Billed as a "rock-and-roll personality," Merrilee was advertised as part of the "outstanding live entertainment" included in an event with Abigail "Dear Abby" Van Buren at Seattle's grand Orpheum Theatre on May 19 ("Dear Seattle. Already by May 1961, she was gaining a bit of a citywide reputation. But that gig didn't last long, as the Aztecs split up in a disagreement over giving too much of the spotlight to Merrilee. Auditioning with the Aztecs, she nailed it and was hired - placing her in the vanguard of young local female rock singers alongside Gail Harris (with the Wailers) and Nancy Claire (with the Versatones and Frantics).
And as a teenager she'd been inspired by the rockin' R&B music she was witnessing at dances featuring the region's earliest white rock 'n' roll groups, the Frantics, Little Bill and the Bluenotes, and the Wailers. Merrilee had been singing all her life and she would become known for a voice that was by turns earthy, husky, and sultry. As events unfolded, the young bandleader was more impressed by Merrilee and he asked if, in addition to playing piano, she could sing. That band was the Amazing Aztecs, led by 18-year-old saxophonist and budding music-biz entrepreneur Neil Rush. Then, while a 16-year-old student at Shoreline High School, she agreed to accompany Vrooman to a band audition in Renton. By age 13 she was volunteering as a performer in various United Service Organizations (USO) programs entertaining military troops along with a girlfriend named Lynn Vrooman. Merrilee attended Lake Forest Park Elementary and began taking piano lessons, then started at Morgan Junior High. Reuben was a home-builder and the family - eventually including Merrilee's younger siblings Cheryl, Marsha, Laura, and Clayton - moved at least a few times into new houses he had built. But then in 1968, after scoring her first of several international radio hits, "Angel of the Morning," she was no longer Seattle's private treasure and the years of major-label record deals, television appearances, and concert touring began.īorn Merrilee Gunst to Reuben and Edith Gunst in Seattle on January 26, 1944, Rush grew up in the the city's north end. Her trademark low voice and comely looks and an exciting stage presence helped her lead a string of teen combos - notably the Statics and the Turnabouts - to regional fame. Major jazz artists Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Diana Krall and others have recorded this song countless times, in addition to Benny Goodman’s 1926 landmark debut recording of it.Merrilee Rush was among the most popular homegrown singing stars that the Northwest rock 'n' roll teen scene produced during the mid 1960s. “'Deed I Do” from 1926 features Rebecca Kilgore with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band. One can hear the influence of several pre-war trombone jazz styles in Dan’s playing here, especially that of the great Vic Dickenson.
Dan Barrett sits in with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band on this number. “If I Could Be With You One Hour Tonight” from 1926 scored a major hit for James P. Affectionately known as ‘Fast Eddie’ by fans and friends, Erickson notes his guitar heroes include, Joe Pass, George Van Eps and Howard Alden. Eddie makes his home in the Monterey Peninsula in northern California and is a frequent guest at jazz concerts and parties there and around the country. Guitarist and vocalist Eddie Erickson, in addition to being a fine jazz guitarist, is a well-recognized master of the plectrum banjo and he performs at banjo conventions and shows nationwide when not playing jazz guitar on the road with The Rebecca Kilgore Quartet. He’s performed and recorded with many greats of jazz including Buck Clayton, Rosemary Clooney and Swing Era pianist Joe Bushkin.Įddie Erickson. Trombonist and bandleader Dan Barrett was born in Pasadena and migrated to New York City just in time to be invited into the final incarnation of the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Kilgore has over 40 recordings in her discography, many on the Arbors label. She is known in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives, for her longtime collaborations with songwriter and pianist Dave Frishberg. She is a frequent guest on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross, has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion and with Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall. Vocalist Rebecca Kilgore is one of America’s leading song stylists, and she finds particular delight in preserving and interpreting music of the Great American Songbook. came about when the three principals, who had never before performed together, were hired for the same gig. Trombonist Dan Barrett explains how the genesis of the ensemble B.E.D.
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