We also petitioned the school to see if we could play our records over the PA system at school. They went for it and that’s what we did at lunch, eventually. Another student’s mother worked at an Owen Sound radio station and we had our own radio show for awhile. We were playing Jethro Tull, the Led Zeppelin LP, The Rolling Stones, The Who. That was great fun and we were on about 1:00 a.m. or 2:00 a.m. The program folded because we couldn’t get any funding but we did get people to hear the music that was inspiring us so much and that was satisfying. Although it didn’t last all that long, it was a good experience for us.
REDDON: What bands influenced you the most overall?
HEWITT:
I would have to say The Yardbirds were a big influence for me personally, as well as for our band, The Rembrandts. So were Led Zeppelin and the Led Zeppelin LP…we played songs off Led Zeppelin after it came out and we, and everybody else, were crazy about their material. We learned songs off Led Zeppelin, note for note and off The Yardbirds’ records. What a great way to learn, as well as enjoy the music from them and what we were trying to do with it.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience was extremely influential, too. They were the first three-piece band to come to my mind, that was completely “filled”. By that, I mean sound-wise. You would expect there to be musical holes because there’s only a guitar, bass and drums. Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell (drummer) and Noel Redding (bass) were so proficient at what they did and contributed, there were no musical holes to be filled, which is quite an accomplishment. Their sound was so full as a three-piece. When our band, The Rembrandts, changed from five to four pieces (guitar, bass, drums and vocals), we changed our name to The Straw. By the way, Bob, who played rhythm guitar in The Rembrandts, now plays keyboard for Shania Twin, a tribute act to Shania Twain.
Of course, when Led Zeppelin hit the scene, I remember thinking how “full” the Led Zeppelin record sounded, for a four-piece group. It was a fantastic album and is still popular today for good reason.
REDDON:
Wow, thanks so much for all of your invaluable insights and recollections, Ray. I’ve really enjoyed hearing about them and they’ve been extremely educational.
HEWITT:
Not at all, it was so much fun doing all of that back then, I hope it helps your work. Good luck with your book and I’d like to see it when you’re all finished. It sounds fascinating.
REDDON:
The material I’ve collected from people like you who actually lived it have made this an unbelievably fun journey in compiling the interviews. I’ll definitely keep you informed on the progress.
HEWITT: Great! I’ll look forward to it!
ANONYMOUS EILEEN
GROWS UP ON LED ZEPPELIN AT THE HEIGHT OF THE HAIGHT
Eileen was a fourteen year old teenager in San Francisco when the Led Zeppelin LP was released. She shares this cherished memory about what Led Zeppelin and its music meant to her then but wishes to remain anonymous.
EILEEN:
My greatest memories as a fourteen year old girl were listening to Dazed and Confused on the Led Zeppelin LP over and over again, after smoking a little weed with my best friend. It seemed like a rite of passage kind of thing. We just loved that song! Teenage angst, I guess. I then got ’way into Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. I really loved Zeppelin’s songs because of all the references to those books.
I used to hang out on Haight St. a lot. Just in their appearance alone, Zeppelin reminded me of all the cool people in the Haight. Contrary to popular belief, the locals did not wear tie dye but instead wore lots of velvet bell-bottoms and vintage clothes more like Led Zeppelin did. Their music was very sexy, too - the beautiful guitar work and amazing drumming and then Plant’s vocals. It was just over the top drama. Lots of fun for a teenage girl growing up in a bohemian culture.
As far as “real intense, in your face” experiences, my first one was at The Family Dog at the beach. I had the pleasure of standing right at Marc Boland’s feet during the first show that T Rex did in San Francisco. That was the first time I was really blown away! I was thirteen years old then and had been able to literally stand at his shoes while he sang all of his amazing songs. He had a big velvet blazer and that guitar. In my young years, he was a heart-stopper. I believe that look has influenced me even to this day.
All those British boys were so amazing. I loved The Yardbirds, too. The American band that influenced me then was Love and I still really dig the music they made. They are timeless.
JERRY RITZ:
LED ZEPPELIN’S FIRST-EVER TOUR MANAGER
Jimmy Page playing White Summer in early 1969.
Courtesy: Howard Mylett Collection, used with permission. Enzepplopedia Publishing, Inc
In August of 2007, my sister and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting the Ritzes, thanks to an introduction by Jørgen Angel. Jerry, Annie and their son, Oliver were in Canada visiting relatives. They very graciously made a side trip to Fort Erie to speak with us, en route to Niagara Falls. It was an evening Lou Anne and I will never forget! Jerry and Annie regaled us with their firsthand accounts of that first-ever gig of Led Zeppelin’s. Oliver proved to be a Rolling Stones fan, but still had some positive comments about the band for whom his father had managed its first-ever tour, of Scandinavia as The New Yardbirds in 1968/69.
REDDON:
Hi, Jerry. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Annie and Oliver. I’m forever grateful to Jørgen Angel for making it possible! To get things rolling, it would be great if you could give me an overview of how you got started in the music business, how your career unfolded and tell me about some of the bands whose tours you managed. Please take it away!
RITZ:
I’ve always loved music. I especially liked The Who and The Yardbirds. My mate, Jan Bonfils, and I went to London in the summer of ’65 to meet with Jane Relf (lead singer Keith Relf's sister) who worked for their first manager, Giorgio Gomelsky. Jane ran The Yardbirds Fan Club worldwide. As you know, they were at the forefront of the Limey Blues Boom of the mid-’60s, paving the way for later acts like Cream, The Who and Led Zeppelin. More importantly, three faces on classic rock’s Mt. Rushmore of Guitar Heroes – Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page – passed through The Yardbirds’ nest. So before I joined the music business professionally, while still in school, Jan and I ran The Yardbirds Official Fan Club of Scandinavia.
In 1965, I contacted The Who’s management and offered to do a programme for them. They said I could, so my friend and I did up the programme.
My parents were very frightened when I dropped out of business school at the age of 17 to go on the road with The Who. You know, sex and drugs and rock’n’roll! But I kept my distance from the performers in those early days. I had a professional relationship with all the bands. I still had a lot of fun but I never saw them as rock stars, just good mates. I wanted them to respect me and never to think of me as a fan. I think that’s why I didn’t collect anything or even have my picture taken with the bands!
I was born in 1948, so I was about the same age or even younger than many of these musicians. As a result, I took my job very seriously because