A Friendly Five

Syracuse, NY (circa 1960s) Many of you reading this page weren’t even born when a rapidly growing group of black teens known as The Soul Generation were making their statements in Syracuse and indeed “around the world.”

Thank God I’m old enough to remember Little Willie Gatewood and The Toronados. That was one of the baddest (and I mean that in a good way) bands that ever played in the Syracuse area. Gatewood’s band (we call him “Gate”) was comprised of Chuck Phillips on the electric guitar, A. C. Goldston on the electric bass, Willie Simms on …

There was a time, from the late 1950s until the early ’60s, that if you saw a group of young black men standing together on a street corner in their neighborhoods, they were only singing. They were singing the music of the time. Music which became known as “doo wop.” At the time of its popularity, it was called R&B …

The man known as ‘The Voice of Syracuse’ His name was Roosevelt Dean but he became known as “The Voice of Syracuse.” Singer and guitarist, writer of that “down Home” kind of blues. Producer of 11 or 12 CDs, and if you go back far enough, a 45 RPM record or two and a cassette of his own special brand …