Rags to Riches to Rags

“Seagull carry me over land and sea

To my own folk, that’s where I want to be.”

   “Gladys Knight, “Every Beat of my Heart”

In researching my talk on Vivian Carter and Vee-Jay records I discovered that Gladys Knight (of the Pips) was a winner on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour in 1952 at age seven.  Some of the lyrics to “Every Beat of my Heart” remind me of a slave lament, pining for one’s African homeland.  Gladys recorded the song, which has a gospel flavor, for three different labels, Vee-Jay in 1961, Fury Records in 1962, and in 1970 for Motown.  1962 was a pivotal year for Vee-Jay.  They released “Sherry” and other Four Seasons huge hits but were hard-pressed to pay the promised royalties.  They gained the American rights to the Beatles and in 1964, after the group’s appearance on the Ed Sullivan show, sold 2.6 million records in a single month, but then they lost a costly lawsuit to Capitol, who lured the Fab Four away.  Opening a California office backfired and the CEO, a compulsive gambler, squandered money on Las Vegas junkets and lavish entertainment.  By 1966 the label that brought us the Spaniels, Dells, John Lee Hooker, Staple Singers, Jerry Butler, and Gene Chandler was bankrupt.  As YJean Chambers concluded of Vivian: “Hers was a story of rags to riches to rags.”

In part to thank Student Life director Scott Fulk for hosting Roy Dominguez and me last month, I attended the Soup and Substance talk by Marty Dzieglowicz, Indiana membership chair for the American Legion.  He was hoping to start an online Legion Post at IU Northwest, but all those in attendance looked too young to be veterans.  He mentioned that the Legion supported the Canadian oil pipeline, and when I noted that it was a potential ecological disaster, he clarified his statement to say it had to first meet environmental guidelines.  I also asked whether the Legion was endorsing Romney or Obama, and he claimed his organization was nonpartisan.  Side dishes of scallions, cheese and bacon bits on hand to add substance to the potato soup.

Two researchers were using Gary archives materials and a third was examining the records of the Calumet Community Congress, a grassroots organization during the early 1970s of citizens groups.  Cullen Ben Daniel came across why Gary Emerson’s sports teams got nicknamed the Golden Tornado.  They were originally the Norsemen, but in 1916 when a football team led by Johnny Kyle defeated a downstate squad 21-0 for the mythical state championship, a reporter wrote that Emerson stormed down the field like a Golden Tornado.  Ray Boomhower sent us two copies of his excellent Jim Jontz biography.  Joelle Gamble gave me a follow up on the Wildermuth mansion in Aetna.  Apparently Fred and Ora were first cousins, not brothers as I had speculated.  She has used material from the 1940 Census as well as records from the Lake County Recorder’s office.

Alissa posted this endorsement for Obama: “Do you think a man who responds to a question concerning the issue of pay equity for women by saying employers should let you leave work early to make sure you can get home in time to cook dinner for your husband and kids seems like a viable candidate to be your Commander in Chief?  A man who thinks that cutting educational programming and Planned Parenthood would make any difference in our economic recovery?”  Right on!  The quote getting the most reaction is Romney saying he solicited “binders full of women” to fill executive posts after he became governor.  The Massachusetts Women’s Political Caucus disputed the awkward assertion, claiming its group approached him with credentials for top female applicants.

                                         P-T photo of Jeff Schipper by Steve Gorches

Finally had a decent bowling night as the Engineers won two of three games. I had a turkey (three straight strikes) in the third, and Duke rolled a 258, with only two ten-pins preventing a perfect game.  Cressmoor owner Jim Fowble was mentioned in a Post-Trib article about LakeShore Bowling Association Hall of Fame inductee Jeff Schipper, who credited him with improving his follow through  “I also learned a lot about angles as it applied to the inside part of the lane,” Schipper told correspondent Anthony Nasella.

