. “I had already learned rudimentary guitar chords and was already writing some original songs,” recalls Richardson. “But in the Chosen Few I was a lead singer and didn’t play anything onstage except harmonica, tambourine and maracas.” “I got my first guitar on a trip to Texas to visit relatives,” also recalls Williamson. “My uncle worked for Sears so I could get a discount and got a Silvertone F hole guitar. I had a couple lessons in Lawton, Oklahoma, where I lived, from a guy name Rusty McDonnel, and then when we moved to Michigan we moved next door to the family named Black whose kids all played and sang music. The middle son Ken was pretty good and I hung out at his house all summer long learning how to play bar chords, etc. From there I just took it on my own to learn, except for one guitar lesson I took from Gary Quackenbush of the Fugitives in order to learn the Beatles song ‘Help,’ which was just released that summer.” “So, we started jammed a little and ended up recruiting the other guys in the band,” concludes Williamson.
Friday, August 27 - Monday, September 6, 1965
“We began a whirlwind drive to form our band, and when the 116th Michian State Fair takes place in Detroit from August 27 to September 6, we both went to see a ‘battle of the bands.’ The reason was to scout out other musicians. In particular, we both liked a band called the Five Grand,” recalls Scott Richardson. “I was the drummer in the Five Grand,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “My first memories of playing ‘drums’ were banging pots and pans drum set on the kitchen floor. I was four years old. They ended up like Keith Moon kit at the end of his set. I started playing real drums in 1964, and the Five Grand was my first band. The lineup also featured Kip Phillips on bass, Richard Simpson on guitar, John Russel on guitar, and Steve Frobel on keyboards. We all went to the same high school, Wylie E. Groves in Beverly Hills, Michigan. We practiced at John’s mostly. Repertoire consisted of covers: ‘The Last Time,’ ‘The Fugitive,’ ‘Empty Heart,’ ‘Satisfaction,’ ‘Boys,’ ‘Jolly Green Giant,’ ‘Johnny B. Goode,’ ‘Louie Louie,’ ‘Long Tall Texan.’ ‘Tired of Waiting,’ ‘The Drive-in,’ and one original instrumental. There are some acetate albums from that time. John and I sang.” “Anyway, yes, Scott and James saw us at the State Fair, and backstage after the show Scott invited Kip Phillips to join him and James,” continues Sulewski. “I think it was during a later phone conversation that Kip said he would join but only on the condition that both Richard and I come along with him. It was a gesture by Kip for which I will be eternally greateful and I want to give credit to him. I do not know if Scott and James had other musicians in mind for drums, but in the end the offer was accepted. The Five Grand ceased to exist after the battle of the bands because John Russel’s family moved out of the area, so there was no conflict about joining another group.” “I don’t remember only asking Kip to join. I wanted everyone except their keyboard player. Kip, Stan and Richard, plus James and I had an instant chemistry that just felt right,” points out Richardson. “I also don’t recall any exclusion of Stan and Richard in the beginning. Anyway, that’s how the band originally got formed,” adds Williamson.
September 1965
So, sometime after the abovementioned Michigan State Fair, Scott Richardson and James Williamson started rehearsing together with Stan Sulewski (b. Stanley Joseph Sulewski III, Friday, April 22, 1949, Detroit), Kip Phillips (b. Chris Allen (or Alan) Phillips, 1948), and Richard Simpson (b. Richard Stewart Simpson, 1949). “Actually there was another guitarist that was there at our first or two practices, no more than that,” points out Stan Sulewski. “In fact, our first practice was at that guy’s house which was north of Birmingham, like Auburn Hills, Orchad Lake, Bloomfield Hills, somewhere fairly close. I cannot remember his name. It might have been a tryout for the three of us. That third guitarist never played a show with us. I recall that he was not as good as James or Richard. Scott probably informed him that we were going with James and Richard for guitarists and his services were no longer required. They - Scott, James and perhaps Kip, made that decision. Or, he may have left on his own accord but I doubt it.” “He was some guy I had met, don’t remember his name, but he didn’t last long,” recalls Scott Richardson. “He wasn’t really good enough to hang with us and we never played a show with him.” “I don’t even remember him (if there was a him),” says James Williamson. Apparently, although no one remember his name or even if he really exist, it was the elusive unnamed guitarist that came up with the original name for the band: The Manchesters. “The Manchesters was the name that Scott, James and the third guitarist already had when the three of us joined,” explains Sulewski. “It may have been the name that came from that third guitarist. We may have played a few dates with the Manchesters monicker.” “Have to go with Stan on that one concerning who came up with the name Manchesters. But, no, we never played any gigs with that name,” points out Richardson. “Not sure who’s right, but I don’t recall ever playing as anything other than the Chosen Few,” confirms Williamson.
THE MANCHESTERS #1 (SEPTEMBER 1965)
1) Scott Richardson lead vocals, tambourine, harmonica, maracas
2) James Williamson lead guitar
3) ? guitar
4) Stan Sulewski drums, backing vocals
5) Kip Phillips bass
6) Richard Simpson rhythm guitar
September 1965
As abovementioned, after one or two rehearsals, the unnamed guitarist disappeared somewhere and the Manchesters moved practice in the garage at Scott Richardson’s parents’ house at 730 Jamestown Road in the Bloomfield Orchards neighborhood of Auburn Hills, and also started putting together an early repertoire. In the meantime, James Williamson had some problems to solve outside his music dream. “When the new school year rolled around in September I was to go to Bloomfield Hills High School as sophomore, but I was considered truant for not attending school unless I would cut my hair (which I wouldn’t),” explains Williamson. “Thus, eventually began the legal process where I was ruled to be incorrigible and which landed me in juvenile home in October. Of course the first day in juvie they buzz cut my hair, so I might have done things differently in hind sight, but anyway, that was the way it was.” “When I met James I had the same impression I have of him now,” recalls Scott Richardson. “An intellectual delinquent. He had other problems. His stepfather, an army colonel. You’ve see the movie American Beauty, right? That’s the Colonel. James had to go to an institution. He was institutionalized. Not for delinquency, more like a perceived mental problem. He just didn’t want to do what he was told to do, that’s all.” “While my stepfather was all too happy to get me out of the house, it was the truancy judge that sent me to juvie for refusing to cut my hair,” points out Williamson.
As abovementioned, after one or two rehearsals, the unnamed guitarist disappeared somewhere and the Manchesters moved practice in the garage at Scott Richardson’s parents’ house at 730 Jamestown Road in the Bloomfield Orchards neighborhood of Auburn Hills, and also started putting together an early repertoire. In the meantime, James Williamson had some problems to solve outside his music dream. “When the new school year rolled around in September I was to go to Bloomfield Hills High School as sophomore, but I was considered truant for not attending school unless I would cut my hair (which I wouldn’t),” explains Williamson. “Thus, eventually began the legal process where I was ruled to be incorrigible and which landed me in juvenile home in October. Of course the first day in juvie they buzz cut my hair, so I might have done things differently in hind sight, but anyway, that was the way it was.” “When I met James I had the same impression I have of him now,” recalls Scott Richardson. “An intellectual delinquent. He had other problems. His stepfather, an army colonel. You’ve see the movie American Beauty, right? That’s the Colonel. James had to go to an institution. He was institutionalized. Not for delinquency, more like a perceived mental problem. He just didn’t want to do what he was told to do, that’s all.” “While my stepfather was all too happy to get me out of the house, it was the truancy judge that sent me to juvie for refusing to cut my hair,” points out Williamson.
THE MANCHESTERS #2 (SEPTEMBER 1965 - OCTOBER 1965) / THE CHOSEN FEW #1 (OCTOBER 1965 - NOVEMBER 1965)
1) Scott Richardson
2) James Williamson
3) Stan Sulewski
4) Kip Phillips
5) Richard Simpson
1) Scott Richardson
2) James Williamson
3) Stan Sulewski
4) Kip Phillips
5) Richard Simpson
The Chosen Few #1, early November 1965, Birmingham, Michigan - from left: Richard Simpson, James Williamson, Stan Sulewski, Scott Richardson, Kip Phillips
October 1965
After a month or so, the Manchesters changed its name to the Chosen Few. “We thought there has to be a better name out there and finally settled on the Chosen Few,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “We felt as though fate had chosen us to play together. It was an appropriate name.” “I came up with the name,” explains Scott Richardson. “It was an unmistakable name and expressed the way we felt about ourselves at that glorious time of youth. In the Iliad Homer tells of young men who became warriors and gain immortality. In the 1960’s particularly after the advent of Dylan, The Beatles and The Stones, this was the life we chose. At the time I did not realizing there were other groups already using the name, though not in Michigan. It turned out to be quite prophetic.” “Actually I think the name was suggested by my high school classmate Bruce Y. Grier,” points out Sulewski. “Me, Bruce, perhaps Richard also, and another schoolmate named Larry Epstein, had a short conversation about a name for the band over lunch or some other casual gathering at Wylie E. Groves. So, Bruce suggested it and then we proposed it to Scott and decided right then and there that we are called the Chosen Few.” “I go with me for the name, but again, Stan may be right. I thought it was me,” says Richardson.
