Swingin' Majority There is a time in a young boy’s life when he realizes that the borders of his universe expand beyond the familiar street corners of the neighborhood.  That time for me was in 1965.  As a twelve year old, living in the southwest corner of Chicago, in an area called North Beverly, I was beginning to realize that there was more to life than the distant excitement of a trip to the shopping mall.  The Destinations from Milwaukee The Esquires R.C. McWilliams Recalls Art Roberts' Swinging Majority Along the Chicago lakefront was a massive complex called McCormick Place Exposition Center, and within this huge expanse, the Arie Crown Theater.  Here, along with the performers of the day, new invaders were performing for the teens of the Midwest.  Bands from England were arriving on our shores and the likes of The Dave Clark Five, Animals, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Hollies, Yardbirds, Freddie & The Dreamers and all sorts of mop-top, soon-to-be legends were setting up shop for one night stands of riotous rock & roll.  My mother, although already at an age past 40, took note of my keen interest in this scene and became the authorized chauffeur to these weekly events. To make things even more interesting, a local promoter by the name of Ed Pazdur, started a club.  For a small yearly fee, the members would be notified of advance ticket sales for upcoming concerts and also invited to meet & greet events before the shows.  Typically, the way these worked was, in a banquet room at one of the downtown hotels or perhaps at the actual concert venue, tables were set up for the performers and the lucky invitees would queue up and have twenty or thirty seconds to shake hands with the stars, get a quick autograph, and in my case, mumble incoherently about what a thrill it was to meet them.  Through these events, I was able to meet some kids from outside my southside environment.  One of these kids was a guy named Mike Fijolec.  He lived in the Bridgeport neighborhood and was telling me about a new TV show that aired on the UHF network.  (I don’t remember, now, which channel it was on.)  Saturday mornings at 11:00, I believe, was the time slot for an American Bandstand-type show called Swingin’ Majority, hosted by local WLS AM radio celeb, Art Roberts.  If I was interested in coming down to the studio, located at the top of the Board of Trade building in downtown Chicago, a small studio audience was allowed in every week to provide applause and occasionally appear on camera. The Mauds The details of the first few trips to this holy grail of rock & roll are very sketchy, but before long what evolved became part of my weekend routine.  Although Mom was quite the trooper, it was determined that I would be safe taking the Rock Island Commuter train downtown on Saturday mornings by myself and safely returning in the afternoon.  If I was any less than a half hour early for the train, I would be surprised.  This was my entry point to adulthood - self exploration and most importantly, being trusted on my own in the great big world.  It was high adventure and I was all for it. The show itself was in a very small TV studio with a tiny performance stage.  There would be an opening intro with Art, details of the days show, and then lip-synched performances by any number of local bands (and Chicago was teaming with them), perhaps a video of a large scale touring band, and a couple of guests appearing in the area that week.  Being a drummer, I noticed that the set of equipment used for the mimed segments was severely lacking, and although there were a few drums there, it did not appear as a complete kit.  After a few weeks, I started dragging a few cymbals and stands with me each week on the train, setting them up to give the show a more professional appearance.  Art and the crew appreciated my efforts and I was given many thanks and the occasional on screen thirty seconds of fame.   Along with the local bands - The Ides of March, Cryan’ Shames, Destinations, Robbs, Rovin’ Kind, Mauds - there were groups as big as Tommy James & The Shondells, Friend & Lover, The Grassroots, Boyce & Hart and Mike Clifford.  I remember most of this because in 1967 at graduation from St. Ethelreda Grammar School, each student was given a small autograph book to help document this rite of passage with poignant epitaphs from fellow students.  Mine was used for that purpose and one much loftier.  I carried that book with me to several of the shows and got signatures from my favorite stars.  While going through this book, now, I see many names that are etched in the annals of rock history and many that never made it much further.  There are autographs from Timothy Clover, The Troyes, The Trolls, Original Caste, Cambridge Concept, The Rooks and The Swampseeds.  Never mind that these artists never went on to huge success, they were the biggest stars I ever met! The Who During a five week dance contest, one of the couples scheduled couldn’t make it and I was paired with another youngster named Sharon Stillman (later an exec for Mercury Records) to dance on live TV.  All of the relatives were alerted by phone and sure enough, we won the phone in vote and my prize (a new Polaroid camera- to be shared by two) may as well have been a trip around the world for its importance in my eyes. The show’s producer, Tina Choate, was extremely friendly with the audience kids and frequently invited us to local gigs where bands she was booking and/or managing were performing.  This is how I got to meet members of The Crystal Tower and Reed Kailing (The Destinations, Hardy Boys) along with now lifelong friend Jim Post (Friend & Lover).  The whole concept was quite heady for this naïve youngster and started me on the road to my rock & roll-show biz future.  Art Roberts was the consummate professional and as friendly as can be and I even got to go horseback riding with him and his lovely daughter, Cheri, on a few occasions. Although a lot of the details have been lost to the cobwebbed corners of my mind, I know that this show provided me with an opportunity to stand nose to chest with real rock stars in their natural habitat and I was one thrilled kid. The last show featured Tommy James & The Shondells, and Art mentioned that it was all over after this (circa June ’68).  There were many teary eyes in the room as all good things must come to an end.  I have my trusty autograph book, many half memories, and even a few lifelong friends to help me remember my first brush with stardom. I have remained in and around the music business all of my life and played drums in several Chicago area bands including The Chicago Messenger Service, Skyline and The Summer of Love.  The Ides of March featuring Jim Peterik hired me as drum and percussion tech from 1997-2006 and I am currently the Merchandise Manager for Foghat. Photo Gallery The Destinations The Buckinghams REO Speedwagon The Mauds REO Speedwagon The Nazz Illinois Speed Press Illinois Speed Press Illinois Speed Press Illinois Speed Press The Esquires Alice Cooper The Mauds The Mauds The Destinations  All photos courtesy Betty Jaeger and RC McWilliams For more photos of The Destinations and other cool pop culture essays from the '60s, visit Sam Tweedle's Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict site.