Inducted 2024

Crow was Minnesota’s first hard rock band to achieve national success. The band was formed in 1967 by singer David Wagner, guitarist Dick Wiegand, bassist Larry Wiegand, keyboardist Kink Middlemist, and drummer Harry Nehls- originally going by the name South 40. Nehls was soon replaced by Denny Craswell, and the band changed their name to Crow. Columbia Records brought them into the studio to record a demo in 1969- they passed- and Crow was signed to Amaret Records, whose releases were financed and distributed by major-label Mercury Records, based in Chicago. In 1969, Crow’s debut album Crow Music was recorded, and the single “Evil Woman (Don’t Play Your Games With Me)” made the Billboard Top 40 that Fall, peaking at #19 the following January. Albums Crow by Crow and Mosaic were follow-up releases in 1970 and 1971, respectively. Several singles such as “Cottage Cheese” and “King of Rock & Roll” managed to chart, although none reached the chart heights of “Evil Woman”. Wagner left the group in 1971 and released a solo album with Amaret Records entitled d/b/a Crow. Although there was new-found interest in Crow from Elektra Records, the band disbanded in 1972.

Reformed in 1980, the new version of Crow included original lead vocalist David Wagner, John Richardson on lead guitar, Jeff Christensen on lead guitar & vocals, Denny Johnson on bass, and Robby Belleville on drums. From September 1980 to July 1981, they recorded a new studio album titled Crow on the Run. This second version of Crow disbanded in early 1982. In 1988, Crow flew again for a third time, performing concerts all over The United States. Crow still perform occasionally in the Midwest with Dave Wagner on vocals.

Crow’s original and current leader, bassist, and vocalist Larry Wiegand is from Minneapolis and started playing professionally in 1962. He performed in Richfield, Minnesota’s garage band The Rave-Ons early in his career. Larry has toured all over North America and Canada with Crow, Corey Stevens, Bobby Vee, The Fabulous Flippers, and Pacific Gas & Electric. He was Staff Bassist at RCA Records in Los Angeles from 1974 to 1977. Both British superstar heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath and legendary soul diva Tina Turner have recorded a song written by Larry.

Original and occasionally current lead singer Dave Wagner grew up in Minneapolis, and currently resides in Apache Junction, Arizona. He started performing professionally at 15. David Waggoner (real name) is related to Minnesota 1950s rockabilly Mike Waggoner, who was leader of early rock and roll legends Mike Waggoner and The Bops. Besides Crow, Dave sang lead vocals for The Aardvarks, Jokers Wild, South 40, Whiskey River, and The Jack Daniels Band. Wagner has received two Best Male Lead Vocalist Awards.

Original and current member of Crow Dave (Kink) Middlemist was born in Minneapolis. He joined Jokers Wild in 1966, replacing Dave Wagner on keyboards, allowing Dave to focus on vocals. In the early 1990’s he also performed with the 10-piece horn band Under Suspicion in Minneapolis.

Drummer Dennis Craswell is a rare musician who can claim to have performed in two different Minnesota bands who hit the American Top 40. Denny co-wrote and played drums on The Castaways’ smash hit “Liar, Liar”, and joined Crow during the band’s nascent stage. Appearing on all three of Crow’s original albums, Denny went on to futuristic performances using percussion and electronics. The always affable and humble Craswell currently leads a version of The Castaways in South Texas (Winter) and in lakes and resort country of Northern Minnesota (Summer).

In his early days as a musician, original Crow guitarist Dick Wiegand performed most of the time with his brother Larry in Richfield’s garage rock pioneers The Rave-Ons, moved onto South 40, and played incredibly inventive six-string magic on all of Crow’s first three albums. Dick’s guitar sound had a big influence on Tony Iommi, who covered a Crow song on his British band Black Sabbath’s very first record in 1970. Dick currently lives in the Twin Cities area.

Lisa Wenger was born and raised in Bismarck, North Dakota, and has performed in the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene for many years. Her appeal is broad enough to entertain a variety of crowds, and she wins them all over- be it at The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, The Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, The Bitter End in New York City, The Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, Nevada, or at B.B. Kings in Orlando, Florida. Lisa started singing with Crow in 2016.

Jeff Christensen is from Red Wing, Minnesota, and started playing professionally in 1966. Jeff was Staff Guitarist at Pilhofer Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1993 to 1996. He has had considerable success in the smooth jazz market with the release of four albums on CD under the name Boday, from 1997 to 2007. Christiansen also performs with Twin Cities’ group The Lisa Wenger Band.

