We’re Getting The Band Back Together

Recently, there are a lot of rock and roll groups that have regrouped and gotten back together for another run. The Grateful Dead has been revived as Dead & Company. Guns N’ Roses. Hootie & the Blowfish put a Summer Tour together. The Black Crowes are touring right now. Foreigner is touring until the end of Summer. Mötley Crüe is on tour. Even Duran Duran is giving it another go ‘round.

Most of these groups were formed in the 70’s and 80’s. Some even originated in the 60’s. But you don’t really hear about revival tours from bands that set the World on fire in the 50’s. Well, that is about to change.

In the heyday of Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Dion & the Belmonts, The Isley Brothers, and Bill Haley & the Comets, there was one group that really stood out above the rest…

The Milwaukee Gold Miners!

From 1955 to 1966, The Milwaukee Gold Miners had 14 number one singles and 7 platinum albums. They graced us with classics like; “My Baby Wore Slippers”, “My Baby Got a Dog”, “My Baby Don’t Like Noodles”, and their biggest hit, “My Baby Had a Baby”. With an Epiphone electric guitar, a Vox bass, a Noble & Cooley drum set, and a Fentone microphone, the Gold Miners were an unstoppable force of early rock ‘n roll music that made kids go crazy at sock hops, county fairs, and on local music television shows. After 57 years, the Miners are loading up the bus and going back on tour. And I had the honor of interviewing Freddie Darlson, Ricky Boon, Bobby Cascade, and Ricky Thomas (commonly referred to as “the other Ricky”).

(Outside of Bobby Cascade’s double-wide trailer, we all sat in outdoor lounge chairs and a bench to talk about the comeback.)

MPL: So, guys. I am honored to meet you all. I have to say that when I was a kid, my dad gave me all of your records and I absolutely fell in love with your sound. What is it like to be reuniting after all of this time?

Freddie Darlson: Well, I’m 87. I’m the baby of the bunch. Ricky is 89. Bobby is 91. And the other Ricky is 96. But we still feel like teenagers. This has been a long time coming and we are very excited for this reunion.

MPL: Bobby. You were such a virtuoso on the electric guitar. So ahead of your time. Are you going to be adding any special solos while on tour.

Bobby Cascade: Well, with my arthritis, I am very fortunate that my fingers are relatively locked into the form of a bar chord. So, I will be playing mostly rhythm. On a good day, I have some mobility. If the day is going well, I may be able to run a few blues licks.

MLP: Ricky. Are you still a slap bass player. You used to hit that bass hard. It was so powerful and exciting to watch.

Ricky Boon: No.

MPL: OK. Other Ricky. Are you going to be using a more modern drum set, or the old bass, snare, and symbol set you made famous?

Other Ricky: I used to play the drums in my mother’s basement when I was just 9-years old. She would turn the radio up so loud, so she didn’t have to hear my drums. Back then the radio played mostly big band music and talking shows and news. There was very little Rock and Roll. My mother would yell at me. “Don’t be so loud!” is what she used to yell at me. Then when I finished and went upstairs, she would always be in the kitchen cooking something that smelled so wonderful. I loved it when she made her stew. We called it Goulash instead of stew back then. She made the best Goulash. My father wouldn’t even blow on it. He ate everything piping hot. He would say, “Be a man! Men don’t feel pain. Don’t be such a sissy. Your little sister blows on her food. Eat it like a man.” He was in the vacuum business. He worked very hard. He wore the nicest shoes, too. Always polished and shiny. I really loved when my mother would make Goulash… which is what we called stew back then. My father would eat it piping hot.

MPL: Thanks for that? Freddie. Can you still hit those high notes? I loved it when you used to really pump it up when you sang “My Baby Walks Too Fast”.

Freddie: Well. The old pipes can’t hit the notes like they used to. But when it comes to that part of the song, I usually put the microphone out toward the audience and let them sing it. I can’t do it.

MPL: Ricky. Kind of the same question. Are you still able to create that deep, dark, full bass sound at the speed you played? Like when you had the bass solo in “My Baby Lost a Tooth”?

Ricky: No.

Freddie: I think the one that will still be the best, as he always was, is Bobby. He was the real musician in the band. He wrote just about all of our songs.

MPL: Bobby. Any new songs?

Bobby: Are you kidding me? I’m lucky if I remember the old songs. When I mess up, the audience usually just starts yelling “Booooo!” That’s a real delight. They yell for Ricky. You know. Ricky Boon… “Booooo(n)”.

Other Ricky: Our first paying show was in 1955 at the Maricopa County fair in Arizona. We were scared to death. We were so far from home. We came on after this trio of girls that were very good, but not too easy on the eyes. As they left the stage, we ran on and went right into “My Baby Can’t Swim”. The place went wild. It was like a zoo. After the show we went to the party they had for all of the entertainers. I didn’t like it though. Too many people. And it was hot. There wasn’t any humidity though. Arizona was very dry. Hurt my eyes. But funny enough, I could breathe very easily. Sometimes when it’s too hot I like to take a hand towel and put ice in it and rub it on my head. Not too much though. Just enough to not be too hot. I don’t use the good towels. Those are for guests. You never want your guests to use dirty towels when they need to wash their hands after using the lavatory in your home. It’s just bad manners. My sister had terrible manners as a child. My mother babied her all of the time. But my father wouldn’t stand for it. He was strict, but a very good man. He worked very hard in the vacuum business and wore such wonderful shoes. He kept them shiny and polished all of the time.

MPL: Again. Thanks, Other Ricky. Ricky. You’ve been quiet. Anything you want to add about your feelings about the new tour?

Ricky: No. Piss off.

Freddie: We still have some kinks to work out.

MPL: I’m kind of seeing that.

Other Ricky: You’re such a good boy. You’re Glenda’s son, right?

MPL: Me?

Other Ricky: You have always been a sweet boy. I remember your father. Good man. Wore nice hats. Good shoes.

MPL: Gentlemen. Thank you. I am looking forward to the first show. Good luck.

Ricky: F**k you.