Rockley Music - Lakewood, Colorado

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Wanted to post this cardboard flexi from the Rockley Music Company, Lakewood. I can only guess that this was supposed to be like a radio commercial (given the :30 length), but sadly there is no year to attach to this. No ID on who the announcer is. As is the case with most older flexi discs, the sound quality is atrocious.

Rockley Music began in 1946 by Melvin and Mildred Rockley. Its Colfax location stayed in business until 2019, later moving to Wheat Ridge. The family also runs the Rockley Family Foundation.

Sorry for the long absence. Had to take about a year off from posting to work on other projects, one of which includes a soon-to-be re-release of a previously-unknown Colorado recording. Very excited to share that will you, in the next couple of months. All good.

I can't guarantee I'm back to regular posts, but I hope to keep this blog semi-active in 2024.

Golden Music's Massive Sheet Music Library

Hey all. A few weeks ago I was alerted about an incredible sheet music collection, being housed at Golden Music. The business has taken on a huge project - databasing each and every one of the donated items it currently has stored. We are talking thousands of pieces. It's a huge undertaking, but one which will preserve these important music pieces for decades to come.

We're talking pretty much every type of sheet music you can think of -  pieces from the 1800s to pop music of the 1990s. Seeing it in person is overwhelming. My thanks to project organizer Betsy Nelms, who graciously showed me the collection, and talked to me about the store's plans.

How did you all obtain this massive collection? 

Many people donate used sheet music to Golden Music. When Denver Musicians Association (DMA), the musicians' union, moved their offices to our building, they donated many boxes of sheet music.

What does the collection contain - what kind of music? 

We have had a lending library of school string orchestra music for many years. This library has string orchestra selections from very beginning level through advanced works suitable for high school and collegiate level. This repertoire ranges from classical style through newly written material and arrangements of Broadway and movie tunes. We also have had a music education program ever since the store was started over 20 years ago. The library has teaching materials for piano, electronic organ, every band and orchestra instrument, guitar, and classical voice and theatrical voice. The DMA donation included teaching materials for specific instruments, youth orchestra music, theatre orchestra music from early 20th century and dance band music.

Where did the pieces originate? 

Many individuals donate sheet music to the store, mostly instructional materials for instrumental lessons. The many boxes from DMA also came from various sources. I was told that some came from radio station KOA. In the early days of radio, many stations had their own in-house musicians who played live music on the air. A few of the folios are stamped with KOA National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC). Most have no markings as to their original source. 

 How many pieces are there? 

As you saw when you visited Golden Music, there is a lot of music. The school orchestra lending library probably has well over 1,000 titles from very beginning level to advanced string orchestra. The school band lending library probably has about 100 titles and is expanding. There also is a full symphonic orchestra section (winds and strings) that has about 50 titles. The instructional materials for piano probably has about 250 titles. The materials for other instruments probably has 300 titles ranging from violin, viola, cello, flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone and a few others. The youth orchestra materials are of two types. The first was published by BMI in the early 1940's. There are probably 500 titles ranging from folksongs to arrangements of classical repertoire. The other type is a mix of original compositions for youth orchestra and arrangements of classical repertoire, published by various music publishing houses from late 1800's through mid-20th century. The octavo sized theatre orchestra materials are for a medium sized ensemble of strings and winds, maybe 15-20 players. This portion of the collection has well over 1,000 titles most of which are dance tunes and arrangements of popular songs of the early 20th century.

Do you need help with databasing or other archiving jobs - looking for volunteers? 

Currently, I am doing all the database entry and prefer to continue without assistance. However, when it is time to digitize this music, some help would be appreciated. 

Do you plan to sell any pieces? 

Alex Qualtire, co-owner of Golden Music, was quite adamant that nothing is for sale from this collection. 

Do you plan to make them available to the public - if so, how do you plan to do this? 

At the moment, only the string orchestra lending library, band music library, and the symphonic orchestra library are available for loan to teachers. There are no plans for the older music except to maintain it in archival storage. Once we really know what is in this collection, as I complete the database, Alex may be willing to loan out materials to teachers. 

