LIKE THE LAST 30 YEARS NEVER HAPPENED: UNDERSTANDING DETROIT ROCK MUSIC THROUGH ORAL HISTORY JASON SCHMITT A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2008 Committee: James Foust, Ph.D., Advisor Andrew M. Schocket, Ph.D., Graduate Faculty Representative John Warren, Ph.D. Dr. Victoria Ekstrand, Ph.D. ii © 2008 Jason Schmitt All Rights Reserved iii It’s a Detroit thing, everybody It’s a Detroit thing, tell your body It’s a Detroit thing, gonna show you right It’s a Detroit thing, yeah, yeah I’m bout to say the law, cause I’m the k-i-d I’ll be whippin’ and flippin’ rhymes from the fuckin’ D And for the peoples, and for the peoples Ain’t nobody in the D be equal To us, so I bust, cause it’s a must that I go for my With another funky Detroit rhyme, yeah Aint talkin ‘bout Philly, no Aint talkin ‘bout DC, no Aint talkin ‘bout New Orleans, where they say the funk got started I’m talkin ‘bout the D, I’m talkin ‘bout the D y’all I'm talkin ‘bout the D It's a Detroit thing -Kid Rock, Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp (1996) iv ABSTRACT James Foust, Advisor This study was conducted to better understand Detroit’s unusual amount of rock music success. From the 1960s on, Detroit has continuously produced some of the nations most successful and influential rock and roll musicians. Through oral history research, this study looked specifically at the musical industry (record labels and radio stations), musical artists (recording artists and recording studios), and musical outlets (music venues and music retailers) with the intention to better uncover the aspects that allow the Detroit community to maintain an ongoing rock music success streak. Through conducted interviews with many influential Detroit orientated musical leaders as well as referencing scarce existing literature, this study finds four distinct avenues that lead to Detroit’s longitudinal success. The study references the aspect of defiance as one of the key traits that allows Detroit to evade musical homogenization. This study also finds that Detroit’s unique publicity outlets (radio stations, music publications, counterculture promotions, and venues) offer a stronger voice and a larger audience for local musicians that translates into a larger musical fan base for Detroit musicians. This study documents how the unique suburban layout around the Detroit community provides segmented pockets of unique creativity. Finally, this study acknowledges that Detroit has maintained the direction and overall ideals of the early rock music pioneers of 1960s without letting evolving cultural trends dilute the regional music climate. v For: j o mark kristen Jim Foust I cannot thank you enough for your unwavering dedication to this project. Without Kristen Schmitt, my wife, editor, and moral supporter, I would have never been able to complete this process. Special Thanks: John Warren and Nick Zoffel, Tori Ekstrand and Andrew Schocket Thanks for your voice, time and input: Russ Gibb, Ted Nugent, Slash, Ike Brunner, Kid Rock, Wayne Kramer, Mitch Ryder, John Sinclair, Jim Diamond, James Petix, Gary Grimshaw, Tom Wright, Tom Wilson, Jim Townsend, Michael Stevens, Dan Carlisle, Mike Staff, Tony D’Anunnizo, Anthony Allegrina, Culley Summers, William Davidson, Alfred Taubman, Christophe Delcourt, Kevin Watts, Bill Martindale, Leo Early, Harry Phillips. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’ve read so many acknowledgment pages. I never know one person who is being acknowledged or understand the need to express thanks to every person who you may have known since second grade in this section. It to me does no good. I flip the page. I acknowledge that unlike many academics, I am not a big reader. I acknowledge that that this trait does not have to be a negative. I also acknowledge that I am not sure if that last sentence is grammatically correct. I can’t talk Foucault or understand Critical Theory from the Frankfurt School and I acknowledge that. I’ve tried. But I can’t swim that deep. Don’t feel sorry for my academic shortcomings. I am a dabbler—and I am quite happy with my traits. I guess in a way I am true to my Detroit genetics. I am good with my hands—and a hard worker in many aspects. I can plaster walls better than you. I change my own oil and love manual labor. I am also a people person. I truly love interacting with society. I love hearing stories. Maybe I like personal narrative so much because it paints more vivid pictures in my mind than written words. Conversation gets me excited. It is these traits which I think have allowed me to conduct a study like the following. I think it is also these traits which have allowed me to have “access” to people and testimony most researchers can’t find. We make the full ecosystem. Me and some researcher at Stanford who wants to know how specific regions have so much success at certain tasks. She understands the theory more in-depth than I. I understand how to network, talk, and get through to interviewees whose statements are powerful and telling. I hope my document allows further ammunition for all individuals who are intrigued by the concept that Detroit isn’t successful on most scales, yet can produce many of the most talented and influential musicians, throughout the years, regardless of these shortcomings. Understanding Detroit as a culture is quite opposite from academic pursuits. Again, this is something that my mindset and persona seems equipped for. The Detroit mindset seems to embrace the idea of never using extra syllables, extra makeup, or extra fluff. The Detroit culture is built on the pollution-soaked banks of the Rouge River, and more importantly, with the mind frame of people accustomed to the assembly line labor. Nearly my whole family is in some way or another tied to working with Ford Motor Company. Nearly everyone in my grade school class had parents who worked for Ford or Fords as we call it. This polarization of academic and Detroit mindsets puts this research in an interesting position: a position with a duty to both deliver the information in a manner that is both fitting to those who created the unique culture as well as appropriate for those reading the conducted research. I hope the following represents the passion, intrigue, and ideals associated with music from the Motor City and begins to provide documentation and understanding on how Detroit continually Kicks Out The Jams. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION..................................................................................1 Assertions of the Study ........................................................................................7 Literature Review.................................................................................................9 Study Overview ...................................................................................................14 Importance of the Study.......................................................................................15 Method of the Study.............................................................................................17 Organization of the Study ....................................................................................20 CHAPTER II DETROIT HISTORY OVERVIEW......................................................25 Detroit: The Grounding........................................................................................26 African-American Turmoil in Detroit..................................................................32 Detroit’s Music to the Masses: Motown..............................................................35 Rock Music and the Rise of the 1960s: Branching From Motown......................38 1970 and the End of the Counterculture ..............................................................42 1980: Music Rebels and a Melting Pot................................................................43 1990s and Beyond: Detroit Continues to Persevere ............................................45 CHAPTER III DETROIT MUSIC INDUSTRY ...........................................................50 Early Radio ..........................................................................................................50 Radio, Culture, and Music Evolution ..................................................................56 The Hippie Movement and the Detroit Perspective.............................................59 Detroit’s Music Magazine – CREEM Magazine .................................................66 Detroit’s Radio Icon is Born: WRIF....................................................................70 Detroit Radio and the Politics of a Song..............................................................75 viii Tabulating Success: The Homogenizing of Radio...............................................76 The Radio Show: The New Payola......................................................................81 The Labels: Detroit Playing the Politics of a Song..............................................82 CHAPTER IV MUSICAL ARTISTS............................................................................94 African-American Ideals in Detroit Rock Music.................................................101 Battle of the Bands: Local Competition...............................................................105 The Rise of Mitch Ryder: Steering Detroit Rock and Roll..................................108 The Undertone of Detroit Musicians: Defiance...................................................110