LIVERPOOL — The year was 1958 when a Liverpool teenager named Jan Fetterly joined a rock ’n’ roll band called Sam & The Twisters.
That same year, Atlanta soul singer Chuck Willis score a major hit with his recording of “Hang Up My Rock ’n’ Roll Shoes.” The catchy tune had some hopeful lyrics:
They say that rock ’n’ roll will soon fade away
No matter what they say, rock and roll is here to stay
I don’t want to
(Shoop-bop, shoop-bop)
Hang up my rock and roll shoes
(Shoop-bop, shoop-bop)
Because I get that feelin’
Every time I hear those blues.
Now, after 64 years of playing drums and singing in some of the area’s best bands, Jan says he’s hanging up his rock ’n’ roll shoes.
“I am officially retiring from music this year,” he said recently from his Florida home. “I am probably one of the area’s longest-active musicians. It’s been a long road that I have traveled over the years. The many people I have met, played for and the stars I have had the opportunity to perform with, have been great.”
Jan celebrated his 78th birthday last December.
As a member of Central NY’s seminal rock ’n’ roll combo Sam & The Twisters, Fetterly was inducted into the Syracuse Area Music Awards Hall of Fame in 1994.
Jan has fond memories of his days with Sam Amato and the Twisters.
A song they recorded, “Fooba Wooba John,” is believed to be the best-selling single ever in Syracuse. While “Fooba” was enjoying some radio airplay, Sam & the Twisters – billed as The Vampires – recorded Baron Daemon’s hit “The Transylvania Twist.” Vocalized by Mike Price as the Baron, the song is musically a copy of “Fooba Wooba John.”
Last L’pool gig July 6
Fetterly has anchored several different rock bands over the years including the Livin’ Ennd, the Other Guise, Smokin’ and The Cobblerockers. In fact, he will give what he expects to be his final Liverpool performance with The Cobblerockers at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 6, at Johnson Park as part of the 36th annual Liverpool Is The Place Summer Concert Series. There is no admission charge.
But for all the success he’s enjoyed with a variety of bands and bandmates, the memories of Sam & The Twisters seem to stand out.
“We had the opportunity to tour with Dick Clark’s Cavalcade of Stars,” he remembered. “We often played Three Rivers Inn and backed up many stars there at the Teen Canteen – Johnny Tillotson, Lesley Gore, Freddy Cannon, Bobby Rydell, played numerous times with Ronnie Dio & The Prophets, the Shirelles, The Angels, Link Wray & The Wraymen.”
The gifted percussionist also recalls countless Liverpool High School proms as well as gigs at clubs such as Hewitt’s, Red Dog Saloon, Cayuga Lanes in Auburn, Holiday Bowl, Poor Houses in both Oswego and Liverpool and all the college frat houses.
“We played many towns up and down the Thruway from Buffalo to Albany, from Watertown to Binghamton and into Massachusetts and Pennsylvania,” he said. “And enjoyed playing at the Onondaga County War Memorial backing up many stars.”
Rockin’ on the patio
Live music has returned to The Retreat’s outdoor patio, at 301 Vine St. The tunes continue to ring out from 7 to 10 p.m. there most nights except Fridays.
On Wednesday, June 29, multi-instrumentalist Jess Novak returns to the patio to perform tunes from her recent CDs. “Standing Now” was released in September 2020 and the album went on to win Best Pop Recording at the Syracuse Area Music Awards in 2021. The Jess Novak Band Band released its follow-up, “A Thousand Lives” last November.
Novak’s date will be followed by the acoustic guitar duo PG Unplugged – Shawn Plourde and EJ Gridley – on Thursday, June 30. Veteran six-string guitarist Dave Wolever takes the stage on Saturday July 2. The former member of the band Doctor Boogie, Wolever has won Oswego’s Harborfest Song Contest five times.
One of CNY’s most versatile musicians, Jamie Cunningham, plays the patio on Tuesday, July 5. Cunningham promises a veritable carnival of sounds, from thrashing drums to blistering electric guitars through a custom tube head with a Marshall cabinet and thumping bass, all framed by his expressive baritone vocals.
The Noisy Boys – Chris Krupa & Terry Clifton – return to the patio on Wednesday, July 6. Since 1992 the duo has played an estimated 4,000 shows in 15 different states throughout the Northeast. Their Noisy repertoire ranges from Dave Matthews to The Doors, from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin.
And one of The Retreat’s favorite entertainers, funkmeister Mark Macri, sings on Thursday, June 26, accompanying himself alternately on keyboard and electric guitar.
For reservations, call 315-457-6358; retreatrestaurant.com.
Last word
“Liverpool has meant a great deal to me and I surely am going to miss performing there in the future.”
–Jan Fetterly, Sammys Hall of Famer now retiring from music.
