Strangely enough, Speer’s initial contact with rock and roll came through his father. Both had attended the University of Michigan. His father was a doctor (chiropractor) with an office in Ann Arbor and his mother was a nurse. Speer, his two brothers, and sister all attended Plymouth High School. The city is probably most famous for being the former home of the Daisy Manufacturing Company, best known for its development and production of the BB gun. He was the first of the four children born to Leo and Pat Speer, and he grew up in the little town of Plymouth, located about 16 miles east of Ann Arbor and 26 miles west of Detroit. The band looked to the music of Elvis Presley, Rick Nelson, and Detroit’s Jamie Coe for their direction and like their local heroes, Brownsville Station, they used performances at large car shows around the country as their launching pad.īenny Speer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on September 12, 1955. They formed in Plymouth, Michigan, and took their name from one of the street gangs in the hit musical West Side Story. Motown’s non-stop hit factory was another important influence in a vibrant rock and roll scene largely based around a network of teen dance clubs all across the state.īenny & The Jets, however, were stimulated by much earlier forces. Miguel and Wale also performed it at the 40 th AnniversaryĬelebration of “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” in 2014.Many of the Michigan bands that formed in the late 60’s and early 70’s took their inspiration from British Invasion groups like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, or The Yardbirds. Number of popular artists, including the likes of: This song has been covered, sampled or interpolated by a Covers/Sampling/Interpolation of “Bennie and the Jets” Upon appearing on the show, John made history by becoming the first major White performer to do so. This feat marked the first time Elton John broke the top 40 on Hot Soul chart list. Owing to this song’s acceptance by African-American audiences, John eventually made an appearance on the iconic “Soul Train” show, a primarily-Black musical-variety show. In addition to its success on the Hot 100, the song also scored big on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart (which has since been renamed Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). “Bennie and the Jets” brought Elton John more African American fans
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