Brownsville Station (band)
Encyclopedia
Brownsville Station was a rock band
from Michigan
that was popular in the 1970s. Original members included Cub Koda
(guitarist
/vocalist
), Mike Lutz (guitarist/vocalist), T.J. Cronley (drummer
), and Tony Driggins (bassist
/vocals). Latter day members included Henry "H-Bomb" Weck (drummer
) and Bruce Nazarian (guitarist
/vocalist
).
They are remembered for the top-40 hit single "Smokin' In The Boys Room
" (1973).
", from their 1973 album
Yeah!
, reached #3 on U.S.
Billboard Hot 100
chart
and #27 in the UK Singles Chart
. The track sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc
status by the RIAA
on 15 January 1974.
"Martian Boogie", which is played on Dr. Demento
's radio
show on occasion. Another song, "(Lady) Put the Light on Me" also received modest airplay in the Detroit area.
After T.J. Cronley left, he was replaced by Van Wert
, Ohio
, native Henry "H-Bomb" Weck, and in 1975 multi-instrumentalist and Detroit session musician
Bruce Nazarian
joined the band (it was Nazarian who sang lead on "(Lady) Put the Light on Me." Their second-highest Billboard charting single was "Kings of the Party" which topped out at #31 in 1974. Best known as a live act fired up by Koda's onstage antics, the band's name was chosen because it was so long that it took up most of the marquees that rock venues used in that era, thereby hogging the limelight from whoever Brownsville happened to be playing with.
Brownsville Station disbanded in 1979 and their final studio album, Air Special, was released by Epic in 1980. Koda died of kidney disease on 1 July 2000 at the age of 51. Lutz still resides in Ann Arbor and works part time at a local music store called Oz's Music, teaching guitar and bass lessons. Weck resides in the Memphis, TN area with his wife and is a businessman. Nazarian is the owner of Digital Media Consulting Group in Nevada
, and runs a popular digital media website "TheDigitalGuy.com". He also is a popular online radio host for The Digital Guy radio show as well as bring a music producer, concert impresario and artist manager.
In 2008, Brownsville Station was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. The band's biggest hit, "Smokin' In the Boys Room
", was voted a Legendary Michigan Song the following year.
, Bo Diddley
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, and other 1950s Rock & Roll icons. Cub Koda's onstage antics would influence many rockers including Peter Wolf
and Alice Cooper
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
that was popular in the 1970s. Original members included Cub Koda
Cub Koda
Michael "Cub" Koda was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. Rolling Stone magazine felt that Koda was best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys' Room", which reached #3 on the 1974 Billboard charts as performed by...
(guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
), Mike Lutz (guitarist/vocalist), T.J. Cronley (drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
), and Tony Driggins (bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
/vocals). Latter day members included Henry "H-Bomb" Weck (drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
) and Bruce Nazarian (guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/vocalist
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
).
They are remembered for the top-40 hit single "Smokin' In The Boys Room
Smokin' In the Boys Room
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!, reaching #3 on the U.S. charts, and later covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe, with the Crüe's version accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school...
" (1973).
Early history and Yeah!
Brownsville Station was formed in Ann Arbor in 1969. Brownsville Station's early albums included song covers from bands which had inspired them. In 1970, they released their debut studio album, No BS, on a Warners Bros. label. Their biggest hit, "Smokin' In the Boys RoomSmokin' In the Boys Room
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!, reaching #3 on the U.S. charts, and later covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe, with the Crüe's version accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school...
", from their 1973 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Yeah!
Yeah! (Brownsville Station album)
Yeah! is a studio album by the hard rock band Brownsville Station. It hit No. 98 on the The Billboard 200, while the single "Smokin' In the Boys Room" reached No. 3 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and No...
, reached #3 on U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and #27 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. The track sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
status by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
on 15 January 1974.
Late history
In 1977, Brownsville Station recorded the novelty songNovelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
"Martian Boogie", which is played on Dr. Demento
Dr. Demento
Barret Eugene Hansen , better known as Dr. Demento, is a radio broadcaster and record collector specializing in novelty songs, comedy, and strange or unusual recordings dating from the early days of phonograph records to the present....
's radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show on occasion. Another song, "(Lady) Put the Light on Me" also received modest airplay in the Detroit area.
