It’s not everyday that you get to meet a living legend, or somebody as instrumental in shaping the Norfolk rock ‘n’ roll scene as Gary U.S. Bonds. Back in the late-‘50s, when Norfolk was coming into it’s own musically, Gary U.S. Bonds and friends created what became known as the Norfolk Sound, under the mentorship of Frank Guida. We are fortunate enough to have Gary U.S. Bonds, Daddy G and others back in town on July 24 at the Attucks Theatre doing just that—revisiting the Norfolk Sound and what made this area great. It will also be filmed as a PBS special, so this night will be captured for prosperity.

Gary took a few moments to meet with me, Paul Unger and Sue Panique behind the Sheraton in downtown Norfolk on a comfortable early evening, just as the sun was setting. We couldn’t have come across a more humble or just plain pleasant person. Gary took the time to reminisce, inspire, and give us a sneak peek of what we can expect at the Attucks.

RZO: I know we’ve read about it, and we’ve heard about it, but it would be great to hear from you: What it was like to be here during that time period in Norfolk, VA? And how did you create the Norfolk Sound?

Gary: Well, it’s been a long time! We started back in the late-‘50s recording with Frank Guida and LaGrand Records and I think the first record to come out of there was Tommy Facenda’s “High School U.S.A.,” where he named all the high schools in the Tidewater area, you know, it’s in that record. That worked out pretty good for him—real well for him. But then they had the bright idea they were going to do it in Richmond, and they were going to do it in Washington, and they were going to do it New York…[laughs] so they just started recording all over and that got very expensive to record every city until they finally [were like] ‘we’re not going to do that anymore.’

And then I came along with a song called “New Orleans.” It was written by Jim Royster who was a very good friend of Frank Guida, who worked across the street from Frankie’s Birdland/Got It record shop. And he was…I’m trying to think what he was. I think he was a shoe salesman across the street. And he became the engineer at the studio, I think only because he knew how to turn the damn thing on, the only one. So, we did “New Orleans” and that’s what really started the Norfolk sound—that raunchy drum sound, the big bass sound and kick drum, you know, the double-track voices. We did that for the first time, I don’t think anybody had ever done that, and it worked for us; it became the Norfolk Sound. And everybody tried to do it, from The Beatles on, tried to emulate that. We were the only ones who had it—good for us!

RZO: Go Team Norfolk! So what was Norfolk like during that time?

Gary: Norfolk was pretty cool back then, we didn’t think so at the time. Thinking back on it, it was a pretty cool, cool city. Lots of sailors! And that’s when Granby Street and Church Street was booming. A lot of clubs and a lot of sailors—and a lot of girls so it was kind of fun, you know. For me, the girl part (laughs), that’s the part I liked a lot. We had a lot of fun here, and I think it’s going to be that again—well, as soon as they close down Granby Street so you can’t drive down anymore and they start putting more clubs and stuff.

RZO: What was the music scene like back then? Right now it seems like bands only find one or two places to play, unless they’re of a certain size, and it’s pretty limited. Was it that way at the time?

Gary: No, there was one on every corner, there was a band playing somewhere, you know, between Granby Street and Church Street, and even as far down as Huntersville and Brambleton. It was pretty cool. A lot of places to go, a lot of things to do. A lot of trouble to get in (laughs)!

RZO: As far as the original Church Street Five, was that an ever-changing lineup?

Gary: It basically stayed the same. It was Daddy G—well, the beginning it was Earl Swanson, was playing sax, who was Ruth Brown’s husband.

RZO: I was lucky to see Ruth Brown a year or two before she passed.

Gary: Yeah, great lady, great lady. Great, great, lady. Yeah, Earl Swanson was the first one and then Daddy G came in. It was Leonard Barks—who is I think is the only living Church Street Fiver now—but Nabs Shields was the drummer then, and we also had Melvin Glover who was a drummer, who is still alive but doesn’t play drums anymore. We had Wayne Brecker who was a guitarist, let’s see who else…I’m drawing a blank here all of the sudden. Oh my God, don’t tell me I have forgotten all of the guy’s names! I’ll get back to you on that, I got all of the names in here somewhere (points to his head and laughs)!

RZO: I was in a band in the mid-‘90s and can’t remember the name of my second drummer, so don’t feel bad.

Gary: Is that right? But see in your case it wasn’t the drugs!

RZO: It may have had something to do with the drinks…

Gary: Well, a couple of drinks here and there, OK, that’s it.

