THE APEX BAR, OAKLAND AT SMITH, DETROIT...

John Lee Hooker came to work in Detroit in the 1940s and THE APEX was his  favorite "after work drinking spots"--The bartender there called the young John Lee "Boom Boom"

In 1957, on The Fourth of July, John Lee Hooker played the first night of four at his old watering hole...

Check it out on Tropical Jon... 

tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2012/07/on-july-4-1957-

john-lee-hooker-played.html

 Ann Arbor's Al Hill has been Bettye Lavette's musical director for ten years now. He also has a GREAT single out (Willie Mae). Check him out doing his tribute to The Motor City...   https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=283047045104029



(June 14, 1936 – July 1, 2005)

"Obie" Benson (real first name Renaldo) was born in The Motor City on June 14, 1936 and, along with his high school buddies Levi Stubbs,  Abdul (Duke) Fakir, and Lawrence Payton was a founding (and Lifetime) member of the group which became the legendary Motown act, THE FOUR TOPS...Read more about this Motown native on TropicalJon.com

http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=3497787434044545029&postID=5404325177773863013

With Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" riding high on the Billboard R&B chart,

Bill Haley And His Comets enter Decca Records' New York studio to record the same number…

READ MORE ON: http://tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2012/06/june-7-1954-detroits-bill-haley-along.html

REMEMBER MARTHA JEAN? CHECK HER OUT ON-----> http://tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2011/10/evolution-of-rock-n-roll-martha-jean.html

MAY 25, 1968: MC5 AND THE STOOGES, along with "Label Mates" The Paul Butterfield Blues Band tear up THE GRANDE BALLROOM. 

Check it out on Tropical Jon... http://tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-25-1968-paul-butterfield-iggy.html

HEY--Our folks really weren't that square, afterall... May 13 ~ 24, 1942: Louis Prima TORE UP the Jefferson Beach Park Ballroom in The Motor City’s close suburb of St. Clair Shores, MI

http://tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2012/05/tropical-jons-evolution-of-rock-n-roll_23.html

May 11, 1959:

Dave "Baby" Cortez, a product of Detroit's Northwestern High School, reached the top spot on the Billboard chart with "The Happy Organ"….But that's just part of his story. Check it out on Tropical Jon's Evolution of Rock 'n Roll...

http://tropicaljon.blogspot.com/2012/05/may-11-1959-detroits-dave-baby-cortez.html