Skip Groff Papers
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Skip Groff papers Special Collections in Performing Arts University of Maryland Libraries Processed by: John Davis Date Processed: January 2018 Size: 6.50 Linear Feet Inclusive Dates: 1965-2019 Bulk Dates: 1965-1997 Collection No.: 2018-47-GROFF SCPA shelf location: L9-3-1 to L9-3-2 Abstract Frank “Skip” Groff [1948-2019] was a record producer, record store owner, disc jockey, United States Army veteran, and record promoter who was a primary figure in the Washington, D.C. area punk scene in the 1970s and 1980s. The Skip Groff papers includes recordings related to Groff’s career as a disc jockey and record store owner, photographs, correspondence, ephemera, magazines, clippings, and an oral history interview with Groff. Important Information for Users of the Collection Restrictions: There are no restricted files in this collection. Preferred Citation: Skip Groff papers, Special Collections in Performing Arts, University of Maryland Libraries. Publication Rights: All intellectual property remains with the creators and, as such, the materials in this collection can only be used within the restrictions of U.S. Copyright Law. A release is on file for Groff’s oral history. Status: This collection is PROCESSED Historical Note Frank “Skip” Groff [b. November 20, 1948 - d. February 18, 2019] was a record store owner, record producer, disc jockey, United States Army veteran, and record promoter who was a primary figure in the Washington, D.C. area punk scene from the late 1970s through the early 2000s. Starting out as a disc jockey in the mid-1960s while a student at the University of Maryland, Groff forged a multi-faceted career, spending time as a department store announcer, disc jockey, United States Army veteran, record store manager, and record promoter before eventually playing a vital role in the development of D.C.’s nascent punk scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. Headquartered out of his Rockville, Maryland store, Yesterday & Today Records, Groff served as a producer for some of the earliest and most influential punk records to come out of Washington, D.C., and also headed Limp Records, one of D.C.’s first punk record labels. Several notable musicians from the D.C. punk and indie rock scenes, like Ian MacKaye, Henry Rollins, Sharon Cheslow, Tommy Keene, Archie Moore, Ted Nicely, Jim Spellman, and Kim Kane, were employees or regular customers of Yesterday & Today. Groff also mentored MacKaye and Jeff Nelson as they launched their record label, Dischord Records, in 1980. Dischord is still an active record label and has issued or distributed hundreds of releases by notable D.C. punk bands like Fugazi, Minor Threat, and Jawbox, selling millions of copies along the way. Before opening Yesterday & Today in 1977, Groff served as a retail clerk, buyer, and store manager for various record stores in the D.C. area, like Empire Music, Variety Records, and Waxie Maxies. He also briefly co-owned a record store in Kensington, Maryland called Hit & Run Records, before departing to open Yesterday & Today. Groff closed the physical location of Yesterday & Today in 2002, but continued to operate an online business that sold the 200,000+ stock of singles that he possessed until his death in 2019. As a record producer, Groff worked across several genres, including heavy metal (Pentagram) and bluegrass (Toothpick Tommy and The Truckers, a group whose name Groff coined), but his mark was made working with punk and hardcore bands. Groff produced some of the earliest punk records from the D.C. scene, from the likes of the Slickee Boys, Black Market Baby, and the Nurses, as well as genre-defining hardcore punk recordings by Minor Threat, Teen Idles, and State of Alert. As the head of his own record label, Limp Records, Groff issued the first D.C. punk compilation album (1978’s :30 Over D.C.—Here Comes The New Wave!), along with singles and albums from The Slickee Boys, The Razz, Black Market Baby, Nightman, and several other bands. Groff’s career in radio is also an important part of his legacy. Starting in 1966 as a disc jockey at WMUC, the campus radio station at the University of Maryland, Groff worked at a variety of radio stations in the D.C./Baltimore area until 1990, including WINX-AM, WSID-FM, and WAVA- FM. Drafted into the United States Army in 1970, he served a full two year term before coming out of the Army and assuming the positions of program director, music director, and morning announcer at WINX. He also worked as a radio promotion manager for RCA Records in the mid- 1970s, promoting artists like Pure Prairie League and Hall & Oates in parts of the American Midwest. The 1970s saw Groff issue several independent publications, like Groffiti and Hit & Run, which combined elements of fanzines and radio tipsheets, and were some of the first publications to cover the punk rock subculture in the Washington, D.C. area. He also contributed music writings to D.C. punk fanzines like Infiltrator and Descenes. Scope and Contents of Collection The Skip Groff papers cover the period from 1965 to 2019; the bulk of the materials date from 1965 