Do you plan to digitize it? 

Once Alex agrees to lend a title, it will be digitized. Only the electronic version, not the fragile paper pages, will be allowed on loan. There are no plans yet to digitize the entire collection. The database can be made available to anyone who would be interested. 

What are some of the most interesting pieces you all have discovered? 

I found it quite interesting to see many pieces in the youth orchestra music by Irenee Berge who was a Frenchman who moved to the United States at the end of the 1800's to conduct orchestras. He is listed in Wikipedia although I don't know anyone today who knows his name. As I worked through the octavo theatre orchestra music, I found tunes that my mother used to sing. She was born in 1912 and was very familiar with popular tunes from 1920's, 1930's and into World War II era music. In all parts of the collection, there are patriotic tunes and medleys. Some represent tunes from the American Civil War, some from World War I and World War II. There are also many tunes that reflect the culture of early 20th century. with references to Hawaii, China, Japan, Eastern Europe, and Scandinavia. 

Are you accepting more pieces into the collection? If so, how can folks get those to you? 

Golden Music will always accept donations to these various types of library holdings as listed above. The donor should bring the music into the store, Golden Music, 10395 W. Colfax, Lakewood, 80215. The store is also active in assisting band and orchestra programs through the public, charter and private schools. 

Is it safe to say that is one of the largest (if not THE largest) collection of sheet music, in Colorado? Do you know of any other collections, this vast? 

In reality, this is a modest collection of sheet music. Quite likely local universities and school districts have a similar size or larger. What makes this collection unique is the amount of music of historical value. Although the string orchestra and band lending libraries have selections from the past 20-30 years, the majority of the youth orchestra music and the theatre/dance orchestra music comes from the first half of the 20th century.

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living

Hey all! If found this LP, in an Denver used record store, a couple of years ago. For $4.99 I thought I would take a chance on what appeared to be a homemade album. I filed it away, thinking I would do some research, when I found the time.

So I rediscover the LP, while researching my massive Colorado song database project. I pulled out the album, and out comes papers of typewritten notes!

Guess what? It's a Colorado record! How about that?

The Unexamined Life is Not Worth Living album was the project of the Jefferson County Open Living High School, located in Lakewood. According to the notes in the album, "This project is designed to teach students how to write lyrics and melodies, and then to do music arrangements and recording of the songs. In the course of working on a single song, a student may write part of a lyric or a melody, participate in arranging the music for a number of musical instruments and voices, and set up microphones and operate our four track tape recorder."

(NOTE: This 1979 album is mentioned in Acid Archives, but as a New Mexico album, which is incorrect... and yes, I did check the value. Apparently this LP is considered rare and is prized by collectors. In 2016, Popsike recorded a realized Ebay auction price of $219. Discogs currently has four for sale - from $360-$1,114 (!!)

The LP was directed by Dan McCrimmon, who previously recorded on the Biscuit City label (Colorado Folk, Dreams, Lies and Whispers and New Road). He was also half of the duo Frummox (with Steve Fromholz), and worked with other Colorado singers, including Harlan Quinn, and Marie Rhines, to name a few.

Also noted in the credits are Dick Weissman and Harry Tuft. In 1961, Weissman co-founded The Journeymen with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie. He appears on the Alan Kelly LP Selected Heartichokes, as well as the same Marie Rhines and Harlan Quinn LPs, as McCrimmon. In 1979, he recorded a solo album on Kicking Mule Records,  Modern Banjo - Mountain Style. Weissman also teamed up with Harry Tuft (who is credited on the Unexamined LP as Director of Technical Services) on the LP Favorite Folk Songs Minus Guitar. Tuft is well known as the founder and former owner of the Denver Folklore Center, and is an inductee in the Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

The idea for the project came, in 1978, when Dan, and his wife Teresa were informed about grant money to work with kids, to teach them to write and record their own songs. "We initially took the idea to the Adams County School District, and they said, "Sure we want it, but we don't want you," said Teresa McCrimmon.

