The presence of Kay Bank recording studio, the Soma record label, Top 40 radio stations KDWB and WDGY, and dozens of teen dance clubs and ballrooms led to an explosion of rock ‘n’ roll in Minnesota in the early 1960s. These elements allowed bands like the Trashmen, the Castaways, the Gestures, the Underbeats, Gregory Dee and the Avanties and the Accents to become wildly popular, make a lot of money and, in some cases, land hits on the national pop charts.By the time Bob Dylan was achieving fame in New York and the Beatles were conquering U.S. shores, Minnesota bands had already established huge local followings, and more were forming by the day – as many as 500 by 1965. Tighter radio station playlists, changing musical tastes and a decline in teen dances eventually cooled the Minnesota rock scene, but the songs and the bands from that era will never be forgotten.

 

Rick Shefchik spent 26 years at the St. Paul Pioneer Press as a reporter and columnist and sportswriter. He left the Pioneer Press in December 2006 to become a novelist and freelance journalist. He is the author of four novels, two works of non-fiction and three golf club histories. He lives in Stillwater.