RZO: So, the music of that time period, was it a big variety?

Gary: It was a lot of rock ‘n’ roll and a lot of jazz, and a kind of a mix of the both. A lot of blues. And that was basically it then.

RZO: Who were some of the bands that you all would play with?

Gary: There was The Humdingers, The ‘5’ Royals, there was a group, The Five Keys were out of Newport News…then there was Sebastian & The House Rockers, and…General Johnson, who I think was The Humdingers then, I think that was the name then, and they changed it to Chairmen of the Board, you know, later on. There were a lot of guys that kept changing their name every week or something.

RZO: It sounds like the musicians we have now. New bands, new names, all the same people.

Gary: Yeah, it’s just to protect the guilty (laughs).

RZO: What prompted you to have a Church Street Five reunion?

Gary: Well, it’s been a long time since it happened and I know that most of the guys are long passed away. I figured before Daddy G and I left this earth, we better get together and do it again to see what happens. Just for the fun of it. And especially for the Attucks, it was our beginning. You know, it seemed like a pretty cool thing to do. And so far it’s working out alright.

RZO: Can you tell us a little bit about what the Attucks Theatre was like when you first played it?

Gary: Well, it was the Booker T. Theatre, and I didn’t even know it had the name the Attucks, until just a couple of years ago when they told me we were going to go back to the Attucks. I go, ‘I’m going to go into the attic? What am I doing in the attic then?’ (Laughs) And I didn’t know it was a black guy who built that whole place and created it. Did not know that.

RZO: Crispus Attucks…

Gary: Crispus Attucks, yeah. So that was interesting to know, back in that day, which was like 1909 or something. Wow, that’s pretty cool. But it was fun, I mean you could go there and see Dinah Washington, you could see Ruth Brown. My first—how I got in this business—my mom took me to see Bull Moose Jackson, that’s a weird name, right? And Ivory Julihanna at the Attucks, late Booker T. And seeing them on stage with all the lights—because I had never seen a show before, I was only about 12-, 13-years-old—and seeing the lights, the stage, and the girls screaming and yelling for him…I went, ‘that’s what I want to do! That’s where I’m going!’ (Laughs)

RZO: That was a big inspiration to you.

Gary: That was the biggest inspiration. And finally I got a chance to get a hit record and work there. So that was like, thumb’s up, you know. I’ve made it, I’ve been to the Booker T.!

RZO: How was it being an African-American artist at that time?

Gary: It was pretty strange then, you know, because the civil right’s movement was happening then, so they had a lot of marches going on. It was pretty strange, but being from Virginia at the time, you just kinda get used to it, I guess. You go with the flow, cuz that’s what you know.

And I never had been out of Norfolk before, except when I came here. I was born in Jacksonville, Florida, so mamma moved me here when I was about 3-years-old, so I didn’t know anything else. And the only thing I remember them telling me is ‘Norfolk is little New York.’ I went, ‘OK, little New York.’ Until I got to New York, and I went, ‘they lied!’ Yep, that’s exactly it because New York was ‘wow!’ And when I got off the plane in New York, and looked around and saw it—I haven’t been back [to Norfolk] since! I went, ‘This is exciting, I like this. This is really, really my cup of tea.’ So, I’m still there.

RZO: And you’ve been able to be very active there. Obviously, we have all heard about your affiliation with Bruce Springsteen…

Gary: Who? (Laughs)

RZO: Somebody they call The Boss…

Gary: Oh, that’s right. I was wondering who that guy was…

RZO: I know! He keeps following you.

Gary: (Laughs) Stalker!

RZO: I was curious what you thought of some of the artists that turned us on to you, at a later time period, one of those bands being The New York Dolls, covering your song “Seven Day Weekend.” How do you feel about that, a band like that that turned on a whole different audience to you?

Gary: That’s pretty cool! Very, very cool. There’s a couple groups out of California that are really, really heavy punkers…that do my songs too, and I go to listen to them when I get out there every now and again and go, ‘what are they doing now?!’ But it’s really cool, you know.

RZO: There’s a band from Detroit called the Detroit Cobras that cover “I Wanna Holler (But the Town’s Too Small)”…

Gary: Do they really? Oh that’s right, I think somebody told me that.

RZO: And they’re getting pretty big. They tour all the time...

Gary: Really? Wow…I’m going to call them up and see if I can get royalty (big laughs)!

RZO: Oh no! I sold the Detroit Cobras out!