"I was not a licensed teacher, so they turned us down," added Dan McCrimmon.  "So we had this Title IV-C Educational Risk money, and nowhere to use it. We went back to the state and they said 'Well you still have the grant, Adams (County) won't get it without you.' We had connections with Jefferson County Open School, or Mountain Open High School, as it was called, and they jumped at the opportunity."

Recording an album, with student-penned songs, was always the original intent of the project.

Caption: Harry Tuft and students lend an ear

Canyon Courier

June 13, 1979 

(newspaper scan courtesy of Carl Heffner)

"The whole point with the students was, here's how you write a song, here's how you record it, and here's how you make an album," Dan McCrimmon added.

 Caption: Linda Smith, Chip Ottaway and Dina Woolums in harmony

Canyon Courier

June 13, 1979 

(newspaper scan courtesy of Carl Heffner)

The album was produced between January-June, 1979. Dan McCrimmon believes between only 100-150 of the albums were produced. They were pressed at a record plant, in Cheyenne, WY. Each album included three pages of typewritten liner notes.

The album opens with the folky "School Bus Blues," performed by Tebor Saw and Barb Flory.  "Them Cowboys," performed by Karan Pond, is a nice soft femme folk offering. The "New Mexico Suite" is a fantastic three-part cut (clocking in at almost 7-minutes long). "Going Home to Nowhere" which starts the suite, borders on loner psych folk, with heartfelt vocals by Jarrell Robinson. A violin instrumental follows-up, then "Santa Fe Day," closes out the cut, with vocals by Abbey Ruskey. "Reach Out" brings back Karan Pond on vocals, who shines on this simplistic folk song. Side one ends with "The Sane Asylum," a hodgepodge novelty folk and spoken word offering.

"Initially, the kids wanted to write rock and roll, but we had limited resources, and encouraged then that ballads were a better forum," said Dan McCrimmon. 

Side two starts off, again on the femme folk side, with the standout song "These Times," performed beautifully by Meredith Grenfell. Just lovely. "Fireflies and Flemish Dragons," is a very mellow, harmony-intensive female vocal song, performed by Chris Hubley.  Given all of the mellowness, the next cut, the harmonica country rap "Muffin Tin Blues" doesn't seem to belong, but singer Mark Holland offers a respite. "Alberto's Song" gets the album back on track with a gorgeous guitar instrumental, by Alberto Franco. "The Eclipse Song," performed by Trebor Saw is another standout performance. Just a guy and his guitar, but it is one of my favorites. Side two ends with the much-too-short song "An Aura of Love," performed by Dina Woolums.

"It was such wonderful fun to have the expertise of Dick Weissman and Harry Tuft," said Teresa McCrimmon. "To have these professionals sharing their expertise with teenagers was just wonderful to watch. To work at the Open School, to work with students with so much energy and guts, to put themselves out there, it was wonderful."

"The project was transformative," said Dan McCrimmon. "I got my teaching certification and taught there at the Jefferson County Open School, for 23 years."

Dan McCrimmon is still very active in the music industry, and is well-respected luthier (link to his website). 

Sharon Smith

Found this very obscure record during the "Great Colorado Record Hunt 2014, "last April.

In all of my years of collecting, can't say that I've run across any songs about twins, let alone one with a Colorado connection.

Folky femme vocals about the joys of monozygotic siblings, "Twinship." Vanity label (1980) with a Lakewood residential address.  Already looked it up - the singer has long since moved.  Flip side is another sweet and mellow folk offering, "Imagine Life to Be."

Sorry about the audio sample - it's really crunchy.

Dave Brandl

Side One: 

All I Want to Say
While We'reHere
Stargazing
Keepin' Up
I Listened

Side Two:
Love at First Meeting
Los Coruna Bay
While We're Here (Reprise)
Dawn
Dedication

Dave Brandl interviewed March 2012.

Been meaning to get to this one for several months, but got backlogged with other posts.

First heard of Dave Brandl's All I Want To Say (Bear Mountain VAR020 -1977) album when I was noting all of the Colorado records listed in Acid Archives. Then, I begin to see this 1977 LP pop up on auction sites, going for a nice chunk of change.

