The Monroes 1984 live public access TV "What Do All the People Know"

The Monroes performing live in 1984 on a San Diego public access TV show called Club 33. The band is best known for their bright early 80s hit “What Do All the People Know,” which landed them on network TV and countless turntables. The group was founded by San Diego bassist Bob Monroe with Lansing, Michigan-born keyboardist Eric Denton. Next to join was Rusty Jones, who had several songs on KGB FM’s Homegrown albums that he’d recorded at Denton's Accusound recording studio, on 42nd and El Cajon. Then came the drummer from Denton's band Peter Rabitt, Jonnie Gilstrap, and finally singer Jesus Ortiz, aka Tony Monroe joined. Bob Monroe wrote most of the songs.

Signed to Alfa Records, the band entered Chateau Studios with one-time Doors producer Bruce Botnick and Stones engineer Alex Vertikoff. “What Do All the People Know” came out late 1981 and garnered immediate, and constant, airplay. In San Diego, it was inescapable. Within weeks, they were appearing on the Merv Griffin Show, as well as opening for Greg Kihn, the Motels, Rick Springfield, Toto, and others. They were invited to record a song for a Yoko Ono tribute album, got listed in Billboard as a “Top Album Pick” and landed a tune called “Stones Against the Rain” on local San Diego radio station 91X’s Sand-Aid album (a benefit for African famine relief). Then, their label ended up selling the Monroes’ contract to CBS, and thus began around two years of basically nothing.

As more time went by with no new record, the band’s prospects looked bleak. They were even sued (unsuccessfully) over their name by another Monroes, temporarily forcing them to adopt the moniker “Man to Man.” The group badly wanted out of their CBS deal so they could move to another label. Rusty Jones was the first member to officially quit. Gilstrap was next to exit, though various versions of the Monroes still played out. The band finally dissolved completely around 1988.

BetaGems are culled from an archive of over 1000 beta video tapes recorded from 1983 into the 1990s. Most feature live music performances broadcast on television in San Diego CA, though there are also rarely seen commercials, comedy clips, old TV news segments, made-for-TV movies and documentaries, religious programming, variety shows, talk show interviews, and other material that doesn't seem to be anywhere else on Youtube or online. Most of the tapes were recorded on a Sony SL-HFT7 Super Beta Theater Hi-Fi Stereo - the same model was refurbished and is being used for these digital transfers and uploads.

In rare occasions where a BetaGems clip does appear elsewhere, we're only uploading if our own beta master is better quality or contains material not seen previously. Much footage comes from public television and public access broadcasts that the taper, who worked for a local cable TV production company in the 1980s, monitored nightly for several years. Some of the programming is strictly regional, mostly from the San Diego area.

Видео The Monroes 1984 live public access TV "What Do All the People Know" канала BetaGems Lost Media