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Recently I was working on a story and I read a little notice that Orlen Hunstad and his “More Fun With Hun” Productions presented a show at the Jasper, Minn. Memorial Hall in November of 1965. This was a show that I did not have in my Hun Productions section of events for 1965. I did not see an ad for the show, which was not unusual for Orlen. To keep the budget down, he just postered communities around Jasper and got a few radio spots. Since I just found out about this show, it was not in my book “Rockin’ At Hatfield’s Hollyhock Ballroom.”
The show came late in the year of 1965, with what was an amazing booking with St. Louis, Missouri’s Bob Kuban & the In-Men. It must have been a show and dance that had to be one for the ages. Keep in mind, the show was booked shortly before the release of one of the biggest hits of 1965/1966, “The Cheater” by Kuban & The In-Men.
In 1963, Kuban graduated from college and began his life as a music teacher at a St. Louis area high school. To supplement his income as a teacher, he decided to form a group and play local shows to earn some extra money. One of his first and best moves in the bands creation was to ask local singer, Walter Notheis, aka “Sir” Walter Scott, to join the band as the lead singer.
What a great move, as Scott was one of the most dynamic and charismatic front-men one would ever dream of seeing or hearing. Scott took over the stage and was the show, was the band, he was just IT! Remember, Kuban was in the back as the group’s drummer and he was not really a vocalist. Soon they added: John Krenski, Greg Hoeltzel, Pat Hickson, Harry Simon, Paul Skip Weisser & Emil Shulte. It was a dynamic and powerful band with drums, guitar, keyboards, bass, a horn section and a powerhouse singer.
In November of 1965 they would enter the studio and record their classic, “The Cheater,” backed with “Try Me Baby”(Musicland #20001). It was not usual for a band to play a recording at live shows months before it came out. It must have been played countless times the evening of the Jasper show/dance. By early 1966 the song was smoking hot all across the nation. What helped make it work was Scott’s strong vocals, good looks and dynamic showmanship. The ladies were all big fans of Scott. The “Cheater” went to #12 on the Billboard charts.
The band followed the “Cheater” with their next record release, Musicland #20006, “The Teaser/All I Want.”Are you noticing a trend here. That song was followed by “The Pretzel/Pretzel Party,” also on Musicland Records. By this time, there was tension in the group due to Scott getting all the attention, as he was now calling himself, “SIR” Walter Scott. The other band members were feeling left out, including Kuban.
It wasn’t long before Scott went out on his own as just “Sir” Walter Scott. The problem was, Scott most likely had a girlfriend in every town across the Midwest and his wife back at their home outside of St Louis, had a new found boyfriend. It appears that both Scott and his wife were the cheaters.
Together Scott’s wife and boyfriend decided that their life would be better without Walter. So in 1983, Scott’s wife’s boyfriend Jim Williams, murdered Scott and hid his body in an old well that was on Williams’s property. Law enforcement conducted all kinds of investigations, but with no luck in finding Scott. In 1987 they received a tip from a family member that Scott was in the well at Williams’s home, the case was solved and one of the Midwest’s greatest entertainers was laid to rest as the P. A. system played “The Cheater” after his funeral.
In January of this year, Bob Kuban suddenly passed away, he was 84. In 2011, James Williams, who was convicted of Scott’s murder, died in prison where he was sentenced to life after the discovery of Scott’s body. Somehow, Scott’s wife dodged jail time. Numerous investigative TV shows have covered this case over the years. Most can be seen on YouTube.
I’m sure Orlen Hunstad never could have guessed he was, in a small way, a part of Midwest rock and roll history. I know for myself, I so wished I could have seen and heard the great “Sir” Walter Scott singing “The Cheater” in Jasper, Minn.! The rock and roll history of the Pipestone area, is simply amazing!
Until Next Month
Take Care &
Remember the Music
Tom Tourville has been writing about Midwest rock & roll for close to 47 years and has published over 32 books based on Midwest rock music history. His most recent book on House of Blues Records has been nominated by the Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research. Tom is a well-respected music writer for regional Midwest and national publications. He lives at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, and can be reached at tourvillea@aol.com.