Carlsbad High School Chamber Singers

Comments from Randall Jahnson

You know what they say about the ‘70s: If you can remember them then you weren’t there.

Judging by that standard, I can confidently state that I was indeed there because I had a helluva time at first recalling just what went down.

Perhaps it’s because it’s too painful to look at; perhaps it’s because in the ensuing years my life has never attained the level of fame and fortune it had as a member of the ‘77 Chamber Singers. Finally, I gathered my courage and cracked open my yearbook and peered inside. It’s amazing how quickly it all came back to me....

The Chamber Singers came of age in the ‘70s when bands like Boston, Styx and Kansas shot to the top and ruled the airwaves. Our rise to fame and fortune was just as meteoric.

The ‘76-’77 school year had barely begun when Shepard cherrypicked us out of the choir. I still remember him looking down at me from behind those aviator shades of his and saying, “So, kid, you wanna be famous?”

Little did I know what we were in for. Before we knew it we were being fitted for tuxes and being rehearsed hours at a time. I had never worn a tux before. I was so naive that I thought cummerbund was a Latin word meaning “cover buns.” I thought it was some kind of a formal wear jockstrap you wore to help you hit the high notes.

Fortunately, Dean Ganz, a veteran of the ‘76 lineup, was there to settle me down. Dean and I had been friends since the sixth grade. We’d played basketball and ran cross-country together. We had a bond. But the pressur

e of Chamber Singers would test that bond. Oh, yes, it would.... Shepard pushed us hard, of course. Mediocrity was not in his dictionary. The man was driven; he was possessed by a bold but mad ambition to make it big by never compromising. And when we fell short of his expectations - need I say we paid the price? More than once we bore witness to his unique and spontaneous expression of passion - more commonly described as a conniption fit. Remember how the sheet music flew? How the feet stomped, the arms flailed - followed by a door slam and a retreat into the office.

Now, nearly 30 years later, I can safely say that nothing prepared me for a career in Hollywood more than that. But I digress....

Shepard whipped us into shape and before we knew it we were hitting the local club scene: Carlsbad-by-the-Sea, Tri-City Hospital, The Women’s Club, and of course, Plaza Camino Real. Gig after gig we performed, honing our craft, getting tighter and tighter.

Then came the battle of the bands in San Diego. Our renditions of “Bongiorno, Madonna” and “Rise Up My Love” blew the competition away and the buzz began.

Our next gig was standing room only. And sure enough - just as he said they would - the record companies came calling.

In short time, Shepard scored us a deal with a major label: Bassett Custom Recording, 6741 Springfield Street, San Diego. But he wouldn’t allow us to go into the studio. No, no.... Instead, he demanded the studio come to Carlsbad and record us in our very own music room where we had perfected our sound. You may recall that the Rolling Stones recorded their landmark album “Exile on Main Street” on mobile equipment, well, so too did we. And the result was an instant classic.

The ‘77 album hit the charts with a bullet. It stayed in Billboard’s Top Ten for 34 consecutive weeks, surpassed only by Steely Dan’s Aja and Elton John’s Greatest Hits Volume 2. I saved some of the revues. This one’s from Rolling Stone: “At a time when disco is dominating the charts, the sheer audacity to cut an album of acoustic choral music took some major cajones. What was James Shepard smoking? Obviously some very good shit, for the album is one of the freshest in years. Shepard’s genius is evident throughout - from his daring arrangements and crisp production to the vocal nuances of such compositions as Morley’s “Fire Fire My Heart” and the tender “In the Dark Pine Wood.” Particularly noteworthy is The Chamber Singers cover of Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful,” already scoring big on the charts. This is one for the ages.”

With a hit on our hands, the pressure to do a concert tour mounted. Shepard, ever the shrewd businessman, held out for the best deal. Finally, the promoters caved and gave him want the venue he wanted: Porterville.

Ah, yes. The mere mention of the name still gives me the chills. I don’t need to go into details. We all remember the bright lights, the huge arena, the screaming fans. When we came off the stage that night we knew we were on our way to the top.

But what we didn’t know was that was the top; and from then on it was gonna be all downhill.

It got ugly fast.

Egos began to clash. Kent Blacic wasn’t getting enough solos; Kathy Walker was getting all the publicity; even Dave Sammons and I were ready to walk after the rock critic for The Blade Tribune referred to us as Dean Ganz’s back-up singers.

