The "What Ever Happened to Good 'Ole Rock & Roll? Story

It was an ordinary day. Listening to my favorite CDs in the car and wondered what ever happened to some of my old 45s that I had collected when I was a teenager. Then I remembered that I sold them to a friend, Ken L. years ago. He had an extensive collection and when he looked at my collection, he had to have it. I worked for a few years while in high school at Grant's Department Store at the Lancaster Shopping Center where I was in charge of the sports department and the record department. I know they don't relate to each other, but they were next to each other in the store so that made it easier for the manager to assign them both to me. I was 16 at the time. And, I got 45s for a great price. Spent much of my salary on records during those few years. I had many favorite artists, but the one group that I can remember the most was the "Jaguars". From rock and roll to classical to doo wop, the "Jaguars", one of America's first interracial rock vocal groups (black, white and Hispanic), were a versatile Los Angeles Quartet. The Freemont High School foursome included Herman "Sonny" Chaney, lead, Valeric "Val" Poliuto, tenor, Manuel "Manny" Chavez, baritone, and Charles Middleton, bass. Freemont High was a harmony haven for mid-'50s groups. The "Jaguars" first called themselves the "Miracles". In 1955, big-band trumpeter turned would-be record exec Bob Ross formed Aardell Records at the office of his sheet music service. He signed up the "Miracles" and had them back his daughter Patti on a song written by his partner Buddy Ebsen (the actor on the "Davy Crockett" series and later star of TV's "Barnaby Jones"). Val was the heart and soul of the group and in 1956 they released "The way you look tonight" which became their all-time best seller. Now, if you're a real rock 'n roll fan, you have to remember that song. One day at Grant's I was listening to one of the new releases that had just come in and I recognized the voices on the 45. The group was called the T-Birds and the song was "Green Stamps". I could have sworn that it was the Jaguars. And ..... I was right. They had changed their name and record label andreleased the song I was listening to at the store. Eventually, Uncle Sam caused the group to disperse. Val stayed in the business recording with the Nuggets (RCA) and playing piano on countless other records. In February 1962 when The Beach Boys recorded a session that included "Surfin', Surfin' Safari" and "Little Surfin Girl," the performers were actually Brian and Dennis Wilson and Val Poliuto. How about that!! Well, when Ken L. heard my collection and found out I had "Green Stamps", he just had to have the whole collection. And, I reluctantly sold it to him. Sometimes you make bad decisions in life. That was one of mine. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - photo at the top is the Jaguars when they first started while the one at the bottom was a later photo of them. The following is a link to "Green Stamps". Click on entry #6 - Green Stamps - T-Birds to hear the song. S&h Green Stamps