Oldies but goodies: Looking back on Lansing-made 45s

Given that it’s the Senior Issue, this week’s column is devoted to looking back on the city’s musical past. While bands like the Ones and Plain Brown Wrapper had a massive following in Lansing and beyond in the ’60s and ’70s, other bands were a just flash in the rock ‘n’ roll pan — but they still left behind remarkable records. Here are just a few old singles that will transport you back to the days of mop tops and bell bottoms. 

The Ones: “You Haven’t Seen My Love” (1967)

The Ones was perhaps Lansing’s first breakout band. The group signed to Motown Records in 1967, thanks to its entrancingly dynamic single “You Haven’t Seen My Love.” This moody ballad, sonically driven by the haunting keys of band member Kerry Nicholoff, was the first Motown single that wasn’t recorded in-house at the now-legendary Detroit studio. Instead, it was cut by producer Bob Baldori of the Woolies at Fenton Records, a movie theater turned recording studio in Sparta. While initially released on Baldori’s Spirit Records, after Berry Gordy heard the stunningly soulful lead vocals of Danny Hernandez, he picked it up and reissued it on his massive imprint. Soon, it was a regional hit.

The Beaux Jens: “She Was Mine” (1967)

Before the Beaux Jens disbanded in the summer of ’68, the primal Grand Ledge outfit recorded a sullen yet explosive garage classic, “She Was Mine.” The record was released on the Sound of the Sceen label, though it was more of a “vanity label.” The Sceen was a teen club the band performed at, often to hundreds of dancing high schoolers. The sporadic, sharp screams and haunting organ has made this single a favorite among rare ’60s music collectors. The track was even featured on Crypt Records’ highly influential “Back from the Grave” compilation. Of course, today, the original 45 sells for hundreds of dollars. Also, the Beaux Jens’ bassist, Gordy Garris, went on to join the Frost, a legendary Michigan rock band.

A few years ago, I spoke with Toby Bates, the Beaux Jens’ organ and coronet player. He recalled the band’s humble genesis.

“We didn’t know shit,” he said. “Tim Schram was the musical leader because he actually knew chords. At the beginning of the band, we were still learning how to play. We were only 15 or 16 at the time.”

Plain Brown Wrapper: “Real Person” (1968)

From the ashes of two bands — the Plagues (Lansing) and Zookie & the Potentates (Flint) — Plain Brown Wrapper rose to the top of Lansing’s rock scene alongside fellow local bands Universal Family, aka Universe, and Ormandy.

From Plain Brown Wrapper’s 1966 debut on the This Is Music vanity label, “You’ll Pay” is the earliest blueprint of the band’s budding progressive rock sound — a sound ultimately laced with proto-jam-band improvs. By 1968, the band hit its stride with the track “Real Person.” Released via Monster Records, this 45 is a funky and faultless summertime jam.

For seven years, Plain Brown Wrapper toured Michigan in its 48-passenger bus, sometimes gigging as far west as Colorado and sharing stages with Ted Nugent, Bob Seger and Alice Cooper. From the Lake Lansing Bandshell to the legendary Grande Ballroom in Detroit, these cats kept busy producing supreme, long-gone Lansing sounds.