music: "The
Swingin' Kind" - The Sunliners (Golden World
31a)
My introduction to the music business was via a
band formed by Fred Saxon, my brother Russ and
myself when we were just eleven years old.
We had all been brought up in North West
Detroit, on Shaftsbury, and went to the same
school.
Our early musical experience would be gleaned
from playing for the military at USO shows.
In fact, some of our best music lessons came
from playing these packaged shows, which were
called units, a unit consisting of singers,
dancers and a comedian. We belonged to unit 6.
It was great experience for a young band.
As our performances improved, we began to get
the occasional job as the entertainment for
lodge banquets and weddings, playing just about
every ethnic wedding imaginable.
When the time came for the group to have a name,
Russ suggested The Glo-Worms.
Well, we were so cute....so what the hell.
Over the next couple of years we evolved from
The Glo-Worms to The Rebels, to The Five Beaus,
and ultimately The Sunliners.
Gil Bridges' car was a 1956 Ford Sunliner and
Russ thought that this would be a good name for
a group..... and he was right.
We all worked hard to develop the band and it
finally paid off but I suppose the success we
achieved was more than anyone in the band was
expecting.
The Sunliners were huge in Detroit and had a big
following on the East Coast and in Canada.
It was quite a ride, but by the time I was
approaching my mid twenties I was beginning to
feel the need to get into a more stable line of
work. I had gotten married and wasn't sure if
this lifestyle was appropriate for a married
man.
image notes:
The Glo-Worms
circa 1954 (L to R
front) Fred Saxon, Donny Kneble, Russ Terrana,
Ralph Terrana at the rear, comedian Soupy Sales
(picture courtesy Ralph Terrana)
image notes:
The Sunliners
circa 1962
(L to R) Fred Saxon, John Parrish, Gil Bridges,
Russ Terrana, Ralph Terrana, on drums Pete
Rivera
(picture courtesy Ralph Terrana)
Continued