The Chosen Few business card, 1965/66
October 1965: Gymnasium (?), Brother Rice High School, 7101 Lahser Road, Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan
The Chosen Few played their first gig together at Brother Rice High School, a Catholic all-boys school located in Bloomfield Township. The band did not have a manager yet, so this first gig, as well as a second one shortly after, was booked by Scott Richardson and Kip Phillips who were taking and making calls on behalf of the band for several months until they would find a real manager in 1966. “Scott and Kip were on our business card to have two contact numbers on it,” explains Stan Sulewski. “Scott assumed leadership right off the bat for publicity and things like that. If someone approached me about booking a gig, I would refer them to Scott and Kip, who had the most updated schedules. It was pretty democratic otherwise.”
October 1965: Gymnasium (?), St. Michaels High School, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan
The Chosen Few played their second gig together at St. Michaels High School, a now defunct Catholic school located in Pontiac. “I do remember the Pontiac date as being a good early gig. We went over very well,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “Our live repertoire was all covers by then,” he continues. “No one had any written original songs at that time, and if they did (like Scott), the songs were never introduced to the band. Our focus was on improving our chops. Our opening numbers were collectively something we called 'the big three.’ We copped it from a Stones live English EP [Got Live If You Want It! released in June 1965] that included a medley of abbreviated [cover] versions of Solomon Burke’s ‘Everybody Needs Somebody To Love’ and Otis Redding’s ‘Pain In My Heart’ and finished with Bobby Troup’s ‘(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66.’ A lot of our sets were filled with Stones reproductions: ‘Around And Around,’ ‘Walking The Dog,’ ‘The Last Time,’ ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ ‘Get Off Of My Cloud,’ ‘As Tears Go By,’ ‘Lady Jane’ (our future rhythm guitarist Al Clarke played Brian Jones’ dulcimer part on an acoustic Stella 12 string), ‘Play With Fire,’ ‘19th Nervous Breakdown,’ ‘Paint It Black,’ possibly ‘Under My Thumb, and ‘Empty Heart,’ ‘Not Fade Away’ (with Scott on maracas and Al Clarke on harp), the Stones version of ‘Money,’ perhaps there were others. We also did Adam Faith's ‘It's Alright,’ an unackowledged great rock song. ‘We Gotta Get Out Of This Place’ by The Animals was another. Like every other band at the time we did ‘Gloria’ by Them. ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ by The Kinks were likely on the roster as well as ‘A Well Respected Man,’ and maybe a Yardbirds tune like ‘For Your Love’ at some time.” “I also remember we did ‘Big City’ by The Pretty Thigs, and also their version of Bo Diddley’s ‘Road Runner,’” also recalls Scott Richardson. “And Johnny Rivers version of Pete Seeger’s ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?.’ And Neil Sedaka’s ‘Oh! Carol.’ We also did a killer version of The Kinks’ ‘Till The End of the Day,’ and of the Stones ‘The Last Time’.” “And ‘Louie Louie’ by The Kingsmen too,” adds James Williamson. By the way, the gig in Pontiac was James Williamson’s last one with the band as he left them a month later before they had a chance to play another gig together. “Actually I thought we even played at The Hideout in Clawson when James was still in the band,” points out Scott Richardson. “He would remember cause he was teasing me about a girl I had sex with in the parking lot and he caught us.” “No, The Hideout story was during a weekend at home from juvie where I, Scott and some others went to a show that I think was the Prime Movers which had Iggy Pop on drums at the time,” explains Williamson. “Scott was fucking a girl named ‘Pookie’ in the back of somebodies van. She didn’t have the best reputation, so we ribbed Scott to no end.”
Early November 1965
The Chosen Few were booked for a one-day photo shooting, along with an unidentified young female model, for a 1966 Ford Fairlane advertisement that ultimately never ran (the ad of course, the car ran fine). “I remember the session and how well it turned out,” recalls Scott Richardson. “Mostly I treasure that shot cause it has both James and Kip Phillips in it. First incarnation of the band and it was really edgy when we played.” “The photo shoot was taken in an alleyway in downtown Birmingham,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “I think Scott arranged the session. I do not know the name of the model in the green suit. We were asked ‘to move’ by the photographer for one of the shots on the staircase. The session lasted about an hour. It’s very early in the band’s chronology because Kip still has a Fender bass, he switched that out for a Framus semi-hollow body not long after that.” “I do not think we got payed for the photoshoot,” continues Sulewski. “It was a ‘favor for favor’ kind of deal. The photographer also taken a black and white closeup photo of the band and gave us some of the photos for free. It was our ‘payment’ for the day. Happens all the time. James just had his hair chopped into a buzz cut. He wore a dapper felt cap for the shoot.” ”Yes, the photo shoot was right after I was released from juvie as my hair was all cut off there and thus that John Lennon style hat,” confirms Williamson.
The Chosen Few #1, early November 1965, Birmingham. Michigan - from top to bottom: Scott Richardson, Stan Sulewski, Kip Phillips, Richard Simpson, James Williamson
November 1965
James Williamson was released from juvie that month and at that point, after two months of rehearsals and only two gigs played, he was “forced” to left the Chosen Few after his mother arranged for him to go to Anderson School in Poughkeepsie, New York. “Correct, in November I had to travel to NY to interview to attend Anderson School, which was a kind of clearing house for fuck-ups,” confirms Williamson. “I beginning there in late December or January 1966, and soon I formed a new rock band called the Coba Seas. However, by May 1966 I was allowed to leave (kicked out) due to my being caught trying to hitchhike to where Bob Dylan lived (not that I knew even which direction that was), I just stuck my thumb out but was caught by one of the schools councilors and that was the end of that. Fast forward, I returned home in Michigan, attended several high schools, and finally graduated from Bloomfield Hills High School in 1968-69. I cut a deal with the principal that if I finished my high school course work at night school, he would give me a diploma.” “James was a big lost for the band because he was and is a terrific guitar player,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “He was a little hard to get to know because he was so quiet. And there were some pretty strong personalities in the band. I thought of him as very intelligent. He introduced me to Dylan (he called him phonetically dielin) and for that I am eternally grateful. James had the Chuck Berry/Keith Richards riffs down to a T. He let the guitar do his talking for him. He was great to play with because he had the chops and a great ear. His playing helped me a great deal, putting more of an edge on my drumming.” So, with James gone, the Chosen Few switched Richard Simpson from rhythm to lead guitar, and hired another Stan, Richard and Kip’s schoolmate at Wylie E. Groves High School, Alan Frederick ‘Al’ Clarke (b. Wednesday, May 18, 1949, Detroit), as their new rhythm guitar and blues harmonica player, as well as backing vocalist. “Al Clarke was being discussed as a replacement for James since we got the news that he was going to be sent to juvie,” explains Sulewski. “It was during the same short conversation me, Bruce Y. Grier, Larry Epstein, and perhaps Richard also, had at school when Bruce suggested the name Chosen Few for the band (productive conversation, eh? (laughs)). It was Larry who brought up Al’s name because at the time they played together in a blues band. Al was recruited because we knew of his experience with folk music too. He was a good guitarist and harp player and he was a good singer too. You could say he was ‘sponsored’ by Kip, Richard and me.” “My background was as a trumpet player,” recalls Al Clarke. “I excelled on that instrument and was ‘first chair’ in the orchestra, which may have helped in my harmonica ability. Then the Beatles came along and I quit and got a guitar. I was in a blues band with my schoolmate Larry Epstein (whose son is now part of the pop duo Jr Jr). We would hang out at the Chessmate club and get inspired watching Paul Butterfield, etc. I played guitar and harmonica in that short lived un-named band. For sure I was into folk and then blues. I discovered Alan Lomax and his field recordings, Leadbelly, Reverend Gary Davis, etc, which led to Paul Butterfield, and on and on. I guess that was enough as Richard was a very competent lead guitar player and I must have filled the needed gap. Plus I quickly got a Vox teardrop guitar to match the one Brian Jones played. We pretty much stuck to covering the Stones, Pretty Things and played a 15 minute version of ‘Gloria’ by Them as a favourite show staple.” “I just remember how well Al fit into the band and that he and Richard had a great two guitar attack,” says Scott Richardson. “Yea, the capability and chemistry of the Few was very explosive and this energy was translated into the next incarnation which evolved into punk rock after we broke up,” points out Clarke. “When Al joined the band, I remember that Scott finagled an afternoon practice at a one room building near Auburn Hills,” also recalls Sulewski. “Just one practice there. We also practiced at Kip’s house a few times when his parents were out for a while. And we did practice in Richard’s basement too.” “All I know is that we never rehearsed at my house, but my white Ford station wagon was used often to haul gear,” recalls Clarke. “It was known as the ‘trash wagon.’ Not sure how much rehearsing we did, as we played almost every weekend, but that is not a verifiable fact, just a foggy suspicion.”
