In the late 50's and early 60's prios to the British Explosion the record charts were inhabited by a number of instrumental groups. WQuite often they had the go to rock n'roll instrument of the day, the saxophone sound.
A-RAB BY THE TITANS
Peak Month: February 1962
9 weeks on Vancouver’s CFUN chart
Peak Position #10
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
The Titans were a group from McCleary, Washington, who played rock ‘n roll from 1959 to 1964. Their members included vocalists Willie Washington and Sandy Faye, saxophonist Walt Ratenbury, guitarist Gary Buchanan, pianist Rudy Volkman, Walt Newman on bass and Jim Wroughton on drums. On a YouTube post is found this comment: “McCleary, Washington, a small town west of Olympia would produce the very popular Titans. In early 1962, their fantastic instrumental, “A-Rab” would go top ten in Vancouver, BC. I do remember airplay in Seattle, but it didn’t receive the support that it deserved. My older brother saw them one time and he raved about them. They were never able to break into the Seattle dance circuit, so were mostly unheard north of Tacoma.” The Titans gave concerts in places like the Civic Auditorium in Chehalis (WA) and the Red Carpet in Tacoma. The band was inter-racial, with Willie Washington being a featured lead vocalist.
Though they didn’t only record instrumentals, the record they released in early 1962 was an instrumental. If the Titans got airplay in Seattle in early 1962 for “A-Rab” while it was peaking on the charts in Vancouver, BC, the song didn’t appear on Seattle’s pop charts. The instrumental was written by Titans bandmate, Gary Buchanan. It spent nine weeks on the CFUN charts and climbed for two weeks into the Top Ten in Vancouver, stalling at #10.
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Musician Funny of the Week
AROUND TOWN THIS WEEK
WEDNESDAY
-Blue Grass Jam Every Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Crescent Beach Legion
- West Beach Bar & Grill Open Mic
THURSDAY
- Washington Avenue Grill JAMES DEVON
- Music at WEST BEACH BAR & GRILL Glen Pearson's Summer Jam / Blues by the Beach 8pm -12am
- Sawbuck's Pub
Friday
- Elks / White Rock KARAOKE Every Friday evening 7 p.m. - 11:30
- Washington Avenue Grill live music
- West Beach Bar & Grill
- White Rock Legion / Johnston Road Classic Rock & dancing
- Sawbuck's Pub - TGIF and come party with us. DJ music, karaoke, and the best dance floor, lighting and sound system on the Peninsula. The party starts at 8:30 PM.
SATURDAY
- Washington Avenue Grill live music
- West Beach Bar & Grill live music SURPRISE
- Sawbuck's Pub live top 40 music
SUNDAY
- West Beach SAMI GHAWI Sunday Night Jam
- White Rock Legion / Johnston Road. Country jam 3 p.m.
Announcements
JANE MORTIFEE & FRIENDS
Saturday September 23, 2017
Doors 6:00pm | Show 7:00pm
Jane Mortifee has been active in theatre, film, television and the studios doing voice-overs, jingles, and animated series for over forty years. She has been nominated for an Actra Award and three Jessie Awards for her work in ‘John Gray’s Rock and Roll’ and ‘Don Messer’s Jubilee’ and Ann Mortifee’s ‘Reflections on Crooked Walking’. Jane has also been nominated for a Westcoast Music Award, a Woman of Distinction Award and was inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame on November 11, 2002.
In addition to her three recorded CDs, Jane has also performed in numerous other theatrical productions including ‘Cabaret’, ‘Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris’, ‘Godspell’, ‘A Closer Walk with PatsyCline’ and Ann Mortifee’s ‘When The Rains Come’, among others. She has appeared in episodic television productions and feature films including the acclaimed ‘My American Cousin’. She has also performed in many solo concerts, as well as in various club bands over the years.
Joining Jane in concert are three of Vancouver’s finest musicians. Rene Worst/Bill Sample/David Sinclair
CURTIS SALGADO
Friday September 29, 2017
Shows: 7:30pm and 9:30pm
With a career spanning forty years, award-winning soul, blues and R&B vocalist/harmonicist/songwriter Curtis Salgado is a one-of-a-kind talent whose music is as compelling as his story. From co-fronting The Robert Cray Band to leading his own band (and recording nine solo albums) to helping transform John Belushi into “Joliet” Jake Blues to touring the country with Steve Miller and as lead singer for Santana, he is a true musical giant.
NPR calls him “a blues icon” with a “huge voice.” Salgado earned a reputation for high-intensity performances and a repertoire inspired by his encyclopedic knowledge of soul, blues and R&B music. He won the 2010 Blues Music Award (BMA) for Soul Blues Artist Of The Year and went on to win the award again in 2012 and 2013. In 2013 he also won the coveted BMA for B.B. King Entertainer Of The Year—the highest honor the blues world has to offer—and took the statue for Soul Blues Album Of The Year for his Alligator debut, Soul Shot. So far in 2017, Curtis has won 3 different blues awards.
"Salgado’s music is triumphant, joyful, blues-soaked R&B and one of the most soulful, honest singers ever” -Blues Revue
“Inspired, powerful R&B showcases Salgado’s exceptional range and muscular, soulful vocals” –Billboard
STEELIN IN THE YEARS
SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30, 2017
DOORS 9:00PM • SHOW 9:30PM
Steely Dan is an American jazz-rock band founded by core members Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. The band's blended elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B and pop, and their 10 albums has resulted in multiple Grammy Awards and their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
STEELIN IN THE YEARS features some of Vancouver’s finest studio musicians paying tribute to the music of STEELY DAN with their hits like “Reelin in The Years”, “Josie”, “My Old School”, “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”, and cult classics like the Aja and Gaucho albums.
Steelin in The Years perfectly recreates the Steely Dan sound with a who’s who of the Vancouver recording studio scene:
