Back By Unpopular Demand
The group that made the first rock 'n' roll record in Atlantic Canada
In the music firmament there are many stars, a few superstars, the epochal appearance of the Comets, and then there are the Asteroids, none of the above.
This is a story of a time, 1958, and a place, Atlantic Canada, all the lands that stretch out into the Atlantic Ocean, east of Quebec. On April 23 of that year the four Asteroids set out from their homes in Saint John, New Brunswick, for what was then a seven-hour trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to make the first rock 'n' roll record in that part of the world.
There had been rhythm and blues before rock 'n' roll, but not in Canada. R & B was a cultural expression of American blacks, who were forced by discrimination, based in law and custom, to live apart, to accept less of everything. Then in 1955 Bill Haley finally broke the color line in music as surely as Jackie Robinson had done it, in reverse, in baseball a few years earlier. Haley's "Rock Around The Clock" became a huge hit, and suddenly a new genre was upon us, rock 'n' roll, born color-blind.
For about a year rock was looked upon as a short-lived phenomenon which would soon retreat into the background and Tin Pan Alley would resume its role as the sole determiner of popular music tastes. In 1956 Elvis Presley smashed that illusion; he brought an awareness of the new wave into every home in North America; you could no longer ignore it, rock 'n' roll had come to stay.
Your limousine awaits you, sirs
This Hillman Minx is shown setting out from beautiful, downtown Saint John, New Brunswick, to gather us up from around the city for the trip to Halifax.
The Asteroids were formed in 1957 by me and Alan Reid. We were 16 years old. I had been out singing rockabilly songs at talent shows and contests, and even crossed paths with him once. For a high school show I wanted to do something else, doo wop, Johnny and Joe's "Over The Mountain," but for that I needed a little help. Someone pointed out Alan to me, who played guitar. The performance went well. When the Sputnik went up not long after, I sat down and wrote my first song, "Satellite," gave the lyrics to Alan, who quickly put music to them. We conscripted Mel Clark, all of 15, who played guitar, and Bob Seely, pushing 17, a pianist, and formed the group. After that the new songs came thick and fast.
Rock 'n' roll had been a fact of life for two years at that point but it hadn't touched the adult world in our part of Canada, just as r & b hadn't touched the white world in the U.S. in all its years of existence. The fans were 95 per cent comprised of high school students and others under 20 years of age. If you eliminated adults somehow connected with the music industry, the figure rose to 98 per cent. But that still left a lot of fans and they constituted the majority of the pop music record-buying public.
The Asteroids were formed to do stage shows for teenagers, not to play at dances since we didn't have the instruments. Judging by the calls for encores we got when we performed and the steady flow of invitations, we were good at what we did. More than that, we were unique at that time in our city, a port which had then a population of 100,000.
We were the only group that did original material, about half of what we sang was our own. More than that, the Asteroids were theatre, not just music. Though there was no one to teach us we picked up what the r & b groups had been doing for years, sometimes complex background singing and choreographed movements on stage. It was doo wop with a pronounced country twang. We took turns singing lead.
So come meet the Asteroids.
Mel Clark. Mel had been the best pitcher in Little League baseball just a few years earlier and he brought his take charge attitude on the playing field and agile athletic movements to the stage. If you could describe Mel's approach in one phrase, it was "shake it baby shake." As the group emcee, I just had to hint that Mel would be doing the next song and the girls in the audience starting screaming, and the pandemonium didn't subside until he relinquished the mike. Mel is the lead singer on our record.
Alan Reid. Daddy Cool with the hot guitar. Since rock 'n' roll = electric guitar and Alan played it, he carried a heavy load on stage if we were to have a sound at all, and he came through marvellously. Because of the division of labor, it fell naturally to Alan to sing the dreamy ballads. I always felt that our best song was "Without You," a soft air, and when Alan built towards the end with "I love you, these aren't merely words; I need you, deep within I do," you could hear a pin drop; everyone in rapt attention.
Bob Seely. Sometimes on stage I wished I could watch Bob go at the ivories instead of having to concentrate on business. This was a-movin' and a-groovin' literally, improvisations and contortions. Bob had solid classical training so even when you thought he had flipped out completely, the fingers were right on target every time. There is no doubt in my mind that he was the best rock 'n' roll piano player in Canada in 1958.
Me. I took my turn at bat too and when that new medium television invited us on, the producers chose me to sing Rave On, the Buddy Holly song. Let Bob tell it. This is when he first saw me sing at a variety show some time before we formed the group.