THE CHOSEN FEW #2 (NOVEMBER 1965 - LATE MAY or EARLY JUNE 1966)
1) Scott Richardson
2) Stan Sulewski
3) Kip Phillips
4) Richard Simpson
5) Al Clarke rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
1) Scott Richardson
2) Stan Sulewski
3) Kip Phillips
4) Richard Simpson
5) Al Clarke rhythm guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
1966: ‘Frat Parties,’ unknown fraternity houses, University of Michigan campus, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan
The second lineup of the Chosen Few entered into 1966 with more confidence and hope for their future, as they had finally started to play frat-house parties at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, as well as the regular teen club circuit all over Michigan. “We would somehow get sucked into playing a few fraternity gigs in Ann Arbor, which we hated doing, but probably paid well,” explains Al Clarke.
1966: The Hideout #1, 20542 Harper Avenue at Beaufait Street, Harper Woods, Wayne County, Michigan
1966: The Hideout #2, Southfield Road at 13 Mile Road, Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan
“Scott got us gigs at the Hideouts in Southfield and Harper Woods. We played regularly at those two clubs,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “To prepare for our gigs, we needed to get what we referred to as our ‘show clothes,’” recalls Al Clarke. “We would head to downtown Detroit to a shop called Hot Sam’s, where we would select our bell bottoms, shirts and jackets. We were all white, suburban kids living in a racially segregated world and for us this was a huge adventure, going into a black neighborhood to shop for clothes. I wonder if the Motown stars shopped there?” “Speaking of ‘show clothes’ there were also ‘show shoes,’” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “Richard, Kip, Al and I used to go to Cancellation Shoes on Clairmont near 12th Street in Detroit. We discovered a secret room upstairs that was full of French shoes. Not only were they stylish, they were very comfortable and inexpensive. That is where Richard got the boots he traded for an amp with James Williamson (Richard later returned the amp). Among others, I bought a pair of off-white tie down casual shoes. They were my ‘show shoes.’ A few years later, I wore them when playing with the Logos my freshman year at Northern Michigan University. I guess they impressed a young lady in the audience enough to make it a point to meet me, which we did on the Ides of March, 1968. That young lady and I are still together, married with two great kids. Maybe shoes do make the man after all... and Cancellation Shoes? It burned down during the race riots in the summer of 1967. What a waste.”
1966: Teen Chalet, 1 mile west of Gaylord on M-32, Otsego County, Michigan
1966: The Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center, 136 Brownell Street off 15 Mile Road, b/w Woodward Avenue and Hunter Street, Birmingham, Oakland County, Michigan
“I have a couple of tapes from a performance at the Birmingham Teen Center, most likely with Kip Phillips on bass, but I am not sure,” recalls Al Clarke. “They are very poor quality recordings made by my father on this big old reel to reel tape machine with a crappy mic, that he brought from work to record us.” “I also have a dozen tapes or more of rehearsals but these recordings were with the late lineup with Ron Asheton on bass after he replaced Kip in June 1966,” he adds.
1966: Mother’s (‘Teen-Age Nite Club), Knights of Columbus Hall, end of Newman Street, East Tawas, Iosco County, Michigan
“The Mother’s in East Tawas was a big old skating rink with a stage at one end,” recalls Scott Richardson. “We played entire weekends there. We were doing four sets a night, really, really slogging, unless we were double billed. I was making 125 bucks a week. My dad was incredibly astounded and pissed off at the same time.” “At the Mother’s we once shared the bill with the Pleasure Seekers [an all-girl band featuring Patti and Suzi Quatro on guitar and bass respectively],” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “They were groundbreaking for the time. A few of us and them were items for a minute. I am really happy for Suzi's success. She's a great talent. She really deserves recognition over here in the States.” “Yes, the most memorable gig there was with the Pleasure Seekers,” confirms Richardson. “Stan hooked up with Suzi Quatro and I was going out with Priscilla ‘Pris’ Wenzell their keyboard player. I wouldn’t date any of the Quatro sisters cause I knew their parents. Patti and I were both band leaders and good friends. That weekend ended in disaster when the girl’s parents caught us all together at 3am in the morning in the ramshackle house we rented to stay in, you know motels being too expensive.” “Yes, there was a big house we all stayed in,” confirms Al Clarke. “We spent the day getting high, renting motor scooters and generally having a wild time in that beach town. About the Pleasure Seekers, I was a fan of them, but had no personal friendship or intimacy with them. For sure, I think Stan was hanging with Patti Quatro for a short time.” “I deny everything. Suzi, Patti and I were only friends (laughs),” points out Sulewski. “We played tons of times with the Chosen Few,” recalls Patti Quatro. “Scott is a dear friend, and he dated our keys player Pris Wenzell for a short time. We were all buds and had great times and great gigs. Honestly I sure cannot remember who else in band was an ‘item,’ so long ago.” By the way, the aforementioned Mother’s teen-age nite club in East Tawas was managed by Hugh ‘Jeep’ Holland, who was the owner of a record store called Discount Records at 300 South State Street in Ann Arbor (where Iggy Pop stocking shelves at the time), and also run, along with his associates Max J. Goldman and Peter M. Andrews, a management and production company called the A2 Productions. So, Jeep booked the Chosen Few and the Pleasure Seekers to play there, and he also included both bands in his company roster which at the time already included other local up-and-coming bands such as the Rationals, the Prime Movers, and the Fugitives. Also, around the same time, another music manager from Ann Arbor named Ron Richardson showed interest in the Chosen Few. “I believe Jeep wanted to manage us and may have listed us as clients hoping saying so would make it so,” explains Scott Richardson. “They (Jeep and Ron) both scouted us at gigs. I distinctly remember them both showing up and talking with them between sets or afterward. Ron took a couple of us to a white castle after one gig and we really chowed down. I promised to come up to Ann Arbor to talk with him and Jeep also.” “I have little recollection of Jeep Holland formally managing us,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “Jeep may have had a hand in getting us some gigs at University of Michigan fraternity parties and certainly his Mother’s teen clubs. Those gigs came to us in the late winter/early spring of ‘66. Jeep’s Discount Records store was a valuable source for the latest releases of well-known artists as well as more obscure and/or early recordings. The social aspect of Discount Records was just as important for musicians meeting other music people as it was for its records. Also, I do remember meeting with Ron Richardson about that time too.”
The second lineup of the Chosen Few entered into 1966 with more confidence and hope for their future, as they had finally started to play frat-house parties at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, as well as the regular teen club circuit all over Michigan. “We would somehow get sucked into playing a few fraternity gigs in Ann Arbor, which we hated doing, but probably paid well,” explains Al Clarke.
1966: The Hideout #1, 20542 Harper Avenue at Beaufait Street, Harper Woods, Wayne County, Michigan
1966: The Hideout #2, Southfield Road at 13 Mile Road, Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan
“Scott got us gigs at the Hideouts in Southfield and Harper Woods. We played regularly at those two clubs,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “To prepare for our gigs, we needed to get what we referred to as our ‘show clothes,’” recalls Al Clarke. “We would head to downtown Detroit to a shop called Hot Sam’s, where we would select our bell bottoms, shirts and jackets. We were all white, suburban kids living in a racially segregated world and for us this was a huge adventure, going into a black neighborhood to shop for clothes. I wonder if the Motown stars shopped there?” “Speaking of ‘show clothes’ there were also ‘show shoes,’” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “Richard, Kip, Al and I used to go to Cancellation Shoes on Clairmont near 12th Street in Detroit. We discovered a secret room upstairs that was full of French shoes. Not only were they stylish, they were very comfortable and inexpensive. That is where Richard got the boots he traded for an amp with James Williamson (Richard later returned the amp). Among others, I bought a pair of off-white tie down casual shoes. They were my ‘show shoes.’ A few years later, I wore them when playing with the Logos my freshman year at Northern Michigan University. I guess they impressed a young lady in the audience enough to make it a point to meet me, which we did on the Ides of March, 1968. That young lady and I are still together, married with two great kids. Maybe shoes do make the man after all... and Cancellation Shoes? It burned down during the race riots in the summer of 1967. What a waste.”
