Editor’s Note

Photo credit: Lori-Anne Crewe for SB Mag.

I happen to catch a portion of ETA Bruno Nesci’s promotional conversation this week on Zoomer Radio regarding the upcoming annual Niagara Falls Elvis Festival . I first met Bruno at the 2017 Flaming Star Festival—one month after starting SIDEBURNS Magazine, and I have enjoyed watching Bruno perform and compete over the ensuing years and witnessing his many successes as an ETA.

I covered three of the NFEF, and the last two years of the Collingwood Elvis Festival where I had the pleasure of meeting Robbie Lane in 2019. As with most things I have written for SIDEBURNS Magazine over the past 7 years, I like to find a connection to the ETA world. After hearing Bruno on Zoomer Radio, I decided to repost an article I wrote in 2019, which ties the Elvis festivals, Zoomer Radio, Bruno Nesci, Robbie Lane, and SB Mag up in a nice little package. Cheers, everyone! C.M.

Zoomer Radio: Robbie Lane

Photo credit: https://www.robbielane.com/photos.html

I always listen to Zoomer Radio while driving in my car, and when I heard that Robbie Lane would be making an appearance at the 2019 Collingwood Elvis Festival, I was intrigued by the prospect of meeting him. In the early 1960s when I was a young teen, Robbie Lane and his band, the Disciples, played at a dance that I went to at Salfleet High School in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Their music was part of my favourite tunes that I heard on my transistor radio, and I was looking forward to asking Robbie about the early years in Canadian music.

Photo credit: https://bobbycurtola.com/en/biography/

During our conversation at Collingwood, I mentioned to Robbie that his long time friend Bobby Curtola also performed at Saltfleet High, and that Bobby was a distant cousin of one of my sons-in-law. During the years before his passing in 2016, Bobby Curtola made many appearances at Robbie Lane and the Disciples’ shows at The Duke Live, 1225 Queen Street East, Toronto, ON; and on Oct 19th, 2015, Bobby presented Robbie with the Cashbox Magazine Canada Music Award—a well-deserved honour for his over 40 years in the music industry. In August, 2016, Robbie Lane paid tribute to the late Bobby Curtola with a humorous, touching, and eloquent speech.

What follows is a description of Robbie Lane’s career with the Disciples provided by Wikipedia, the Free Encyclpedia:

Robbie Lane and the Disciples is a Canadian rock band, that peaked in the 1960s. A cover of Neil Sedaka's "What Am I Gonna Do" was their biggest success, reaching #10 in 1966. They also recorded an early version of the hit song "Soul Deep" in 1966.

Beginning as Ronnie Hawkins' backup band, Robbie Lane & the Disciples later gained attention as the band for Canadian CTV-TV's “It's Happening”. Composed of guitarist Terry Bush, drummer Doug Copeland, harmonica player William Cudmore, keyboardist Paul Denyes, vocalist Robbie Lane, tenor saxophonist Paul Mifsud and bassist Gene Trach, the group recorded several singles during the mid '60s. After an attempt at a solo career in the mid ‘70s, Robbie Lane (aka Robin Curry) and the band re-formed in the mid ‘80s.

The following is a mini interview from Zoomer Radio’s website. “Q&A with Robbie Lane, Host of Robbie Remembers and The British Invasion”, by AM 740 Staff, was posted on June 8th, 2017. Edits by SB Mag editor, Carolyn MacArthur:

Q. How did you get started in broadcasting?
A. I was playing with my band, the Disciples, at a club in Toronto and the owner asked me to help him beef up the Saturday night business. I suggested he start a dance on those nights and tie in with a radio station. I asked 1050 CHUM if they’d meet with us about this and they started doing a Saturday night Oldies Dance. The Club Owner asked me to voice the “spots”; and after a few weeks, they offered me a show on CHUM, then I moved on to Zoomer Radio.

Q. What’s the best movie you’ve ever paid money to see?
A. The Godfather. One of the best.

Q. If you could only go to one more concert in your life, who would you see?
A. There are so many acts I’d like to see, so I’ll just pick “Ringo Starr and his All Star Band”.

Photo credit: https://www.robbielane.com/

Q. Everybody has one thing they cook really well. What’s your specialty?
A. I’m an expert at grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches with a secret ingredient.

Q. What would your partner say is your most annoying habit?
A. I procrastinate. She hates that.

Q. Coolest person in entertainment history – GO!
A. Gotta be Frank Sinatra.

Q. Favourite gift you ever received?
A. My fav gift has to have been my daughter Shelley.

Q. One classic TV show you wish they’d remake.
A. Cant think of one.

Q. One classic TV show they should never, ever touch.
A. Perry Mason with Raymond Burr. Leave it alone.

Q. Do you prefer a crew neck of a V-neck style of t-shirt?
A. I wear mostly V neck. I tell my wife, Marilyn, V is for virgin. She says they must be old T

Zoomer Radio: Sam Houston and Neil Hedley

Sam Houston and Neil Hedley with SIDEBURNS Magazine Editor, Carolyn MacArthur. Photo credit: SB Mag.

Prior to meeting Sam Houston and Neil Hedley backstage at the 2019 Collingwood Elvis Festival, I heard Sam say on stage, “Who likes sideburns? Nobody, right?” When I met Sam a few minutes later, I jokingly told her that I took exception to her comment about sideburns, seeing the name of my magazine is “SIDEBURNS’. Sam found it all very funny, as did I.

Sam is not the only one with a good sense of humour. Neil Hedley told me that a fan who was meeting him for the first time said that he looked better on the radio. LOL I

n the photo at the left, Neil is giving his best Elvis lip curl and doing the signature pointing that so many ETAs do in photos.

Editor’s Note: Neil Hedley left Zoomer Radio since the writing of this 2019 article. Jane Brown joined Sam Houston and is co-hosting The Morning Show with Sam & Jane, weekdays from 6 am to 10 am on Zoomer Radio.