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7. So You Wanna Be a Rock ’n’ Roll Star? Venues similar to the popular Hideout were soon popping up all over the Detroit metropolitan area. The Chatterbox, with locations in Warren and Allen Park; the Hullabaloo clubs in Dearborn and Roseville; the Pumpkin in Wayne; the Drumbeat in Dearborn; and the Crow’s Nest with locations at John R and Gardenia in Madison Heights and at Joy Road near Middlebelt in Dearborn were among the most popular. While the Hideout was limited to one stage, the cavern-styled Crow’s Nest had two and was able to keep the live music going nonstop . There were also two rooms at the Crow’s Nest, one for dancing , and one for eating and hanging out.1 To the south in Monroe, kids lined up to get into a place called the Club. In Clarkston, kids ›ocked to the Platter Box. Each of these dance clubs varied in size and clientele, some, like the Hideout, appealing to the white Levis and madras shirt crowd, while others drew the “greasers,” who favored pegged pants and Spanish boots with Cuban heels. All the clubs featured undersized dance ›oors and very loud bands. As new clubs opened, there was a growing demand for more live entertainment, and with the popularity of the new British bands, kids were purchasing guitars and drum sets in record numbers. Soon bands were forming in basements and garages all over the Motor City. The Human Equations, the Ruins, the Warlocks, the Henchmen, the Wha?, the Gang, the Fallen Angels, the Opposing Forces, the Yorkshires, and the Rainy Days were just a few. Some forty miles to the west of Detroit lay the college town of Ann Arbor, far enough away to have its own identity, yet close enough to bond with the emerging Detroit rock scene. Favorite hangouts 75 there included Mother’s, the Mump, and the Fifth Dimension. Hugh Henry Holland, who went by the nickname “Jeep,” was a young entrepreneur who had been a National Merit Scholar at the University of Michigan before dropping out to pursue the life of a bohemian. For a time he managed the city’s popular Discount Records store and several local bands.2 Like Dave Leone, Holland had also formed his own record label to promote the bands he managed. He named the label A-Square, the algebraic expression used for Ann Arbor. Holland felt that having a record out made it easier for his bands to get bookings. He operated out of a one-bedroom apartment at 521 North Division that was cluttered with stacks of records, tapes, magazines, soda pop cans and other debris. A steady stream of visitors were always waiting to talk to Holland when he would occasionally put down the telephone.3 Holland’s ‹rst shot at managing a rock band came by way of an Ann Arbor–based group known as the Rationals. In the beginning, guitarists Scott Morgan and Steve Correll jammed together as a duo. After Correll’s parents sent him off to military school, Morgan hooked up with a guitar player named Terry Trabandt and drummer Bill Figg. When Correll returned, Trabandt moved to bass.4 Like many other bands, the Rationals played mostly instrumentals when they were starting out, tunes by the Ventures, Lonnie Mack, and Link Wray.5 One of their earliest gigs was with WXYZ Detroit deejay Don Zee, who was hosting a regular record hop at the Imperial Roller Rink in Ypsilanti.6 A year or so later, they were performing at a YMCA dance run by Jeep Holland. Soon after, Holland became their manager and encouraged the band to add more vocals to their repertoire. Scott Morgan sang lead on songs such as “Money” and “High-Heeled Sneakers.”7 Heavily in›uenced by the British invasion bands, Morgan wrote the group’s ‹rst record release, “Look What You’re Doing To Me,” a garage rock prototype with a Morgan-Correll penned ballad on the ›ip side called “Gave My Love.” The two songs, featuring lots of harmonies and complex chord changes, were recorded at a small two-track studio, with Jeep Holland producing the session.8 Morgan wrote the lyrics and Steve Correll the music on another British-sounding single that followed called “Feelin’ Lost,” on Grit, Noise, & Revolution 76 which Correll sang lead. Recorded at Detroit’s United Sound Systems studio, the session was again was produced by Jeep Holland. “We didn’t get very far with...

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