1966: Teen Chalet, 1 mile west of Gaylord on M-32, Otsego County, Michigan
1966: The Birmingham/Bloomfield Teen Center, 136 Brownell Street off 15 Mile Road, b/w Woodward Avenue and Hunter Street, Birmingham, Oakland County, Michigan
“I have a couple of tapes from a performance at the Birmingham Teen Center, most likely with Kip Phillips on bass, but I am not sure,” recalls Al Clarke. “They are very poor quality recordings made by my father on this big old reel to reel tape machine with a crappy mic, that he brought from work to record us.” “I also have a dozen tapes or more of rehearsals but these recordings were with the late lineup with Ron Asheton on bass after he replaced Kip in June 1966,” he adds.
1966: Mother’s (‘Teen-Age Nite Club), Knights of Columbus Hall, end of Newman Street, East Tawas, Iosco County, Michigan
“The Mother’s in East Tawas was a big old skating rink with a stage at one end,” recalls Scott Richardson. “We played entire weekends there. We were doing four sets a night, really, really slogging, unless we were double billed. I was making 125 bucks a week. My dad was incredibly astounded and pissed off at the same time.” “At the Mother’s we once shared the bill with the Pleasure Seekers [an all-girl band featuring Patti and Suzi Quatro on guitar and bass respectively],” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “They were groundbreaking for the time. A few of us and them were items for a minute. I am really happy for Suzi's success. She's a great talent. She really deserves recognition over here in the States.” “Yes, the most memorable gig there was with the Pleasure Seekers,” confirms Richardson. “Stan hooked up with Suzi Quatro and I was going out with Priscilla ‘Pris’ Wenzell their keyboard player. I wouldn’t date any of the Quatro sisters cause I knew their parents. Patti and I were both band leaders and good friends. That weekend ended in disaster when the girl’s parents caught us all together at 3am in the morning in the ramshackle house we rented to stay in, you know motels being too expensive.” “Yes, there was a big house we all stayed in,” confirms Al Clarke. “We spent the day getting high, renting motor scooters and generally having a wild time in that beach town. About the Pleasure Seekers, I was a fan of them, but had no personal friendship or intimacy with them. For sure, I think Stan was hanging with Patti Quatro for a short time.” “I deny everything. Suzi, Patti and I were only friends (laughs),” points out Sulewski. “We played tons of times with the Chosen Few,” recalls Patti Quatro. “Scott is a dear friend, and he dated our keys player Pris Wenzell for a short time. We were all buds and had great times and great gigs. Honestly I sure cannot remember who else in band was an ‘item,’ so long ago.” By the way, the aforementioned Mother’s teen-age nite club in East Tawas was managed by Hugh ‘Jeep’ Holland, who was the owner of a record store called Discount Records at 300 South State Street in Ann Arbor (where Iggy Pop stocking shelves at the time), and also run, along with his associates Max J. Goldman and Peter M. Andrews, a management and production company called the A2 Productions. So, Jeep booked the Chosen Few and the Pleasure Seekers to play there, and he also included both bands in his company roster which at the time already included other local up-and-coming bands such as the Rationals, the Prime Movers, and the Fugitives. Also, around the same time, another music manager from Ann Arbor named Ron Richardson showed interest in the Chosen Few. “I believe Jeep wanted to manage us and may have listed us as clients hoping saying so would make it so,” explains Scott Richardson. “They (Jeep and Ron) both scouted us at gigs. I distinctly remember them both showing up and talking with them between sets or afterward. Ron took a couple of us to a white castle after one gig and we really chowed down. I promised to come up to Ann Arbor to talk with him and Jeep also.” “I have little recollection of Jeep Holland formally managing us,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “Jeep may have had a hand in getting us some gigs at University of Michigan fraternity parties and certainly his Mother’s teen clubs. Those gigs came to us in the late winter/early spring of ‘66. Jeep’s Discount Records store was a valuable source for the latest releases of well-known artists as well as more obscure and/or early recordings. The social aspect of Discount Records was just as important for musicians meeting other music people as it was for its records. Also, I do remember meeting with Ron Richardson about that time too.”
Late May or Early June 1966
Kip Phillips left the Chosen Few to attended summer school at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. “The great Kip Phillips mystery,” says Scott Richardson. “No one’s exactly sure what happened but Kip suddenly said it was all over and hurriedly left the band. There was no negotiation about it. Stan and I have speculated but there’s nothing concrete to report other than parental pressure. We learned that he passed away in 2022 without any meaningful contact with us.” “We (me and Kip) remained close as friends for several more years,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “He did not play in any other band after The Chosen Few. We would visit if I could get a hold of him when coming down to the Detroit area for a quick holiday family get-together and he was also home from Hillsdale. We would hunker down in his basement and he would play recordings of his latest discoveries. During the summer of 1969 it was The Stooges’ first album when we were both home for the summer. I played him some of my original songs. My visits down to Birmingham became fewer and farther between and rarely was I able to get in touch. Eventually we just drifted apart. By the time I graduated from Northern Michigan University in 1974 we lost touch. I heard he worked for Cadillac. Scott recently told me he passed away in 2022.” Anyway, it was at that point that Scott Richardson finally hitchhiked up to Ann Arbor to meet Jeep Holland and or Ron Richardson, who both wanted to manage the band. However, Jeep didn’t show up and Scott eventually meet, and hired, Ron Richardson. Also that same day, Scott meet a friend of Richardson named Ron Asheton, an aspiring bass player who was hired right there on the spot to replaced Kip. “The actual story is this: When I walked into Discount Records this strange guy was there stocking the shelves,” recalls Scott Richardson. “He introduced himself as Jim [Osterberg, later known as Iggy Pop] and told me Jeep was expecting but he wasn’t there, so I should stick around. Then he called Ron Asheton and told him, ‘this cool guy Scott Richardson is here, you should come down and meet him.’ Thanks Iggy for the greatest and only favor you ever did for me. 20 minutes later, Ron, his brother Scott and Dave Alexander walked in, but still no Jeep. We instantly hit it off. Ron and I became best friends for life. And I also became very close to Scotty and Dave. Anyway, I got tired of waiting and we all decided to walk across the University of Michigan campus to University Tower Apartments where Ron Richardson said he was staying. We all went up together and met ‘The Professor’ [Ron Richardson] the most unsung but important player in the saga of the Chosen Few and later, the early Stooges. That night Ron [Asheton] agreed to be in the band and Ron [Richardson] agreed to manage us. I believe I called Stan to tell him, but that’s how it went down.” “The day I meet Ron Richardson was one of the most magical occurrences and encounters I’ve ever had,” continues Richardson. “Absolutely life changing, and a legendary episode in the annals of Michigan Rock. ‘Professor’ was the nickname Ron Asheton gave to Ron Richardson. He was a grad student at the University of Michigan with a teaching degree and German of all things. But get this. Not only did we, him and me have the same surnames, we grew up a mile from each other in Detroit. Our fathers worked in the same Chrysler factory for 45 years. We may actually be related. He’s seven years older than me, 82 as we speak [2023]. A total visionary and psychedelic character, Ron had a small booking agency that got gigs for a bunch of bands at that time, the Ron Richardson Agency. He and Jeep were competing to sign us and by a stroke of fate, Ron won. 57 years later we are still great friends. I live on his property in Northern New Mexico. Been here five years, retired from Southern California.”
