UPDATED: September 13, 2004

MISSOURI - Recorded on Panama Records in 1977.

Welcome Two Missouri - Recorded on Polydor records 1979

RON WEST AND MISSOURI AT SUMMER JAM, ARROWHEAD STADIUM IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI WITH TED NUGENT, HEART, CARS, AND SAMMY HAGGAR.

Purchase the "Best of Missouri" Now!!

All songs Written and Arranged by: Ron West. Boo Dog/BMI

Published by: Boo Dog Publishing/BMI

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In August 1974, the long time Kansas City Rock n Roll group "The Chesmann" would play their last gig in a small club located in the River Quey named "The Boiler Room." "The Chesmann" combined the musical talents of the three Hodgden brothers: Ron, Steve and Gary. Dave Huffines provided lead guitar for the first three years, and Jim McAllister joined the band in 1968 to fill Dave Huffines' spot in the line up.

The "Chesmann's" main claim to fame was that they looked, acted, sang and played exactly like the Beatles and did all the new English Invasion music as soon as it hit the airways. Ron Hodgden would tune into station KAAY, Little Rock, Arkansas and Clyde Clifford late at night to get all the brand new English music on tape before it ever got to Kansas City. "The Chesmann" were playing the English version of songs off of "Rubber Soul" months before the tunes were ever played in Kansas City. Through the sixties the band would constantly change, keeping up with new trends in music; Hendrix, Clapton, Stones, soul music, etc; whatever people liked, they played it live and enjoyed it. They also laid down a fair amount of great original music at studios around the mid-west which is now being compiled for a new "Chesmann" CD. Later, all three Hodgden brothers would come to adopt the last name of "West" as their stage name.

The Boiler Room show was the finale of ten long years of solid bookings, playing every conceivable gig from; Clarinda and Des Moines Iowa to small towns in Nebraska around Omaha; East to M.U. Frat Parties, Springfield, Poplar Bluff, and Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri; Fayetteville, Little Rock and Fort Smith, Arkansas; and out to the west to Lawrence, Topeka, Salina and Liberal, Kansas. "The Chesmann" were also well known for being the most popular warm up band for the big time Rock shows to come to the Kansas City area during the sixties.

But that night at The Boiler Room did not signal the end for the members of the band, but only a new beginning. Almost prophetically, Ron West and Gary West went outside on a break and there, playing for a street dance, was a newly formed band called "Shooting Star." Gary West and Jim McAllister would soon move to New York where they would meet some of the major players in the national music industry and make valuable business connections. Ron West would stay in Kansas City and join up with his sister Trisha in a group called "Thrush."

Steve West would soon take off for Aspen, Colorado to gig with some local groups there and work in the home construction business. Ron West played with his sister's band a few more years before deciding to form his own group, "Missouri."

While living in New York City working on album projects, Gary West met the owners of a management company named "Golden Lion Productions." After a number of years and a few album projects in New York City, Gary West decided to return home to Kansas City and was almost immediately asked to join "Shooting Star." Ron West had been writing and recording by himself on his four track Tascam machine. He submitted his new material to Chris Fritz of "Contemporary Productions."

The rest is Kansas City Rock history. After joining "Shooting Star," Gary West reconnected with "Golden Lion Productions," which was instrumental in getting the band its first recording contract with "Virgin Records." Ron's work landed him a recording budget from Chris Fritz's label, "Panama Records." Ron's first album, "Missouri," came out in August 1977 and "Virgin Records" released "Shooting Star's" first album in 1979.

The two Hodgden brothers, now known as Ron West and Gary West, were off to an impressive start as they joined the fast paced world of the Rock n Roll business. Only this time, instead of being in the same group together, they were now competitors in the music scene with Ron West writing and singing all the tunes for "Missouri," and Gary West doing most of the writing and all the vocals for "Shooting Star."

Gary West is no longer writing and singing for "Shooting Star." Gary West now has his own business called Mid-West Radon. He also works a lot in his Analog 24 track home studio "Studio West," doing album projects with his son Wesley West. Ron West grew tired of taking "Missouri" out on the road so he too spends most of his time in his 24 track digital studio called "Studio 7," writing and recording bands and radio commercials. Gary West is also working to pull the "Chesmann" CD project together which will probably be called "The Lost Chesmann Tapes," and will be released some time next year.

A more detailed look at this story will be coming up later on this web page with many pictures and articles of "The Chesmann," "Missouri," and "Shooting Star."

Do you remember any of these Kansas City Bands?

Tom Blair and the Westcoasters, The Bygones, Roger Calkins and The Silvertones, The Fab Four, Alex Love, The Vibra-Tones, The Premiers, The Emeralds, The Original Chessmenn, The Jumpin Jacks, Jack Nead, Ozark Mountain Daredevils, The Classmenn, Johnny Dolan ????, Gary Mac and the Mac Truck, The Continentals, Little Willie and the Hideaways, The Fab Four, Danny Gregory, Ray Bagsby, Butch Smith, The Fabulous Flippers, White Clover, Kansas, Blue Beard, Orphan, The Rumbles, The Factory, Spyder and the Crabs, The Intruders, Morningstar, The Chontels, The Blue Things, Ice, The Young Raiders, Backwood Memory, Flash and the Inmates, Bobby Soul, Danny Cox, Stan Plesser, Chris Fritz, Dave McQuitty, J.T. Cook, The Cates Brothers, Stone Wall, The Purple Hill Mob, Stoned Circus, Mystic Number National Bank. We are only scratching the surface here... just to name a few.

We have found a great book that encompasses all these bands and more, with discographys, pictures, write-ups, and histories of 100's of well known Midwest Artists and Groups. ITS A GAS----and BILL LEE has done it all for us.

KANSAS ROCKERS
Bill Lee, P.O. Box 1176, Lawerence ,Ks., 66044
KsRocker@aol.com

The first "Missouri" album credits Ron West, Alan Cohen, Bill Larson and Lane Turner.

First "Missouri" show in St. Louis, 1977 From left to right: Ron West, Lane Turner, Randall Platt, Bill Larson and Alan Cohen