I had hoped to attend the condo owners meeting but Bob Robinson was in Florida so the Engineers needed me.  Sue Harrison informed that everyone was cordial and that Bernie Holicky was re-elected president with out dissent.  I had given her my proxy in case anyone opposed the former Purdue Cal librarian.

Episode 5 of “Boardwalk Empire’s” third season begins and ends with the terrifying Gyp Rosetti, Nucky Thompson’s nemesis, screwing a waitress while being strangled by a belt.  During the climax one of Arnold Rothstein’s men posing as a newsboy tries to murder him.  Afterwards, with a belt hanging on his neck and the blood of the dead waitress dripping from his naked body, he walks over the bodies of his bodyguards and spies the corpse of the real newsboy.  In one scene unctuous Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon testifies before a Senate Committee.  Jesse Smith realizes that the noose is tightening around his neck and that of his boss, Attorney-General Harry Daugherty.  The real Jesse Smith committed suicide in May of 1923, something obviously that will be covered in a forthcoming episode.

Maryland professor Ira Berlin thanked me for the copy of “Valor” that I sent for the Samuel Merrill seminar room.  He added, “It was good to meet you at Ray Smock’s talk.  Hope to see you again at the next Alum lecture.”

On Ray Smock’s advice I saw “Argo,” the Ben Afflick flick about CIA agent Tony Mendez helping six embassy officials escape from Tehran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis by posing as a Canadian filmmaker.  Ray and Phyllis are friends with Mendez and wife Jonna, also ex-CIA.  At the beginning are newsreel scenes mentioning American complicity in overthrowing Iran’s legitimate leader and supporting the corrupt and brutal Shah. Jimmy Carter didn’t take credit for the successful operation for fear it would jeopardize negotiations for the release of those still held hostage.  One wonders if other Presidents would have shown such restraint.  I loved the movie even though some scenes near the end seemed contrived for purposes of suspense.

My Vivian Carter talk to the Dunelands Historical Society was a rousing success.  Beforehand my three guests (Toni, Sue Harrison, and Dave Elliott) and I enjoyed a delicious beef and noodles meal.  I chatted with two ladies who work at the Brown Mansion, which houses holdings of the Westchester Township History Society.  Saying hi was Pat Lane, a Labor Studies student who wrote an excellent memoir about living by the beach for my “Lake Michigan Tales” issue.  I talked Cheryl Keller into helping me play Vee-Jay songs that went with my talk on a CD player that husband Ken provided.  A comely African-American, Cheryl graduated from IUN in 1974 and knew Paul Kern from when his sons Chris and Colin went to Hobart Montessori School.  I told her that coincidentally, the day before Chris posted a photo of his class on Facebook. 

My talk lasted about 45 minutes, so I had the music and patter timed perfectly.  I had invited Henry Farag to describe his interaction with Vivian and Pookie Hudson of the Spaniels, but his group Stormy Weather was rehearsing for a weekend gig in Toledo.  The only thing I neglected to mention was that Jimmy Reed’s wife “Mama” often sat next to him during recording sessions and whispered the lyrics to him.  If one listens closely to some of his recordings, the whispers are audible. After I finished someone asked me the name of Vivian Carter’s store on 1640 Broadway.  I told him I’d look it up in a city directory (not surprisingly it turned out to be Vivian’s Record Shop).

A woman wearing an Obama button told me to drop by his headquarters in downtown Chesterton if I wanted one.  She added that yard signs on the President’s behalf have been disappearing, in all likelihood a Republican dirty trick.  Because I mentioned my upcoming Alex Karras Traces article, one guy bragged that he caught for Alex on an American Legion baseball team.  A teacher picked up on my mention of Henry Farag’s Ultimate Doo Wop Shows by recounting a show featuring Dion.  When she told her students that she saw him, they thought she meant Celine Dion or Dionne Warwick.  The father of 1970s student Elizabeth Domsic told me that she’s an attorney in Mount Vernon, Indiana.  She wrote about a guy during the Great Depression who found some money in the gutter and bought a dozen cream-puffs, which he devoured all by himself, he was so famished.