And of course there was plenty of distraction and drama with matters of the heart: Stan Smith and Kathy Hewitt; Diana Roseberry pining away for Ron Bolton who left the group the year before; Dave Sammons chasing Julie Baur.

I mean, this stuff made Fleetwood Mac look like The Partridge Family, by comparison.

And by the way - lemme just take a moment to say our success certainly wasn’t hurt by the fact that we had the most beautiful girls of any group in Southern California! They were stunning, were they not? My pulse quickens when I picture them in those skyblue gowns with the high-backed collar and plunging necklines. I remember Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page coming up to me after one of our gigs demanding Monica Stuppy’s phone number (like I would have it).

Credit also goes to Shepard for turning down Hugh Hefner who had offered up a truckload of money to do “The Babes of Chamber Singers” calendar.

It took all the strength and discipline Shepard had to keep us focused and hold us together. Then came, as it comes with all bands, the inevitable clash with the cops.

It happened like this: The Porterville Singers were in town and we were showing them a good time. We’d been partying hard around a bonfire at the beach when Joanie Bear invited us back to her pad for cake and ice cream. We piled into several cars and took off. I had my ‘67 Mustang and we must have had six or seven guys crammed into it.

Now Joanie lived at the end of a long driveway off of Basswood. At the end the driveway split in two - Joanie’s place on the right and a neighbor whom we knew was out of town on the left. How fun it would be, we thought, if we got back there first, wait in the dark of her neighbor’s and then scare them when they show up by blasting them with my headlights and horn and peeling out. So we waited there in the dark for Joanie and the other girls to show.

The next thing we knew WE were the ones suddenly hit with a spotlight followed by the loud command, “Turn off the ignition and step out of the car with your hands up!”

Busted.

One by one we filed out and were promptly searched by a legion of Carlsbad’s finest. We were all being held under gunpoint when Joanie and the girls finally arrived. Seems her Dad had spotted a strange car in the neighbor’s driveway and called The Man. Because I was still on the staff at The Carlsbad Journal, I was able to pull some strings and keep the incident from reaching the headlines. Had the news hit the streets, it would’ve been the final straw to break our backs.

By now, the ego battles, the power struggles, the groupies, and the endless miles on the road were getting to us. Once “You Are So Beautiful” dropped out of the Top Twenty, the cracks in our smiling veneer began to show.

Rumors were rampant: Gary Goodwin and Gary Stottlemeyer were gonna bail and start a new group called “Dos Garrys.”; Marlys and Lisa Packard were getting pressure to join their siblings and cousins in The Packard All-Stars; David Reidmuller was gonna go solo.

Legend has it that “My Fair Lady” is what broke us up. The gossip was that tensions between Dean and me had escalated to the point that we weren’t even speaking. That once I was cast as Henry Higgins and Dean relegated to the role of Alfie Doolittle, he could not get over the fact that for three glorious nights I basked in the spotlight with Vanessa Browne while he sulked in a supporting role.

Over the years I have remained silent on this issue. I’ve denied all requests for interviews.

But tonight, on the occasion of this reunion, I wish to set the record straight. I hereby steadfastly declare that all those rumors are absolutely... true.

Yes, Dean’s head was in a sling after I was picked as Higgins. Yes, he fell into a downward spiral from which it took him years to recover. Yes, he wandered the Earth in self-exile for nearly a decade, studying obscure languages and obsessively perfecting his voice in the hopes that one day he would again force me into the shadows.

But, Dean, I was a big baby too. I let my ego cloud our friendship. I was seduced by that spotlight. I thought I had the world on a string.

Yet within a couple of months I was back at my desk at The Carlsbad Journal and taking classes at MiraCosta, wondering if I would ever be so fortunate again.

So Dean, let me take this opportunity after so many years to bury the hatchet - I love you, man!

Ultimately, the ‘77 Chamber Singers succumbed to the inescapable march of time: graduation. Yes, we were all getting old. And the world of Pop Music, as you know, is youth-driven. There simply isn’t any room for 18- and 19-year-old has-beens. Sure, the Chamber Singers continued on, arguably with greater success and fame. There were more hits and more stars under Shepard’s guidance. But for me, nothing will quite match the magic of the 1977 lineup when I - and perhaps all of us - came of age.