SWAGS, The

Homebase: Anacortes, WA / Bellingham, WA
Stats: 1957-1960
Misc Notes: Bruce Reddick (vocals, guitar); Gailen Ludtke (lead guitar, sax); Allen Barr (guitar); Chet Dow (piano); Wayne Morrisett (bass); George Johnson (drums).
ALSO SEE:

Gailen Ludtke (guitar); Allen Barr (guitar); George Johnson (drums); Bruce Reddick (guitar); Wayne Morrisett (bass)

"THE SWAGS: BELLINGHAM'S FIRST ROCKSTARS (1958-1960)"
by Peter Blecha

ONCE UPON A TIME there were only a handful of combos existing in the Pacific Northwest who could rightfully lay claim to being genuine rock 'n' rollers. Among the very first were the Swags. Formed at Bellingham High School in 1957 (8), the six-piece band dubbed themselves after an instrumental-guitar record by Link Wray and his Ray Men, as released in April of that year. Their initial lineup consisted of Bruce Reddick (vocals, guitar), Gailen Ludtke (lead guitar, sax), Allen Barr (guitar), Chet Dow (piano), Wayne Morrisett (bass), and George Johnson (drums). After debuting at a few school events, they continued by playing at local grange halls. Band leader Ludtke explained in a recent interview: "You see, there wasn't any real teenage dances until we started doing them up here. We were the first band of our type in the area."

As the teen dance circuit developed across the state the Swags rocked area venues including the Beacon Ballroom, Seven Cedars, and Forest Grove. Many gigs they played were sponsored by Seattle's AM radio giant, KJR. The band also shared double billings with Seattle's pioneering band, the Frantics, and even competed in a "Battle of the Bands" against Tacoma's Wailers at the Spanish Castle ballroom at Midway. "We did a lot of prom nights then," Ludtke elaborated, "because we were the only known group north of Seattle. But I think one of the highlights for us were the times we appeared on Seattle Bandstand." First aired "live on KING TV" in 1957, this teen-dance show occasionally spotlighted local talents – including the Fleetwoods, Frantics, and Wailers -- and the Swags also traveled to appear on the Portland Bandstand and Yakima Bandstand programs.

Discovered by a local radio DJ, Jim Bailey, the band was taken to Seattle where a recording session was held at Commercial Productions' studio. The result was their debut single – "Rockin' Matilda" / "Blowing The Blues" – which was released in on his Westwind label (WW1003) in early 1960. As their new manager, Bailey successfully promoted the disc enough that Bob Keane's Del-Fi Records in Hollywood – which was riding high with the first hits by East L.A.'s up-&-coming Chicano rocker, Richie Valens – took notice, licensed the Swags tune's and re-released them (Del-Fi 4143) nationally in June 1960.

At that point Dick Clark took notice and chose to air "Rockin' Matilda" for two consecutive weeks nationally on ABC-TV's mega-popular American Bandstand show. From there the record broke out on the radio charts in a scattered few regions of America. Other highlights for the young musicians must have been the big shows they opened for touring rockabilly and country stars including: Johnny Burnette, Ernest Tubb, Johnny Tillotson, and Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps. Most significantly, they also shared the bill with Richie Valens on a gig at the Holiday Ballroom in Mount Vernon, Washington back in '58.

But then, after just two years together the Swags disbanded when college and career decisions conflicted.  Soon thereafter, Reddick helped form a new band, the Toggeries, with some fellow Western Washington State College kids – and today his current group, Country Sunshine, performs regularly in the Whatcom County area.

[Note: This is an edited version of an essay that originally appeared in the “Northwest Music Archives” column of Seattle’s The Rocket magazine back in October, 1983.]

Text copyright © 1983, 2014 by Peter Blecha.

"The Swags began the summer of 1958. I was the lead singer. I did Elvis songs. I left the band in 1959. My 76-year-old voice teacher forced me to quit. Bruce took my place. I got Chet into the band as a pianist. I did not play an instrument, just sang.
We wore matching sweaters and played at high school assemblies and Delta Grange. Loretta Lynn sang there on alternative Saturday night. Our paths never crossed. We cut a record in the summer of '58 at Alan Barr's house in Ferndale where I sang 'Lawdy Miss Clawdy.' I still have it."

John Martin, August 2012 correspondence with pnwbands.com website, (courtesy of webmaster Sam Carlson)

"A couple of guys were introduced to Rock `n' Roll early in high school and decided to put a band together. They took their name from Link Wray's b-side of 'Rumble,' 'The Swag.' Gailen Ludtke liked the song and named his newly formed band after it. Gailen played 1st guitar. He also played saxophone on 'Blowing The Blues.' The band was formed in 1957 and continued until 1960. Jim Bailey, from Anacortes, WA, heard the Swags play and wanted to record them. Jim started a record company and named it WESTWIND. He and Gailen co-wrote 'Rockin' Matilda' in 1960. 'Rockin' Matilda/Blowing The Blues' was originally recorded on WESTWIND-WW1003 (Westwind Records, Anacortes,Washington). This record was issued with a picture sleeve of the band.(1960). Shortly thereafter, Jim sold the rights to DEL-FI and they produced and sold about a quarter of a million copies. The record shot up to number one in Hawaii. The band saw very little of the money that was made from this record."

Jim Doidge, June 2003 correspondence with pnwbands.com website, (courtesy of webmaster Sam Carlson)

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