"The Fabulous Wailers & The Ventures - 50th
Anniversary Concert Seattle, WA April 10, 2009"
A group of young men from Tacoma started to play music
after school, and before they knew it, performed on the
American Bandstand in Philadelphia. After extracting the
R & B elements from the early rock they heard on the
radio, the Fabulous Wailers added an original, slightly
muddy seasoning. Some would later call this "garage
rock" or the "The Northwest Sound," a sonic signature
that could still be heard decades later among the rosters
of Sub Pop and other indie labels. The Wailers' dominance
of the local club scene at the turn of the '60s was so
overwhelming, it inspired a legion of other young
musicians -- including Jimi Hendrix -- to attempt to do
likewise. The Fabulous Wailers' story is indeed the stuff of
big screen bios -- but their tale has inexplicably never
been filmed.
The Wailers
photo by Steve Stav
Across town, a couple of masonry workers learned to play
pawnshop guitars after the the 5 o'clock whistle blew.
Soon, they diagrammed the future of guitar bands with
"Walk, Don't Run." With a great deal of motivation, a bit of
luck, some help from a business-savvy mother and the
addition of two veteran musicians, the Ventures conquered
the world in six short years. In doing so, the students-
turned-masters literally taught at least one generation of
guitarists how to play.
Roughly 50 years later, the two groups met on neutral
ground -- Seattle's historic Moore Theater -- for what
decades ago might have been a battle of the bands. to continue the review, click here
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Introducing The Wailers newest CD!
Rockin' roots music (a mixture of what made
rock n' roll) All scratched into a rockin sound.
Please visit the "shop" for more information.
One of the most dominating forces in the 60s Northwest
music scene, The Wailers, an American rock band from
Tacoma, Washington, formed around 1958. They are
often considered the first garage rock group. They perform
a hybrid of saxophone-driven R&B and good old Chuck Berry rock and roll.
Five 45's (four released in 1959, including "Tall Cool One"
and one in 1960) & an LP release, The Fabulous Wailers
(released December 1959 on Golden
Crest Records), put the Wailers on the national scene.
Their 1961 cover of "Louie Louie", which they
recorded as a backing band for singer Rockin' Roberts,
was the first to use the trademark 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3 riff.
Their version inspired other groups from the Seattle area,
most notably the Kingsmen of Portland, Oregon, to record
the same song. The Wailers' influence established the
Pacific Northwest area as a center for musical innovation
and the home of a long string of regional favorites playing
a kind of raunchy, amateur, yet passionate, form of rock and roll.
Keep Checking, More Shows in the Works!
Check out Kent and Buck's interview
The Fabulous Wailers were recently interviewed
by the Washington State Public Affairs Network
about the history of the Wailers.
Please check it out.
Wailers on The Web
Visit the Wailers on Learn more on
Two Car Garage is an historic cd with music from Don
Wilson and the Ventures and The Fabulous Wailers.
Both bands began in the late 1950's as garage bands in
Tacoma, Washington. Collectively the influence of their
ground breaking music has been felt in almost every
genre of music for over five decades.
Although the song list may look familiar ("Surf Rider"
was featured in Pulp Fiction and "Louie Louie" is one of
the most covered songs in the world ) you have never
heard any of these songs quite like this.
Two Car Garage features seven songs by the Ventures
(including a saxophone for the first time on many of their
tracks), seven songs by the Wailers and four songs
featuring members of both groups. These tracks have the
vocals of not only Don Wilson of the Ventures, but also
those of the Wailers' Kent Morrill.
The bands are together for the first time, fifty years in
the making, at long last Two Car Garage is a reality.
Be you a long time fan of the Ventures or the Wailers
or just a fan of good music, this fifty year celebration of
these two legendary bands belongs in your collection.
