Fri 5/15 @ 7:30PM
More often then not, the path to rock stardom becomes a dead end. So it was for guitarist Wally Bryson whose early ’70s band the Raspberries was at the heart of the ’70s power pop movement and has been cited as an influence by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty. Bryson’s undulating riff drove the band’s biggest hit, 1972’s “Go All the Way,” making the song, which he co-wrote, instantly recognizable.
Following the band’s 1975 breakup, Bryson had a couple more bands, Tattoo and Fotomaker. And as a musician who plays more for love than stardom, he’s continued to make music for his own enjoyment even now at the age of 65.
But he’s had a second career as well. For more than three decades, Bryson has worked with adults with developmental disabilities, a job he’s as passionate about as he is about music. He’ll soon be retiring from that day job and, he says, spend the rest of his life focusing on making music.
Before that happens, he’s bringing those two careers together in at the Rockin’ Roll Awareness Concert at the Cleveland Masonic Auditorium, in cooperation with the Cuyahoga Board of Developmental Disabilities (CCBDD) and education group Roots of American Music (ROAM).
The bill will feature the Wally Bryson Band with drummer Ed Brown, bassist Bill March and singer Frank Amato; Sittin’ Ducks, another long-time project of his featuring Brown, keyboard player Ken Margolis and bassist Dan Klawon; and a reunion of Qwasi Qwa, featuring his guitar-playing son Jesse.
His clients and their caregivers, he says, will be the stars of the show with front row seats and a meet-and-greet with the bands. The show’s proceeds will benefit the CCBDD Parent Teacher Community United Foundation.
Tickets are $15-$100. Call 216-210-0900 or go to paccleveland.com/.
Cleveland, OH 44115
6 Responses to “Wally Bryson Band & Friends Play to Benefit People With Disabilities”
Eric Carmen
Although Wally played the daylights out of the chords I wrote for the intro of “Go All The Way”, he was not in the room when I wrote the song. As a matter of fact, when I brought it in to play it for the band at rehearsal, he didn’t even like it! He has been propagating the myth that he “co-wrote” my song for over forty years. As recently as a couple of years ago, in an interview with some rock magazine, he was quoted as having said “Go All The Way” is what a REAL rock band sounds like….right up until the singing starts.” There was a typo on the back cover of the first Raspberries album that credited ( Carmen/ Bryson ) as the writers. On the label of the album it (correctly) credits “E. Carmen.” If anyone wants to hear what Wally’s songs sound like, all they have to do is listen to the four Raspberries albums. There is not a single bar, let alone song, that sounds anything like “Go All The Way.” ( See: “Party’s Over”, “Money Down,” “Last Dance”, etc. ) But for that typo, Wally never would have had a leg to stand on. I hate to sound “petty”, but I’m just plain sick of hearing him claim to have “co-written” a song he didn’t even like. P.S. I am the sole writer listed on the copyright, and the checks have been coming to my house for 43 years. If, indeed, he had written any part of the song, and I had it stolen from him, I cannot imagine why he would have continued playing in a band with me for another three or four years. If someone had ever stolen a song from me, I would have quit the band, right on the spot! You might also want to ask yourself why all the great guitar intros ( “Go All The Way”, “I Wanna Be With You”, “Tonight,” “Ecstasy”, “I’m A Rocker”, “I Don’t Know What I Want”, etc. ) were on my songs, not Wally’s. Enough said.
Eric Carmen
Wally is a GREAT guitarist, but “playing” and “writing” are two entirely different things.
A terrific example of this is the guitar riff that opens “Layla”. It was conceived and played by Duane Allman, who did NOT receive a writer credit. That’s because, great as that lick is, it is neither a part of the melody, the chords supporting the melody, or the lyric, and that is how ASCAP and BMI, the two premier songwriting societies in the world, define what makes up a song. On Eric Clapton’s “unplugged” version of the song, he doesn’t play the riff at all. Guitar intros, drum intros, keyboard intros etc., although they may be terrific are part of the “arrangement”. That’s why no other guitarist that I’ve ever worked with ( Steve Lukather, Davey Johnstone, Michael Landau, Danny Kortchmar, Hugh McCracken, Danny Huff…..and on and on….have ever claimed to have been a “co-writer” of any of my songs. Only Wally Bryson has ever made that claim, and, frankly, I think it’s kind of sad, 43 years after the fact, that this nonsense is still going on. Wally has written some lovely songs in his career. Unfortunately, “Go All The Way” is not, and never was, one of them.
Eric Carmen
P.S. It doesn’t matter how many times you say it, it doesn’t make it true. Give it a break, already, Wally! This kind of stuff just makes you look desperate! Take credit for all the great songs you’ve written, and be happy! I’m one of your biggest fans!
xoxoxo
Eric
Jim Kinzer
Lighten up Eric…the event was a benefit for people with developmental disabilities…a charitable,giving act on Wally’s part…look it up,..CHARITY
Ray Benich
Seems like Eric is “telling it like it is”. Wally’s still waiting for his check(s), that’s show biz… Here’s a cool piece about not only the Cyrus Eire, but a lot of the other cool Cleveland bands from the Golden years of Cleveland rock… Rock On Cool Cleveland..!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/raybenichdoab2013/9878626803
Joe Wahl
Everyone’s a winner, we are all going to meet again at that BIG jam in the sky, and then, no one will care who wrote what… …ROCK ON Cleveland natives, your roots run deep.