Pacific Northwest Music Legend -- Doo-wop

At this point in time, this is likely to be one of the lesser known acts I will be writing about in this series on Pacific Northwest music legends. On the other hand, they were big nationally, a #1 with a bullet act, in the pre-British invasion years.

Now, almost everyone who knows Seattle's history will think of the jazz clubs of the 1940's and 1950's, the birth of garage bands in the 1960's and, of course, Hendrix and more recently grunge. Most people probably do not know that an act from the Pacific Northwest was one of the first big doo-wop groups.

Doo-wop from the northwest? You betcha! The band was the Fleetwoods -- one guy (Gary Troxel) and two blond girls (Barbara Ellis and Gretchen Christopher). In that era, the pre-fix for telephone numbers in Olympia was "Fleetwood", hence the name. The kids met while attending high school in Olympia in the late 1950's. Their first big hit -- and it was a smash -- was released in 1959 on a Seattle record label, Dolphin. Pat O' Day at KJR had lots to do with the success of this initial release.

The song was called "Come Softly to Me." The Fleetwoods had a smooth sound and Come Softly to Me sold a million and went gold. They had another good-sized hit with Mr. Blue. They were the first group to ever have two #1 songs in the same year -- 1959. They had a few other releases, but none that hit like those first two.

The performers, for the most part, stayed here in the Pacific Northwest. Gary Troxel worked as a longshoreman in Anacortes. Gretchen Christopher seems to have stayed near Olympia. I always thought it must be strange to go from instant fame back to working a less glamorous job. How weird -- Imagine that you are sitting with friends in the lunch room and your former #1 smash comes on the oldies station, or maybe you are in the theater and your song is in a blockbuster like American Graffiti. Do you nudge everyone nearby and say "hey that is me" or do you smile inside, or do you wonder what circumstances might have led to greater fame and fortune?

Today, from what I have read, it seems that there is a dispute going on over who has the rights to the Fleetwood name. Gary Troxel has a Fleetwoods website, but Gretchen Christopher has one too. It looks like anyone, who was interested, could hire a group called the Fleetwoods to work parties and events. One group would feature Gary, the other would feature Gretchen.

There is no question about it, one of the biggest moments in the history of the original Fleetwoods was an appearance on American Bandstand and we are in luck.

Thanks to youtube, we will turn back the clock to the year 1959 -- I was seven years old.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Pacific Northwest's own #1 doo-wop act, the Fleetwoods from Olympia, Washington.

For more "Stories Behind the Music" click on the guitar

Steven L. Smith

Bellingham WA Home Inspections