Donnie Brooks (live from......)

On location broadcasts, also called remote broadcasts, have been a staple of small market and even some bigger market radio stations for years. It involves one or two disk jockeys on location at a business to promote some special event. Over the years I probably have done several hundred or more of these events ranging from gas station and supermarket openings, ice fishing clinic, to a Corvette show. These remotes are live, largely un-scripted and can put you in some rather interesting situations. As I write this some come to mind. I once did an ice fishing clinic about 30 miles out in the middle of nowhere. We had to use our radio station two way radio link and power the equipment from my car, I don't think I thawed out for two weeks. Oh, it was a balmy minus 20 degrees that day. Another time I was doing a grand opening remote at a new gas station. The owner had Go Go Dancers and a live band there. We had traffic backed up for 2 miles in every direction. My favorite story happened one very warm July Saturday in the late 70's. I and a fellow named Cliff Edwards were doing a remote at a Chevrolet dealership for a regional Corvette Show. As the remote wore on both Cliff and I noticed that there were a large number of very attractive females (we both were single) in the crowd. In one of our talk segments Cliff said, “Kel there certainly are a lot of classy chassis here today.' Which got a response from me of “ yes, and the cars aren't bad either.” There was the brief pause while his mind processed what I said, and then it was all over for us the rest of the day. We could not look at one another without breaking up.

In the over four decades I spent in broadcasting I saw the passing of a great many artists. In 1974 the Righteous Brothers (Bobby Hatfiled and Bill Medley) recorded a tribute song called Rock and Roll Heaven. As you my remember they sang about many artists who had passed away with the pretext that , borrowing a ling from the song, “heaven has one hell of a band.” (Their words not mine). When I decided to do the Class Reunion, interview series I knew that in the back of my mind was the fact that like all of us, some very great artists have only a short time left with us. That fact came around in February of 2007 when Donnie Brooks died.

Donnie Books may not be a familiar name to you but his one top 20 hit “Mission Bell,” I felt was one of the better up tempo classic love songs ever released. By the way “Mission Bell” charted in July of 1960 and gave the guy who was born John Abahosh the start of a long and very successful career. During that time he also recorded under the name of Johnny Jordan and Johnny Faire. Donnie Brooks came about when a fellow named Dave Taxi suggested he change his name for a song, as it would be a “riotous occasion,” or a real Donny Brook.

As the case with a lot of artists of his era, Donnie performed on a weekly radio talent show. One show, where he won first place the runner up, was none other than Joanne Castle, long time pianist on the Lawrence Welk Show. Donnie said that years later she called him and told he owed her $75.00 as she was a big star in the Welk Show and he was merely a rock and roll singer.
Donnie was one of the busiest people in rock and roll over the years appearing in three films, “A Swinging Summer”, with Raquel Welch,” (Donnie also wrote the opening song in the movie as well as a lot of the sound track.) “Get Yourself A College Girl” With Nancy Sinatra, and “The Love-ins” with James McArthur. Donnie also produced a rock and roll oldies show for over 15 years.
Donnie wrote “Mission Bell” as a folk song and after “taking it around” to try and get someone to record it, he finally landed back at Era records where they said “we'll cut you on it.” “I'm a folk singer,” Donnie told them, they said not to worry. So they laid down the tracks and he was going to come back the next day, but Era told him he didn't have to. He said “But I haven't done my track yet.” The record company said “ we got you with the back ground singers and it is fine.” Donnie said, “I got kind of depressed that I had not even heard it.” So they played it, and to his surprise it worked, Donnie said.

I heard about Donnie's passing and it really hit me hard, a mere four months after I interviewed him. I called his long time manager Howard Thompson to find out if it was true. Howard asked if I had a copy of the interview and could I send it to him as it was THE LAST interview that Donnie ever did.