The Prime Movers Blues Band formed in the summer of 1965 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This audio track is from fairly early on, a gig at the Schwaben Inn and Jim Osterberg (AKA Iggy Pop) is definitely the drummer on this track. This video is a tribute to Dan Erlewine, lead guitar player for the Prime Movers Blues Band. Subsequent to the Prime Movers Dan played lead guitar for the Sam Lay Blues Band and was considering playing guitar with the Butterfield band, when he decided he really wanted to build some guitars.

The main band members included:

I am happy to share with you some wonderful reminisces on Ann Arbor in the 1960s back in the day by my friend Paul Bernstein.

In 1957 freshman student Al Young and Bill McAdoo founded the University of Michigan Folklore Society. Al Young went on to become the Poet Laureate of California.

This story is music from the other end, instead of playing it, documenting it so it would not be lost in the shuffle of time as most things on. This is that story, the story of AMG, the All-Music Guide.

I hear a lot of comments about Iggy Pop (James Osterberg) in our band (The Prime Movers Blues Band), because he was our drummer for a time. I hear less about Ron Asheton, who was one of Iggy’s Stooges. Ron was also on the scene with us for some time.

In the late 1960s, in particular with the Ann Arbor Blues Festivals in 1969 and 1970, the blues were coming to town. Since Chicago is only a few hours drive from Ann Arbor, some of the Chicago blues greats were finding their way here.

I am feeling a little nostalgic. I just read the book on a friend of mine, the great blues guitarist-- “Michael Bloomfield: The Rise and Fall of an American Guitar Hero” by Ed Ward. Excellent book. I don’t blog much on my musical background, but I have one. Here is a little taste of that both in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.

In this interview from March 22, 2010, poet, author, and activist John Sinclair reflects on music in Ann Arbor - from the MC5, the free concerts in the parks and the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz festival, to his specific memories of local clubs and musicians.