Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Denny McLain - Tiger Stadium Organ Pitch


Denny McLain - Tiger Stadium Organ Pitch

 


Many Detroiters remember Tiger Denny Mclain, the star pitcher of the 1968 World Series. Denny was a Cy Young Award winner and an American league MVP whose career spanned 10 years with four major-league teams. Denny’s illustrious sports career occurred in tandem with his accomplishments as a musician. This dichotomy makes for a very interesting life story that extends to the instruments he played. Ultimately, his life was marred by uncontrolled impulses, bad decisions and associations with organized crime. He was out of the majors after ten years and would periodically run afoul of the law. Eventually even doing time in prison for embezzlement.

McLain - Pitcher/Organist

McLain was born in Markham Illinois, a southern suburb of Chicago on March 29,1944. South side Irish, he came from a family of large, tough, pale policeman. There was music in the Mclain home however, his father was an organ teacher. When Dennis was nine his dad bet him five dollars he couldn’t stick with lessons for six weeks. Dennis won that bet and got the bug. Despite coming of age in the ‘60’s in a part of Chicago that birthed some of the most exciting sounds and music artists on the planet, Mclain stuck to the safe standard songs of his father’s generation. The kind of self-accompanied middle of the road organ material you might hear in a Holiday Inn lounge or elevator.

By his teens Denny was displaying significant musical talent on the organ concurrent with his exceptional baseball skills as a pitcher. After graduating from Mt. Carmel High School in 1962 he was good enough to get signed as an amateur free-agent by the White Sox. As an organist he had already started to play professional gigs in and around Chicagoland.

The Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers brought Denny up through their minor league system and he would debut in the majors at age 19 on September 21, 1963. 

As his star ascended during his first four years with the Tigers, McClain pursued a number of interests and side hustles. He got his private pilot’s license, signed lucrative product endorsement deals and played road gigs during the baseball season and off.

He would pitch a game in St. Paul, fly to Chicago, play an Organ gig then wing it home to Detroit for another game.

Nehru jacket for a lounge date

Mclain notably used his baseball accomplishments to secure endorsements with Pepsi and the Hammond Organ Co. also of Chicago Illinois. Denny structured the latter deal to make sure that there was a Hammond Organ delivered to any show he booked from New York to Vegas. All he had to do was show up and play. Hammond also had him lead organ “clinics” at their dealers, his star power on the mound would draw the curious in and the sales staff would sign up these Baseball fans with lessons and low monthly payments. Soon endorsements were making him six figures a year, eclipsing his pitcher’s salary. His last year with the Tigers, Mclain maxed out with a $90,000 salary contract for that 1970 season ($658k in 2022 dollars) 

Sadly, for Denny, old Tiger Stadium in Detroit did not have an Organ for music during stretches and inning breaks. In fact, it was the only club in the American League without one. Mclain did not have an opportunity to blend his two talents at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull… until opening day 1966.

1966 The Hammond Organ Co. comes to Michigan and Trumbull

By early 1966 the Tigers star hurler griped about the lack of an organ at Tiger Stadium enough that an instrument was installed. Likely made possible by McLain’s connections, a Hammond Model B3 of the type favored by blues, jazz and rock artists was installed in the press box. The first organist to take a turn on the instrument was Bill Fox from the Iroquois Avenue Christ Lutheran Church. Fox would hold the Hammond seat at the Stadium until his retirement in 1972. Free Press photos document Bill and the organ and what appears to be a Hammond brand speaker cabinet. Conspicuously absent is a Leslie rotating speaker of the kind featured by many pro performing and recording acts. Considering the acrimonious and contentious relationship between the Hammond and Leslie Corporations, it may have been a condition of Hammond to insist only their products appear in this particular product placement. NO LESLIES ALLOWED! This organ was then likely hard wired into the stadium P.A. system or a microphone may have placed on the Hammond brand monitoring speaker. Of course, Mclain could now sit in regularly and play to the cheers of his ball fans.


