Strictly Anti-Rock and Roll
From Rip Chords Fame to An-O-Chords Barbershop
This piece features substantial excerpts of writing by David Boardman for the Anacortes American. His 1980 feature on the band can be read in its entirety thanks to Washington Digital Newspapers.
The Rip Chords were an Anacortes-based vocal group formed in the 1950s who self-described as “strictly anti-rock and roll” and “progressive barbershop” – if you can get your mind around that. The Anacortes Rip Chords had songs featured in the movie Dragstrip Riot, which may be their only released recordings. The original Rip Chords’ accomplishments are often confused with those of the California band of the same name who formed in 1957 and had a string of surf and hot rod hits soon thereafter.
“The group had its beginnings in the halls of Anacortes High School in 1949 and 1950, as Don Coughlin, Vernon Lewis and Dave Satre ‘played around’ with harmonizing the show tunes of the time. The three were not a formal group, Coughlin said, but they spent much of their time together singing. After graduation the three went their separate ways, with Coughlin enlisting in the Air Force. He met Bill Lovins while stationed in Cheyenne, Wyo., and they joined with two other airmen to form the champions of the 1953 World Wide Air Force Barbershop Quartet competition — the Rip Chords. When their service hitch was up, Coughlin brought Lovins back to Anacortes to meet his old buddies, and the second version of the Rip Chords was born.” (David Boardman article)
“Satre said. ‘We called the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in New York about an audition, and they told us to come on out.” So Satre, Coughlin, Lovins and new-addition Clayton Lacey of Seattle, made the long trek east to the mecca of that decade’s amateur entertainers — Radio City Music Hall — until they were collared by a hungry-for-talent musician’s representative. ‘He told us we should try out for the Godfrey show — he thought we were good enough to win,’ Satre said.” (David Boardman article)
“The Godfrey show’s live audience was thrilled — and the Rip Chords won the applause-metered talent competition that was that show’s trademark. “We got lucky,” Satre said. “We were competing against two women, and the audience was full of young girls.” The Rip Chords were featured for the next week on the nationally televised show, and rubbed elbows with such crooners as Patti Page and Frankie Lane,” before returning to Anacortes. (David Boardman article)
“The bug of fame and fortune bit again, and Satre, Coughlin and Lovins regrouped with Lewis in Eureka in early 1957. They refined their act in Eureka’s supper clubs, and were hooked into San Francisco’s Fairmount Hotel in the spring as a front act for the Andrews Sisters. After several additional appearances in San Francisco, the Rip Chords decided to trade the Golden Gate for Hollywood's silver screen. “We knew a few people, and decided to take the chance,” Lewis recalled.” (David Boardman article)
“The gamble paid off with a contract for Dragstrip Riot, a low-budget, teenage motorcycle gang epic. The Rip Chords sang the film’s theme song, and played bit parts as ‘good guy’ bikers. The movie was not Oscar material, the Rip Chords admit — but it had its moments. ‘It was pretty bad, but it was a lot of fun,’ Lewis said. ‘Actually, it had some pretty fair actors in it.’ Dragstrip was the film debut for Connie Stevens and Nick Adams, and also starred Fay Wray of King Kong fame.” (David Boardman article)
“The movie appearance was the only time the Rip Chords ever sang rock and roll,” the Anacortes Bulletin reported. Coughlin added that he hoped it would be their last: “We hate it.” They performed the songs "Teenage Rumble," "Rock & Rollin Joe" and "Only One to a Customer" for the film. Connie Stevens, accompanied by The Rip Chords, sang "Something New" and "Jamaica Rock," according to the website Ringostrack.
“The Rip Chords had other film appearances in the works, but instead decided to ‘pack it up’ and return north after show biz life became too hectic for them and their families. The group reestablished Anacortes as their home base, and performed regularly in Vancouver and Seattle. They reached their professional pinnacle with a write-up in Variety, the entertainment trade’s weekly bible, but financial pressures forced them to call it quits in 1958.” (David Boardman article)
Before giving up on the name Rip Chords, the guys from Anacortes changed the name of the group to the Champs, just in time to be washed away in a tidal wave of “Tequila” when another Champs had a million-seller with a sax-driven rock instrumental. The local lads became the Four Champs, before giving up their pursuit of more national notoriety entirely. Instead, they returned to barbershop, with some of the guys singing in the An-O-Chords at the annual Anacortes barbershop convention – remaining true to their anti-rock values.