After T.J. Cronley left, he was replaced by Van Wert
Van Wert, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,690 people, 4,556 households, and 2,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,803.8 people per square mile . There were 4,927 housing units at an average density of 831.4 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, native Henry "H-Bomb" Weck, and in 1975 multi-instrumentalist and Detroit session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
Bruce Nazarian
Bruce Nazarian
Bruce Nazarian is a funk and rock musician, recording artist and music producer from Detroit, currently residing in the Western USA. He is also an Apple Certified Trainer and Certified Pro on various professional application, including DVD Studio Pro and Logic Pro...
joined the band (it was Nazarian who sang lead on "(Lady) Put the Light on Me." Their second-highest Billboard charting single was "Kings of the Party" which topped out at #31 in 1974. Best known as a live act fired up by Koda's onstage antics, the band's name was chosen because it was so long that it took up most of the marquees that rock venues used in that era, thereby hogging the limelight from whoever Brownsville happened to be playing with.
Brownsville Station disbanded in 1979 and their final studio album, Air Special, was released by Epic in 1980. Koda died of kidney disease on 1 July 2000 at the age of 51. Lutz still resides in Ann Arbor and works part time at a local music store called Oz's Music, teaching guitar and bass lessons. Weck resides in the Memphis, TN area with his wife and is a businessman. Nazarian is the owner of Digital Media Consulting Group in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, and runs a popular digital media website "TheDigitalGuy.com". He also is a popular online radio host for The Digital Guy radio show as well as bring a music producer, concert impresario and artist manager.
In 2008, Brownsville Station was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. The band's biggest hit, "Smokin' In the Boys Room
Smokin' In the Boys Room
"Smokin' in the Boys Room" is a song originally recorded by Brownsville Station in 1973 on their album Yeah!, reaching #3 on the U.S. charts, and later covered in 1985 by Mötley Crüe, with the Crüe's version accompanied by a conceptual music video featuring Michael Berryman as the school...
", was voted a Legendary Michigan Song the following year.
Influences
Brownsville Station's early influences included Chuck BerryChuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
, Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, and other 1950s Rock & Roll icons. Cub Koda's onstage antics would influence many rockers including Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf
Peter Wolf is an American Rhythm and Blues, Soul and Rock and Roll musician, best known as the lead vocalist for the J. Geils Band from 1967 to 1983; and for a successful musical solo career to date with writing partner Will Jennings.- Life and career :Wolf was born in the Bronx, New York...
and Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...
.
Former members
- Cub KodaCub KodaMichael "Cub" Koda was an American rock and roll singer, guitarist, songwriter, disc jockey, music critic, and record compiler. Rolling Stone magazine felt that Koda was best known for writing the song "Smokin' in the Boys' Room", which reached #3 on the 1974 Billboard charts as performed by...
(1969–1979) - guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/vocalist - Mike Lutz (1969–1979) - guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/vocalist/bassistBassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments... - T.J. Cronley (1969–1971, 1977) - drummerDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
- Tony Driggins (1969–1972, 1977) - bassistBassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
/vocalist - Henry "H-Bomb" Weck (1972–1979) - drummerDrummerA drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
/vocalist - Bruce NazarianBruce NazarianBruce Nazarian is a funk and rock musician, recording artist and music producer from Detroit, currently residing in the Western USA. He is also an Apple Certified Trainer and Certified Pro on various professional application, including DVD Studio Pro and Logic Pro...
(1975–1979) - guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
/vocalist/bassistBassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
/keyboardistKeyboardistA keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Albums
- 1970: No BS
- 1972: A Night On the Town
- 1973: Yeah!Yeah! (Brownsville Station album)Yeah! is a studio album by the hard rock band Brownsville Station. It hit No. 98 on the The Billboard 200, while the single "Smokin' In the Boys Room" reached No. 3 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and No...
- 1974: School Punks
- 1975: Motor City Connection
- 1977: Brownsville Station (a.k.a. 'The Red Album')
- 1978: Air Special
Compilations
- 1993: Smokin' In the Boys Room: The Best of Brownsville Station
- 2003: Smokin' In the Boys Room and Other Hits
- 2005: Smokin' In the Boys Room
- 2006: Rhino Hi-Five: Brownsville Station