Hammond B-3 Model Organ


Bill Fox at the Tiger Stadium Hammond B-3 - Detroit Free Press

1968 "The Year of the Pitcher"

1968 was a tumultuous year all over America and in Detroit and St. Louis the pitchers’ mounds were on fire. That year both Denny and Cardinal Bob Gibson won their respective league’s MVP and Cy Young Awards. Time magazine’s September 13,1968 cover entitled, “The Year of the Pitcher” featured Mclain’s portrait. The very next day, September 14th the Tigers' star hurler became the first major leaguer to log 30 wins since Dizzy Dean accomplished the feat in 1934. No one has accomplished the feat since.


So devastating were these pitching talents to statistics, Major League Baseball had to change their rules to minimize the wunderkinds’ advantages. For the 1969 season the mound was dropped five inches to ten and the strike zone also shrank in size.

Capitol Records                        

On September 16,1968 two days after his 30-win accomplishment, Denny’s music hustle achieved a milestone when Capitol records released his LP, “Denny Mclain at the Organ” - ST2881 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXYSCBC-eg4&t=374s ). These were the days before accountants took over the music business and artist and repertoire (AR) men were free to “roll the dice” with any artist. It is likely though that Capitol hoped Mclain’s baseball star power would be enough to sell a few units and reduce or eliminate the promotion budget. Also, Denny was easy and cheap to record, his Vegas lounge filtered spin on "today's hits" certainly wouldn’t mean any production or creative headaches.

History shows this was probably a common two-record contract with Capitol, home to Frank Sinatra and the U.S. imprint for the Beatles. Interestingly, the Mclain LP was produced by a guy named Dave Dexter Junior. Dexter had formerly produced Capitol legends like Count Basie, Peggy Lee, Duke Ellington, and Frank Sinatra. Infamously, Dave was also the guy in charge of repackaging EMI’s titles for American release, including those of the Fab Four. Apparently, Dave mucked up the re-mastering of some of those LPs so much that it caused (at least partly) his demotion at Capitol. By 1968 he found himself producing instrumental vanity records for sports stars.


Louis Armstrong w/ Dave Dexter Junior 


Mclain and his Quartet at Tera Shirma Studios


Mclain and the Hammond X-77 at Tera Shirma Studios

The album was recorded at Ralph Terrana’s Tera Shirma studios at 15341 Livernois in Detroit. Terrana was a former Motown engineer and a member of the Sunliners. The Sunliners became Rare Earth and Motown developed a new imprint, also called Rare Earth to market their white rock acts. Terrana opened Tera Shirma which became famous for recording such acts as Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul, Funkadelic, The MC5, Frijid Pink and Rodriguez. In addition to a photo of Denny with the new Hammond X-77, the liner notes on his debut LP are full of obligatory Hammond propaganda, part of his endorsement contract.

“Denny Mclain at the Organ” sold on the strength of its novelty to mostly older Americans in a year when the Doors and Cream were topping the charts. In short, it was “Squaresville”… music for elevators. In the end it became an indulgence with no hits that is today collected by baseball fanatics.

 


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXYSCBC-eg4&t=374s

Tracks:

SIDE A:

DON'T GIVE UP 1:52

LONELY IS THE NAME 2:17

FOR ME 2:20

THE LOOK OF LOVE 1:57

HURDY GURDY MAN 1:53

EXTRA INNINGS 2:44

SIDE B:

THIS GUY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU 2:39

NICE 'N' EASY 2:21

CHERISH 2:20

BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX 2:15

WATCH WHAT HAPPENS 1:59

ON A CLEAR DAY 1:52

 

As busy as 1968 was for him, it had been reported that Denny maintained a calendar of 42 kids coming to his home in Livonia, Michigan for organ lessons. At the time Mclain was charging the stiff “baseball star rate” of $3.50 / hour ($28 in 2022).

