KEYSOUNDSKEYSOUNDSKEYSOUNDS
Paul Cotton | Continued in kindergarten. From there I went to mellophone. I had a private tutor from the Chicago Symphony. Ten came Elvis and Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers and Less Paul. I admired their guitar. I was 7 years old. I was hooked on guitar and took it up after I heard the guys playing behind Elvis and Ricky Nelson and the Everly Broth- ers. Very inspired by them. I wasn’t a singer yet and got into California surf music — anything that was in- strumental. I had a band, the Mus- Twangs. Te first thing we released was an instrumental version of a song by Irving Berlin, “Marie,” which became an international hit actually while I was in high school.
GD: How did you get picked in high school by a record company? PC: We headlined at the only under-21 club, Popp, on the south- side of Chicago were I was raised. We were pretty much the house band. As long as they lasted. We used to back up Bobby Vinton. I’m dating myself now. But yeah, guys like that would come through.
GD: You did that with Buddy Holly. PC: 1957 actually. It was a good time. Record companies were al- ways out and about. You never knew who would be sitting out there. Tey heard the Mus-Twangs and said we had to cut a record deal. We had a lead singer at the time. We cut a full-sized album with a couple of orginal vocal songs. Mostly instrumental.
GD:Te first big exposure you had was with the band Illinois Speed Press with Kal David. PC: Kal David and Michael An- thony, a drummer and bass player. We were all under different names in Chicago named the Rovin Kind and Te Gentrys. We had to
change our name politically for that. And James William Guercio came into town, speaking of record company people, and we were the house band at Whiskey A-Go-Go in Chicago then. James was on the road touring with Chad and Jeremy as their bass player, but he also pro- duced Buckingham Records and all their hit singles.
GD: So in the Chicago scene you were literally one of the three big big groups. PC: One of the three — Baby Huey and the Babysitters, CT Gay which became Chicago, and us. We were the three main acts to see in Chicago in the mid-’60s.
GD: So now the rock scene is really starting to get bigger. Te Beatles, Te Rolling Stones. I’m looking at some of the early photographs of you back then and the longer hair sort of appeared, right?
PC: Oh yes, it did. Soon as the Beatles and the Stones did, it was like let’s try that. We actually wore wigs at first until the hair grew in. Yes, we actually did that. We were a cover band as well. Not only doing orginal tunes but a lot of cover tunes by the Beatles and the Stones. So we had to have that look to go along with it.
GD: No you’ve made it big in the Chicago scene. What’s next? PC:Te next step is Los Angeles.
GD: And that’s sort of the big rock scene for the mid- to late ’60s? PC:We went as far as we could go in Chicago. James William Guercio was all set up in Los Angeles with management. He had Columbia Records, because of the Bucking- hams. He was already signing Chicago to Columbia, and he signed the Speed Press to Colum- bia. He said, ‘Guys, you have to
6 KONK Life
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