"All I remember is this new guy who looked like Elvis singing Be-Bop-Alu-La like a pro. The performance was a carbon copy of Gene Vincent's. This was incredible that one of us locals could do something like that. That's what motivated me in the future, realizing that under the right circumstances, we could do as well as anyone."
The idea to make a record came from Doug Stanley, a deejay at radio station CFBC where we had sung. And he pushed it through. A representative from Rodeo Records of Halifax, which up to then had done country material exclusively, showed up one day, heard us do several of our songs, chose two, and we were on. The two songs were "Don't Dig This Algebra" and "Shhhhh Blast Off."
A friend, Peter Whittaker, volunteered to drive us down in his Hillman Minx; and packed in like sardines we set off.
Big sister is watching you
This was taken in front of my house just before we left. My sister ran out and wouldn't let us go without a picture. From left to right, me, Alan, our driver Peter, Mel, and Bob.
The way back, big smiles
Next day. Were we happy? Not at this point. The car conked out not too far from Halifax. Ignition coil. Easter Sunday. No one around to come to fix it. We pushed that car up hill and chased it down. For miles. We thought we would never get home. That's the reason for the glum expressions.
One for all and all for one
This is the spirit that carried us through the entire Asteroids experience -- all for one and one for all.
The recording studio was pretty primitive, maybe there were two mikes, maybe not. "Don't Dig This Algebra" was already well known before we recorded it and should have been the A side. Mel was fine, but on a single track recording the interplay with the group was pretty well lost and the mix was substandard. The flip side, "Shhhhh Blast Off," which had been intended just as the B side filler, came out all right, and more closely reflects the Asteroids as they were. So it really it is the A side. Here are the lyrics.
Well, minus
three, Minus
two, Minus
ace, Blast off
for space. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Sitting in
the car, baby, half past one, We're all
alone, let's have some fun. When you
kiss me, you send me high. So blast
off, baby, for the sky. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast
off, shhhhh. I like you,
baby, you like me. I'm your he
and you're my she. C'mon baby,
well, embrace me tight. We'll both
blast off into the night. Your lips
are so neat, reet petite. Sugar,
sugar, you're so sweet. You are my
one desire. So blast
off, baby, in a ball of fire. (Instrumental
break.) I like you,
baby, you like me. I'm your he
and you're my she. C'mon baby,
well, embrace me tight. We'll both
blast off into the night. (Instrumental break.) Yeah, blast off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast off, shhhhh. Yeah, blast off, shhhhh. Blast off!! Don't dig
this algebra. Don't dig
this math. Don't dig
this Latin. Don't think
I'll pass. I can't think
about this class. I can't think
of anything but you, Well, but
you. My mother
told me; My father
too. Pass that
algebra. Pass in
school. Why am I such
a fool? I can't think
of anything but you, Well. but
you. (Instrumental
break) Hmm, just a
few hours more I'll be
standing at your door. We'll do the
town up really right. Forget about
school for a couple of nights. Can't seem to
concentrate On this
geometry. Keep thinking
of our date All through
that history. I don't know
just what I'll do. I can't think
of anything but you, Well, but
you. (Instrumental
break) Hmm, just a
few hours more I'll be
standing at your door. We'll do the
town up really right. Forget about
school for a couple of nights. Can't seem to
concentrate On this
geometry. Keep thinking
of our date All through
that history. I don't know
just what I'll do. I can't think
of anything but you, Well, but
you.
Shhhhh
Blast Off
Don't Dig
This Algebra
Play it again, Sam
Click on a blue line and you should get the music. They will play in Quicktime and VLC media player.
Shhhhh Blast Off 1.6 M
Don't Dig This Algebra 2.2 M
Afterword
We worked very hard during the year the Asteroids existed and the practices, shows, and songwriting, really consumed practically all my spare time, although I was too young and inexperienced in life to realize that this was what you call work, I was having too much fun. The practices themselves were always heaps of enjoyment; doing the shows even more so. But there were also many demanding outside interests on all of us and I think that's what finally caused us to chuck it in and move on to other things.
The Internet has a way of shrinking time as well as space. Until I came on the web three months ago in December 2000 and re-established contact after many years with my old comrades-in-arms the Asteroids episode was just something I did in my distant and dead past. All of a sudden it all came back to life, or as Karen Carpenter sang in the Carpenters' song, "It's Yesterday Once More," -- "They were such happy days and not so long ago. How I wonder where they're gone. But they're back again. Just like they were before. It's yesterday once more."