The Pied Pipers
Seattle, Washington
1965 - 1970
(Page 2)
The Yorks started out in the school band room at Madrona Junior High in November of 1963. There was a few of us after school one day just messing around with our instruments playing Louie Louie and a few other easy tunes, when I looked up across the hallway between the band room and the chorus room. The doors were locked closed and there were two faces pressed tightly up against the window on the door of the chorus room. These two guys started signaling to let them in, so I went over to the door and let them in. I was to discover that these guys were Ron Foos and Gary Humphreys. Not only was it the beginning of a life long friendship, but these guys eventually became really famous and successful as musicians and vocalists, along with record producing, movies and commercials.Ron Foos who has been with Paul Revere and the Raiders for 25 years or more, also played in numerous bands around the NW and the country.
Starting with the Yorks , Pied Pipers, Brave New World , City Zu, Brady Hiatt & The Sonics, Epicenter, & Bachman Turner Overdrive (BTO), to name just a few! Gary played with the Yorks, Pied Pipers, & A Boy & His Dog with Ann Wilson, which hooked up with White Heart (which became HEART). Anyway when I started the Pied Pipers I brought them with me and the rest is history!!
The York was the basis of what became the Pied Pipers in late 1965.
John "Flash" Gordon, January 2007
One night when were playing at Perl's in Bremerton. Anyway it was the same old thing that the last ferry left Bremerton before we could pack our equipment and get to the dock to get on the ferry, so we could either drive all the way around through Tacoma, across the Narrows bridge or we could take the Bainbridge Island ferry because it ran almost all night.
Photo Courtesy of Jill Harrison
So on our way to the boat we stopped for a bite to eat at some truck stop outside of Poulsbo. As we were eating our food in came a couple of truck drivers and they started giving us a bad time by telling us our hair was too long and one of them called us ladies or something like that. Well then my best friend in the band, we are like brothers, I mean this guy wouldn't hurt a fly, but he'd had enough of these thugs, so he tells them in no uncertain terms to "BLANK themselves if they couldn't take a joke!" Well it was now time for us to leave to catch the ferry and I mean it these jerks started following us and threw empty beer bottles at our Pied Piper VW micro bus that fully loaded probably did a top speed of 25 or 30 mph. When we got to the boat they were still back there about a block away just laughing and slapping each other in congratulation, BIG MEN!!!! My heart was still pounding when we got off the boat in Seattle!! oh yeah my best friend and brother who spoke up for us was Ron "CHIEF" Foos who now plays for the wildest man in rock 'n' roll Paul Revere and the Raiders
John "Flash" Gordon, January 2007
If anyone who has any old or new stories about the "Pipers", please contact The "Web Slave" and submit their stories, pictures or comments. KEEP ON ROCK'N, PIED PIPERS FOREVER!!!
John "Flash" Gordon and Sammy Carlson (The Web Slave), April 2007
I was excited to see pictures of the NW band The Pied Pipers. Bill Harrison Key Boards / Piano, my brother-in-law was in that band 1965 to 1970 or so. They opened for some like Don & the Good Times, Walers, Paul Revere and the Raiders etc.
A great story is one night as they were closing out they did Louie Louie. Bill Harrison jumped up on the piano and played LL backwards. The crowd loved it.
It is sad to say that Bill passed away, way too young at age 63 on March 24, 2011 in Arizona. He was a good person, loving husband and father. An all around good man.
Gene Goosman, April 2011 (from Guest Book Entry)
