Born near Detroit, Michigan, Marshall Crenshaw began playing guitar at age ten and he received his first break playing John Lennon in the off-Broadway company of Beatlemania. In 1987, he played Buddy Holly in the Richie Valens biopic “La Bamba.” While living in NYC, he recorded the single “Something’s Gonna Happen” for Alan Betrock’s Shake Records, which led to a deal with Warner Bros. His debut album, Marshall Crenshaw was acclaimed as a pop masterpiece upon its release in 1982 and established him as a first-rate songwriter, singer and guitarist. The record spawned the Top 40 single “Someday, Someway,” which rockabilly singer Robert Gordon covered and scored a hit with a year earlier, and other classics such as “(You’re My) Favorite Waste of Time,” “Whenever You’re On My Mind” and “Cynical Girl.” The great songs continued with the Life’s Too Short album on MCA (“Fantastic Planet of Love”), three albums for Razor & Tie and the 2009 release Jaggedland (“Someone Told Me,” “Passing Through,” “Never Coming Down. He is playing Loco’s Grill & Pub and joined us for our 5GB series (yes, just 3 questions on this one).
What’s the first gig you ever attended?
The first big-time Rock act I ever saw was Gary Lewis and The Playboys at the Michigan State Fair, 1965 or 6; I didn’t set out to see them, they just happened to be there that day, but I did like the show. Jim Keltner was drumming for the band at the time; when I worked with him in 2009 I told him that I’d seen him in The Playboys..
What is the best gig that you ever played/performed?
I can’t really pick a single best one, but my favorite experience in show business was singing at the Apollo Theatre with the Funk Brothers at the NY premiere of “Standing In the Shadows of Motown”.
What is the best gig you have ever seen?
The MC5 opening for Jimi Hendrix at Masonic Auditorium in Detroit, 1968..
Catch Marshall Crenshaw Jan. 24 at Loco’s Grill & Pub.
