This was a big year for the Iguanas, the rock group started in 1963 with three of its five members from the Class of '65: Jim McLaughlin on guitar, Sam Swisher on saxophone, and Jim Osterberg on drums. (Two other band members, guitarist Nick Kolokithas and bassist Don Swickerath, were in the Class of' '64.) On June 1, the band was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. Also in June, a commemorative brick with all the band members' names was placed in the walkway to the entrance at the National Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The Iguanas got together there for a reunion in July.
The genesis of the band was an act for a 1962 Talent Show at Tappan that close friends Jim Osterberg and Jim McLaughlin put together in 9th grade. They were a hit and, as Jim M. says now, "We were hooked!" The other three guys joined the two Jims in 1963 and the Iguanas played gigs all over Michigan, eventually becoming the house band at the famed Club Ponytail in Harbor Springs in the summer of '65. They recorded several songs, including the first one Osterberg ever wrote, "Again and Again." The full story is on the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame website, along with the band's recording of "Again and Again".
For their reunion in Cleveland, Jim McLaughlin flew in from Las Vegas and Sam from Charlotte, with Nick and Don driving from Michigan. In Class Postings you can see a picture of the band members as The Iguanas in the 60's and one from this summer. Jim Osterberg, aka Iggy Pop, was releasing a new record and couldn't be there but sent a very appreciative and gracious video to the other members in which he described how each of them had contributed to his music life and to the band, as well as fond memories of his time with them. A comment from Jim M. pretty much sums it up, "Crazy how things from over 50 years ago make waves".
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