How It Began

One afternoon in 1958, I went by myself to the Paramount Theater in Austin, Minnesota to see a movie. I think it might have been the first time -- maybe the only time -- I would ever sit in a theater alone and watch a show. But what a show it was. I think it was “Rock Around the Clock,” but I don’t remember for sure. It might have been “Blackboard Jungle” or “Rock! Rock! Rock!” or “Don’t Knock the Rock.”

Precisely which movie it was doesn't really matter. They were all the same, poorly staged and acted, pure exploitation. But for me, pure exhilaration. The noise, the excitement, the electric guitars! The dancing! The girls!  I practically floated home that afternoon, knowing I had to find a way to get some of what those people on the screen had.