After more than five years and more than 1,000 posts, I’ve decided to launch a new feature. Ingeniously titled Musings of the Past, the idea is to repost select older content that was first published when CMM got lower traffic and/or posts I particularly like.
I don’t necessarily envisage straight reposts, at least not in all cases. In fact, when looking at old content, especially from the early days, oftentimes, I cringe at my writing and/or the execution of the post. As such, I will likely tweak some of the written content and accompanying multimedia. Think of it as the equivalent of album reissues that come with some additional bells and whistles!
If you’re a cynic, as I sometimes like to be myself, you may think, ‘oaky, CMM starting to repost previous stuff means he’s running out of ideas.’ While I can’t deny I’ve had phases during which I found it challenging to come up with new content, thus far, knock on wood, I haven’t encountered full-blown writer’s block – hopefully, I just didn’t jinx myself! đ
I will say the timing of introducing Musings of the Past isn’t entirely coincidental. My family and I temporarily needed to vacate our house and move to temporary quarters for about a week due to necessary mold inspection and remediation work. I hope it’ll be more of the former and less of the latter! Anyway, this may impact my time for blogging, so republishing previous content is coming in handy.
Without further ado, let’s get to the inaugural post. Of course, as a Beatles nutcase, I have no choice but to start with a post that’s related to The Fab Four. I bring to you the mystery story of Klaatu – again. Or was it The Beatles, after all? Is Paul really still alive or has he been in the twilight zone for the past 55-plus years?
To be or not to Be-atles
This post was originally published on February 19, 2019. It has been slightly edited.
Just before Christmas, I listened to a refreshing new album that sounded incredibly “Beatlish.” I checked the album, entitled Klaatu, for names or pictures of the musicians but there were none. All credits were given to Klaatu. Curious, I called Capitol Records and was told it was a “mystery group.”
The above is the opening paragraph of a story written by Steve Smith, published on February 17, 1977 in the Providence Journal, a Rhode Island daily newspaper. I was reminded about the album, when it showed up as a listening recommendation in my streaming music service provider this morning. While I first covered the record in May 2017, I felt it was worthwhile revisiting what I would call one of the more intriguing rumors in rock music in an updated post.
In retrospect, it’s easy to dismiss Smith as a writer who seemingly was chasing what would have been a potentially career-defining scoop. British magazine New Music Express, now simply known as NME, was quick to dismiss the piece with a story titled Deaf Idiot Journalist Starts Beatles Rumor. Rolling Stone subsequently called it the “hype of the year.”
I agree while sounding Beatlesque, if you listen closely, it is pretty clear the vocals weren’t performed by The Beatles. Still, Smith made some valid points in his story. For example, I agree with his observation that the tune Sub-Rosa Subway sounds like The Beatles from 1968/69. Plus, something that in my opinion got a bit lost is that Smith didn’t firmly conclude Klaatu were The Beatles. Instead, he identified four possibilities. To quote: 1. The Beatles. 2. A couple of The Beatles with other people. 3. A Beatle-backed band. 4. A completely unknown but ingenious and talented band.
Also, let’s not forget the other actors in this story. The obvious place to start here is Klaatu. Named after the extraterrestrial character in the motion picture The Day The Earth Stood Still, the Canadian trio included John Woloschuk (bass), Terry Draper (drums) and Dee Long (guitar). During a 1980 interview with former Capitol Records editorial manager Stephen Peeples, which is posted on Klaatuâs website, Draper said, âI think we were flattered more than anything. Surprised, though, considering that it was totally regardless of us that it happened. We didnât perpetrate it. It just sorta came to pass by an article written in Providence [Journal] by Steve Smith. We were surprised as everyone else.â
I’m sorry, but I don’t entirely buy the above. While Klaatu may not have planned the plot, they didn’t do anything while the rumors were unfolding. The band essentially attributed their silence to a desire to remain anonymous musicians, which is why they had not included their names, photos or any biographical information on the album cover. Did they think they would generate “Klaatumania” with fans running after them wherever they would go? I feel the following commentary Woloschuk made during the above interview is more insightful: “We got more hype out of that than you could have manufactured with 15 promo records directors. I mean, it backfired on us. While we were looking for anonymity, we got more exposure than we could have dreamed was possible.â
Then there was Frank Davies, president of Klaatu’s label Daffodil Records, which had a distribution deal with Capitol Records. When Smith called him, Davies reportedly told the writer everything “you’ve summarized is pretty accurately all around” and “everything that is there, can and will be identified even without, perhaps them, the people being seen.” Capitol Records certainly added to the rumor by calling Klaatu a “mystery band.” Meanwhile, they were likely laughing their assess off and watching sales of the album pick up.
