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Over the past few months I have been sharing stories based upon the bands that Jimmy Thomas brought to Fort Dodge's Laramar Ballroom. Here is one from 1963 when Thomas brought another iconic group to Fort Dodge. Let's look back.
The year was 1963 and one of the biggest hit records across America was the Cascade's "Rhythm of the Rain." There was not a bigger record in '63 than this song, especially in Mid America where pop ballads with harmony and melody made it a sure fire hit.
The story of the Cascades is a fascinating one. It all began in 1960 with a group of three sailors who were serving in the U. S. Navy aboard the USS Jason based out of San Diego, California, and all wanted to start a band.
The three swabbies included Dave Wilson (Los Angeles, California), John Gummoe (Cleveland, Ohio), and Len Green (San Diego, California). While on board the ship, the three would get together and practice singing in the form of the Everly Brothers, the Four Freshmen, or the Beach Boys.
Upon leaving the Navy, they started their own band named the Thundernotes. Green took over lead guitar duties, Gummoe on keyboards, bass and vibraphone, and Wilson on drums. Soon Dave Stevens and Dave Szabo would join the band and Eddy Snyder (guitar) replaced Len Green, who wanted to go back to school.
Their sound was heavily influenced by the Beach Boys who were influenced by the Four Freshmen. Because of their strong vocal abilities, they drew the attention of Valiant Records, which thought the group's name was too dated, so a new name was created for them by Valiant. That name was the Cascades.
Their first release on Valiant was "There's a Reason/Second Chance" (Valiant 6021) and it came out in the summer of 1962. The record became a regional hit on the West Coast, giving Valiant more hope for the band. They re-entered the studio in November of '62 and recorded their second release, the one that they are best remembered for, "Rhythm of the Rain/Let Me Be" (Valiant #6026) and what an amazing release it was.
To help the group with creating the sound for "Rhythm of the Rain," Valiant Records hired the Wrecking Crew studio musicians for the sessions. These were the same guys who backed the Beach Boys on all of their records.
In early 1963, the record first broke in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, then swept across the nation and became No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It really was a No. 1 seller in the Midwest. Soon it was selling like crazy across Europe and the Far East. The Cascades had a true monster No. 1 release.
For the group, it was time to hit the road. Their popularity in the Midwest was second to none. So, when the Cascades pulled into Fort Dodge to appear at our Laramar Ballroom in the spring of 1963, it was a big deal, as "Rhythm of the Rain" was still on the charts, especially throughout southern Minnesota and across northern Iowa.
On this tour they played other ballrooms such as the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, the Cobblestone Ballroom in Storm Lake, the Roof Garden Ballroom at Lake Okoboji, the Danceland Ballroom in Cedar Rapids, and Thomas's ballroom, the Showboat in Lake Benton, Minnesota.
Valiant Records released another single in 1963, "Shy Girl/The Last Leaf" (Valiant #6028).
In the spring of 1964 Valiant released the group's first LP. It was right after this release that they were doing some shows in Minnesota in support of the LP coming out. While the LP was excellent, on some of the cuts Valiant used studio musicians and not the Cascades. This really upset the band members as they felt betrayed by Valiant.
The group became dissatisfied with Valiant and left the label and moved over to RCA Records. RCA put out some great records by the group while the Cascades moved on to the club circuit where they stayed hot until 1975. They were exceedingly popular in Hawaii and played Waikiki quite often.
One record I want to draw attention to is the Cascades' release of "My Best Girl/She Was Never Really Mine" on CRC Records, #1018. It was one of the best vocal presentations that I have heard released from 1964. It reminded me so much of a classic Beach Boys release.
There was nothing better for business than when a ballroom could land a group with a hit record. It meant business was going to be great. It must have been a special show when the Cascades brought "Rhythm of the Rain" to the Laramar. Thomas really helped the Laramar with this booking.