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| Skyline of Akron, Ohio, looking from the viaduct Ca. 1960s-1970s |
Long before the Cramps or the Black Keys came into existence, the city of Akron, Ohio, was home to rock'n'roll music already in the 1950s and 1960s. In the summer of 2025, after visiting a concert of the Akron based band Black Keys, whose fusion of blues rock, lo-fi, garage and indie rock I truly adore, I wondered what Akron sounded like in the 1950s. This is the result of my research.
Located in the north of Ohio about 40 miles south of Cleveland and Lake Erie, the city has long been associated with the rubber industry. Once nicknamed the "rubber capital of the world", Akron already profited from this economical boost in the 1930s. Thus, a lot of work could be found in the city and a large part of the city's inhabitants came from other places. Following World War II, a lively club scene developed and southern immigrants searched for entertainment in those venues. Naturally, country music became part of it.
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| Bobby Rutledge and his band, the Cimarrons, playing a date in the 1950s at unknown location |
One of the earliest country music performers on the scene was "Fiddlin'" Bobby Rutledge, who was active for several decades. He and his band played clubs around town and was also heard on radio. They also incorporated polkas in order to serve Middle European immigrants' tastes. By the mid 1950s, a new sound was coming and Rutledge did two up-tempo country numbers on record in 1956: "Southern Fried Chicken" and "Waitin' in Line". With a thumping bass, these songs foreshadowed the rockabilly sound that was already coming out of the south and was soon to reach Northeast Ohio as well. A year later, Rutledge went straight over to rockabilly with "Go Fatso Go" and "Borrowed Love". Especially the former became a minor classic. All of those recordings were made for the local Zipp record label, which was owned by Cliff Rodgers, who had a band as well and often performed with Rutledge.
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| News Journal July 23, 1960 |
Radio WAKR produced a rock'n'roll record on Wes Hopkins and Jack Ryan in 1962, the "WAKR Twist", which saw release on the parent company's (Summit Radio Corp.) local WACKER label. Harvey Russell's Janie Records had the Pacers (not to be confused with Sonny Burgess & the Pacers) and the Decades recording some rock'n'roll for the label in 1964.
Local singer Bobby Boyle also recorded for that label the same year, although his cuts were country music. Boyle had also made several recordings for the Brite Star/Roy label group from Newbury, Ohio, and by 1965 he recorded for Alpine Records, a label based in Akron and Cleveland at various times. He and his band, the Revenuers, cut "I Couldn't Care Any Less" and "Bartender" with Tom Conley in 1965. The Alpine label also released "Louisville at Night" b/w "The Story of My Love" by local teen pop singer Andy Lauren.
By the mid 1960s, the rock'n'roll craze was over and the British invasion now shaped the teenager's music tastes. People like Bobby Rutledge stuck with country music, while others turned to more modern sounds like Andy Lauren. Akron housed a numerous other record labels over the years, producing garage rock, soul, funk, gospel, and country music well into the 1970s.
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