Since Disco (capital D) had not yet hit the culture, drummers were still being hired to beat out the rhythm of the rock songs being played by the DJs. One drummer took it to a higher plane entirely. The following was taken from Douglas Hegle on YouTube:
Denny Craswell was a founding member of the Castaways, and co-wrote its smash hit, “Liar, Liar” in 1965. In 1969 he became the drummer for the band Crow, which had a national hit with “Evil Woman.” The band put out three albums; the second, “Crow by Crow,” received much local and national attention. It featured the cult classic “Cottage Cheese,” which was written as a vehicle for Denny’s drum solo.
After Crow disbanded in 1972, Denny decided to try something different. He met with the Tribal Leader of the Taos Native Americans in New Mexico. He was granted special permission to build a drum set out of Taos Drums. He added Timpanis and gongs and a Rack of 18 Tubular Bells. The hardware was custom made by a Greek wood carver. The thunderous prehistoric drum set had to be played with mallets, which was perfect for a FIRE DRUM SHOW.
Next, a keyboard was added to the setup. In 1973 MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) did not exist, yet Denny built a master controller that could control custom programmed Chamberlain organs and synthesizers. The Chamberlains featured the sounds of a huge pipe organ and vocal choir.
Add a bunch of Explosions, Smoke, Fire, and an Ape Costume, and The APE SHOW was born! APE performed at Uncle Sam’s and other Minneapolis Clubs before he went on tour across Wisconsin, Illinois, and as far as Pennsylvania and back across the country, finally landing on the West Coast.
Miraculously, a video with photos of the Ape Show is now on YouTube!
I would also like to point out that Denny Craswell is kind of my cousin. You see, his father’s brother married my father’s sister. So it isn’t a blood connection. But we both shared Uncle Dick and Aunt Arlene. And although I’ve known his brother Jay and even babysat for his sister Melodee’s kids when I was very young, I never actually MET Denny until 2010 when he was inducted into the Mid-America Hall of Fame. What a blast to see my Craswell aunt, uncle, and cousins out to see Denny perform both his Castaways and Crow numbers! He is still performing up where he lives in Detroit Lakes.