The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Bobby Vee, Brian Hyland rock Queen City
in Legends of Rock & Roll season opener
Annual Tri-State Concert Association series resumes in February

By Jack Kegg
for The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
CUMBERLAND, Jan. 15 -- The Tri-State Concert Association's Legends of Rock & Roll series kicked off the 2011 season with two legendary hitmakers of the 1960s, and both are familiar with this area.

Brian Hyland was here in the summer of 1960 for a personal appearance and autograph session at GC Murphy's in downtown Cumberland when his "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" hit was number one; he returned for a show at Frostburg's University A Go Go in the summer of 1966 while enjoying success with "The Joker Went Wild" and on Saturday night, Jan. 15, he made appearance number three.

Bobby Vee performed at the Allegany County Fairgrounds in 1991 and five years ago came back for the Legends series, and by popular demand, helped inaugurate the 2011 concert season.

Hyland was never known as a rocker; his hits were standard pop fare. But Brian Hyland the pop singer turned Brian Hyland the rocker, paying tribute to Chuck Berry with "You Never Can Tell" and "Thirty Days" and ending his portion of the show with a medley featuring "Long Tall Sally" "Slow Down" and "Good Golly Miss Molly."

In between, he reprised his big hits "Sealed With A Kiss," "The Joker Went Wild," "Gypsy Woman" and, of course, "Itsy Bitsy."

Brian reminisced backstage about "Gypsy Woman," which was debuted in Cumberland by Gary Kirtley of WUOK. Gary still has the gold record presented to him for helping to make the record a hit.

"There were a couple of radio stations that didn't give up on "Gypsy Woman" and Uni Records re-serviced radio stations with it, and it finally took off nationwide," Brian said. The record was a hit in Cumberland during the summer of 1970, but didn't crack the national charts until September.

Bobby Vee got his big break when his band was asked to fill in for the remnants of the ill-fated Winter Dance Party; the package tour which claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on Feb. 3, 1959. Bobby had tickets for the Feb. 4 show at Moorehead, Minn., but was recruited to sing onstage.

Thus, a career was born after three others were snuffed out.

Bobby's band is called The Vees, and drummer is his son Jeff while other son Tommy is a guitarist. At the show, the troupe served up a combination of Bobby's hits, including "Rubber Ball, "Devil Or Angel," "Take Good Care Of My Baby" and "More Than I Can Say," along with rockers such as "Keep A Knockin" and "Party Doll."

He had the audience at his command, as they sang along with many of the songs. A screen with background photos of both artists in their heyday added to the show.

Many were wondering if both singers would sing a duet, and Brian came out and joined Bobby with two Buddy Holly classics,"Rave On" and "That'll Be The Day."

There are five more shows in this season's series: the Diamonds, Jay And The Americans and back by popular demand, Gary Lewis and the Playboys.

All shows are at Allegany High School and begin at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30. For more information, call 301-759-0580 or visit TWR Communications, located at 549 N. Centre St.

The Tri-State Concert's country series brings back, by popular demand, A Night With Garth and Friends on Saturday, March 26. Tickets are now on sale.

About the writer

Jack Kegg started reviewing shows in the summer of 1971. His first "big one" was The Grass Roots at Allegany College on Nov. 1,1971. Jack also submitted reviews of Alice Cooper, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young and Kiss at the larger venues in Pittsburgh and Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

Over the years, Jack also covered the Rocky Gap music festival in eastern Allegany county when top country artists came to the area.

Jack's biggest thrill was meeting the Beach Boys - his all-time favorite group.

"The easiest performers to interview are the country singers, who are the most down to earth people I have talked to," Jack says. "I also interviewed big band leaders Guy Lombardo, Harry James, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Maynard Ferguson and Buddy Rich. I like all types of music but lean toward 50s and 60s rock and roll."

A native of Cumberland, Jack is a 1969 graduate of Allegany High School and attended what was then Allegany Community College (now Allegany College of Maryland).

He wrote a music column for the Cumberland Times-News from Oct. 5, 1974 to August 2007, when the paper discontinued publishing it and other subject-specific columns.