The X-77

The Hammond Organ Company made sure to leverage their endorsement contract with Denny to the hilt. In addition to supplying instruments for road gigs, they were certain he debuted and was photographed with their latest models. One in particular, new for June 1968, was the X-77. Seemingly named for a space plane, this new tone wheel beast featured brushed aluminum legs and an extra tone generator for more harmonic frequencies. For the first time, Laurens Hammond agreed to partner with his former nemesis Don Leslie and offered a matching speaker cabinet with rotating Leslie technology - the 77L. It was not necessarily a working man’s organ but this “space age” offering had a lot of profit built-in.

The Hammond X-77












Hammond X-77 Demo


Tigers Win World Series

The Tigers clinched the World Series on October10,1968 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Although McLain contributed significantly to the regular season, the pitching star of game seven would be series MVP Mickey Lolich. Three days later, Denny flew to New York for an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

At the Ed Sullivan theater The Denny McLain Quartet would find themselves far down the bill as the top performers on the show were the Beach Boys (Debuting “Good Vibrations”), Pearl Bailey and Richard Pryor. Micky Lolich was in attendance and stood for an on camera “Audience bow”. Records indicate the group performed “Girl from Ipanema”, the recording of which still survives. If you look closely, you can see Denny’s world series ring pretentiously displayed. Mclain appears accomplished and confident and is technically good enough to be “kickin’ pedals” on the Hammond X-77.

Song #1 Girl from Ipanema – The Denny Mclain Quartet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibehUqFlJ_0

For the second unnamed instrumental, Mclain brought out his pitching nemesis Cardinal Bob Gibson. Strangely in the clip that still exists, Bob is totally inaudible playing a cheap knock off Gibson! One can speculate this could have been the result of sabotage or that he was so bad he was dropped from the mix in the audio that was broadcast.

Song #2 Un-named - The Denny Mclain Quartet w/ Bob Gibson from the Cardinals on Guitar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRjcZOC-4fE

 

Post ‘68

1969 - The Vegas Strip

Mclain’s 1969 Contract permitted him to play the Tiger Stadium Hammond Organ when not starting and during the 7th inning stretch only when starting. This year Denny also fulfilled his two album Capitol contract on the road by recording a live album Denny McLain in Las Vegas” ST-204, the cheapest easiest way out of his obligation. Produced again by Dave Dexter Jr. the record captures Denny and his quartet at their debut gig at the Riviera Hotel (read: the Riviera Lounge). Although the liner notes read like a sports column, they contain one conspicuous quote that was paraphrased from his first LP; “I hope that the fans will remember me as an outstanding professional musician. That is my real goal in life.” Years later however, Mclain was still sitting on dozens of copies of “Denny McLain in Las Vegas” stacked in his garage.

 



Tracks:

Side One:0

More – 2:45

Laura – 3:32

Cute – 1:58

Dreamsville – 3:42

Sunny – 3:05

  

Side Two:

Medley 3:18

The Girl From Ipanema

Meditation

And We Were Lovers

Girl Talk

What the World Needs Now Is Love

Uptight

 

Produced by: Dave Dexter Jr.

Engineer: Ray Ranellucci

Guitar: Marty Kallao

Bass: Eddie Kayne, Andy Hallup,

Drums: Tommy Cimino

 

1970 – Fall from Grace

1970 was looking pretty good for Denny as he would be starting with his newly negotiated, astronomic $90K annual salary. However, in February both Penthouse and Sports Illustrated ran stories about Mclain’s involvement in bookmaking activities dating back to 1967.  Apparently Mclain was playing more than the organ during his gigs at the Flamingo and other venues in Las Vegas. By October 1970 Mclain was traded to the Washington Senators then in 1971 to the Oakland A’s. After the ’72 season it was the Atlanta Braves that released McLain during spring training on March 26, 1973. He had retired from baseball at 29.

