Gary Van Scyoc, at the time a member of Elephant's Memory, recalls the day well.
"John and Yoko heard about our band when they moved to New York City, and put out the word that they wanted to meet us and do some jamming. We finally met one night in 1971 at a little studio in Greenwich Village called Magnagraphics.
"Our roadies kept telling us that the Lennons were in the lobby and wanted to play, but we thought they were putting us on. But, after keeping the Lennons waiting for more than an hour, John finally came waltzing into the studio wearing that white suit from 'Abbey Road' and my jaw dropped!
"We must have played till dawn," Van Scyoc recalled, "and I remember that we laughed about how sore our fingers were. That's when John and Yoko asked if they could join Elephant's Memory. We said, 'But John, you're a Beatle! How can that work?'"
Instead, it was decided to re-name the band as The Plastic Ono Elephant's Memory Band (POEM), and that began a two-year relationship with the Lennons. A world tour was planned - Lennon even bought the band new equipment - but he had issues with his green card, so a TV show tour ensued instead. The band and Lennon performed on the Dick Cavett and Mike Douglas shows, among others, along with the Jerry Lewis telethon. On the strength of its hit single, "Mongoose," and an album, Elephant's Memory also continued its own touring, where they were often joined by Apple Records artists Billy Preston and Badfinger.
"Right before we'd go on stage," Van Scyoc said, "John and Yoko would call on the phone and introduce us over the public address system." Must have been a hard act to follow.
Van Scyoc and the band also performed with Lennon in his final concert, the "One to One" benefit at Madison Square Garden.
"We raised $400.000 during the two performances," Van Scyoc added. "Mick Jagger loaned us the Rolling Stones' light show." In addition to being Lennon's final performance, the show also is remembered as the loudest ever at the Garden.
From Wind Ridge
to the Big Apple
Although best known as a bass player, Van Scyoc's music career began on the trumpet in the fourth grade. It was Waynesburg High School band director Jerry Manolas who switched him to bass, the better to accompany a mixed singing quartet of which Van Scyoc was a member. During high school, he moved on to a group, the Dantels, that played at sock hops and parties and even performed on WANB radio a few times. He didn't join his first genuine rock and roll band, though, until his senior year in 1964. Known as the Shufflers, the group eventually recorded at Gateway Studios in Pittsburgh. One of the tracks, "Soul Shufflin' "has since been released on the compilation CD, "Pittsburgh's Greatest Hits Vol. VII." It was just the first of many Van Scyoc recordings.
While at Salem College (W.Va.), he joined another group, the Dynatones, which released a single, "Fife Piper," that reached No. 53 on the "Billboard" charts in October 1966. With extensive airplay on KQV and KDKA in Pittsburgh, it became a top 10 hit here. The Dynatones were soon signed by Hanna Barbera Records, and Van Scyoc decided to move to New York City to pursue his music career and a music degree from the City University of New York.
After stints at several other record labels, including recording with Pigiron on Columbia, Van Scyoc joined Elephant's Memory in 1970. Shortly before meeting the Lennons, the band had a major hit with "Mongoose" and received a gold record for its participation in the "Midnight Cowboy" soundtrack.
When Lennon took the band under his wing, he moved them to his Apple label and produced their album in 1972. One of the tracks is called "Wind Ridge." And, yes, it's about that Wind Ridge.
"My homestead house was in this little town in Greene County on Route 21," Van Scyoc explains. "Unfortunately for us, Apple had no promotion department since the Beatles didn't need to be promoted, so that (album) didn't really help us much. But there were many other perks..."
After leaving Elephant's Memory in 1973, Van Scyoc continued to write music and perform. He's been teaching music in New York City for more than 45 years. In 2006, he published a book, "Shortcuts to Improving your Bass Playing," which is available at: http://www.garyvanscyoc. com). Today, he is recording on work by Michael Chance and Angelina Bordeaux (some tracks can be heard on his Web site).
Van Scyoc's mother and younger brother, Jay, still reside in Waynesburg. Jay followed in his brother's footsteps, playing with the Vogues, Toiz and the Kim Alexander Band.
Over the years, Gary has played with such luminaries as Paul Simon, Neil Sedaka, Mick Jagger, Jerry Garcia, Keith Moon, Stevie Wonder, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Howard Tate and Benny Mardonas.
"But John will always be my favorite," Van Scyoc said without hesitation. "The man spoke volumes for my generation."