to 1997. The collection consists of both personal and professional papers including correspondence, photographs, publications, ephemera, clippings, articles, and many recordings related to Groff’s history as a disc jockey, as well as from his time as a record producer, record label proprietor, and record store owner. Custodial History and Acquisition Information Gift of Skip Groff, received July 11, 2017, with continuing accruals. Arrangement of Collection This collection is organized into three series. • Series 1: Correspondence • Series 2: Publications • Series 3: Papers • Series 4: Photographs • Series 5: Ephemera • Series 6: Recordings • Series 7: Oral History Series Descriptions Series 1. Correspondence, 1972-1977 (5 items) This series contains correspondence related to Groff’s career as a disc jockey. Materials are arranged chronologically. Series 2. Publications and Clippings, 1965-2007 (21 items) This series contains full publications and clippings from publications that were collected by Groff. Most relate to Groff’s work as a disc jockey or a record store owner. Some of the publications – Groffiti, Hit and Run, Yesterday and Today catalog – were co-edited and published by Groff. Materials are arranged alphabetically. Series 3. Papers, 1967-c.2005 (3 items) This series contains a radio script written by Groff for a course he took at the University of Maryland, playlists from one of his radio shows at WMUC, and a résumé from the mid-2000s. Materials are arranged chronologically. Series 4. Photographs, c. 1970s-c.2000s (2 folders) This series contains photographs that mostly include Groff and are related to his work in the record industry and operating Yesterday and Today Records. Some photos are of musicians whose music was either promoted by Groff or sold at his record store. Series 5. Ephemera, c. 1970s-1983, undated (5 items) This series contains fliers and photocopies related to Groff’s work as a disc jockey, as well as fliers drawn from the D.C. punk scene. Materials are arranged chronologically. Series 6. Recordings, 1965-2007 (83 items) This series contains recordings related to Groff’s career as a disc jockey and as owner of Yesterday and Today Records. Materials are arranged alphabetically by the title written onto the cassette. Series 7. Oral history, 2017-2019 (3 items) This series contains interviews conducted by John Davis that relate to Groff, his career and his legacy. Box Inventory Series 1 – Correspondence, 1972-1977 Box 1 Folder 1 Letter, Jerry Greenberg/Atlantic Records, July 12, 1972 Folder 2 Letter, Rockville Mall, September 3, 1976 Folder 3 Letter, Montgomery Mall, March 16, 1977 Folder 4 Letter, Watkins Mill Elementary School, June 14, 1977 Folder 5 Memorandum, WINX Radio, December 27, 1976 Series 2 – Publications and clippings, 1965-2007 Subseries 2.1 – Publications, 1965-1983 Box 1 Folder 6 Argus - Summer 1967 Folder 7 Groffiti – Issue 7 – January 21, 1974 Folder 8 Groffiti – Issue 8 – February 4, 1974 Folder 9 Groffiti – Issue 9 – February 18, 1974 Folder 10 Groffiti – Issue 10 – March 3, 1974 Folder 11 Groffiti – Subscription form – c. 1974 Folder 12 Hit And Run – Issue 1 – July 1977 Box 2 Folder 1 The Echo – October 26, 1965 Folder 2 Yesterday and Today Records catalog – c. 1982 Folder 3 Yesterday and Today Records catalog – c. 1983 (2 copies) Subseries 2.2 – Clippings, 1965-2007 Box 1 Folder 13 Diamondback clipping, “WMUC Airs Psychedelic Show Tonight” - November 10, 1967 Folder 14 Power Play clipping – January 24, 1975 Folder 15 Washington Post clipping, “Store For The Single Minded” – c. 1986 Folder 16 Washington Post Book World clipping, “Vinyl Solution,” July 9, 1978 Folder 17 Unidentified tip sheet clipping – c. 1974 Box 2 Folder 4 The Echo clipping, “Echo Visits with WPGC” – October 26, 1965 Folder 5 Washington Post clipping, “Store for the Single Minded” – February 12, 1987 Folder 6 Washington Post clipping, “For The Record” – February 10, 1997 Folder 7 Washington Post clipping, “Y&T: 20 Years of High Fidelity” – September 12, 1997 Folder 8 Washington City Paper clipping, “Yesterday & Today Once More” – September 12, 1997 Folder 9 Washington Post clipping, “Bad Brains: A Punk Powerhouse Reunited” – August 3, 2007 Series 3 – Papers, 1967-c. 2005 Box 1 Folder 18 “A World Of Music” script – c. 1967 Folder 19 Underground CPM playlists – 1967-1969 Folder 20 Skip Groff résumé – c. 2005 Series 4 – Photographs, c. 1970s-c.2000s Box 1 Folder 21 Skip Groff and Others Item 1 – Skip Groff outside of Yesterday & Today Records storefront, Rockville, Maryland, circa 2002 Item 2 – Skip Groff in the UK, circa 1980 Item 3 – Skip Groff, circa late 1990s Item 4 – Skip Groff and Rick Springfield at WINX, circa 1972 Item 5 – Lene Lovich, Les Chappell, and Skip Groff, circa 1979 Item 6 – Skip Groff, official WINX staff photograph, circa early 1970s Item 7 – Corky Laing and Skip Groff, circa 1976 Item 8 – Skip Groff and Mark Jenkins, circa 2010 Folder 22 Others Item 1 - Tex Rubinowitz, circa 1979 Item 2 - Abaad Behram (The Razz, Johnny Bombay), circa 1979 Item 3 – Ted Nicely and Chad from One Flight Up, circa Fall 1980 Item 4 – Roadie for the Rezillos, circa 1980 Series 5 – Ephemera, c.