Nov. 7, 1970: Bob & Gene's Revue

       Time to meet some future Buffalo Music Hall of Famers. Let's slip down the stairs to a place that's a legend with serious R&B aficionados – Bill Nunn Sr.’s Mo Do studio at 50 Orange St. in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt. Though this article doesn’t mention it, Nunn Sr. also owned a jazz venue on the city’s East Side, Jan’s Supper Club.

Bob & Gene did indeed record an album, with Bob’s famous brother Billy on keyboards, but according to what I just found online, Mo Do ran out of dough in 1971 and it was never released.

        Then in 2001, New York City deejay, collector and soul music historian David Griffiths came across an early Bob and Gene single, tracked down Bill Nunn and wound up with boxes of Mo Do reel-to-reel tapes. The Bob & Gene album, “If This World Were Mine,” finally appeared on the Daptone label in 2007, with liner notes by Griffiths.

        “It was crazy on so many levels,” Griffiths writes. “You had these intensely emotional songs, mixed with this lo-fi quality, that in a way represented so much great music from so many cities that were never really heard by anyone.”       

Nov. 7, 1970 

Bob & Gene’s Revue 

The Steps Are the Thing 

        “What would you guys like to do?” Bob Nunn asks as a nervous audition feeling settles over the Bob & Gene Revue.

        “Go home,” drummer Jerry McClam tells him. They do “War” instead and from the first note Bob and partner Gene Coplin start to move.

        “The important thing is the chorey-og-raphy,” Bob will tell you. “The steps, the routine, express the song.”

        On an open stage they must really get it on. Here they need to be careful. Got to watch the ceiling. Got to watch the walls. Got to keep fairly close to that one mike. Not that much room in this corner of Bob’s basement.

        Anybody who doesn’t dig soul band choreography is due for some re-education if he watches Bob and Gene work out.

* * *

EVEN CRAMPED like this, it’s still like their bodies are musical instruments. Follow the song with them. What you hear is supported by what you see.

        “Stop,” Bob says in the middle of it. “Man, you blew,” he accuses Jerry. “I thought we’d do a simple sing,” Jerry says. “I’m sorry I blew. That’s not the first time,”

        “I’m hip,” Bob says and they all laugh. They count off and start into the middle of the song, the middle of the choreography.

        “War” goes into Sly Stone’s “Than Kyou Fa Lettin’ Me Be Mice Elf” (the band handles the complicated rhythm surprisingly well) and that goes into the Five Stairsteps’ “Ooh-h Child.”

        There’s not much room in the arrangements for the band to show off and (they) play almost studiously this night. Except for Jerry the drummer, who can be flashy at times.

        Lead guitarist Jon DuBard is turned toward his small amp, never disappointing anyone when it’s time for a lead lick. Rhythm guitarist Russell Underwood and brother Kenny on bass meet their rhythmic duties. And new organist Kevin Wells lays back, playing single notes where he’s not sure of the material.

        What they put down is musical backdrop for Bob and Gene, who plainly radiate excitement.

        They don’t sound quite like the band that backed Bob and Gene on four singles recorded right here in this basement, which also is the studio for Bob’s father’s Mo Do Records.

        (William Nunn Sr. is a musician in his own right. He sang with big jazz bands in the ‘40s until his voice left him. Another son, William Jr., is jazz pianist with Johnny Litell (actually, Lytle). Small wonder Bob can play organ, piano, bass and drums.)

        One of the early Bob & Gene records, “I Really Really Love You,” sounds a lot like Archie Bell & The Drells in a small room.

* * *

BUT THE LATEST one, “I’ve Gotta Find a Way,” written by Bob and Gene, sounds much like an experimental Motown ballad. Good vocals, tempo changes, horns, piano, wah-wah guitar. It was something of a local hit, even though soul radio is as indifferent toward hometown talent as its Top 40 counterparts.

        “Wanna do the Third Show?” Bob asks. “Yeah, the Third Show,” someone says. “Third Show.”

        One two three four and a fast “Cowboys to Girls,” which slips into “My Girl” and slips out into “Cowboys to Girls” again. Then it’s “Yes, I’m Ready,” “Soul Man” and “I Just Can’t Stop Dancin.’”

        A show is like a set of continuous music. Bob and Gene try not to do the same show twice in the same place. One week they had to put together five different shows a night for six nights.

* * *

THEY’VE PLAYED high schools and colleges, a few jazz clubs and once at Melody Fair. Last night they were at East High. Mr. Nunn figures to book the group in several Ohio cities come January or so, after he releases a Bob & Gene album.

        Bob, Gene and the whole band figure they’re working on a different level from their closest local competition, The Debonairs. They believe it’s just a matter of time and work before they hit it big.

        “We’re doin’ something different,” Gene says. “It’s not like the same old James Brown routine or The Temptations. Our style is our style.”

* * *

“WHAT WE WANT is just a clean, polished show like The Tempts or The Delfonics,” he continues. “Movin’ around in the right places in the right time.”

        “I know how these cats do,” Jerry puts in. “I watch their feet more than their faces.”

        “It’s not just the choreography,” Bob adds. “The singing’s right. It’s so down pat we could do it in our sleep.”

        The faith they all have in making it takes care of a lot of problems. For one, there are few arguments (“That’s the way groups blow up,” Bob says.) and Jerry explains the other:

        “You don’t have to worry about a cat in this group bein’ more than (he grins) half an hour late. I’ve been in groups where cats just didn’t show.

        “And you know I’m gonna strive to make a fool outa  the person who tells me you ain’t gonna make it. They’re tellin’ us no, but we’re showin’ ‘em yeah.” 

The box/sidebar 

Big Plans Ahead 

Pertinent and impertinent information about the Bob & Gene Revue:

        Robert Nunn, 18, singer, McKinley High School, hopes to start at State University of Buffalo in January.

        Eugene Coplin, 19, singer, “good old East High School,” studying exceptional education at Buffalo State University College.

        Jon DuBard, 19, lead guitar, Buffalo State Campus School, studying civil engineering at Erie Community College.

        Russell Underwood, 18, rhythm guitar, East High.

        Kenny Underwood, 20, bass guitar, Russell’s brother, East High.

        Kevin Wells, 20, organ, Bennett High, studying history at State UB.

        Jerry McClam, 20, drums, Bennett High, studying business administration at UB.

* * *

SOME TIME IN 1967 Bob and Gene, who had sung in “little kiddies’ groups” of five to a dozen persons, were shooting pool together when they realized – or decided – they could harmonize better than almost anybody they knew.

        Within a year they not only had a band, but also played places like the old Glen Park Inferno and Toronto’s Soul City. That band, which evolved into what is now The Montereys, left Bob and Gene in late 1968.

        The new band was started with Russell and Kenny Underwood. The seventh member, Kevin, came in just recently. Bob’s father, William Nunn, manager of the group, feels they may have found a clean, dedicated, hard-working combination. At least until The Draft comes.

* * *

JERRY McCLAM sums it up: “I’ve been in little bands before where nobody cared about things. I was looking for a group that wanted to move. With this, it was an uphill climb right away. In a little time or less, we’ll be gone."