Jack and Dave

The Indiana Sessions in Bloomington

Early Days

While there are several alternate accounts, the story of Jack and Dave seems most likely to have started in a small town in the Midwest. (Most accounts suggest a town named Bedlam, but this may be only a census-designated locale.) The duo got together in the mid-1960's at the small AM radio station WDAM, which is no longer licensed. As was typical in small market AM radio, they performed multiple duties; disk jockey, commercial voice-overs, sales, and janitorial work. At some point, their mutual interest in writing and performing music landed them the job of writing and producing singing commercials for program sponsors, as well as station jingles.

Work at the radio station lasted less than 2 years, and the true reason they left (or were forced to leave) is unclear. One report suggests they were fired after a drunken brawl involving Jack, Dave, the Mayor (station owner and used car dealer, Charlie Schwartz), and members of the local high school band. Another suggests an on-air recounting of a Soupy Sales routine (with the punch line "every time I write F you see K" (citation needed) was the cause. Yet another claims they attempted to embezzle the weekly sales receipts, which didn't amount to enough to buy them bus tickets out of town.

The New Piltdown Men

The next year was unproductive, due to Jack spending time incarcerated (for the brawl? embezzlement?) and Dave trying his hand at operating an unlicensed distillery. They reunited to perform again as part of the New Piltdown Men, along side Garrett (Gary) 'Sticks' Burkhardt and David 'Keys' Braden, a cover band playing venues in and around Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Very few recordings have surfaced from this band, although fans continue to search.

One memorable performance by this band is purported to have occurred in the summer of 1967. Although accounts differ wildly, and some speculate it is entirely fabricated, the event has been described as follows. A limestone quarry provided the venue for an outdoor concert featuring live music, swimming, drinking, and the strange acoustics afforded by the old, partially water-filled quarry. Their performance was stopped three times by nearby lightning strikes. The first strike was right on-beat at the end of Louie Louie, producing a loud pop on the guitar amps, to great effect, until a moment later when the thunder crack half-deafened the crowd. The second lightning strike killed three goats on a nearby hillside.

Prior to the third strike, the group was appropriately covering Howlin' Wolf's Smokestack Lightning when their hair (and that of those fans near the stage) began standing straight up, then lightning hit a tree just behind the bandstand. 'Sticks' Burkhardt was knocked off his drum stool, the other three were staggered by a shock running between the guitars/bass, through their bodies to the microphones. All the power fuses blew and smoke was seen rising from the power generator bank. The simultaneous thunderclap left everyone temporarily stunned and deafened, then an orb of ball lightning drifted over the bandstand above the crowd before disappearing. Surprisingly, no one was seriously injured, but the concert was over as a downpour started.

The Jack and Dave Era

Later that year, David 'Keys' Braden headed off to college out-of-state, and was replaced by guitarist whose name is lost to their history. This incarnation continued for a brief period until Garrett 'Sticks' Burkhardt was forced to join the Air Force to escape the draft, and the New Piltdown Men disbanded. Jack and Dave went back to radio work, this time as DJs. They continued their musical collaboration as an acoustic duo, writing and recording mostly original material. They recorded occasionally with guest musicians/singers, including Michael Edwards (flute), Sharon Hubers (accordion, vocals), and Jody McConnell (vocals).

Jack was finally drafted, so the duo was silent for a couple of years, although individually each continued to write new material. Once discharged from the army, the two artists picked up again, although exclusively as an acoustic duo. This period produced some of their most musically accomplished work, although quite limited in the number of recordings made.

Without significant commercial success, Jack and Dave were finally forced to seek gainful employment, landing them on opposite sides of the continent and effectively ending their musical partnership.

One researcher claims the following information about the identities of Jack and Dave: Bruce Herrick and Kenneth Day; although it is unclear which was Jack and which was Dave.