Tim Tam & The Turn-Ons (Detroit)

Personnel :

Rick Wiesend (Tim Tam) (Lead)

Danny Wiesend

Don Grundman

Nick Butsicaris

John Ogen

Earl Rennie

Discography :

1966 - Wait a Minute / Opelia (Instrumental) (Palmer 5002)

1966 - Cheryl-Ann / Seal it with a kiss (Palmer 5003)
1966 - Kimberly / I leave you in tears (Palmer 5006)

1967 - Don't say Hi / Don't say Hi (Instrumental) (Palmer 5014)

 

Biography :

Allen Park is home to the vocal group, Tim Tam & the Turn-Ons who secured themselves a chapter in pop history from 1964 to 1967. Tim Tam and the Turn Ons are (l-r) Nick Butsicaris, Don Grundman, Earl Rennie, Rick (Tam Tam) Wiesend, John Ogen and Dan Wiesend. Rick “Tim Tam” Wiesend was the lead vocalist with the oustanding falsetto that soared above the harmonies in a Frankie Valli-style sound with a riveting rhythm section.

The boys met at Allen Park High School and all were in concert choir together. While Rick was a student at the Detroit Institute of Technology, he would hear his brother, Danny, practicing with the other boys in their Allen Park basement (at Fox and Garfield). Eventually he joined the group himself and taught them their harmonies. Rick Wiesend was still a student at Allen Park High School when CKLW disc jockey Johnny Williams heard his strong tenor at a school Christmas concert. Williams and Rick co-wrote “Wait a Minute”.

When they were going into United Sound Systems to record that single, they were delayed by the previous recording artist who had been running late on mixing his song. The artist was Bob Seger and he was finishing up his #1 hit, “Heavy Music”. Of the four singles they released on Palmer Records, they had two national hits, the biggest being “Wait A Minute”, which hit Number 1 on the Top 40. It sold 30,000 copies in the first week, and double that figure in the second. Their other hit was “Cheryl Ann”.

The pair of apartment buildings on Champaign near Vine were owned by Rick Wiesend’s father, and were named the Tim Tam building and the Turn-Ons building. The names were removed from the buildings a few years ago, but you can still see evidence of them if you look close enough.

The vocal group consisted of the late Rick “Tim Tam” Wiesend (who died October 22, 2003 of Myelodysplastic Syndrome at age 60), his brother, Danny Wiesend, Don Grundman, Nick Butsicaris, John Ogen and Earl Rennie. The musicians behind the vocals were the Satellites -- fellow APHS classmates -- featuring the late Frank Chauvilli on drums and Dave Faro on lead guitar.
http://www.focusallenpark.com/history/music/

Songs :

   
Wait a Minute                       Cheryl-Ann


Kimberly

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