Harper Woods is a city on the outskits of the east side of Detroit. Incorprated in the Fall of 1951, Haper Woods ended up become a suburban oasis of music, mostly due to a small club called The Hideout.
Opened in May of 1964 by Dave Leone and Ed Andrews in a VFW hall, The Hideout quickly became a hit with the local teens. Says Dave Leone: "It was the first teen club in the state of Michigan that featured live music. Up until that time there had been teen dances with recording artists, mainly black, lip-syncing to records".
Adding a record label to the club enterprise, the first release was a limited run LP featuring local house band The Fugitives. One song on it, "Friday at The Hideout" was penned by Leone. When members of The Fugitives split for college, The Underdogs took over as the house band at The Hideout. The Underdog's performance of "Friday at The Hideout" ended up being the first proper release on the fledgling label.
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| The Underdogs - I think.. |
Guys like Bob Seger, Mitch Ryder, Ted Nugent, Glenn Frey and MC5 were involved with the club and/or label over the years. For an introduction to Hideout Records and plenty of info on the scene, check out the compilation "Friday at The Hideout" on Norton.
And now, the clip!
Out of Grosse Pointe, Michigan, The Underdogs was a garage band who were founded in 1964 by Dave Whitehouse (vocals, bass), Chuck Schimento (lead guitar), Chris Lena (2nd lead guitar), Steve Perrin (rhythm guitar), Michael Morgan (drums) and Jack Louisell (keyboards). During the fall of 1964 the band became the house band of The Hideout #1, 20542 Harper Avenue at Beaufait Street, Harper Woods, MI. In 1965 the band first played at local private parties and church dances and later played various out of town gigs in city like Traverse City, Saginaw and Fort Wayne. In mid-October 1965 the band released their first single: "The Man In The Glass b/w Judy Be Mine (Friday At The Hideout)" (Hideout 1001) that was recorded some time earlier at the "United Sound Recording Studio" in Detroit, MI. Around that same time the band appeared at the "Dave Prince's Club 1270" on WXYZ Channel 7 TV Show in Detroit to promote their above first single. In November 1965 the band released their 2nd single: " Little Girl / Don't Pretend" (Hideout 1004) and around that same time Chuck Schimento left the band and was replaced by Tony Roumell (lead guitar) and with this new 2nd line-up they played on December 10, 1965 at the Cobo Arena, 301 Civic Center Drive, Detroit, with MC5, Dave Clark Five and Terry Knight & The Pack also on the bill. In March 1966 the band released their 3rd single:
ReplyDelete"Surprise Surprise / Get Down On Your Knees" (Hideout 1011). In September 1966 Jack Louisell and Steve Perrin left the band because they goes to college and the band continued as a four piece line-up. At the end of 1966 the band stopped to play as house band of The Hideout #1. In January 1967 the band released their 4th and last single: "Love's Gone Bad / Mo Jo Hanna" (VIP 25040). Early in 1967 the band signed a new recording contract with "Motown Records" but never was released and the band some time later broke up.
PS: sorry for my very bad english but I'm Italian (!!).
Fantastic information.
ReplyDeleteI rode by the Hideout but never attended an 'concert' there.
Rumer has it Suzy Quattro worked the concession stand and Mike Quattro (her older brother) was one of the guys who 'founded' the Hideout.