Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Music by Decade»1970s Music
    1970s Music Music S 3 Mins Read

    Shoes

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Shoes (from Zion, Illinois) recorded and pressed their first album, One In Versailles (Un Dans Versaille), in 1974. The title referred to the fact that guitarist Gary Klebe was in France studying architecture at the time.

    Three hundred copies of the disc were pressed and distributed to friends and sold in Zion record stores.

    Drummer Skip Meyer joined in 1976, and the group – with all its members now out of school and working day jobs – began recording Black Vinyl Shoes on a TEAC four-track tape machine in guitarist Jeff Murphy’s living room.

    The independent album, featuring 15 classically-constructed power pop songs – five each by the three songwriting members of the band – was released in the summer of 1977 on the group’s own Black Vinyl Records label. Only a thousand copies were pressed, with most hand-delivered to northern Illinois record stores, the rest to rock critics.

    Black Vinyl Shoes attracted the attention of Greg Shaw, a critic, power pop fanatic and owner of the independent Bomp! label. Shaw convinced PVC Records (a division of import outlet Jem) to remix and reissue the album.

    shoes5

    The LP received glowing reviews and was picked up by Sire in the UK, but little was happening for the band. Then, near the close of 1978, Shoes recorded some new demos and sent tapes to the major labels.

    Elektra picked the group up and their major label debut, Present Tense (1979), was recorded at The Manor Studio in Oxfordshire, England. It peaked at #50 on the Billboard 200 and yielded the minor hit single Too Late, which reached #75 on the Billboard Hot 100.  The album also included a new recording of Tomorrow Night which Elektra later released as a single.

    Shoes spent the winter of 1980 in their Zion studio (a basement shared by a local weight watchers group) recording the album Tongue Twister in demo form before trotting it out to Hollywood’s United Western Studios, following it with Boomerang in 1982.

    Skip Meyer had left the group by 1984 and was replaced by a series of drummers, including Barry Shumaker, Ric Menck, John Richardson, and Jeff Hunter.

    In 2007, the band released a double CD titled Double Exposure, containing demos of their songs from the albums Present Tense and Tongue Twister.

    In January 2011, Shoes got together in the studio with drummer John Richardson to lay down rhythm tracks for a new batch of songs. Over the next 14 months, recording continued on what would become their first studio album of new material in over 17 years, Ignition, released in 2012.

    Skip Meyer died in July 2014, aged 64.

    Jeff Murphy
    Vocals, guitar, keyboards
    John Murphy
    Vocals, Bass, guitar, keyboards
    Gary Klebe
    Guitar, vocals, keyboards
    Skip Meyer
    Drums
    Mike Zelenko
    Drums
    Ric Menck
    Drums

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Ross Ryan
      Ross Ryan
      Australian singer/songwriter Ross Ryan's debut album Homemovies (1972) was recorded independently at Channel Nine's studios in Perth, for a total cost of…
    • Graham Parker & The Rumour
      Graham Parker & The Rumour
      Even in 1976, blue-eyed soul boy and ex-mod Graham Parker was seen as not quite of the top drawer, although…
    • Hello
      Hello
      The front room of a house in Edmonton (suburban North London) is hardly the best setting for any group, but…
    • Buffalo
      Buffalo
      Sydney band Buffalo was one of Australia's pioneering heavy rock outfits, and by virtue of the band's appearance on the…
    • Christie
      Christie
      Christie's chart-topping hit from 1970, Yellow River, remained familiar in the late 1980s as it was adapted for use as…
    • Soundgarden
      Soundgarden
      Chicago guitarist Kim Thayil formed Soundgarden in Seattle in 1984 with bass player Hiro Yamamoto and Chris Cornell, a local…
    • Ozark Mountain Daredevils
      Ozark Mountain Daredevils
      The Ozark Mountain Daredevils were an almost confusing cross between commercial rock of the slickest variety and a genuine down-home…
    • Off Broadway
      Off Broadway
      This late-'70s power pop group came together in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1977 with a line-up of Cliff Johnson (who…

    Power Pop
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleShocking Blue
    Next Article Shotgun Express

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site

    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small. 

    Thank you so much.
    Enjoy your trip in the time machine!

    You may also like

    • Kansas
      Kansas
      Kansas started out as a bar band playing cover versions of contemporary songs and soul oldies in the American state…
    • Ross Ryan
      Ross Ryan
      Australian singer/songwriter Ross Ryan's debut album Homemovies (1972) was recorded independently at Channel Nine's studios in Perth, for a total cost of…
    • Feather/Blackfeather
      Feather/Blackfeather
      The nucleus of Sydney band Feather came together in early 1976 under the name Blackfeather, and lead singer Neale Johns…
    • Graham Parker & The Rumour
      Graham Parker & The Rumour
      Even in 1976, blue-eyed soul boy and ex-mod Graham Parker was seen as not quite of the top drawer, although…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.