Song:The Cheater
Album:The Northern Soul Story Vol. 1: The Twisted Wheel
The Cheater was the only big hit for Bob Kuban & the In-Men in 1966. They were an early example of Blue Eyed Soul and they had a horn section which was unusual in those days. Bob Kuban is from St. Louis. In the early 60s, he was a drummer for Chuck Berry and then Ike Turner. He was also a high school band teacher. In 1963, he spotted singer Walter Scott (born Walter Notheis Jr. Feb. 7, 1943 in St. Louis) and they formed a band. Scott was a white guy who sang like a black guy which made him perfect for Blue Eyed Soul as popularized by The Righteous Brothers. Other band members were John Michael Krenski on bass, Greg Hoeltzel on keyboards, Roy Schult on guitar, Skip Weissner on trombone, Harry Simon on sax and Pat Hixon on trumpet. Kuban says his use of horns was influenced by Ike Turner. Krenski wrote the Cheater. They were on a local label and when The Cheater got popular, it was picked up for national distribution by Musicland USA. The Cheater reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is considered a Beach Music classic in the Carolinas and a Northern Soul classic in England. You can get The Cheater on this CD which is part of a Northern Soul series compiled by DJs. They only recorded one album and a couple of extra singles. Kuban says their manager hated their music and tried to bury them. The other problem was several members were college students and exempt from military service. They were concerned that if they left school to go on the road, they would get drafted and sent to Vietnam. After the band split up, Scott recorded an album in 1968 and Kuban recorded several unsuccessful singles. Kuban has been Chuck Berry's drummer since 2000 and leads his own band playing gigs in St. Louis. Kuban and Scott planned to reform the In-Men when Scott went missing in 1983. His body was discovered in 1987 and his wife's lover was sentenced to life in prison for murder. This case was featured on Court TV's Forensic files and HBO's Autopsy. The book The Cheaters: The Walter Scott Murder by Scottie Preismeyer was published in 1997. Here's a video for The Cheater by Bob Kuban & the In-Men.
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