Eventually, Dwight Douglas, program director at radio station WWDC in Washington, D.C., put the mystery to an end. He checked the records at the U.S. Copyright Office and uncovered the band membersâ real names. As soon as Klaatuâs identity became known, the albumâs sales started to tumble and started the bandâs slow decline. Time for some music.
Here’s the opener of the record, which in Canada was titled 3:47 EST. When Capitol Records released it in the U.S., they decided to rename it Klaatu. Co-written by Woloschuk and Draper, Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft is one of tunes that have a very strong Beatlesque vibe. While it’s fairly obvious to me that the voices aren’t The Beatles, the singing style definitely is reminiscent of The Fab Four. Even more so is the instrumentation. It’s actually a great song you could imagine having been written by John Lennon and appearing on an album like Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band or Magical Mystery Tour.
California Jam starts out with a George Harrison-style electric slide guitar. The harmony singing is reminiscent of The Beatles and sometimes also sounds a bit like The Beach Boys. The song was co-written by Woloschuk and Dino Tome, a close friend.
Next up is the above-mentioned Sub-Rosa Subway, also a Woloschuk-Tome co-write. It strikingly sounds like a Paul McCartney style composition, in particular the melody, the piano part and the melodic bassline.
The last tune I’d like to highlight is Doctor Marvello. It has a bit of a George Harrison feel, both in terms of the singing and the sitar. In his story, Smith compared the tune to Blue Jay Way, which I think is a fair comparison.
Here’s a Spotify link to the entire album. If you haven’t listened to it and dig Beatlesque music, I’d encourage you to give it a spin!
After 3:47 EST/Klaatu, Klaatu released four additional studio albums and eventually disbanded in August 1982. They had two brief reunions in 1988 and 2005. In March 2011, Klaatu announced the launch of their own label Klaatunes Records. They reissued a 2009 compilation titled Solology. In addition, Klaatu have released remastered editions of their first three albums 3:47 EST/Klaatu, Hope and Sir Army Suit.
What if anything did the former members of The Beatles have to say about the whole Klaatu saga? A December 2013 story published in music magazine Goldmine quoted Long who recalled an encounter with Paul McCartney in the late ’80s while working as an engineer at George Martinâs Air Studios in London. âLater, when I was working in Studio 5, there was a knock on the door, and in comes Paul,â Long said. âHe introduced himself (like he needed any introduction) and said, âSo youâre the chap from The Beatles clone band.â He explained that he was on a TV talk show and the host played a bit of âCalling Occupantsâ and asked Paul if that was him singing! Paul had never heard the song and said soâŠWe talked for at least an hour, and I explained that we were never a clone band but just heavily influenced by The Beatles. We talked about music and lifeâŠHe came back many times to hang out and jam and talk about writing songs. Again, he was just a wonderful person â easy to talk to, and full of positive energy. An experience I will always treasure.â
During another interview posted on Klaatu’s website, which was conducted by David Bradley in September 1997, Woloschuk was asked whether he would have done the Klaatu album again. ” Yeah, I think I would have done it again,” he answered. “When I was 17, I bought my first copy of “Sgt Pepper’s,” and I was blown away by it…And within 10 years, the whole world was claiming the group that I was in was the Beatles. And that’s got to be looked at as an achievement, I think, one way or the other.”
I think Woloschuk is partially right. There’s no question that musicians who write music that could have been created by The Beatles are talented. The album is a lot of fun to listen to. But why conceal your identities? It was incredibly naive to think they could get away with it. Plus, including their names on the record would not have taken anything away from the great music. Yes, it’s safe to assume Klaatu wouldn’t have received the publicity they did. And while it helped the band in the short term, unfortunately, it tainted them and eventually led to their demise.
-END-
Update: After Klaatu dissolved, Terry Draper returned to his roofing business, and launched a career as a restaurateur while continuing music on the side. Starting with a 1997 album titled Light Years Later, which featured his former Klaatu bandmates Dee Long and John Woloschuk, Draper has released a series of CDs. His most recent one, The Other Side, appeared on November 5, 2021. You can learn more about what he’s been up to on his website.
Dee Long also stayed in the music business. According to his AllMusic bio, he initially focused on production work, first at his own studio in Canada, and subsequently after his relocation to England as a project sound engineer. As noted above, this included working for George Martin and meeting Paul McCartney. Since 1998, Long has released various solo albums. Other than occasional appearances on Terry Draper albums, I don’t know what John Woloschuk has been doing post-Klaatu. I haven’t found any obvious traces.
Sources: Wikipedia; Could Klaatu be Beatles? Steve Smith. Providence Journal, Feb 17, 1977; Klaatu website; Goldmine; AllMusic; YouTube; Spotify
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