Those who were around Pasadena in the late 60's and 70's will know Joe Bauer. He had a passion for music and was one of the people in charge of the music for the America Listen campaigns. He died Christmas morning. Following is information about him and a link to his web sites for a trip down memory lane.
Joanna's husband just called to let me know that Joe passed away at around 5 am this morning...he had been at Joanna's home for a few days but was moved to a care facility some where in the area. There are no plans solidified at this time but they will let us know as soon as they do. Joanna asked that the band members/friends be notified. I told Rubin that I did not want to offend anyone, but when I heard Joe was failing, I feared getting notification on Christmas or New Years as that would be a TRUE Joe Bauer exit....Rubin said that was one of Joanna's first thoughts! Joe cut a huge swath in life, and positively affected thousands...I am personally a far richer person for having known, worked with, shared experiences and spent time with Joseph C. Bauer!!Lucky for us, Bill Hughes made a reel-to-reel AC band tape into MP3 files and Wayne Bauer—Joe’s nephew—has kindly posted them on Joe’s website (which Wayne is keeping up himself). Wayne also posted all the scrapbook pages that were done. Joe got to listen to one of the band tracks just a short time ago and it made him smile. He also got to see (or had read to him) all the scrapbook pages that are posted and he really enjoyed them, even cried over some. I hope everyone will send theirs that haven’t so we can post those too! Wayne is happy to do that for us.The URL is: http://bauerfilms.com/josephcbauer/theband.htmAnd Joe’s website is: AssignmentAdventure.comIf you don’t remember how good the band was-and I didn’t even though I was in it!—you’ll really enjoy listening to the tracks that Bill Hughes supplied. They were apparently recorded in the late 60's and are sure to bring back happy memories.
2 comments:
Just want to say a belated "Thank you" to Joe Bauer and to all the men and women who were part of the AC Band under Joe over the years. The Band provided a lot of good music and pure joy to a lot of students, members and to the public for several years. I always enjoyed hearing and watching them perform - tight, professional, fun - even though their selection of songs was by church necessity somewhat limited. Follow the link in the article to learn more about the lives of some of the members. I found a good photo of my wife's late sister (Marcia Houghtaling)in a beach party photo at the linked site.
Glenn Parker
Austin, Texas
Glenn,
Although Joe and I never really hit it off all that well at AC, I openmindedly followed your advice and went to the links. Truly, he was a talented guy who inspired the respect and friendship of quite a number of our peers!
Putting it all into perspective, my own tastes in music during those years ran more towards the Beach Boys, the Stones, the Electric Prunes, Cream, and the Who. I had felt that the church, the college, and the AC Big Band were stuck in musical genres which were largely passe. It wasn't until the debut of Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, and the attention drawn to the DJ Gary Owens that I did a bit more research and discovered that Owens was an actual working DJ, and the station he worked at was not only immensely popular in certain age groups in the L.A. area, but it also specialized in the music of the 1930s and '40s, Broadway show tunes, and any modern music which seemed to fit into those genres. In other words, there actually was a radio station which consistently placed very high in the ratings, which basically had the same repertoire as Joe Bauer! As goes California, so goes the nation, so I suspect this was also true in other major cities across the nation.
Knowing that does not change my tastes. I'm still a rock n roller, although Blues and Country have now also been added. But, we can still admire creativity and craftsmanship even if the artform involved does not quite speak to our souls.
My favorite moments of enjoyment of the AC band were when Joe featured Chuck Gillette, just kind of turning him loose and letting him run. Chuck did a killer version of Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk" at nearly every dance. One time Bill Hughes and I were fooling around on our guitars in the back stairway of 380Grove, and Chuck happened by. Bill was much more advanced than I and was showing me some things, and we ended up working on Ray Charles' "What I Say". Apparently sensitive to trends amongst the student body, the next sock hop, Chuck did a "barn burner" instrumental version of that song!
Music can enrich our lives in so many ways. Almost anyone who plays or listens to music limits themselves to certain styles. I think Joe and the band probably ended up giving all of us some memorable moments, something for everyone.
BB
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