Early June 1966
The Chosen Few officially hired Ron Richardson as their manager and also welcomed their new bass player Ronald Franklin ‘Ron’ Asheton Jr. (b. Saturday, July 17, 1948, Washington D.C. - d. Tuesday, January 6, 2009, Ann Arbor, of a heart attack). Curiously, Ron had learned how to play bass only few months earlier and had never played it profesionally in a band. In fact, before the Few, he was a member of the Prime Movers for a while but, contrary to some reports, he only shaked the tambourine with them. “When I was with the Prime Movers I hadn’t really learned how to play bass yet, I could just kinda halfass play,” explained Asheton. “Ron was introduced to us in March ‘66 by Iggy Pop who at the time was our drummer,” recalls Michael Erlewine of the Prime Movers. “We loved Ron, so we let him play tambourine with us and even gave him a nickname, ‘Javalina.’ He was young, more like a mascot, a friend, and a groupie (in the best way). However, a month later in April, we parted ways. Ron had just started playing and perhaps he didn’t feel comfortable playing publicly, so maybe this is why he didn’t stay long. He might have played something somewhere, but he did not know the songs. He never learned the songs. He might have sat in on a simple blues progression or helped out, but without knowing the songs, he was not Prime Mover material.” “I got fired. But I learned a lot in the Prime Movers, I learned all my blues progressions,” said Asheton. “Our first practice with Ron was in the basement of Asheton’s mother house located at 107 Highlake Avenue on the west end of Ann Arbor,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “Ron had a great feel for the instrument, his bass playing was great from the very start. He provided a smooth, rich bottom end. He was fun to play with. Together we laid down a good foundation for the band. It still amazes me that we were able to adjust so quickly to the lineup changes when James and Kip left. It also meant picking up where we left off in a blink of an eye with a new member. Both Al and Ron were quick studies and the music itself was simple. We just accepted it and moved on to the next challenge. We learned new songs quickly and were constantly adding new material.” “Ron was a great bass player when he joined to band,” also recalls Scott Richardson. “Maybe he was a genius musician and I thoroughly believe he was a genius, but I never saw him sweat over what to play. Oh, by the way, a week after Ron joined the band, I moved to Ann Arbor and stayed at his house for awhile, and later I stayed at Dave Alexander’s house at 2971 Mason Street for the summer.” “Ron had a quick wit and great sense of humor too, a kind of gentle soul and was also very intelligent,” adds Stan Sulewski. “His cup was always full in those days, a real positive force. His bass had a rich deep tone that put the bottom on the band, great to drum to. He only played bass with us, no guitar [like he did later with the Stooges], at least live. He loved John Lennon, and got a big kick out of Lennon's mutterings in ‘Yellow Submarine.’ He brought an awareness of the Velvet Underground to us, which of course played an important role in the Stooges' career. Miss you Ron.” “When I played with Ron, he was only a bass player, I never knew he could or would play such heavy and intense stuff on a guitar [later with the Stooges],” also recalls Al Clarke. “I wish I knew how that happened. I always thought I would run into him again [after the Chosen Few break up], for I was very fond of him, as he was a sweet guy, really. I can recall Ron frequently and fervently proclaiming he will only listen to the Byrds or the Beatles, his faves. He was a kind loving presence when he was with us. His handsome and mysterious blue eyed brother often hung out with us, as did Dave Alexander, who to us seemed troubled and unable to relax. Iggy was also a part of the scene and we often would cross paths with him at Ron’s house.”
THE CHOSEN FEW #3 (EARLY JUNE 1966 - OCTOBER 2?, 1966)
1) Scott Richardson
2) Stan Sulewski
3) Richard Simpson
4) Al Clarke
5) Ron Asheton bass
1) Scott Richardson
2) Stan Sulewski
3) Richard Simpson
4) Al Clarke
5) Ron Asheton bass
The Chosen Few's new bass player Ron Asheton, 1966
|
The Chosen Few's manager Ron Richardson business card, 1966
|
The Chosen Few #3, 1966, from left: Scott Richardson, Ron Asheton, Stan Sulewski, Richard Simpson, Al Clarke
The Chosen Few #3, 1966 - from left: Richard Simpson, Stan Sulewski, Ron Asheton, Scott Richardson, Al Clarke
The Chosen Few #3, 1966 - from left: Richard Simpson, Stan Sulewski, Ron Asheton, Scott Richardson, Al Clarke
The Chosen Few #3, 1966 - from left: Stan Sulewski, Ron Asheton, Richard Simpson, Al Clarke, Scott Richardson
The Chosen Few #3, 1966 - from left: Ron Asheton, Scott Richardson, Al Clarke, Richard Simpson, Stan Sulewski
The Chosen Few #3, 1966 - from left: Scott Richardson, Ron Asheton, Richard Simpson, Al Clarke, Stan Sulewski
June 1966: ‘WTAC-AM Record Hop,’ Mt. Holly, 13536 Dixie Highway at Blank Lake Road, Holly, Oakland County, Michigan
After a practice or two, Ron Asheton played his debut gig with the Chosen Few at a so-called ‘Record Hop’ dance held at Mt. Holly, a popular ski area located just south of Flint on the Dixie Highway. The area featured a large lodge which had remained unused during the off-season, so the building had just been sitting there every year from April through October until 1966 when WTAC-AM disc-jokey and program director, Bob Dell, decided it might be the perfect venue for record hops exactly. “I remember Ron’s first gig, as it was at a ski lodge, an unlikely venue for our little band of bad ass rebels,” confirms Al Clarke. “He later complimented me on how I helped make him feel welcome into the group.”
Richard Simpson, Mt. Holly, June 1966
Wednesday, June - August 1966: ‘Teen Street Dance,’ Frank’s IGA Supermarket parking lot, South Fowlerville Street, Fowlerville, Livingston County, Michigan
The Chosen Few were among the bands - along with the Teenbeats, Chancellors, Casuals, Tidal Waves, the Ferraria, the Debutantes, and Rick Robin & Him - who played the teen street dances held every Wednesdays evening from June 8 to August 31 in the parking lot of Frank’s IGA Supermarket in Fowlerville. The dances, which attracted every week from 400 to 500 teens from all over the central Michigan area, were hosted by local disc-jockey Denny Hunt who played records and introduced the bands, and sponsored by the Fowlerville Commercial Club under the direction of Mr. Gale Dillingham. Proceeds goes for the development of Community Park. “Ron Richardson booked us every weekend during that summer,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “We developed rapidly as a result of playing so much. We really got tight. I gained confidence playing those larger venues.”
Friday, July 1 - Monday, July 4, 1966: Southfield Fair, West 10 Mile Road and Lahser Road, Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan
A four-day annual fair which open every day at 5pm. The Chosen and the Shy Guys provided live music entertainment, plus carnival rides, pony rides and helicopter rides.
Friday, July 15, 1966: Mother’s (Teen Nite Club), The Ann Arbor Armory, 223 East Ann Street, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan
Also on the bill: Terry Knight & The Pack. One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight. “The gig at the Ann Arbor Armory was recorded live,” recalls Scott Richardson. “I’ve never been able to find out who did the recording or been able to listen to it. Would give anything. I remember it cause Leni Sinclair was there taking photographs. I haven’t asked her yet if she still has them. On my to do list.”
Friday, July 29, 1966: Mother’s (Teen Nite Club), The Ann Arbor Armory, 223 East Ann Street, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan
Also on the bill: The Rationals. One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight.
Summer 1966: The Hideout #1, 20542 Harper Avenue at Beaufait Street, Harper Woods, Wayne County, Michigan
Summer 1966: The Hideout #2, Southfield Road at 13 Mile Road, Southfield, Oakland County, Michigan
Monday, August 22, 1966 (?)
The Chosen Few headed to New York City in an attempt to hitched their wagon to the stars, after Ron Richardson set up for them an audition with the great late Don Kirshner. Dubbed ‘The Man with the Golden Ear’ by Time magazine, Don was a music publisher, record label president, music consultant, rock music producer, talent manager and songwriter, all in one life only! “Our manager Ron Richardson took us to NYC and we stayed at the Hotel Earle in the Greenwich Village,” confirms Scott Richardson. “It was and incredibly exciting time to be in The Village. At night the streets were packed with teens out on the prowl in their mod and freak finery. The Night Owl was famous for the Lovin’ Spoonful shows. Cafe Wha? was happening. It was pretty much a dump but we didn’t care. Jimi Hendrix was just hooking up with Chas Chandler when all this happened.” “The trip to NYC took about three days, four with travel time,” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “We stayed in the Village for those few days at the Hotel Earle. It was a horrendous drive to/from NY and Ann Arbor. The trip took 10 hours one way. Seven of us cramped in next to one another stretched out on top of the equipment in August. It was really hot, no air conditioing in the van. ‘Hot time summer in the city...’ But it was a very exciting time for all of us. By the way, a little anecdote... when we were there the big thing on the street vendor scene was ‘Orange Julius.’ The vendor boasted, ‘Orange Julius is made from freshly squeezed Florida citrus fruit, crushed ice and our own special divinity powder’ in a gay-sounding New York accent. We were sold on it. Had to have that Orange Julius every morning. I loved that divinity powder bit.”
Tuesday, August 23, 1966
While in New York City with the Chosen Few, Al Clarke attended The Beatles’ show at the Shea Stadium. “About the Shea Stadium experience, well, it was truly memorable, although I could barely hear the Beatles,” explains Al Clarke. “Loved watching the cops tackle the fans! Can’t remember who I went with, but I must have had someone with me?”
