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Echoing Back: A retrospective look at Don Lee’s recording studio

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Luckily for local bands, the Lansing area has long been stacked with plenty of recording studio options. Today, there’s GBP Studios, Troubador, Crack House, Platinum Keyz and Elm Street Recording, to only name a few.

However, back at the onset of rock ‘n’ roll and pop music, options were limited. One of the earliest known professional studios was the now-legendary Don Lee Studios. Led by musician/engineer Don Lee Bloomquist, the company had a few locations over the years — first at his home (130 Eureka St., Lansing), and then at 1328 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing. In its time, countless area bands passed through its doors. Aside from The Plagues and The Ferraris, Lansing’s first known rock ‘n’ roll record was produced there in 1959: The Blue Echoes’ “Debbie”/“It’s Witchcraft” single.

Born in Lansing on Dec. 11, 1930, the late Bloomquist started his venture into music when he was just 8 years old after his father gave him an accordion and insisted on him taking lessons. Coincidentally, that same year, young Bloomquist received a toy electric train as a gift.  “I ran it all over the house,” Bloomquist said in a 1958 LSJ interview. “I took it apart to see what made it go. I wanted to ‘make something go’ … That’s when I began to get interested in electronics — though I never heard the word.”

From there, Bloomquist went full-tilt boogie into not only performing, but the exploration and science of sound. “My sister, Mickey, and I had an act,” he said in a 1975 interview. “She danced and played the violin. We appeared many times in public. When I was 14, I began teaching accordion students. When I was 18, I had my own music studio.”

While becoming a local fixture in Mid-Michigan’s music scene as an engineer, Bloomquist pursued not only his audiophile work at his studio, but also recording and performing. He spent time gigging with country musician Bill Sova, but all the while he was composing his own material.

In 1957, he scored a big regional hit with “ECHO, Echo, echo,” an instrumental single on Blue-Chip Records. The tripped-out accordion melody sold over 600,000 copies across the country. On the strength of that single, the following year he issued a full-length LP, “Crazy Rhythms.” The jazzy-pop accordion album was released and distributed by Jubilee Records, an imprint launched by Atlantic Records cofounder Herb Abramson best known for pressing up doo-wop hits.

However, years later Bloomquist admitted he regretted not capitalizing more on the buzz his album earned after its initial release. “I should have taken advantage of some record company offers then, but I didn’t,” he said. Instead, Lee accepted a full-time job at WJIM and played in The Country House Trio with Earl Parchman, which did five television appearances each week. Throughout the ’60s, he also consistently performed alongside Home “Lee” Talboys and Clayton “Peg Leg” Bates. The group, who performed as a house band for the Harlem Globetrotters, gigged at more than 600 games in 49 states.  Though, by the late-’60s, his techy side took over when he accepted a full-time job at IBM. From there, music became a hobby, not a career path.

Of course, many locals who came of age in the ’50s and ’60s recall Bloomquist most as a musical instructor. The “Don Lee Accordion Course,” a 15-week program held at his studio, still pops up on Lansing history-focused Facebook groups. For many, it’s a fond memory from Lansing’s musical past. Beyond that, the stack of 45 rpm singles cut at his studio also serve as an auditory time capsule of our city’s earliest foray into pop music.

On July 21, 2015, Don Lee Bloomquist passed away in Hendersonville, Tennessee. However, if you type “Don Lee Bloomquist” into YouTube, you’ll easily find multiple (amazing) video performances of him playing his accordion not long before his death at age 84. It’s inspiring to see how the love of music never fades.

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