Sam Mccue

In Wisconsin rock history, Sam McCue is the legend to beat. As any aging greaser can tell you, In the pre-Beatles '60's, rock 'n' roll in Milwaukee was spelled "L-E-G-E-N-D-S". The Legends, with front man McCue, were the first band to truly rock Beertown. Their singles "Say Mama", "Bop-A-Lena" and "Lariat" went to the top of the charts in Milwaukee. They were the first local rock band to nail a national record contract, getting signed by Capitol. Every weekend they held court over the spacious dance floor at Muskego Beach. And they helped inspire a generation of local musicians to make music their living. By any reasonable standard, Sam McCue is the godfather of Milwaukee rock. The son of a "semi-pro" trumpet-playing dad and a singing, fiddling mom, McCue started out with ukulele at age 6 and graduated to guitar.

 In 1964, McCue left to take an opportunity as lead guitarist and band leader for the Everly Brothers. The Everlys turned out to be a memorable experience. McCue traveled all over the world, worked on a national musical variety TV series, and met and played with such rock royalty as Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Frankie Avalon and Bobby Vinton.