Johnny and the Hurricanes

Johnny and the Hurricanes began as The Orbits in Toledo, Ohio in 1957. Led by saxophonist Johnny Paris (born John Pocisk, 1940, Walbridge, Ohio - died 1 May 2006, Ann Arbor, Michigan), they were school friends who played on a few recordings behind Mack Vickery, a local rockabilly singer.

They signed with Harry Balk and Irving Micahnik of Twirl Records, which led to national engagements in 1959. Johnny and the Hurricanes recorded "Crossfire" in a vacant cinema to provide echo. That became a nationwide U.S. hit, and ranked No. 23 in the U.S. chart in the summer of 1959.

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Johnny and the Hurricanes followed with an instrumental version of "Red River Valley" on Warwick Records, that became a Top Ten hit on both sides of the Atlantic (No. 5 in the U.S., No. 3 in the UK), and sold over a million copies. The musicians in the band then were Paris on saxophone, Paul Tesluk on hammond organ, Dave Yorko on (guitar), Butch Mattice on bass), and Bill "Little Bo" Savich on drums.

Many recordings were cover versions of old tunes with a rock and roll beat. They may have chosen to play these pieces to avoid royalty payments. Tunes were credited to 'King, Mack' and sometimes one other name. In 1960, they recorded the United States Army bugle call, "Reveille", as "Reveille Rock" (No. 25 in the U.S.), and turned "Blue Tail Fly" into "Beatnik Fly" (No. 15 in the U.S.). Both tunes made the Top 40. The band also recoded "Down Yonder" for Big Top Records. Still in 1960, they recorded "When The Saints Go Marching In" as "Revival", but it ranked in the charts for just one week, and peaked at No. 97. The track fared better in the UK as the B-side of "Rocking Goose", which reached No. 3 in the U.K. chart.

The band developed a following in Europe. In 1962, they played a show at the Star-Club in Hamburg, where a little known British group, The Beatles, served as an opening act. Johnny and the Hurricanes cut records until 1965, when Paris quit playing music to sell antiques and vending machines in Toledo.

When Parish quit, he was the last original band member. The band toured Europe occasionally until 2006, shortly before Paris died. Paris claimed that over 300 musicians played in the band in its fifty years existence.

The band inspired the song "Johnny and the Hurricanes" on the album "How I Learned to Love the Bootboys", by the band The Auteurs.

References

* [http://www.johnnyandthehurricanes.com/ Johnny and the Hurricanes Official Website]
* [http://www.history-of-rock.com/johnny_and_the_hurricanes.htm History of Rock:- Johnny and the Hurricanes]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article362343.ece "The Independent Online" "Johnny Paris obituary"]