Dick
:: Rock The Nation ::
As they say, the dollar bins are full of dashed rock & roll dreams, and my guess is that Dick Coulson & Letter O's are among them. I have not been able to scrounge much info about these guys, except that they were apparently from Detroit and this 5 song mini-LP, release by Polydor in the early 80s was their big shot. It was not a bad shot, but it missed.
Producer Jack Douglas (Aerosmith, John Lennon) executive produced this sucker, which probably made Dick and the boys feel even more hopeful that their future as rock gods was assured. The songs were decent, cookie cutter, post-classic rock - somewhere in between new wave and Bryan Adams style early 80s pop. Lord knows a lot of this kind of stuff was doing brisk business in 1983, but a national following for Letter O was not in the cards, which makes the lyrics to "Rock The Nation" somewhat ironic.
Hindsight is easy, so let's indulge, shall we? Perhaps Dick Coulson & Letter O was not the best possible band name. Even without Dick, Letter O is not so good. Next, take a look at the guys on the cover. It's easy to tell which one's Dick, and he's the coolest looking of the bunch. The other guys give new meaning to the term, "regular guys", although the one on the left does his best to emphasize the muscles in his arms (nice 'stash too!), and the guy on the right (not Dick, but the balding guy with the blue sweater) has a nice package.
Dorkiness aside, these guys may have simply been one of too many bands that sounded like this back then, and it makes me wonder, where are they now? 23 years on, I hope they all found happiness and meaning in life. And baggier pants.
Mike
This entry was posted
on Monday, June 05, 2006 at 6:46 AM.
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Friday, March 09, 2007 4:23:00 PMI was friends with these guys from highschool (late 60's) till late 70's when I moved to west coast. Originally members of Detroit bar band favorites "Astigafa" (from Beatles "Benefit for Mr. Kite": a splendid time is guaranteed for all) it also had Marshall Crenshaw in its eight man line-up. Others in DC and LO include Dan Logan, bass (center) and Gary Sussman (package man) on guitar. I believe Dick has gone on to become a CPA, I've lost track of them, but all were truly fine people and dedicated to making good music, not simply seeking fame and fortune via rock and roll.
Friday, November 02, 2007 8:47:00 PM
Interesting read Mike. This is Joe Resnick, guy with emphasized arms and nice stash. Still playing drums. Never stopped. Kept the arms, Lost the stash. I play now in Austin, Texas, own a recording studio here and married a beautiful girl *finally*. So yes, this guy with tight pants did go on to looser ones and a happy life. Appreciate people remembering us and listening to the music.
By the way, hated the name Letter O. It was chosen by a record company exec because Radio City Music Hall wouldn't let us release a record with our band name which at the time was: Radio City. Better, huh?
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 6:45:00 PM
These guys were a great show band when they had Rosenberg. We used to see them at the Wagon Wheel (in Troy) and the Peanut Barrel (in East Lansing). Everybody called them "Halfagafa" because that's all that was left after the others quit to go to college or seek their fortunes on the coasts.
Saturday, August 02, 2008 2:34:00 PM
I grew up just around the corner from the Coulsons (They were on Edgewood, I was on Wiltshire) and I remember a bunch of great shows at the Wagon Wheel, one of my favorite tunes was their Beatles medley - She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End... I was just plunking around the internet seeing if I could find their two biggest hits on mp3 but no such luck...
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 9:18:00 PM
Dick and the package man are still in the Detroit area . Gary the Package man play's with " The Arron Vaughn Band " And Dan Logan still plays sometimes . I still like "Telephone Ring " I have not seen Rosenberg in a few years . Dick used to do a great 2 man drum battle with Robert Crenshaw who still has played with the Arron Vaughn band on a few occasions and recreated the drum battle with present drummer Mike O Brian .
Friday, August 28, 2009 5:44:00 PM
These guys were friggin GREAT. If you listened to this ep and DON'T think 'Where's My Angel' is a hit record you're nuts. We need the Jonas Brothers to cover that or 'Mona Lisa' from the great A&M lp Par Avion/Via Air Mail....get Dick that payday he deserves. He still has IT. Check out The Pounders on MySpace.
Sunday, August 08, 2010 1:40:00 AM
I like the track 'Rock The nation". Does anyone know where I can get this ?
Thursday, August 03, 2017 2:43:00 PM
Stumbled across this while searching for other stuff...Gary is now playing in a band with myself, Mark Allen, Mike O'Brien and Jim Adamas. We call ourselves Metro Rockway. Gary has switched to bass and plays like a mofo, still, and sings well too. I would love to find a copy of this little gem myself.
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