Bo's Flashbacks

 

The McCoys

 Live @ Daniels Den

January 1970

I was really looking forward to finally seeing my musical heroes the McCoys. They were about my age and they played blues based pop and retro rock & roll with great harmonies, a strong backbeat, organ flourishes, and a distinctive jangly guitar. The hits were pure gold and I collected everyone one of them The 12 bar blues of Hang on Sloopy and Fever; the delectable bubblegum rock of (You Make Me feel) So Good, the Louie Louie vibe of I Got To Go Back (And Watch That Little Girl Dance) as well as the psychedelic rock of Don’t Worry Mother (Your Son’s Heart is Pure) and the dramatic maturity of Beat the Clock. I even liked the distinctive bright yellow BANG label that depicts an old fashioned six shooter emitting a contoured bubble with the BANG logo in bold red silhouetted in black. Loved it.  The McCoys consisted of two brothers Randy (drums, vocals) and Rick Zehringer (guitar and lead vocals-later known as Rick Derringer), Randy Jo Hobbes (bass, vocals), and Bobby Peterson (keyboards, vocals). Between 1968 and 1969 The McCoys morphed like a caterpillar to a butterfly and began a drastic 180 degree musical shift to harder blues-based rock and jazz-based psychedelia. It started with an LP entitled Infinite McCoys. It seemed unfocused and too eclectic for a more concise musical statement. Still, they delivered a few shining moments with Jesse Brady (released as a low charting single), the Popsicle rock of Song For Janie and the country-influenced Rosa Rodriguez. However Human Ball was a huge step forward even with its jazzy pretensions and its meandering eclecticism. Zehinger found his voice as a guitar slinger and did blistering version of Stormy Monday Blues as well as Daybreak an R&B influenced tune and a rootsy cover of Dylan’s All Over You.  I must admit that I did indeed buy these LPs when they were first released and I did not understand what the McCoys were attempting to do. I was not familiar with blues at that point in my life and I just wanted to hear the hits. It wasn’t met to be.

They opened with Daybreak which seemed to go on and on.  Human Ball Blues was an exquisite introduction to 12 Bar Blues. They did a jazz workout on Epilogue and a hard core rant on Clergy Lies. I recognized each member of the band but they looked older. The guitarist Rick Zehringer played his ass off. He was light years ahead of the riffs he created for Hang on Sloopy and his other pop hits. He was a monster guitarist capable of picking lightening quick licks with fat tones and incredible harmonics. He could play fast and clean with as many notes as you could pile into a guitar case. The band was tight, even brilliant. The rhythm section was in the pocket and the organist played fluid jazz like he was Mose Allison. The band took a break at this point t clear are heads and are shattered ear drums. Toward the end of the break I saw the guitarist standing next to Frank Patrick, one of the owners of Daniel’s Den. I was standing close by with my buddy Tom Merry (later a football star @ Ball State) complaining that the McCoys weren’t playing any of their hits. So Tom saunters over to Zehringer and Patrick, interrupted their conversation and said pointedly, “Hey, play some of your hits.” They just stared back at him. But after the break the McCoys played Hang on Sloopy, Fever and their last chart single the incredible Jesse Brady (about being caught cheating). I was beside myself. It was a great show even though or because of – I’m not sure - The McCoys didn’t succumb to just doing a retrospective of their hits.

 A few years later I saw Johnny Winter And @ Cobo Hall with the Faces (Rod Stewart) and Three Dog Night headlining (weird lineup but very cool). As Winters blistering Louder than GOD set rambled on, I noticed that the McCoys were the backing band,  now known as AND. I remembered their modest yet transformative performance at Daniels Den and I knew that I seen the caterpillar turn into a butterfly that night in January 1970. And I smiled.