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The Astronauts formed in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1950s. Originally named The Stormtroopers after bass guitarist Jon “Stormy” Patterson, they changed their name to reflect the NASA Mercury space program and its astronaut crew, which included Colorado native Scott Carpenter. In 1962, The Astronauts met with Steven Sholes, RCA Records’ A&R Director, at the Hollywood Plaza Hotel. At this stage, the group was primarily a rock ‘n’ roll quintet and had no experience playing surf music. During the interview, Sholes received a call from a record distributor who was excited by sales of the Beach Boys’ vocal surf album "Surfin’ USA." According to drummer Jim Gallagher, Sholes “covered the phone and asked if we played surf music, and naturally we said yes!” The Fender Jazzmaster on display was owned by The Astronauts’ rhythm guitarist Bob Demmon and was likely from a matching set of guitars given to the band as an endorsement from Fender. See more of “Surf’s Up! Instrumental Rock ‘n’ Roll,” online, where you can also find a link to the exhibition playlist on Spotify. Link in bio.
This image was posted on June 07, 2021.
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