Drummer Norm Steffen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and started playing professionally in 1970. Norm toured throughout The United States and Canada from 1979-1984 with country-rock band Whiskey River, where he met Dave Wagner. Steffen and Wagner together have performed in Crow ever since.

Mark “Chico” Perez was born in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, playing drums in his early days. One of  his early bands opened for South 40, and in 1969 he became Road Manager for Crow. Chico played percussion with Crow, Gypsy, The New Primitives, The Del Counts, The Lisa Wenger Band, Kevin Odegard, Sterling, and Tommy Wiggins.

Vocalist Mel Gilbert was born in California and raised in Princeton, Minnesota. Her first band was Back Pages, then joined The Billy Road Band. Since 1991 she has worked with Crow, The Bird Dogs, and her own band Luna Sea.

Other members of Crow that received a 2024 award from The Minnesota Music Hall of Hame are Brenda Lee King, Deb Odenwald, Mike Mlazgar, and Mickey Stanhope.

Crow and individual members have all won Minnesota Music Awards, were inducted into The Minnesota Rock/Country Hall of Fame, The Iowa Rock & Roll Music Hall of Fame, and The South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Crow’s website

Crow’s hit single “Cottage Cheese” reached #56 on The Billboard charts in 1970.

Inducted 2023

Gwendolyn Vee Matthews is an international recording artist, producer, songwriter, vocal arranger & technician, and teacher who has sung on many national television and radio commercials. From Stevie Wonder, Kenny Rogers, and members of Earth, Wind, & Fire, Gwen has recorded with the best. Gwen’s mother said that she started singing in the cradle… mom actually thought something was wrong with her baby because she never shut up… until a good friend said “Olivia, do you know that your baby is singing?!?!” After Gwen heard about that, she knew that it was her calling forever- it’s in her DNA! Gwen absolutely loves the stage and feels grateful to be able to share her talent with her listeners. With her rich, velvety, funky, rhythmic voice, she continues to excite audiences leaving them standing and screaming for more. Born in Chicago, her career started by singing “jingles” in Minneapolis, later in Los Angeles, and also in New York City. You can hear Gwen’s golden voice on many national and local spots for Northwest Airlines, General Mills, Whirlpool, American Family Insurance, Allstate Insurance, and Bandag Tire Company. She has performed at the famed Montreal Jazz Festival in Canada and The Fleur de France Festival in Paris, France, and was featured at festivals and concerts throughout Europe with The Denis Colin Trio. Matthews also toured Russia with famed vocal group Women Who Cook, and traveled internationally with The Rupert’s Orchestra.  Gwen recorded songs with the Emmy Award-winning project The Music Workshop for Kids, and traveled worldwide for such corporate clients as Johnson & Johnson and the Radisson Hotel Chain. Her move to Los Angeles lasted 11 years, where she worked for many musical giants, nationally acclaimed producers, and hit-making songwriters- all who sought her for studio, background, and stage performances. Gwen arranged songs and recorded with the legendary Stevie Wonder, noteworthy producer Skip Scarborough, songwriter Frank Wilson, Phillip Bailey & Larry Dunn (both of R&B superstar group Earth, Wind, & Fire), legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier, writer & producer Susanne DePasse, jazz legends Ronnie Laws & Norman Connors, and R&B group Silk. While in L.A., Gwen studied four years under world-renowned vocal technician Seth Riggs- a gift to her from friend Stevie Wonder. She even appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Upon returning to Minneapolis from L.A. in 1987, she recorded her European hit “Keep On Pushing”, joined the famed Rupert’s Orchestra, and began her own production career. Her first projects were producing for toy industry giant Mattel & G.I. Joe, General Mills, and Black Inc. Gwen’s productions include gospel CD Celebrate Faith and her proudest production Uniting for You (co-written with Jared Anderson & Skip Scarborough), which included over 40 of Minnesota’s finest artists performing to raise money for AIDS relief in Africa. Matthews currently performs at sold-out venues like The Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, The Dakota Club in downtown Minneapolis, and at Crooner’s Supper Club in Fridley. Gwen also performs locally, nationally, and worldwide with pop orchestra Synergy, travels to Europe with The Denis Colin Trio, and enjoys singing blues with the band The Walking Wounded. She continues to perform with Bobby Schnitzer in a beautiful guitar-vocal duo, which is her personal favorite music to date. Her latest endeavors are creating themed shows such as Aretha and Her Men, which showcases the many duets Franklin performed and recorded with her many male singing friends. Another is a tribute to Burt Bacharach with the incomparable Bruce A. Henry, and her Christmas and Easter shows dueting with the powerful Robert Robinson. Gwen will soon be unveiling a brand-new show which will showcase hit songs written by her late great dear friend (whose name will not be revealed at this time)- onstage with Gevonne Ford- her longtime friend and stage-mate. Gwen has been nominated numerous times for Best Female R&B- Gospel- Jazz Vocalist Award and shared the coveted Best Cover Band Award (with Rupert’s Orchestra) for several years at The Minnesota Music Awards. She won The Minnesota Black Music Awards twice. In 2007 Matthews was inducted into the Minnesota Rock and Country Hall of Fame with jazz group Passage. In 2009 she was inducted into The Iowa Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame with the powerful rock band Crow. More recently Gwen was named one of 30 Essential Black Minnesota Musicians by Minneapolis Star Tribune columnist Jon Bream. Gwen was the first African-American solo female artist to be honored at The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 2023, saying “It’s so nice to be the first of something, and what a great something this is!” Currently, she offers vocal mastery classes and workshops nationally and teaches & coaches privately. Gwen’s latest CD album is entitled Lyrias, now available everywhere. In the 2020s Gwen is writing and working on a new original a solo CD album.

