by Bill Russo
* * *
There’s a huge General Electric plant in the city that had 3000 employees as of 2017, but probably had twice that number back in the 1960s when Mike Gaylord was searching for his trombone player.
He found Cas Boute by the side of a spinning lathe, working on a Jet Engine Design. Boute loved his job in the G.E. Plant. He had many offers to be a full time musician but liked his craft too much and did not take to the idea of having to leave his wife and kids for long periods while on the road.
But he did like the idea of playing at Blinstrub’s and signed on right away. He played beautifully during the Sinatra booking and Frank even took a special liking to Cas Boute - singling him out on stage for his excellent solos.
After Sinatra’s engagement, Boute went back to his job at G.E. and Norm Crosby came in for two weeks.
Norm is a Boston comic who hit the big time in a three year tour with Robert Goulet. After the Goulet period, Norm went out on his own, and was highly successful. He packed Blinstrub’s and as a bonus, met and fell in love with one of the chorus girls - Joannie Crane Foley. She left a job as a Rockette in New York City to come to Blinstrub’s. They have been married over fifty years.
Norm is known as the ‘Master of Malaprops’. He opened his show with lines like, “I speak to you tonight from my ‘diagram’ and I want to tell you that I never get nervous on the Blinstrub stage because I drink ‘decapitated coffee’.
Midway through the Crosby engagement, potential disaster struck again for Mike Gaylord and his Blinstrub’s house band. Judy Garland was scheduled to follow Crosby for a two week stint.
“You can’t use Cas Boute as your trombone player for my wife, “ said Sid Luft, who was not only Garland’s husband, but also her very successful manager. He had guided her back to the top after a disastrous period during the 1950s.
“Why can’t I use him? Boute is one of the best in the country. If he’s good enough for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, and Bob Goulet, I think he’s good enough for Judy Garland.”
“Goodness has nothing to do with it.” Luft said. “You can’t use him because he is bald. Judy will not let a bald man in the band. If she sees this guy, she will go nuts. She will lose it. The whole engagement could go south. Get somebody else.”
Opening night came and Mike Gaylord set up his band, with one slight alteration. He had the drums out front and put the entire brass section in the back row. He did this because he kept Cas Boute in the ensemble and he figured if he was in the back, Garland would not see him.
The club was crammed full at show time and 60,000 people had to be turned away. The entire two weeks were totally sold out.
Judy Garland was spectacular. She opened with “Get Happy” and then went right into her award winning version of ‘The Man That Got Away” from her Academy Award Nominated performance in 1954’s “A Star Is Born.” When she did “Somewhere Over the Rainbow“, the entire audience did not take a breath for two minutes and thirty seconds. She wrung every note out of ‘Old Man River’, with the power of Paul Robeson.
The Blinstrub’s house band was crisp, flawless and powerful. Gaylord was worried that Garland would see his bald trombone player. While conducting, he kept trying to move his body between her eyesight and Cas Boute. Sid Luft was petrified lest his wife should discover the ruse and blame it on him.
To thunderous applause, Garland closed the show with 'The Trolley Song'. For an encore she spoke to the audience about the people who inspired her. She talked of Frank Sinatra and pointed out to the group that they both recorded for the same label - Capitol Records. Then she told the boys to do “I’ll Never Smile Again“, which was the biggest hit for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra with Sinatra as the vocalist.
The song is almost a duet between Voice and Trombone - and the trombone player is supposed to take a spotlight when he does the solo.
Luft and Gaylord were frantically waving their arms at Cas Boute, signaling him to stay seated, while Judy Garland was motioning to him to rise. Luckily, the bell of the horn was hiding his chrome pate from her view.
Just when it looked like Cas Boute was going to stand and get in the spotlight, Sid Luft sent two stagehands to forcibly hold him down while he played the solo parts. Garland never missed a beat and wrapped up the show to a standing ovation.
