Jay Bee and the Jupitors (1979-1982) are back!

Sometimes, ....just sometimes you gotta love the internet and the long tail of collective memory.

Ever since this 1980 demo by my Doo Wop band 'Jay Bee and his Jupitors' magically reappeared via 'Diggin' Demos' on youtube, I've been getting some late (it's never too late) kudos from the - still thriving - Doo Wop community out there.

Jay Bee' was actually Jan Breese, who originally formed the band with his brother Kai. They both lived in Sasel, Hamburg, just across the street from where I lived in Wellingsbüttel, where my family had moved from Teaneck, New Jersey in 1976. With Rhett Scheel singing baritone, we were the perfect collection of nerdy teenage weirdos who happened to be in love with the Ink Spots, The Five Satins, The Moonglows etc. instead of Slade or the Sweet or whatever the rest of the world was listening to at the time. Our musical (and fashion) choices were a collective middle finger to everything we felt was shallow and inauthentic in those "modern times". And yes, we just loved, loved singing!

I was 13 when I met these guys. We were total Doo Wop super nerds, which was quite a challenge back then (1978-1982). Just getting your hands on a cassette or vinyl (wow!) with some Doo Wop tracks on it was almost impossible and you had to really, really hunt for them. I remember being blown away when I managed to get a US vinyl copy of a Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers album. Unbelievable. Especially in these days of instant, immediate availability of virtually everything. (Is that a good thing?)

Anyway, I digress....

I am glad that these recordings (I completely forgot we even made them) are out there now. So, if you really want to know what me and my friends were up to in the late 70s and early 80s in northern Hamburg... here you go.

Enjoy and smile for me, yeah?