So I decided to track down Dave Brandl.

Where did you go to school?

Alameda High School [where he was voted "Most Musical Male"]. I graduated in 1975. I went to Adams State for a year.

So what did you plan to do after you left college?

I was originally thinking that I would study music education, but to be honest, I just wanted to play music.

How did the LP come about?

I had worked with some friends and got a Teac 4-track recorder and over dubbed the tracks. I brought in a bassoon and a female vocalist. Put it together and got in touch with Steve Raydon, who helped me produce it.

Why Bear Mountain?

I picked Bear Mountain because I was going through the Yellow Pages and doing some pricing and he said he could make my record for $1.60 a piece, for a 1000 copies.

Where was it recorded?

Steve worked out of his garage. I think my LP was the only record the label ever did.

How was it sold?

I would take some over Colorado State University, and college friends at the time they would buy them. I also got a few in the local Peaches record stores, but it was mostly word of mouth.

Did it get any airplay?

Some country stations played it. I went back to Adams State and they put it on the play list college station.

Tell me about the cover art.

It's a representation of the different songs on the album. It was done by Joe Chirichigno. We were friends in high school, and played in some bands together. He is doing graphic design now in Florida.

The back pictures on the album shows you performing.

I'd play at Little Bear Mountain bars and a few solo shows, here and there. In the summers I would perform in Jackson Hole at the Jackson Lodge.


Was there ever talk of a follow-up recording?

Yeah, I actually had two other albums planned. The second one was going to be called Things I Didn't Think of the First Time, and the third one was going to be called You Thought I Was Finished, Didn't You?

So what happened?

Mostly a slap in the face of reality – it didn’t take off. I got some radio play and sold a few records, and played in a band with Steve Raydon, called Mirror and we played some shows at Herman’s Hideaway and The Pearl Street Music Hall.

What happened with Mirror?

We were together about five or six years. We never released anything, although we did meet with A&M, and met Herb Alpert and the Commodores, and moved out to California.

It was a period of time where I was shocked into reality of what it took to be a musician. My wife and I after did some USOs shows when we moved to California. The first The Frankie Lee Band, and we played at the Hollywood USO Club, and up and down the West Coast. Bob Hope actually opened for us. We were supposed to be the opening act for him, but it was his birthday and they wanted to get him on and off early.

What have you been doing now?

I'm in the computer world - programming and training. I play in our church choir in Denver.

What do you think about the collectibility of your album?

I find it amazing, actually. I think it’s more because it’s a collectible, not because of the content. I mean, it's often described as psych folk. I probably would now agree with that description, and I guess that's what people collect, now.

I get contacted by about one or two people a year, who want to buy my album. Records by Mail, and a collector out of Seattle always call to see if I have any... I only have about 30 copies left.

Creighton Jazz Ensemble

Side One:
Spotlighter
Windsong
Getting Straight
Can't Take My Eyes Off of You
The Stripper
Close to You
Totem Pole
Spelunker's Folly

Side Two:
Black Magic Woman
The Swizzler
Suburban Soul
The Way You Look Tonight
Funky Turtle
Mantilla Lace
Easy Mover

Received this album from Dave Ray, owner of Beat Pharm, the uber-cool record store, located on Union Avenue, by the library, in Pueblo. Could spend all day in there.

Dated 1972, and under the direction of R.L. Bollig, the 32 member Creighton Jr. High Jazz Ensemble of Lakewood (saxophone, flute, trumpet, trombone, piano, bass, and drums) sounds more like a junior high assembly stage band, than an actual jazz group, but I won't judge the kids too harshly.

I usually don't go for school band things, but this one intrigued me, if only for the fact that the kiddos do an spirited version of "Black Magic Woman."

The album appears on the IM record label of Denver (IM-10641-1972). A quick search of the address finds that it's now home to an insurance company.

1863 S. Pearl - former home of IM Records

By the way...I grew up attending what was then called junior high school, so I'm not sure when they became "middle schools," or when they decided to go up to ninth grade in some parts of the country. Back in my day, ninth grade was high school, but I digress.