“Rock and roll is the music between the mountains,” Head East keyboardist Roger Boyd says of the Midwest phenomenon. It’s a line that recalls decades in which Head East has been particularly popular between the Smoky Mountains and the Rocky Mountains.
Originally from Champaign, Ill., Head East moved to St. Louis in the early 1970’s and broke out during a time when a unique set of circumstances came together to electrify the classic rock music scene in the Gateway City.
KSHE radio was one of the first album-oriented rock stations in the country; crowds gathered at the Mississippi River Festival to hear the likes of The Who, Joni Mitchell, Tina Turner and more for $2 a ticket; and business-savvy promoters brought huge concerts such as Superjam to Busch Stadium and beyond.
“Something in the Water,” a new locally produced documentary explores these circumstances that made for St. Louis to be a place where many bands like Head East found their voices in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
Boyd, who is interviewed in the documentary, credits inspiration from local icon Chuck Berry, as well as the influence of KSHE under the leadership of former General Manager Shelley Grafman, as major contributions to the success of Head East.
“It was right when album-oriented rock was starting to get hot,” Boyd recalls.
Steve Schankman, President of Contemporary Productions is also interviewed in the documentary and says KSHE was a pioneer for album-oriented rock in the Midwest.
“If Shelley’s station added an album, it would get added everywhere. Like with Head East; when Shelley added Head East, they became a big band overnight,” Schankman says in the documentary.
“We went to Contemporary Productions because we thought they could help us get some airplay. And they took our album to Shelley Grafman at KSHE,” Boyd says.
“Shelley had been looking for a project to see how strong his station was, and he loved our album; loved it. He decided we were going to be his test case to see if he could break an unknown group. And he wailed on it.”
“Something in the Water” will air on HEC-TV, St. Louis’ leading producer of arts, education and cultural programming, following its premiere screening at the Pageant at 7:30 pm on May 30. The Pageant is expected to reach capacity for the event, which is free and open to the public on a first come, first serve basis.
For more information about the premiere event, click here.
