Detroit Grass Roots Rock and Soul Bands 1967 -
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In February of 1967 13-year-old Mike Lombardi and 14-year-old Jim Kerr landed jobs as a teenage DJ duo at radio station WYNZ in Ypsilanti, Michigan. We played top 40 hits and reported local news items of interest to our teen audience. Forward-thinking station manager Brian Hadley gave airtime to other talented teens like Mike Murphy and John Huzar.
Ranging in age from 13 to 16, we weren’t just on-air personalities, we trained in sales, marketing, and every aspect of radio station operations. We studied for our FCC licenses, trained on the radio |
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broadcasting equipment and made personal appearances at teen clubs and local events.
Not long after our debut, Jim and I went our separate ways, he pursued a radio career, while I dug deeper into the local music scene. I began recording bands at high school dances and teen centers and played the best cuts on my show. To boost engagement, I launched a “Battle of the Bands” segment where listeners voted for their favorites.
That same year, ATA Studios opened on Ann Arbor Trail in Westland, Michigan. The studio managed, recorded, and booked local teen bands and was run entirely by teens, with close supervision from my parents, Marge and Johnny. Some of the first bands to join were Solo Society, Six Pak, Coming Generation, Purple Rush, and Nobody’s Children. These were the young musicians playing weekends at schools, rec centers, and teen nightclubs across the Detroit area.
ATA charged no dues—just a 10% fee on paid gigs. It was a place where teens passionate about music found their stage, both literally and figuratively.
There are a lot of audio files on the website, all in mp3 format. Feel free to listen or download. Everything’s free: no ads, no commerce, no data collection, just photos and recordings from the bands that contributed to building Detroit's great rock and soul music legacy.
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