Wednesday August 24, 1966 (?): Café Wha?, 115 MacDougal Street, Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York
While in New York City, the Chosen Few spent their few days there listening to other groups at the Cafe Au Go Go and at the Night Owl, and then playing a sort of audition set at the Cafe Wha? “I vaguely remember playing at the Cafe Wha? The response from the crowd was less than enthusiastic, in a word, forgettable,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “Yes, we played a set at the Cafe Wha? but I think it was very early evening and I don’t think we felt we fit in with what we were doing,” also recalls Al Clarke.
Thursday, August 25, 1966
The Chosen Few auditioned for Don Kirshner at his office in the legendary Brill Building, 1619 Broadway, in Manhattan. “We went to NYC to auditions for Columbia and ABC Paramount,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “I do not remember much about the latter, it may have fallen through at the last minute but the Columbia audition was worth remembering. It was in Don Kirshner's office. I think we played four or five tunes but there were no recordings of it. We played newer Stones’ tunes or similar songs, mostly fast, one slow one (‘Pain in My Heart’) but I do not remember the other songs. I was in the back and saw the door open a crack and Carole King looked in while we were playing. She was a staff writer at the time I think. Anyway, Kirshner told us to come back in a year, I guess he saw some potential but we weren't there yet.” “We played live in Don’s office on the 24th (or 26th) floor,” also recalls Scott Richardson. “He had the Brill Building songwriters and was in touch with all the labels. Carole King was still there writing and we may have seen her, but the woman at the audition was Carole Bayer, she was co-writer of ‘A Groovy Kind of Love’ for The Mindbenders, which had just be top ten. I know this cause she was introduced to me by Don as the other guys were busy setting up their equipment. We played a few songs. I sang it through a mic into someone’s amp I think, don’t remember any P.A. System. We’re in his office for heaven’s sake. They nodded, whispered and passed notes to each other. Carole Bayer was very impressed. They wanted us to return in a year with original material. And it was over, or so we thought.” “I recall going up to the office, setting up and playing a few tunes,” also recalls Al Clarke. “I think Don asked us ‘don’t you have any of your own songs’ or maybe this realization came later. At that time in the band’s trajectory we realized we needed to create original tunes. This probably was the catalyst, playing for the big shot and not blowing him away. We excelled at moving large crowds, and this was a small space, plus we lacked our own tunes. I think the historical significance of the Brill Building was lost on us punks. We were too cool and badass to like Neil Diamond or Carole King.”
Friday, August 26, 1966
The Chosen Few left the ‘big apple’ and returned home in Ann Arbor. “We loaded up the Plymouth Washer Service Van, not only with all our gear and band members, including Scotty Asheton who was our volunteer roadie for that trip, but also with three female waifs we encountered in the Village,” recalls Scott Richardson. “They didn’t last long back in Ann Arbor but it was pretty scandalous stuff to be doing. We also almost all died in an auto accident on the way back on the Pennsylvania Turnpike which Ron Richardson narrowly avoided at the last possible split second. I thought that was all there was to it. Then word came to Ron Richardson that Kirshner was interested. He was offering us a singles deal on MGM Records, I believe subject to us writing original material that he thought could be a hit.”
Friday, August 26, 1966: unknown venue, Caseville, Huron County, Michigan
The Chosen Few played a gig somewhere in Caseville the same day they returned home from New York. “We got back to Ron and Scott Asheton's house and only had time for showers then were off the Caseville to play that night,” confirms Stan Sulewski. “The only time we played that site. Don't remember the name of the venue though. They introduced us as ‘America’s Rolling Stones.’”
Saturday, August 27 or Sunday, August 28, 1966
“One or two days after our return from New York, we had just finished a practice in Ron and Scott's basement and Iggy Pop was there listening in,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “When we finished everyone but Iggy and I had gone upstairs. We got into some discussions about drumming and he showed me how to play a Chicago style blues shuffle. That became an important part of my work for years, to this day. Well, I couldn't just leave it there so I showed him how to double stick a ‘Bo Diddley’ beat like on ‘Not Fade Away,’ but he had a little difficulty with it, if memory serves. Maybe that's why he drifted away from drumming. And the rest, as they say, is history.”
Monday, August 29, 1966: ‘117th Michigan State Fair,’ Teen Scene, Michigan State Fairgrounds, 8 Mile Road at Woodward Avenue, Ferndale, Oakland County, Michigan
The Chosen Few played during an event (from 2:30pm to 3:30pm) called ‘Band competition’ along with Mysterions, and Odds & Ends.
Thursday, September 1, 1966: Mother’s Young Adult Nite Club, The Ann Arbor Armory, 223 East Ann Street, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan
Also on the bill: The Prime Movers. One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight. “I remember that gig and it was huge. More people than ever. I think our band was picking up steam at that point,” recalls Al Clarke.
The Chosen Few #3, Ann Arbor Armory, September 1, 1966 - from left: Al Clarke, Ron Asheton, Scott Richardson, Stan Sulewski, Richard Simpson
The Chosen Few #3, Ann Arbor Armory, September 1, 1966 - from left: Ron Asheton, Al Clarke, Scott Richardson, Stan Sulewski, Richard Simpson
Sunday, September 4, 1966
On this day, the parents of Stan Sulewski, Al Clarke and Richard Simpson, sent a typewritting letter to Ron Richardson informing him about some rules that must be followed by the Chosen Few in their future activities, mostly due to the fact that Stan, Al and Richard would soon starting their senior year in high school and, obviously, their education was the primary concern for their parents. So, the six rules were: 1. All jobs must be on Friday or Saturday night. No jobs are to be scheduled during the week. 2. During the first six weeks of school, only one job per weekend will be scheduled. No jobs will be scheduled for the two weekends preceding finals. No job will be scheduled for the night previous to the CEEB-SAT exam. 3. All jobs will be located in Birmingham and the surronding local communities, (50 mile radius.) Each boy must return to his home immediately following the job. No overnight trips will be scheduled. 4. Practice time will be limited to Friday evenings, Saturday, or Sunday evening. 5. No band activities will be scheduled on Sunday. 6. No future trips to New York. Last but not least, the parents also make it clear that was not their intention to allow the boys to become too deeply involved in show business, so they believed it was necessary to discourage making any tapes or records and, to avoid any misunderstanding, they also make it clear that none of them would sign any option or contract with Columbia or any other company. Well, pratically, this ultimatum letter would be the beginning of the end for the Chosen Few, although they couldn’t have known it at the time. “I know that ‘the parents’ (not sure who they all were) got together,” recalls Al Clarke. “And I think Richard’s father, who maybe was a lawyer, drafted an ultimatum that dictated what would be acceptable to them if the band was to move forward. I have a copy of this document and it is hysterical now, but at the time it was the death knell of the Few. Just as we were taking off, we got throttled. Lots of limits and restrictions: 50 mile radius, only on weekends, home by midnight, etc.” “Upon our return from NYC, it was my understanding that Don Kirshner told us to get another year of experience and return in 1967,” also recalls Stan Sulewski. “That came from my parents. Richard, Al and I were under the legal age to sign any contract. Our parents conspired to agree that they would not sign for us. I was not told that we were offered a deal for a single by Columbia [actually MGM] and only found out the truth many years later.” “Upon hearing about MGM offer, several things happened,” says Scott Richardson. “I of course started trying to come up with something for the band. Two word got around that there was interest and the reaction from our parents was clear. College was looming for everyone except me and Ron Asheton. This is when all the stuff started. Up about how far we could drive to gigs. The message from several of the parents was to start winding everything down. They would have to give consent cause we were all not yet 21, but only my mother Joan and Ron’s mother Ann would agree to signing a contract if one was offered. For Stan, Richard and Al the answer was no way, so it was passed on.”
|
|
September 1966
Scott Richardson briefly rented a basement apartment with Iggy Pop under a big Victorian building near the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. “We were poor, and we were starving half the fucking time,” recalls Richardson. “We had our clothes hanging on the water pipes, newspapers on the floor, we were living like Kurt Cobain underneath a freeway. But I remember laying with him all night and talking about stuff. It was such a tremendously exciting time. And it was that painful period when you’re young, don’t know who you are yet, with all these influences around. Also, while we lived together, Iggy was studying every move I made, having see The Few play live. He was also impressed I was playing a left handed acoustic and writing songs for our band. Then he decided he wanted to become a lead singer. I got in a whole bunch of trouble because Iggy was a really good drummer. He was a fine percussionist, okay? The guys in his band, the Erlewine brothers, had big plans for him. I got held up in an alley and had a knife put up against my throat in Ann Arbor and was told to stop inviting Iggy to my gigs because he was going to quit playing drums and he wanted to become a front man after hanging around with the Chosen Few. I said, ‘It’s not my fault.’ They said, ‘Ever since he met you he doesn’t want to play anymore. He wants to dance around on stage.’”
