CD: Steve Crosno Day July 9, 1967, El Paso County Coliseum

http://elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050902/NEWS/509020327

In 1967, much like other cities, El Paso was experiencing a musical renaissance -- one that will remembered on a remastered CD that will go on sale Sunday.

Statewide back then, the band Sunny and the Sunliners was the headline act -- mixing English with Spanish to create a distinctive sound -- while locally, bands like The Drifters, The Night Dreamers, and Bobby and the Premiers drew hundreds of fans to their weekend gigs.

The unofficial leader of this movement was Steve Crosno, a young, skinny DJ with a nasal twang and 5-inch sideburns.

On July 9, 1967, the top seven R&B bands from El Paso and Las Cruces got together with 4,000 fans at the El Paso County Coliseum to celebrate Steve Crosno Day, as proclaimed by El Paso Mayor Judson Williams.

The CD features the music of local bands such as The Drifters, The Night Dreamers, Bobby and the Premiers, The Las Cruces Starliners, The Las Cruces Majestics, The Gene Willis Aggregation and The Impressions. They played what was known as the El Paso sound, a mix of English and Spanish songs.

It is this musical format -- playing "Cariño Nuevo" by Sunny and Sunliners followed by "Smile Now, Cry Later" -- that made Crosno one of the most popular DJs ever in El Paso. His TV show, "The Crosno Hop," aired in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

 

wow!

very nice - i gotta get me one of these!
-mike

 

This just blows my mind! I listened to Steve when I was a kid in the 80s. For a while he was on KSET, the top 40 station, before moving onto a full Spanish station. He was fun to listen to, kind of an old fashioned DJ that was going out of style at the time but still well loved in the city.

I gotta get this one too! Thanks for the link.

dan c

 

Liner Notes from CD
Steve Crosno Day At The El Paso County Coliseum - July 9, 1967
http://www.allthatmusic.com/blog/latest.html

(Scroll down for: Bobby Fuller Four Reunites)

 

The Crosno CD arrived yesterday. Nice!

About 79 minutes, very good Stereo sound (Remastered from 1967 vinyl with Pro Tools w/ Waves Diamond Audio Suite). Six page black & white booklet.

The (Las Cruces) Starliners
01. Instrumental
02. The One That's Hurtin' Is You
03. It's Not Unusual
04. Tramp

The El Paso Drifters
07 - 09 Featuring Martha Sifuentes
05. Intro / Sweet Soul Music
06. Groovin'
07. Respect
08. Close Your Eyes
09. All In My Mind

The Las Cruces Majestics
10. Band Intro
11. Instrumental
12. Intro / Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
13. Goin' Back To Miami
14. More

The Impressions
15. Let's Go Steady / You Are My First Love
16. I've Been Lonely Too Long

The Gene Willis Aggregation
17. Instrumental
18. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag / Instrumental
19. James Brown Jam

The El Paso Premiers (Bobby And The Premiers)
20. I'm A Practical Guy
21. I Dig Girls
22. Hello Stranger
23. Put Me In Jail

Sonny Powell And The Night-Dreamers
24. Kind Of A Drag
25. Mr. Pitiful

Bernard Tanchester
26. Steve Crosno Tribute Presentation

 

I grew up in Las Cruces where Steve started out as a DJ on the local radio station -- he was an immediate hit. Of course he introduced me to the new rock music, but what I remember him for was a stunt he pulled in 1959 or 1960. He put a message inside a coke bottle (old coke bottles were very study!), wrote out an address tag, attached to a string, stuck it to the bottle with a cork and took it to the post office. No packaging, just the bottle with the tag attached. The post office took it and delivered it to its destination. I don't remember the destination, but it was not anywhere in New Mexico. I also have a memory of him starting a collection of coke bottles. In those days, coke bottles were made in local coke bottling plants and had the name of the town embedded on the bottom of the bottle. Someone sent him one from a town in Germany! Those were the days! Sad to learn he is gone!