It covered similar territory in a more grown-up style, and the magazine’s staff put together a weekly Los Angeles radio show that Haydock cohosted.Īlso in 1962, under various noms de plume (most often Don Sheppard or Vin Saxon), Haydock began writing smutty pulp novels with lurid titles such as The Flesh Peddlers, Ape Rape, and Scarlet Virgin. In 1962 and ’63, Haydock also wrote and edited for a short-lived magazine called Fantastic Monsters of the Films, created by two friends he’d met through Ackerman, B-movie special-effects wizard Paul Blaisdell and film editor and actor Bob Burns. In 1961 he became the editor of the Graveyard Examiner newsletter for the popular Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine, published by legendary superfan Forrest J. He published his own fanzines (most notably Ape) and wrote for the ones his friends started too. In pursuit of a Hollywood career, Haydock left for California, where he returned to his love for horror movies, pulp fiction, and the written word in general. Cha Cha would later release several of them with “unissued 1950’s masters” printed on the labels, including a cover of Gene Vincent’s “Rollin’ Danny” and the uber-rockin’ originals “Knock Out” and “Bop Hop.” Haydock disbanded the Boppers soon after he got married in 1960, but they left behind loads of unreleased sessions. Hull (who supposedly received more than 150 letters every week from teen fans). The Boppers’ second Cha Cha release, a 1960 single that paired the tuneful Haydock original “Baby Say Bye Bye” with a reverby cover of Chuck Berry’s “Maybellene,” made no real impact either, even though the band appeared on WNBQ-TV’s rockin’ dance show Chicago Band Stand, an American Bandstand copycat emceed by David J. The UnGala is back! Clic k here for the ticket link for this year's celebration at Epiphany Center for the Arts on Oct. No other rocker projected such swagger and menace or inspired more fledgling toughs to grease their hair, don leather jackets, and strap on guitars-and his immortal rockabilly smash “Be-Bop-a-Lula” had come out just a few months before the movie. Vincent’s impact on the rock ‘n’ roll of the day (and on Haydock) can’t be overstated. He had a musical epiphany when he saw The Girl Can’t Help It, a somewhat cynical 1956 musical comedy that deals with the sordid machinations of the record business-he was enraptured by the rock ‘n’ roll trailblazers who appeared in the film, among them Little Richard, Fats Domino, Eddie Cochran, and Gene Vincent. Haydock was born in Chicago on April 17, 1940, and as a lad in Downers Grove he devoured comic books and monster movies and magazines. He had ties to early rock ‘n’ roll, pulp publishing, and genre films-and like a proper B-movie juvenile delinquent, he once supposedly said, “I’m out for kicks in life, doing whatever I want whenever I want, on the move like there’s no tomorrow, I’m living like there’s only today.” The short and tragic but absolutely jam-packed life of Ron Haydock is one such story. When I choose subjects for the Secret History of Chicago Music, I always look for compelling tales, but only every once in a while do I find a story that feels cut out for a biopic. Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation.ONE WEEK left to support the Arts and Culture - Become a member today! Close

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