September or October 1966: ‘Frat Party,’ unknown fraternity house, University of Michigan campus, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan
Back in Michigan after almost a year away, the Chosen Few’s former guitarist James Williamson reunited with his former bandmates when he went to see them play at a frat party in the University of Michigan campus. There, he also met for the first time his future bandmates Ron Asheton and Iggy Pop, with whom he would played together in the Stooges after he joined them in November 1970 (and the rest is history). “I came back and the other guys in the Chosen Few asked me if I wanted to go up to Ann Arbor to a frat party they were playing at,” confirms James Williamson. “They said I could meet their new bass player Ron Asheton who was pretty far out with super long hair who played with his back to the audience. That night was the first time I met Ron. Iggy was there too that night and it was also the first time I met him as well. I had brought my white Fender Jaguar guitar so I played them a couple of my original songs (riffs) during a break. I would remain in touch with them off and on for many, many years.” “Yes, Iggy showed up that night. He made a comment about how much I improved. That really meant a lot coming from him. Thanks Jim!,” also recalls Stan Sulewski.
Friday, October 7 - Saturday, October 8, 1966: ‘A Dance Concert In The San Francisco Style - Detroit’s First Particapatory Zoo Dance,’ Grande Ballroom, Grand River at Beverly, 1 Block South of Joy Road, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
The Chosen Few were the first band to play at the now legendary Grande Ballroom, Detroit’s palace of rock ‘n’ roll and counterculture. Headlined by local heroes MC-5, the opening night shows, which lasted from 9pm to 2am each day and also featured a light show by the High Society, were presented by local disc-jockey ‘Uncle Russ’ Gibb through his Travel Agency production company. “Our footnote in rock history was only earned cause we opened at the Grande,” reflects Al Clarke. “Being the first band on stage at the Grande was the highlight of our career,” adds Stan Sulewski, maybe with a little bit of regret as they disbanded, unexpectely, only a couple of weeks later that historic nights (the first one on Friday was reportedly attended by about sixty people). “We did that Stones EP where they ran together ‘Everybody Needs Somebody,’ ‘Pain in My Heart,’ and ‘Route 66,’” recalled Ron Asheton. “That was a nice little EP that came out in England, and they had Bill Wyman playing that do-do-do doot-do doot-doot doot doot; they had the bass starting out ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ rather than guitar, so I am proud to say that I played the first notes at the Grande Ballroom.” “Then Ron Richardson booked us into The Grande Ballroom on its opening weekend. It was his second management coup,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “We opened with ‘The Big 3’ medley of ‘Everybody Needs Somebody,’ ‘Pain in My Heart’ and ‘Route 66.’ We played both nights opening for the MC-5. Neither night was well-attended. The bands were each other’s audience. I remembered that there was an article in Fifth Estate periodical that critiqued our performance on opening night. It was published twice a month. Sure enough, the issue marked October 16- 30, 1966, had an article written by Gary Grimshaw about opening night. He commented that we were a tight band, had great stage presence and drive but we did not play any original material. (That constructive criticism was instrumental, pun intended, in my starting to write songs. Thank you, Gary). Playing original material was a relatively new box we had not yet evolved to check.” “The Grande inaugurated an entirely new kind of music and vibe,” also recalls Scott Richardson. “You were going to trip out, either with drugs or just the atmosphere. It wasn’t kids screaming or rioting. It was kids coming out of themselves over the music, just freaking the fuck out at how amazing it was to have a live show, playing with that music and experiencing each other. And this sense that anything was possible. I’ve never felt that again.” “What I can recall was the absolute and cataclysmic thrill of opening the Grande Ballroom,” says Al Clarke. “None of us had ever experienced anything like the Grande. It was a tribal gathering bathed in sound, costumes, drugs, colors. I can’t describe this event without using all the hippie trippy cliches, but it truly was the molten centre of the counter culture of Detroit. I am not sure how many time we played there, but the memories of the sensory overload are indelible. I know it was more than once, for I can recall the the excitement of returning. It was a huge opportunity for us and afterward, in my high school, I walked the halls like a young prince! I was rich and famous, a real celebrity! I have a few copies of the original poster for the opening of the Ballroom, which I treasure. Life magazine also used this poster on the cover to illustrate an article about the value of trading and collecting rock posters. The article came out in the mid ’80’s I suspect. I think I have that as well somewhere.”
|
|
|
Friday, October 21 - Saturday, October 22, 1966: ‘in Dance Concert - Six Screaming Bands In An All-Out Mind-Blast! - Six Band Freak-Out - Total Enviroment Psychedelic Dance Concert,’ Grande Ballroom, Grand River at Beverly, 1 Block South of Joy Road, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan
Also on the bill: MC-5, The Prime Movers Blues Band, The Southbound Freeway, The Wha?, The Gang. Lights by The High Society. The shows, which lasted from 8pm to 1am each day, were presented by Uncle Russ Travel Agency.
|
|
Monday, October 24 - Friday, October 28, 1966
The Chosen Few disbanded unexpectedly during that week. Reportedly, they were forced to break up after Ron Richardson violated the rule No.3 of the infamous “ultimatum letter” that the band’s parents had sent to him a month earlier, after he booked them to play a gig at an high school dance in Kalamazoo. “The story is that Richard, Al and I started our senior year that fall, and our parents collectively put forward an ultimatum to Ron Richardson that he would not book us outside of a 50-mile radius while classes were in session,” explains Stan Sulewski. “So we gigged at the usual ‘localish’ haunts within that limit, but Kalamazoo was approximately 140 miles away from the Birmingham area where we lived. The parents of Al, Richard and me conspired to pull us out of the band the minute they found out about it, a day before the gig.” “Yes, that’s what I was told,” recalls Scott Richardson. “The other guys (Stan, Al and Richard) were all bound of college and respectable careers. And they all achieved that. Ron and I also achieved many of our music goals with the Stooges and SRC respectively.” “It was the end of the Chosen Few,” said Ron Asheton. “The parents sent a letter. Scott and I were the only ones, you know, we wanted to be musicians and everybody else's parents sent letters: ‘The boys will no longer be in the band. It's time for, you know, reality, on to college. Al will be a doctor, and Richard will be a lawyer.’ I think they wanted Stan to be a CPA.” “You know, from my pov as a teenager, playing in the Chosen Few it was like jumping into the deep end of the pool,” explains Al Clarke. “I had a daytime normal schoolboy persona and then on the weekends became a God of rock, the bringer of ecstasy, banging out the tribal rythyms of the moment in dark and mysterious temples of rock music. I feel fortunate and grateful to have been a firsthand witness to the birth pains of rock in the Motor City back in those tempestuous ‘60s. However, ultimately it proved overwhelming and I secretly was grateful to the parents rebellion that choked the band in its crib. I had other paths to explore, but on each byway, I have continued to gravitate towards the joy of sharing music with my fellow humans.” By the way, the break up of the Chosen Few also arrived right before their planned first recording session for the recording of their first single. “In the fall of ‘66, Scott and the band talked about recording our own single, produced locally, and released through Jeep Holland’s A2 label,” recalls Stan Sulewski. “It was Scott’s Option A and this is why, to my recollection, Scott did not mention anything about MGM’s offer for a single after we returned from NYC, because in reality that was his Option B.” “We planned to record a cover of ‘Poison Ivy’ as our first single and this is why during the opening night at the Grande, Scott disturbingly mentioned that he heard another Detroit band was planning to record that song,” contniues Sulewski. “It served to educate us that recording covers was a tenuous strategy. But we had a nice arrangement of it, instrumentally and vocally. It was our intention to record it for our first single at that time but we broke up before we got into the studio. There were no firm candidates yet for the other side of the single. It would likely also be a cover. Final decisions about the choices for the A side and B side are often made by the producer, the label and/or the band and often take place after an assessment of finished recordings.” “I actually wrote two originals, ‘Inflamed’ and ‘I’m An Explosion,’ that we were going to record but we broke up first,” explains Scott Richardson. “‘I’m An Explosion’ was slated to be the A side. It was the first punk rock song ever and I wrote it in 1966!” “Scott may have been writing ‘Inflamed’ and ‘I’m An Explosion’ for our first single but he did not introduce his ideas to us before we disbanded,” points out Sulewski. “I understand that Scott recorded a demo of ‘Inflamed’ after we broke up but the Chosen Few never worked on it. We never worked on ‘I’m An Explosion’ either.” “Stan’s right,” says Richardson. “We were rehearsing ‘Poison Ivy’ as our A-side. I didn’t finish ‘Inflamed’ and ‘I’m An Explosion’ until after the band actually broke up. I was living with Iggy and he kept asking me to play them both over and over again. In fact, all I have of ‘I’m An Explosion’ was a tape recording of me playing it on a beat up acoustic when I was briefly roommates with him.”
