| Abe 'Voco' Kesh |
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Abe Keshishian was Armenian and a pioneer disk jockey in San Francisco and way into the Blues.
He was responsible for opening the ears of an entire generation to the Blues and other forms of
music. Harvey Mandel from San Francisco was one of his finds. As far as Blue Cheer, he became friends with someone at Mercury Records and was able to get us a contract with Philips, because his radio station played a tape of Blue Cheer (before any record deals) which was paid for by Nancy Winarick, who was Gut's girlfriend. This tape was kick ass and done in late 1967 - Three songs and great - This would be a find if someone could find this tape, because it would represent Blue Cheer's first recording as a trio. KSAN radio station was the first in the country to play hippy music and we would call about three times a day and request the tape which they played in full and thus generated a huge following prior to any record deal. So it was very easy for Abe Kesh to get us a contract, because of the already existing interest. As producer he was very laid back and really let us produce the records ourselves except, as i told you, took over a minute out of the original Summertime Blues, so that the radio stations would not think it was too long for their format. Abe had a stroke which left him unable to care for himself and he was walking the streets and eventually into a home for physically impaired people and died young because of the complications of lifestyle. He taught me a great deal of the manners of the music business and pointed me to record production and was a generally nice and shy individual but a true pioneer in the music industry in San Francisco. The tape i mentioned is out there somewhere and i know Bill Graham recorded all of the concerts but as yet has not released any. I am sure some of the promoters around the country have them but i know not where.
Abe "Voco" Keshishian of San Rafael, a well known radio host in the 1970s, died of a heart attack Monday, July 3, 1989, at the Marin Hotel in San Rafael. He was 56. He was born in Detroit and told friends his first job was wiping off seats for the Red Wings hockey games. Later he got a job sweeping floors at Decca Records and then moved to San Francisco, where in the '60s he produced numerous record albums for Blue Cheer, The Charlatans, Harvey Mandel and many other artists and groups. He became famous in San Francisco for his KSAN radio show, "Lights Out San Francisco." In 1970, he suffered a heart attack that left him disabled. His son, Michael Keshishian of Dearborn, Mich., said his father's following from the radio program was so popular that he received almost 40,000 cards and letters in the hospital. He had lived at the Marin Hotel in San Rafael for the past 14 years. He also is survived by his mother, Silvey Vartanian of Riverview, Mich.; two brothers, Andy Keshishian and Michael Keshishian, both of Detroit; and three grandchildren. ©1989 Marin Independent Journal |