Shaking like a motor with a broken valve, Sid Luft was backstage with his wife/client when she told him,
“I want to talk about the band. Bring the leader in here to see me.”
Gaylord stepped into the dressing room like a prisoner on the walk to the gallows and hung his head just as low.
“I want to compliment the band Mr. Gaylord. Tell the boys they did a great job. But for tonight’s second show, why don’t you put the drums in the back and the brass in front!“
Gaylord’s heart stopped. He choked on his words and gurgles came out instead of words.
Judy Garland continued, “I spoke with Frank Sinatra a few weeks ago at Capitol Records in L.A. He told me about your trombone player. He said he’s great. Frank also told me he’s bald and he said ‘Get Over it!’. So for the rest of the engagement, I want the bald guy in the front row where I can hear him better. I just won’t look at him.”
The engagement ended with rave reviews and blockbuster attendances. Garland thanked all the band members- even Cas Boute.
* * *
As for the 60,000 people that had to be turned away, they got a pleasant surprise when Judy Garland announced that she was going to do a free outdoor show. It was held in August on the Boston Common and was attended by over 100,000 people - and yes she had her favorite bald trombone player with her; and her husband too. But that didn’t last long. The end for Luft came later that summer and Judy moved on to another husband - she had five or six before she died.
The end for Blinstrub’s Village came just about the same time as Garland and Luft’s ending.
In the middle of the night on February 7, 1968, fire engulfed and destroyed Boston’s biggest and best club. Owner Stanley Blinstrub had NO INSURANCE on the property.
“I had a twenty four hour fire watch team” that’s why I had no insurance,” he said. Damage was over one and a quarter million dollars. Blinstrub’s pal, Archbishop Cushing of Boston, called the morning after the fire: “I’ve got $100,000.00 to help you out,” said the leader of Boston’s Catholic community. “and I am going to organize a fund raiser.”
He did; and it was a four and one half hour show at Boston Garden with dozens of the nation’s top stars. They raised another $150,000.00. But this was short of the amount needed - and Blinstrub was 71 years old. Back in 1929, he lost everything in the crash and rebuilt his empire in less than three years. But he was barely in his 30s then and rebuilding was a delightful challenge. In the end, America’s smartest supper club became a memory.
The remains of the massive brick structure were razed and ultimately replaced by the Burger King and the McDonald’s . Looking at the site now, it looks small. How did one of the biggest clubs in the world ever fit into that little space?
Blinstrub’s is gone. The Stars are gone.
Southie is still here. D Street is still here and so is Broadway. You can get a burger for a buck and for another buck you can add fries. There’s no entertainment with the food, but if you walk outside on D street, you might see the Boston cinema crew making a movie. You might spot Ben or Casey Affleck. Maybe Matt Damon or Mark Wahlberg. You might get to see the real life Fighter, Micky Ward or his brother Dickie Eckland.
Or you might see a longtime Southie regular, Bobby Quarters. That’s not his real name but it’s what people call him because he walks up and down D Street asking for quarters.
He’s also known as Bobby No No: Because you have to give him a quarter. If you offer anything less or anything more, you hear: “No No - It has to be a quarter!”
The End
Bill Russo, retired on Cape Cod, was educated in Boston at the Huntington School and at Grahm College
in Kenmore Square. He was editor of several newspapers in Massachusetts as well as a former disc jockey, news writer/presenter, and broadcaster for various outlets in New England.
His sighting of a swamp creature just before the turn of the century, led to appearances in the Bridgewater Triangle Documentary Film, America’s Bermuda Triangle, and on Destination America’s Monsters and Mysteries series.
In addition to his radio and newspaper work, he held management positions in logistics and warehousing as well as a stint as an ironworker and President of Boston Local 501 of the Shopmen’s Ironworkers Union.
Contact Bill at [email protected] All e-mails are personally answered
Bill’s Blog is called Adventures in Type and Space: https://billrrrrr.blogspot.com/
He also shares news and videos on his Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/billrrrrr