Inducted 2023

Minneapolis rock and roll band The Fabulous Del Counts performed all over Minnesota from 1961-2023, making them the longest-running rock and roll band in the state, and perhaps the entire USA. The group began with a car accident when bandleader Charles Schoen was hit by a car at nine years old. Laid up for a year with his leg broken, Charles snuck out of bed and taught himself guitar after his homework was complete. One day when Charles was playing guitar, his friend Del Leon LaFave stopped by and started tapping to the music on Charles’ soon-to-be-removed cast. Del Leon became the first Del Counts drummer and inspiration for the band’s name when someone proclaimed “DEL Counts the songs!” Like most local garage rock bands in the 1960s, The Del Counts played lots of local gigs, including at Hopkins High School, Richfield High School, and at a place called “The Barn” out in the suburbs. The band had their breakout in 1964 when song “Let The Good Times Roll” became a Midwest hit that took them from sock hops to sensations. In 1967 they celebrated regional success with the song “What is the Reason”, originally spun by DJ Jimmy Reed at WDGY 1130AM, and eventually charting at #4 on KDWB 630AM in the Twin Cities. The group made many significant memories for fans opening for national acts like Wilson Pickett, The Moody Blues, The Hollies, The Young Rascals, Sonny and Cher, Tiny Tim, and Three Dog Night. Into the 1970s the band performed at The Cascade 9 Club, Diamond Jim’s in Mendota, Reggie’s Danceland Ballroom in Excelsior, Grandma B’s in St. Paul, The Leaning Post, The President’s Bar, and at Apple Place, to name a few. Whether it was at a packed Met Center Arena in the 60’s, The Depot nightclub in the 70’s, Excelsior Park Tavern in the 80’s, Gregory’s in the 90’s, or at The Medina Entertainment Center every decade, The Del Counts came to play! The group learned a long time ago to “blend well and have no egos of who is better”- all were friends and worked well together. The band knew that only the best music is produced by being in harmony with each other, and everyone in the band was “in tune, beat, and energy” with each other. They joked with each other onstage, and indeed were a “family or brothers in music”. Who said “Dream big and your dream can come true”? The Del Counts were THAT band, and members became professional musicians when they were very young. How many people can say they lived their dreams for many decades? The Del Counts were one of the few bands that not only had a large following, but at the start of the first song to the very last, the dance floor was full! The Del Counts never lost that “Star” quality of music energy to their fans. “Play for The People” was their winning formula. In 2006, Charles Schoen received a Lifetime Achievement Award and The Del Counts were inducted to The Minnesota Rock & Country Hall of Fame. Charles has since received The Bill Diehl Lifetime Achievement Award at Mancini’s in St. Paul, and on April 18, 2018 it was proclaimed Del Counts Day by The Governor of The State of Minnesota.