Post Mclain Organ Music at Tiger Stadium

1972-1982 Dan Greer

When Bill Fox retired in 1972 the next organist to play the Tiger Stadium Hammond B3 was 38-year-old Dan Greer from the First Baptist Church of Wayne.

Image Courtesy Detroit Free Press 07-16-78


Dependent upon the ballpark, management teams thought of the organ as either an amenity, or as in some cases an offensive weapon. Some organists were “needlers” or “distractors”, others were instructed solely to entertain and be unobtrusive. Greer’s standing orders from the Tigers conservative G.M. Jim Campbell were to fill the gaps and not play anything “demeaning”. Greer also held the distinction of having played organ at Olympia for the Red Wings and Cobo Hall for the Pistons. He played for over a million fans during his tenure at the organ loft at Michigan and Trumbull.

1977 Press box Pyrotechnics

On February the first 1977 construction wiring from a Tiger stadium upgrade project caused a fire on the third level, the location of the press box and organ. The blaze rang three alarms and consumed; "… the entire press level, from first base dugout to past third base." The Free Press further quoted; "Mike Fennell assistant grounds supervisor pointed to a lump of metal and wires and said, "Well there's the organ"." The prized Hammond B3 that Denny Mclain championed was a total loss.

Detroit Free Press 02-03-77 - Hugh Grannum

                                

Fortunately, the fire took place in the off season and a new press box was ready for opening day that April. Hammond came through with a new generation organ, a factory fresh Hammond “Concorde” model. This time the Organization paid $4000 cash for the instrument, a substantial discount off its list price of $7,000 (in $32k in 2022 dollars). The new Concorde was a huge transistorized LSI (large scale integration) semi-conductor beast that debuted at a time when keyboard synthesizers were the new rage. Many musicians began blindly dumping the 350 pound unwieldy Hammond B3 organs in favor of this soulless electronic gadgetry. The Concorde was a self-contained “Swiss Army Knife” of an organ. It featured all the built-in rhythms and blinky lights that any mall walker could want.  It also included a novel arpeggiator and even a cassette player for playing along to your Lawrence Welk tapes.

 

Courtesy Detroit Free Press

        

Dan Greer w the loft mounted Hammond Concorde
           

Hammond Concorde Demo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQBskD5usYE


1991 Swan Song - Organ Donor

In 1991 32-Year-old Steve Schlesing was the organist when word came up from the front office....

Per the Detroit Free Press; "…he was told he was no longer needed because the sound system was old and (because of) budget cuts". Tom Monaghan the Pizza King had spoken. After he banished organ music from his Stadium, the Hammond Concorde was mothballed.

Late that year, Nino Cutraro owner of Metropolitan Music Cafes and The Ultimate Sports Bar and Grill in Pontiac purchased the organ at auction for a trivial $1200. In November 1992 the Baseball Hall of Fame accepted it as a donation with the agreement that Cutraro’s name be displayed with it. Apparently, there is more than one way to get yourself into Cooperstown.

The Walk-on

Today sadly, live music is a rarity in sports and recorded audio panders to pervasive public tastes and attentions spans. In baseball its all about the "Walk-on Song". The history of walk on music and closer entrance tunes can be traced back to 1971 when Yankee hurler Sparky Lyle used “Pomp and Circumstance” by Sir Edward Elgar. a.k.a. the “Graduation Recessional”. It was successfully played for him on the organ at Shea Stadium.  https://www.mlb.com/news/how-sparky-lyle-launched-closer-entrance-music-c272813672

Walk-ons became increasingly popular after 1991 and the demise of live organ at Tiger Stadium. Nowadays its 15-30 seconds of motivation that is perfect for the short attention spans of most cell phone absorbed ball park attendees. Walk-ons require no singing, musical participation or instruments, just an MP3 playlist and a loud P.A. system. Just remember, you probably won't be reminiscing with your Grandkids about them.

Toronto Blue Jays tell us their worst walk up songs

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p6h9EB6CV4


Leo Early - March 2022



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