This is written for my children and grandchildren. In the early
nineteen fifties the music listened to by all ages in the Modesto
area was either classical, pop or country/western. There may have
been others, but in general this is true. Some common songs I
remember are; How Much is That Doggie in the Window, Secret Love,
Shrimp Boats Are Coming, Nature Boy, Cry and Some Where Over the
Rainbow. Some singers were; Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Judy
Garland, Bing Crosby, Doris Day, Rosemary Clooney and Johnny Ray.
After television came to are area we would see the singers on Your
Hit Parade.

Sometime about nineteen fifty-three or early nineteen fiftyfour a
friend of mine named Gene Turner came home on leave from his navy
station in San Diego, California. He told me of some new music he
had heard while on base. He said the music was really great and he
gave me the name of three songs. One song was Earth Angel, the
second was In the Chapel and the three is long forgotten.

In the middle nineteen fifties Modesto had three stores that sold
records. One was Modesto Music and the other two I no longer
remember. I went to each of these stores asking for the songs Gene
Turner had given me; none of the employees had ever heard of the
songs nor of any of the singing groups. At Modesto Music a clerk who
was a senior at Modesto High School named Carol Whipple (later she
became Carol Brunswick and had three daughters and eventually lived
on the same court as my family) said that she would research my
request.

Carol eventually was able to obtain by special order a 78 speed
two
sided record of Earth Angel and Hey Senorita recorded on the
Dootone label by a music named The Penguins. I eventually ordered
more records through Carol at Modesto Music and progressed through 45
speed and eventually 33 1/3 speed albums. To the best of my
knowledge I was the first person in Modesto to obtain the new music
form which eventually became called Rock and Roll.

So children and grandchildren, now you know how Rock and Roll came
to Modesto via the little hick town of Salida, California; and for
awhile was the Rock and Roll capital of the Modesto area.

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Thank you Wayne, I loved it.