Inducted 2022

Moore by Four was formed in 1986 at Ruby’s Cabaret in Minneapolis, and quickly established themselves as a fixture on the Twin Cities music scene. The group was made up of Music Director Sanford Moore and singers Yolande Bruce, Ginger Commodore, Connie Evingson and Dennis Spears. Their swing-era repertoire, high-‘80s fashion sense, and music-making ability propelled them to group and solo careers in cabarets, concert halls and theaters everywhere. Moore by Four’s high-energy stage presence, distinctive voices, close harmonies, precise vocal control and polish, pulsating rhythms, innovative arrangements, varied songbook, and unerring fashion sense made Moore by Four a must-see-and-hear during the 1980s and ’90s. Their grounding in gospel, early & contemporary jazz, pop, original compositions and new arrangements of the great standards from Broadway, Hollywood and the Cotton Club period provided a broad range to the group’s musical offerings. Led by Sanford Moore who arranged the music and played keyboards- they were cool. They were fun. And could they ever sing! Moore by Four enjoyed years of sold-out concerts The Guthrie and Fitzgerald Theaters, weekly gigs, benefits, corporate functions, colleges and universities, tours of Europe and Japan, jazz festival appearances, and performances with Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry Connick Jr., Joe Williams, and Carmen McRae. They sang for The U.S. Olympic Committee, The Super Bowl, The Minnesota Twins, Vikings, and Timberwolves, former President and Mrs. Clinton, Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel and The King and Queen of Sweden! They’re all so tremendously talented, the singers eventually moved on to individual careers in music and theater. SANFORD MOORE is always in demand as a Music Director, arranger, and pianist- very often with The Penumbra Theatre in St. Paul. YOLANDE BRUCE performs locally, nationally, and internationally, and has acted at The Penumbra, The Illusion, and Guthrie Theaters in St. Paul and Minneapolis. GINGER COMMODORE, a former Sounds of Blackness member (inducted to The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame in 1998), performs with her own quartet and has piled up theater credits with The Penumbra, Mixed Blood, Children’s Theatre, Park Square, The Minnesota Opera and Wonderlust (The Capitol Play Project) throughout the Twin Cities area. CONNIE EVINGSON has released several acclaimed albums and performs often at The Dakota and Crooners in the Twin Cities, singing everything from swing to “hot club” jazz, from The Beatles to Dave Frishberg. Connie has her own series at The Minneapolis Women’s Club and The Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. DENNIS SPEARS is an Ivey award-winning actor and long-time Penumbra Theatre company member. He’s also Artistic Director for The Legends Music Series at The Capri Theater in North Minneapolis (voted “Best Venue for Live Jazz” by Minnesota Monthly magazine). Spears has performed in theaters all over the Twin Cities (he was the Tin Man in Children’s Theater Company production of The Wiz) and at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. He sings solo at The Dakota and Crooners. In 2013 Dennis was inducted as a solo performer into The Minnesota Music Hall of Fame.

The Replacements

Inducted 2018

(Photo courtesy of Twin\Tone Records)

“The Replacements were the most exciting rockers of the Eighties to not hit it big” according to a Rolling Stone magazine article in September of 2014. Unmistakably great live performers with fantastic songs, The Replacements were Minnesota’s own loveable losers who missed- or maybe intentionally missed- true rock stardom, instead opting for legendary status. Nicknamed “The ‘mats” (after placemats), the band’s origins were in South Minneapolis in 1979, calling themselves Dogbreath and The Impediments before becoming The Replacements in 1980. Bob Stinson (1959-1995) was leader and guitarist for the young band. His younger brother Tommy was only 11 years old when he joined as bassist. Chris Mars was drummer and Paul Westerberg was the last member to join the group as guitarist, lead vocalist, and chief songwriter. The Replacements’ music was described as pure rock and roll, punk rock, and early alternative rock. The members were influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Lou Reed, The Clash, and The Ramones. In 1983 the band began their first tour of the United States to cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and eventually New York City, where The Village Voice weekly paper’s music critics started rhapsodizing in print about the scruffy band from the Midwest as “the future of rock and roll’. In the early 1980s the band made four albums for Minneapolis independent record label Twin\Tone Records. The band’s fourth album from 1984- irreverently titled Let it Be– is considered by many to be the very best “indie-rock” album any American band has ever produced, selling unheard-of numbers for an independently-distributed record. Peter Jesperson, founder of Twin\Tone, became the band’s manager until 1986. In the mid-1980s The Replacements signed a recording contract with major-label Sire Records. Never a million-selling recording act, the band were notorious and well-known for their live shows, which bordered on sublime or chaotic depending on the evening. Bob Stinson & the band would perform wearing outrageous and extremely out-of date outfits, purposefully making fun of any self-serious behavior. Seymour Stein, owner of Sire Records, was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine saying “When they were good, they were very, very good, and when they were bad, they were awful.” In many ways The Replacements sacrificed their own success to make a point about NOT taking rock and roll too seriously. While on tour with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Petty himself noticed their self-inflicted status, and once while introducing his next song onstage he exclaimed “This next song goes out to the opening band!” before launching into his hit “Even the Losers”. The group appeared only once in 1986 on Saturday Night Live, America’s pre-eminent television program showcasing upcoming rock and roll bands. Banned from ever returning, their drunken antics were not appreciated by the brass at NBC. Bob was kicked out of the band in 1986 due to various reasons including substance abuse. Sadly, two weeks after getting sober in 1995, Bob died at the age of 35. Minneapolis rock and roll veteran Slim Dunlap (1951-2024) joined the band in 1986 after Bob left. Chris exited the band in 1990 to pursue a solo career and concentrate on his work as a painter, and his artwork has brought him much success & respect. Chris was replaced by local drummer Steve Foley. The band officially broke up on July 4, 1991 after a concert at Soldier Field, home of The Chicago Bears football team. The band would reunite briefly to record a few songs in 2006 then on-and-off again from 2012 to 2015. Tommy Stinson would go on to play bass for superstars Guns N’ Roses and Soul Asylum, as well as solo ventures. Paul Westerberg has had a successful solo career. Slim Dunlap pursued his own solo career until having a severe stroke in 2012. The Replacements recorded only seven albums from 1981 to 1990. Their single “I’ll Be You” reached #51 on the US Hot 100 and #1 on the US Modern Rock and US Mainstream charts in 1988. A New York Times writer once described The Replacements as “a band that could- but didn’t.” The band had a profound influence on future musical superstars such as Kurt Cobain of Nirvana and Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day, but The Replacements never quite achieved that status themselves. In October 2013, the band was named as one of the nominees for the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but they were not inducted. The myth and curse of The Replacements has made the band much more popular after calling it quits then when they existed. The headline of The Los Angeles Times, 2018:

Why do people keep writing about the Replacements, a band that never quite happened?

If you were a fan, you were in on a secret only enjoyed by their followers– a undercover club of the rock and roll faithful never taking success too seriously.

Inducted 2018

You may not know the name Arne Fogel, but you’ve probably heard him sing many times. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Arne considers Minneapolis to be his hometown. Fogel cut his first track at Dove Recording Studios in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1968. These days Arne is a frequent singer at the best jazz venues in the Twin Cities. In 2001 he was the opening act when Rosemary Clooney appeared at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. He has appeared with Kathryn Crosby, the wife of Bing Crosby, in several appearances at The Heights Theater and The Minneapolis Women’s Club Theater. For several years he was a regular performer on famed national radio program A Prairie Home Companion as part of the trio Lieberman, Fogel, & Bey. Arne has been an on-air radio personality including 12 years producing and hosting Arne Fogel Presents, a series of special programs for Minnesota Public Radio. He also had shows on jazz radio stations in the Twin Cities, on Sirius XM, and in 2000 he created and programmed two music channels for Netradio.com. Arne Fogel has written, produced, and appeared in several onstage presentations at venues like the Bloomington Center for the Arts, Chanhassen Dinner Theater, Hopkins Center for the Arts, and at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. In 2003 he wrote, co-produced, and hosted the program Moments to Remember at the Minnesota History Center. In 2015, the concert Ellington at Night, which he co-wrote and co-produced with Nancy Harms, was presented at New York City’s Metropolitan Room. In addition to the albums he has recorded, Arne can be heard in almost 1500 recording sessions singing “jingles” and on film soundtracks. He can be heard in commercials for Twix Candy, Oldsmobile, Miller Beer, Discover Card, Dairy Queen, Northwest Airlines, General Mills, Hormel, Arctic Cat, John Deere, and Our Own Hardware just to name a few. Fogel has also composed and produced his own music for commercial work. Arne has often appeared as an actor in television commercials. He had a small speaking part in the Universal film Mallrats and had the lead role in the short film Bubblepac, which was an entry in The 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Arne worked as a copywriter and broadcast producer for several ad agencies in the Twin Cities. His billboard for MetroBank earned him an Obie Award from The Outdoor Advertising Association of America. Fogel is a trivia expert when it comes to music. He collects old records, studying artists and musical styles, and has over 2,000 Bing Crosby tunes in his personal collection. Fogel considers himself “a popular entertainment historian.” At one job he answered trivia questions on radio, and if the guests could stump him, they could win prizes. Arne Fogel was inducted into The Mid-America Music Hall of Fame in 2008. Jazz critic Bob Protzman described Fogel as “…one of the Twin Cities’ most interesting people. A singer, musician, actor, composer, writer, producer, music-film-comedy and entertainment historian, collector, and oral encyclopedia”.

Arne Fogel’s website

Inducted 2017

Officially founded in the Twin Cities in 1895 but with roots extending back to 1887, The Apollo Club has grown to be one of America’s oldest continuously-performing and well-traveled Male Choruses. The Apollo Club has an unprecedented repertoire of secular and sacred works supported by one of the world’s largest libraries of men’s choral music.

Apollo Club’s website