Saturday, October 29, 1966: ‘The First Annual Mystic Rites of Autumn Freak-Out Masked Ball and Monster Rally,’ Grande Ballroom, Grand River at Beverly, 1 Block South of Joy Road, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan (The Chosen Few cancelled)
The Chosen Few had already disbanded by then so another local band, The Wha?, filled in for them that night. Also on the bill: The Southbound Freeway. The show, which lasted from 8pm to 1am, was presented by Uncle Russ Travel Agency.
Michigan Daily (October 27, 1966)
|
Michigan Daily (October 28, 1966)
|
Friday, November 4, 1966: Mother’s Young Adult Nite Club, The Ann Arbor Armory, 223 East Ann Street, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan (The Chosen Few cancelled)
Another already advertised gig that the Chosen Few eventually did not played because they had disbanded in the meantime. Also on the bill: The Hitch Hikers. One show, from 8:00pm to 12 midnight.
November 1966
“After the band broke up, Ron Asheton and I went to Del Shannon’s home studio in Southfield in November, and made a demo of one of the two songs I’d written to be our first single,” recalls Scott Richardson. “The engineer played guitar and his friend was a drummer. I don’t recall either of their names. Just that it was a direct to disk set up. We cut a demo of ‘Inflamed’ and were about to try ‘I’m An Explosion’ when the drummer had to leave. We made three acetates of ‘Inflamed’ and called it a day. Within a week both my copy and Ron’s copy had broken and lost, except for the third one who was owned by the engineer. Then in 1996 when I was appearing in Zurich, Switzerland, at a blues festival with Buddy Miles, a guy showed up from Germany and he had every record I ever made including the third acetate of ‘Inflamed’ which he somehow bought from another European collector who got it from the engineer. He wouldn’t sell it to me, but did send a cassette of it to me in Los Angeles which was lost along with a whole catalogue of songs I’d written by movers who either stole it or lost it but wouldn’t admit to either. I did another demo of it in the 1980s in LA which I still have. And have recently cut a master of it here in New Mexico which I’m finishing up now in 2023. Along with ‘I’m An Explosion’ they will live again as intended.” “Then, after the session, I was briefly in Chicago with Ron and Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander,” continues Richardson. “We’d all driven there to see Iggy who was there since October to study drums with Sam Lay of the Butterfield Blues Band. Our driver escort was the female bass player for the Charging Rhinoceros of Soul, Vivian Shevtitz, who was seeing Sam at that time. We spent the night at Bob Koester’s apartment. He owned the prestigious blues label Delmark Records. That’s a whole other debauched story I won’t go into at this time, but that was my last hurrah with what would soon become the Psychedelic Stooges. In early December, back in Ann Arbor, I met and moved into an apartment across from Jeep Holland’s place with British bassist Robin Dale. Along with some former members of the Fugitives, we put together my new band, the Scot Richard Case, but again that’s another story.” So, while Scott Richardson and Ron Asheton were in the process of forming their new bands with whom they will reach the long awaited and dreamed rockstar status between the late 1960s and early 1970s, what happened to Stan Sulewski, Al Clarke, Richard Simpson, and even Ron Richardson? “Ron Richardson went on to manage the first incarnation of the Psychedelic Stooges,” says Scott Richardson. “He then headed West with his new wife, Nausika and her two children, heading for San Francisco but winding up in New Mexico instead. He was a great manager for us in our brief career.” “Richard Simpson is a practicing lawyer in Virginia and is still very much alive,” says Stan Sulewski. “I slunk back to being a civilian at school,” says Al Clarke. “Suffered the humiliation of having to watch from the sidelines as my former bandmate Scott Richardson played (with SRC) our grad dance in 1967. I think it was not in a gymnasium. It was a big dance with a huge crowd, but maybe not the prom? Anyway, it was very painful for me! Looking back, I think I was actually relieved to be rescued from the direction the band was taking. After I finished high school, I went to Michigan State University but by the second year I had had enough and left Michigan with an outstanding arrest warrant after some tumultuous months of student protests against the Vietnam war. The Kent State murders had occurred and this triggered us to riot, fight with the police and burn down the ROTC building on campus. College was not for me. I went to Boston, hung out with musicians and did a lot of acid, and somehow ended up at the New Hampshire estate which belonged to the father of Richard Alpert, the Harvard colleague of Timothy Leary, who was returning to India after discovering the world of Yoga. Richard Alpert was now Baba Ram Dass, and long story short, he was the one who gave me a new name that would better express my aspirational new identity. This new identity upgrade was to somebody who was leaving the old shit behind and heading towards a higher consciousness. The new name was Ojima, which was taken from the Cree or Ojibway indigenous folks. The name refers to someone who leads with wisdom, or something to that effect. Not sure I’ve lived up to that, but I am pretty bossy and headstrong and do like to get shit done!” “So, as Ojima Clarke, I became part of a back to the land yoga commune in Canada,” continues Clarke. “There I met my wife, we moved to Edmonton where we each ran businesses for the next 35 years. I was a builder and she ran an antique and rare book store. We moved to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada, eight years ago where we live now in 2023. I continue to write songs, play all manner of instruments, record and self publish music. In fact, in February 2023 I released my first album on Bandcamp entitled Just Walkin’ by Ojima, as proof the flame still burns!” “I auditioned for the Rationals on Easter Sunday, 1967,” says Stan Sulewski. “Steve Correll and Terry Trabandt came over to my parents’ house in the afternoon for a few hours. The first song we did was “I Need You” by the Kinks. Corell ripped into it. It sounded every bit as good as Dave Davies. I really liked the Rationals. They could harmonize and play their asses off. Steve had a great biting guitar sound and Terry’s bass was the best live bass sound in greater Detroit at that time. I could tell they liked what they heardat this audition by the look on their faces. We did a few more covers but spent a little time where they would play a riff they had made up and asked me to come up with a drum part. That was fun. Challenging but fun and a good way of evaluating my creative side and reaction time. They left me hoping for the best but I found out a few days later that Scott Morgan did not want to change drummers. ‘Sacre` Bleu!’ as Steve used to say at the time.” “After I graduated from high school in June ’67 I went on the Northern Michigan University in the fall,” continues Sulewski. “I played briefly with some other mostly Detroit suburbanites up there, in a band called the Logos for a semester. In 1968 I co-wrote ‘Mad for Me’ with Jeff Ross. We were a duet - guitar and drums - known as Stan and Jeff. Mike (Cub) Coda heard us play it at Northern Michigan University when he returned to Marquette in the spring of 1968. The song was mysteriously included on Brownsville Station’s A Night on the Town album. He did not give us credit. Instead, he credited it to one, Pookey Shark. Several other songs on the album were credited to the same name so Coda must have stolen songs from other songwriters too. Coda slept in the empty third bed in my dorm room in the spring of 1968 for a month or so. My actual roommate at the time, Don Kuhli, was also a drummer who became a member of Coda’s band for a while in Marquette. Later, Don became a member of the Walrus, one of the favorite bands in Marquette. Their chief competition? The Stan and Jeff Band of course. In the meantime I graduated from Northern Michigan University with an B.F.A. degree. I started my own Pottery called ‘Common Ground’ which operated for three years in Marquette, Michigan. I then worked in both Design and Engineering at ‘The Pfaltzgraff Company’ for about 25 years. Although I never got on the cover of Rolling Stone (lol), at one time I designed six of the top ten dinnerware lines in the US. They were featured on the cover of a leading tableware magazine at the time. I’ve also written a book called Ceramic Glazes, which was my forte in my career as a potter.” “And… last but not least… I had a second encounter with Columbia after the Don Kirshner audition back in 1966,” concludes Sulewski. “I was the drummer for a band called The High Roller Band from York PA. We mostly played covers. But we recorded two of my songs: ‘Big Black Car’ and ‘Listen to Me’ in 1988. An acquaintance of ours introduced our single to Columbia. They were interested enough to have it market tested in the Mid-West. It tested well enough for some positive feedback from them. Again, it seemed we were so close to the next level; fate reared its ugly head once again. Sony bought Columbia and related companies at about this time. Sony’s management decided to deep-six any new prospects that came with Columbia, so that ray of hope that shone so brightly one day disappeared with the sunset the evening we got the news. Don’t you just love the record business…?”