Gary: Thanks a lot, Andrea, you just made my day!

RZO: (After much blushing) Well, on that note, how do you feel about the music of today and how it has changed since you started on the music scene?

Gary: I think it’s cool, very cool, and I’ve changed with it. I kind of listen, watch you know…and go along with everything. I look at the charts, I listen to the radio, mostly satellite now (laughs). I do that, what’s the other one there on the iPhone? Not Paradite, Paradine or something?

RZO: Oh, Pandora.

Gary: Yeah, Pandora, right. I use that all the time.

RZO: Do you listen to Little Steven’s Underground Garage?

Gary: Every now and then when I can catch it, you know? I don’t really listen to radio that much now, but when I do, it’s usually when I’m in the back at the tiki bar, and I’ve got a couple going…

RZO: So everything sounds good!

Gary: Every sounds good! Even Steven sounds good! (Big laughs)

RZO: Where are you now in your music career? Besides the reunion show of course, what are some other things you are working on currently?

Gary: Well, we’re going to do a lot of festivals and stuff like that throughout the United States. We’re heading over to Europe in February and March. Go over there for six weeks, with me and Benny King are going to do it together. Do the Great American Soul Book. I just left over there, did six weeks over there with Bill Wyman. So that was cool. He’s a very, very cool guy, I had a ball with him. But he won’t come to the United States—he won’t fly.

RZO: No?

Gary: No, he will not get on a plane. He doesn’t even want to get on a bus.

RZO: Scared to travel…

Gary: Yeah, I guess so. But he took those six weeks really good. I tried to say, ‘why don’t you come over to the States and take the boat over?’ He goes, ‘oh no, not me mate! I’m not getting on the water!’ (Laughs) OK, so he’s not coming to the States. Unfortunately. But the rest of the band [will], Albert Lee and the Rhythm Kings will. In fact, I just saw Albert Lee at the Iridium in New York, here recently.

RZO: I bet you’re really well received in Europe, aren’t you?

Gary: It’s very, very nice over there. They treat me really, really good and I love that. They know things about me I’ve never even thought about, I’ll tell ya. They do their lessons over there and they learn about an artist, they know everything about them when they get there. I had one guy was telling me my cousin’s name…(laughs) ‘alright, that’s enough! I don’t want to know anything else.’

RZO: Yes, that’s a little too much, TMI.

Gary: Yep!

RZO: You’ve had such a long career—I hate to even ask this question—but what are some of the highlights, or some of the really bright points?

Gary: God, there’s a million of them. One birthday, I think it was, when was it…

RZO: Your 70th birthday party?

Gary: No, it wasn’t the 70th birthday party—but that was cool. I think it was my 60th birthday and I was in L.A. with Springsteen, and there was a million people—an outdoor thing, a million—and a million people sang “Happy Birthday ” to me. Wow, look at that there! I looked out, the whole sea of people are singing it. ‘OK, I’m special, thank you!’

RZO: That’s amazing. I can’t even imagine what that would feel like.

Gary: Oh, it’s tremendous! Tremendous, you know. And all I needed was a dollar for every [person]…out there (laughs)!

RZO: Going back to Norfolk, what can we expect at the Attucks show?

Gary: Well, actually, we are going to do, not all of the songs, but most of the songs in the ‘60s when I was there, and that’s it. I’m not going to do anything from the Springsteen era or the latest. All the old stuff and that’s it—what we used to do at the Attucks.

RZO: Who were you able to get together for this?

Gary: I got Lenis Guess, you know “Working For My Baby” and “Just Ask Me,” and Tommy Facenda, of course, who had “High School U.S.A.,” and, I got in fact, Ammon Tharp is coming in from Bill Deal and the Rhondels, and Daddy G, of course, is going to be there, and who else did I get? I think that’s it.

RZO: That would make five of you, if you’re going for five.

Gary: That’s enough. Well, I wasn’t really going for five, but good catch! (Laughs)

RZO: That worked out well. Is there anything else you would like to say to fellow, I guess you call us, Norfolkians?

Gary: Norfolkians, yes: ‘Hey there, I’m here, watch out!’ (Big laughs)

Don't Miss Out!

Who: Gary U.S. Bonds, Daddy G & Friends: The Norfolk Sound Reunion
When: July 24, 8PM
Where: Attucks Theatre
Tickets: $35/advance, $60/VIP Preshow Meet ‘n’ Greet (buy tickets here)