The Day Rock and Roll came to Alex

Willie Penny, Al Esterberg, Karl Tegland, Gayle Gordon.
There's ELECTRICAL WIRES coming out of two of those guitars!

When CNN debuts its 10-part Tom Hanks documentary on "The Sixties" this fall, it will doubtless include a lot about the dominant influence of rock and roll on the decade's culture.
Recently Alexandria, Minnesota, Stan's hometown, was named the seventh most livable city in America. You can go to this link and hear them brag all about it, how the city has developed into a wonderful place to live, work and play. Alexandria does have a lot to talk about, but they probably won't mention the day the music came to town. So we will. We were there.
It was early 1961. Sure, we had heard Elvis on KDWB and Bill Haley and his Comets on vinyl 45s. But this was live and local. The magical venue was the packed Junior High Talent show and the curtain came back to reveal four kids with guitars and AMPLIFIERS! The excitement shook that old Alexandria auditorium right down to its Depression-era roots.

Karl's still got rock 'n roll hair.
Does he have the chops?

The boy band proceeded to take the place apart, clearly the audience's favorite by far -- though nobody would think of screaming. The band with no name that is remembered would have easily won the talent contest, but there was no category invented yet for The Devil's Music. Most parents said this loud noise was just a fad, it would never last, we would grow out of it, but we knew better. Start the Revolution. Rock and Roll was here to stay!
That night was the first of the many times Karl Tegland performed in public. Stan's friend is now a successful attorney in Seattle who checks into this blog once in a while. He put the axe down, he says for good, just a few years ago. We're so not sure. We think CNN may get his juices rocking and rolling again. We shall see. We hope so.